Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Fluttering Kites - Mahana Village (Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin)
Kora walked out of her hut, decked out in Rider armor as she had her Iron Sword strapped to her back.
"Took ya long enough!" Kayna teased.
Kora rolled her eyes. "So, we doing this or what?"
"Hold up, just because you're Red's granddaughter doesn't mean you can just go off and claim that you're top Zinogre. Even your grandfather had to learn the ropes himself!"
Kora chuckled. "Uh, right… I knew that."
"First, we gotta get you all situated. You would need something to ride first. Luckily, I just happen to have two Velocidromes ready to go."
"You just happen to have them?" Kora deadpanned.
Kayna grinned. "What? Can't be a teacher if I'm not prepared~!"
Kora chuckled. "Fair."
She whistled, catching her Velocidrome's attention as they approached her. "Alright, you ride with Ranmar."
"That looks a bit uncomfortable…"
"Trust me, you'll get used to it. Besides, think of your Monstie as a part of you. You grow with it, you bond with it, you cry with it, all of that fun stuff. Monsties can be… well, an extension of you."
"That makes sense." Kora nodded, proceeding to equip her Kinship Stone and then raised it up.
"Now, raise your Kinship stone and-... oh!" Kayna said in surprise as Ranmar snuggled up to her. "You already figured that out?"
"I've seen you do it before whenever you went on expeditions."
"Ah, so you've seen me do it? Fair enough!" Kayna chuckled. "Now then, Ride On! Let me show you how we Riders do things."
"Okay!" She nodded as they took off running.
End BGM
Meanwhile…
BGM: Sea Breeze: Hakolo Island - Day (Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin)
"Mmm, smell that salty air!" Cardin said as they walked through the island. A few Konshu buried themselves in the sand while one rose up from the sand to glare at them.
"Hey, I can probably have this little guy as a pet. Maybe!" Yang said, picking up the Konshu. "Hey little guy!"
A cross vein appeared on the Konshu as it proceeded to lunge forward and snagged Yang's nose to pinch her. "Yagh!" She yelped as she pried it off, and then punted it away into the ocean. "Never mind!"
"You're that desperate, huh?" Gloria asked.
"Gloria, three of my teammates have Monsters and I don't." Yang pointed out. "Doesn't seem fair!"
"I don't think a wee monster is gonnae do much." Gloria pointed out.
"I dunno, it seemed to handle itself pretty well against Bombshell's nose." Zinnia grinned.
"Mmmph…" Yang grumbled, hearing a few snickers from some of them.
"Hmm… maybe we'll find some clues in that cave." Cardin said as they walked in. A few Aptonoth spotted them before going back to grazing.
"Hey, how about an Aptonoth?" Ruby suggested.
"I dunno… doesn't seem like much of a fighter…" Yang rubbed her head.
"Kinda cute though." Blake said as they walked into the cave, with Meryl holding Weiss's hand to calm her while Manaphy was on Weiss's shoulders.
Nearby, Kora and Kayna walked up to a few Aptonoth. "Hold on a moment…" Kayna said.
"What is it?"
"I thought I saw someone walk i-... nah, I'm just seeing things." Kayna said, shaking her head. "Alright, so when you're out Riding, you might encounter some monsters. Some are docile, some are a bit touchy, and some are just straight up territorial, so you always have to be on guard."
"So, ignore the docile ones?"
"They may be docile, but they usually get pretty uppity when they see a Rider on their Monstie. Some folks believe they attack Monsties to claim they're superior and would want Riders to choose them instead."
"Bragging rights or jealousy?"
"Who knows, but even the humble Aptonoth who aren't much of a hassle tend to get a bit aggressive with Monsties. I've noticed this before. Without me riding on one of them, they could care less. When I'm riding on them, suddenly they get antsy and attack… no one knows for sure."
Kayna grinned. "Regardless, those three are gonna be a hassle, so let's knock them down!"
"Aww, they're so cute…" Kora frowned before sighing. "Alright, let's rock." She said as they approached the Aptonoth where one of them turned their heads, and it proceeded to charge at them.
"Alright, be on your guard. This one's feisty!" Kayna said, hopping off of her Velocidrome as Kora did the same where they both ran ahead and slashed at the beast where both Monsties proceeded to flank and clawed the Aptonoth. It proceeded to try and fight back but was quickly overwhelmed, dropping dead within seconds.
"Man, I'm a natural!" Kora grinned.
"I wouldn't get too cocky. This one was just a warm up. Other monsters are no laughing matter!"
Kora sweatdropped, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Ooops…"
"It's easy to get lost in a power high, but don't let that get to your head." Kayna said as she turned toward the cave while the other Aptonoth wandered away from the fight. "Now then, let's go into the Den."
They hopped back on their Velocidromes as they went into the cave, proceeding to walk through. "Are we gonna expect some fights in here?"
"Oh, absolutely. Dens are packed with monsters, so we ought to expect some adversity. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're coming up… on… some…"
Kayna blinked, noticing a pack of Velociprey down for the count in front of them. "What in the world…?" She wondered as they hopped off a small ledge and looked down at the trio. She hopped off and investigated with Kora hopping off.
"Looks like there was a struggle here." Kora said.
"Whoever fought these three… they didn't even stand a chance." Kayna said. "Agh, what's worse is that they cleaned these pretty well."
"You think they might still be here?" Kora wondered.
"Who knows… let's just hope they're friendly."
The two of them cautiously moved along the path, jumping over a gap that had a small river a few feet below them as they continued on.
"...Seriously, no items to scavenge? Not even webs? We're dealing with pros here…"
"So what do we do?"
"Hope that they're friendly, otherwise things are gonna get ugly…" Kayna said as they approached cautiously until they approached a nest, where they would see a Kulu-Ya-Ku scampering around with no one in sight.
"DId they already leave?"
"Shhh!" Kayna whispered as they hid behind cover. "It's a Kulu-Ya-Ku… if I had to guess, the party that was in here stole one of her eggs."
As she said it, an egg wandered away as the Kulu screeched and charged at it, but then it hopped up onto a pillar.
"Do eggs normally do that?"
"Usually they're a lot more… immobile." Kayna said. "Hmm, did it hatch from the bottom and it's moving around?" She wondered. "No, I don't see any feet…"
At that moment, the egg hopped off and landed near the ladies, where Kora dove for it and caught it. "Got ya!"
"Ack, hey, let me go!" A voice cried as Kora turned the egg around to see a Felyne holding it.
"...Did you hatch from the egg?"
"What? No, of course not! I was just taking this egg and that monster decided to wake up at the wrong moment!"
"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose it happens-"
She was poked on the shoulder.
"Yeah yeah, I'll get to you in a minute."
Another poke.
"Kayna, what's the problem?"
"That's not me!" She whispered as Kora turned her head and saw the Kulu-Ya-Ku staring directly at her.
"Ooooh…" Kora grimaced as she handed the monster the egg back. "Ehehehe, no hard feelings…?"
"Hey, I'm still holding the egg, ya goof!" The Felyne yelped.
BGM: Hakolo Island Battle Theme 1 (Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin)
The Kulu-Ya-Ku screeched into her face, practically flipping around and smacking Kora down with its tail. "Nnngh!"
"Kora!" Kayna exclaimed, picking up a rock and throwing it at the creature. It turned around to stare at Kayna before turning back to glare at Kora who got back up and pulled out her sword as Ranmar appeared by her side.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku charged as did Kora, both of them attacking each other and knocking each other back, but then the Kulu-Ya-Ku picked up a boulder and threw it at Kora.
However, in a split second, Kora and Ranmar were pushed out of the way by a gust of wind, where they heard a howl as a lightning bolt struck the Kula-Ya-Ku.
End BGM
"Huh?" Kora looked to see a young woman holding a scythe with a Zinogre by her side with a young man and an angel girl next to him.
BGM: Unflinchable Courage (Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age)
Ruby turned her head while flashing a grin. "Don't worry, we got this~!" She said as the Kula-Ya-Ku shook its head and snarled at it.
"Who are they…?" Kayna wondered as she glanced to the side and saw more of them coming to surround the giant bird creature.
The Kula-Ya-Ku attempted to claw at Ruby and her Zinogre, but they both jumped back as Luminary jumped in and slashed the beast as Kula-Ya-Ku then targeted Filo and tried to bite down at her, but she took a step back and used a Knuckle Sandwich to knock the beast back, knocking it off its feet to stun it, where both Velocidrome decided to jump in and attacked the creature before the Kula-Ya-Ku got back up and screeched once again.
However, Sky got on top of the beast and wrapped his arms around it with some rope, as Cardin climbed up to help him as the Kula-Ya-Ku screeched and tried to shake them off but they would soon knock it down to the ground as Cardin then pulled out his sword and swung it down to kill the beast.
End BGM
"Phew… feisty…" Cardin said as he turned to the duo. "You guys aren't hurt, are you?"
"Uh… no, just caught off guard." Kayna said. "I've never seen you guys before though… where you from? Better yet, who are you people?"
One introduction later…
"That's… a lot of names that I'll hopefully remember." Kayna sweatdropped. "I'm Kayna."
"I'm Kora!"
"And I'm Navirou! I'm not like other Felynes but-"
Cardin suddenly picked him up by the ear. "Ow ow ow ow ow! Watch the ear, buddy!"
"We were trying to stop you from stealing from a Kula-Ya-Ku, but did you listen… no!"
"I can't help it, okay?! I have a good sense of smell and if those eggs are smellier or heavier, the better! Trust me, I was just a little hungry too!"
"Oi vey…" Yang shook her head.
Cardin rolled his eyes and dropped Navirou. "Well, at least you're not hurt."
"Please, like a Kula-Ya-Ku can knock me-owt! Besides, I'm too paw-some to die!"
Yang blinked. "Did you just say-"
"Oooooh nooo…" Ruby groaned.
A smile crept on Yang's face with a gleeful expression. "Ooooh, Nyx is missing out~!" She grinned as she picked him up. "She's gonna be so jealous~!"
"I don't know who Nyx is, but she sounds nice!"
"Speaking of Nyx, I'm honestly surprised JINXY didn't come with us." Aqua said.
"Yeah, where are they anyway?" Terra asked.
"I asked if they wanted to come, but Nyx said that they're still taking it easy after what happened a few days ago." Ruby said.
"They're still a bit on edge?" Rosalina asked.
"Yeah, and Twilight Chiaki kinda added fuel to the fire given how they watched her decimate her home with Chiaki in it."
"That'll do it…" Ilia nodded.
"Yeeeeah, so they're just trying to relax and be there for Chiaki since the girl needs all the hugs." Ruby said.
Meanwhile…
"Amazing… she's not poisoned by it!" Futaba said.
"Mmmm…" Iris folded her arms. "You want my honest opinion?"
"Yes." Sonia nodded.
"I don't mean any disrespect for Novoselic, but… this stuff is awful."
"Ah, but that's the idea~! This is meant to knock anyone out from the foulness that when they wake up, their hangover disappears."
Iris sweatdropped. "Uh huh…"
"You're not getting food poisoning from that?" Nyx asked as she put a fresh wash cloth on Chiaki's head.
"I've had worse… not to mention I've developed an immunity to food poisoning over the years that I'm not affected at all."
"It's true. I've seen her eat some stuff at the island that uh…" Rantaro shuddered. "I'd rather not think about…"
"Ah, you're just jealous." Iris waved it off. "But seriously though, I'm pretty sure something like chicken noodle soup would be better than this garbage."
"I think I see the light…!" Yusuke groaned.
"No! Don't go into the light!" Haru pleaded, quickly performing CPR.
"Interesting back tattoo you have…" Xena mused, looking at Hajime's phone.
"Uuuugh… everyone… please stop yelling…" Chiaki groaned.
Would telekinetic communication work? Xena asked.
OW! Especially that!
Xena grimaced. "Never mind…"
"Telepathic communication?" Nyx asked.
"Yeeeeah, I think that was worse."
"I had a feeling…"
Back with them…
"Aaaanywho… we're from Astera." Cardin lied.
"Astera? I've heard about that place… heard they had a Fatalis problem recently." Kayna said. "Well, on the bright side, at least we won't be dealing with such a beast thankfully." She chuckled.
"Yeah, we were about to go deal with that but several Hunters took care of the beast." He chuckled.
"Well, hey, at least you had the courage to fight a large beast." Kayna said. "But what brings you here?"
"These bandits known as the Crimson Fang stole our friend's son." Cardin said, nudging his head to Weiss. "We have reason to believe they might be here."
"Crimson Fang… I dunno anything about them but I'm sure we will someday." Kayna said, looking at Weiss. "Kidnapped your son, huh? We can help with that. What does he look like?" She asked, pulling out a notepad and a feather pen.
"He's an Azure Rathalos." Weiss said.
"Azure Rathalos…" Kayna mumbled while writing it down. "And what else does your son have?"
"A tail?"
"A tail…"
"Poisonous claws."
"Poisonous cla-" Kayna froze. "...Wait. Did you say "Azure Rathalos"?"
"Yes."
"And… it's your son?"
"Yeah…"
"Huh… I didn't know humans and Ratha mated!" Navirou said. "Learn something new every day, indeed…"
"I wonder how that birth went… that must've been painful." Kora said.
"Oh gosh! I didn't need to hear that!" Ruby said, covering her ears. "Think happy thoughts… happy non-dirty thoughts… hanging out with Gloria, dating Pit, teaming up with Chiaki in Mario Kart, cookies, other sweets, traveling through space with mom, getting affectionate hugs from Byleth-"
Gloria patted her on the back. "There there…" She whispered.
"Come on, we're getting you looked at." Kayna said, taking Weiss's arm and pulling her away. "Chief Gara will know what to do."
"W-Wait! I'm telling the truth! He really is my son! I'm not insane!"
"Oh boy…" Meryl sweatdropped. "Hang on, sis! I'm coming!" She ran off with the others following.
Back at Mahana Village…
BGM: Fluttering Kites - Mahana Village
"Hmmm…" Gara rubbed his chin as he was given the full story. "So, you hatched an Azure Rathalos from an egg and it imprinted on you, thinking you were it's mother."
"Yes." Weiss nodded.
Gara nodded. "That makes a lot more sense."
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" Kayna said. "I should've known it was something like an egg… not an actual… ya know…"
"Still, it is rather unfortunate that your, ahem… "son", has been kidnapped by these bandits. But worry not, we will be on the lookout for him. Unfortunately, you came at a bad time…"
"How so?" Rosalina asked.
"For some strange reason, the ocean changed colors and there was this peculiar light. Next thing we know, a pack of Rathalos flew overhead to… who knows where, exactly." Kayna said. "No one knows for sure, but this, along with it, something to do with Guardian Ratha is… concerning."
"We can help with that!" Ruby said.
"Hmmm…" Gara rubbed his chin. "All of you look like you have had exceptional training, not to mention some of you have a Monstie by your side along with… fascinating weapons."
"Tell me about it." Kayna looked at Crescent Rose. "The amount of detail in this scythe is incredible-"
"It's also a high impact sniper rifle."
"So, like a gun lance? I'm impressed!"
Ruby gasped. "FInally! A second person that gets me!" Her eyes sparkled.
"Doooown girl." Blake said, pulling her back.
"Some of us are healers while some of us specialize in magic. We're like… support. I think that's how you say it…" Serena said with Mercedes nodded.
"Magic? I'm not aware of the concept but I suppose it must be an Asterian thing." Gara mused.
At that moment, the egg that the Kula-Ya-Ku was fighting for started to crack, where a small Kula-Ya-Ku broke free of it. It let out a small cry.
"Oh my gosh, that's actually adorable." Sienna said as the Kula-Ya-Ku walked over and nuzzled up on Weiss's leg.
"Mmmm…"
"Mana!" Manaphy hopped off and waved at the Kula-Ya-Ku. The small Monstie cried as the two of them proceeded to play together.
"Awww! Look, they're already bonding!" Kayna grinned.
Yang nudged Weiss. "What do you think? Have a lil' guy with you until we get Azure back?"
"I dunno… I specialize in Rathalos and-"
"Look, maybe you can surprise Adam with a monster that will catch him off-guard. That way, you can clobber him and heck, Azure will have another sibling! Come on, look at the little-"
Yang's eyes widened, seeing that the Kula-Ya-Ku was full grown.
"Guy…? WHAT THE HECK DO YOU GUYS FEED 'EM WITH?!"
"Wh-what the f-fock…?!" Gloria exclaimed in surprise.
Gara laughed. "They grow quite fast, don't they?"
"I've heard of "They grow up too fast", but this is a whole other level…" Zinnia said, examining the creature with Seryu, Sheele, Cardin and Wendy.
"He feels quite healthy…" Wendy mused.
"Scratch that. Big guy."
Weiss folded her arms. "I… guess I can work with a flamingo monster."
Cardin smiled. "Cheer up, we'll get Azure back in no time!"
"I sure hope so…" Weiss mumbled. Azure, where are you…
"In the meantime, I say Kora gets some experience." Gara advised. "Perhaps a visit to Lookout Cave would suffice… and maybe bring a few of her new friends along to get to know them better."
"And I can be your trusted navigator!" Navirou smiled.
"Sounds good!" Kora nodded and with a smile, she walked off. "Come on, let's go to Lookout Cave!"
The Kula-Ya-Ku nuzzled against Weiss, who flinched a little bit before gently petting it before sighing.
If this is what it takes to get Azure back… so be it.
Originally, I was gonna have them go into Lookout Cave this chapter but I thought "Nah, this can be a good stopping point."
Ibuki: They all met! This should be fun!
Deadpool: Magic in the Monster Hunter world... wonder what that'd be like...