Two stood near the waves.
"What should we do from here?" The boy asked.
He looked down at the grave before them.
"We've got no real place here, right?" The girl answered back "Let's just head somewhere else. Better than staying here. I've got no idea where, though."
He thought back to all those days their mother spent waiting for his return. Even to the very end, she believed in him.
"That bastard still hasn't returned, has he?"
"Well, yeah."
"Let's go kick his ass. He's probably out there somewhere living it up, right? So let's find him and teach him a lesson. That's a good enough goal, right?"
She paused, confused by the idea for a moment.
"Yeah, sounds great. Let's show him what happens when he tries to run."
Finally having a reason to move, they set off into the unknown.
"Y'know, I was kinda hoping this'd give us some big lead, but if you've never met him either then it doesn't change all that much." Isa complained.
"Well, you still gained some new info, right?" Luke quietly asked back.
"Like?"
"How would I know what you were unaware of?"
Mary quickly cut in.
"Well, you at least know for sure that he's in the FG."
"We kinda already guessed," Spence explained "We've pretty much been everywhere else already and there's no sign of him, so unless he's really good at evading us that means he's over there."
"But now you know for definite."
"...I guess."
A silence followed. Isa broke it.
"Still, what's up with him? Is he just running from everyone he's related to? Oh well, just means that you two are just gonna have to join us in beating him senseless."
"Sounds good?" Mary replied, sounding unsure.
"It better."
Spence glanced outside, finally losing focus on the conversation.
"Wait, how the hell did it get so dark?"
Luke looked over to him with a tired expression.
"I think it has something to do with how the sun went down."
"Yeah yeah, but it was just bright when we started talking."
"Well, that's just what lengthy explanations do to you." Mary said "Should we head back now? We've probably got work ahead of us tomorrow."
The group split into two, heading in different directions to where they were staying.
"Still, isn't it shocking that we'd meet our cousins all the way out here?" Spence began.
"I wonder if it really is a coincidence…"
"Well, yeah."
Isa stopped, seeming annoyed by the complete lack of any concern.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Huh? Does it feel like they're lying to you?"
"That might be the worst argument I've ever heard you make, which is quite an accomplishment."
"You didn't say yes to the lying thing. What reason would they even have to pretend to be related? I doubt a guy who's always missing could matter that much. It's just a funny coincidence."
"I guess, but it still seems weird that things would line up like this, doesn't it?"
"Fate works in mysterious ways. Besides… having more family is good, right? That's why I'm not gonna overthink it."
Isa seemed irritated.
"Who let an idiot let you be so good with words? You would've convinced me if my guard was down."
"It's cause I'm a genius."
The next day arrived.
While sorting through the quest list, Mary suddenly froze.
"What is it?" Spence asked.
"Read this one."
"Huh? Why do you need me to? Should you really be the one going through these if you can't re-"
"I can read just fine, I was trying to be dramatic. Look, a Dreadking Rathalos was spotted nearby yesterday."
"Why's it called that?"
"Oh, you never heard of it? It's the name used to refer to deviant Rathalos."
Isa looked disgusted.
"Wow, that's real freaky to think about."
Mary stared at her with a blank expression for several seconds, before determining that she was probably serious.
"A monster being deviant means that they've survived previous hunting attempts and grown stronger, so we'll be more rewarded for dealing with them. Not… that."
"Oh. Gotcha."
"Imagination aside," Spence took over again "So what, it's just a strong Rathalos?"
"Its fireballs can explode now." Luke explained.
"Okay. But if we don't get set on fire, then there's no problem, right?"
"Well, that's not incorrect. But it's a lot-"
"Then let's get going."
"I'm not-"
Isa also walked off, ready to go. Luke just went silent.
"Don't worry, that just means they're confident, right?"
"Their funeral."
"I really hope that's not the case."
A short while later, they were once again in the forest.
Spence rubbed Storm's head affectionately, before climbing onto his back.
"Alright, we'll wrap up things quickly."
"You don't even know where it is." Isa pointed out.
"Eh, can't be that hard to find, right? It's just one forest."
There was no response to that.
"That was a joke."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Well, moving on. Where was it spotted?"
"Towards area eight," Luke explained "So to the south of here."
Isa thought for a moment.
"Guess we should head there."
"To track it?"
"Yeah, probably."
The remains of several Aptonoth were scattered around the area.
"Well, I feel like now we know for sure that it was here at some point."
Luke stared at them for a short while.
"It must've been here recently. They look fresh."
Isa leaned towards him.
"Huh? You a dead body expert? A super detective? You can tell how long ago it was just from a glance?"
"...No, they just don't look like they've begun decaying. That's all."
"Oh."
They heard a sound behind them. Spence had climbed onto Storm's back while they were distracted.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
"If it was here recently, then that means it's nearby!"
Isa was shocked.
"Seriously, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Luke continued "You can't just rush off, the opponent's dangerou-"
"No, not that part. I was asking if he's okay cause usually he doesn't connect stuff like that. It's not his thing."
Luke gave her an annoyed expression while Storm took off into the trees. He zipped between them in rapid succession, searching out a target. Spence clung onto his back. A distant light.
Spence recognised it almost instantly, grabbing onto Storm tighter as a signal to drop. A fireball scorched above them, exploding upon contact with a nearby tree and setting the surroundings alight. Moments after, a flying wyvern with wings covered in patterns of flame emerged from the trees, trying to grab them.
Storm just barely dodged around and jumped off another tree to slash as the target went by. He zipped around the opponent, landing hits every time it got behind him. The trees went up in flames, slowly cutting off their movement.
The forest fell apart as Storm was finally forced to land. A fireball shot towards the pair, catching them in the blast. The fanged wyvern crashed through the trees. Before the Rathalos could move in to deal more damage, Spence launched himself towards him, trying to keep the enemy away from his downed partner.
His attempts proved unsuccessful, the king of the skies easily able to outmanoeuvre him in the air. He was knocked aside as the rest of the group finally caught up.
"It's sure powerful," Mary began "The best idea is to-"
Before she could finish, Isa and Irontusk sped up.
"Slow down, you can't handle it with just the two of you!"
"Just watch!"
Isa and Irontusk were almost immediately overwhelmed. The opponent remained out of their reach the entire time.
A fireball hit the amphibian, knocking her down. Before the other pairs could react, the king of the skies descended towards them.
Luke failed to dodge, forcing Panzer to intervene with a charge. A combination of claw strikes and flame finally got the brute wyvern to fall.
This left just Mary and Kasa. She was able to put up a better fight, being able to chase it through the air, but it still proved futile. The gap in size between the two beasts was simply too great, no matter how the pair struggled.
Mary grabbed a dung bomb and flung it, finally causing the monster to leave. Too tired to focus anymore, she temporarily collapsed.
The eight were left on the ground, utterly defeated. Spence quickly rose again, wiping the blood off. He began to march in the direction the monster went in.
"Are you serious?" Luke asked.
"Obviously. We're here to beat his ass. So I'm not going back until I'm successful."
"And how are you going to?"
"I got him all worked out now. Just gotta not get hit."
"As if that's ever-"
Isa got up, cutting him off.
"Look, we know what we're doing. If you just wanna sit there and laugh at us, then go ahead. But we're here to fight."
She turned away to start walking after it, but then immediately turned back when she felt a glare so powerful it was about to cut through her.
"What? You got something to say?"
Luke stared for a while longer, stumbling over words in his mind. Spence went quiet, not really knowing how to interrupt here. Mary vaguely heard words, but was currently too tired to move.
"How the hell am I laughing!? You have to be happy for that! Panzer got injured! There's no way that can be right!"
"Uh, well, yeah." Isa shifted from anger to confusion that this was what he was stuck on "I guess you're right. ...Sorry?"
"You should be. Both of you. The entire thing turned out like this cause you both just rushed off and got beaten."
"Look, don't get so full of yourself, you also got your ass kicked!"
"Stop going off and assuming things on your own. I know I did. That's because I'm weak. So weak you wouldn't believe it! You should be scared of how weak I am!"
"Okay?"
"The only reason I can fight is cause of Panzer. But you and your monsters are strong. Probably stronger than us. But that guy's even stronger. It's ridiculous."
"You're dragging on a little. So what, you telling us to give up?"
"Of course not. I wanna beat him too."
"So?"
"So actually properly listen and plan things out, you idiots!"
Isa paused for a bit, finally sighing.
"You're way more likeable when you're actually honest."
She sat down.
"Okay, floor is yours. What's the great plan that's gonna let us take this thing down?"
Luke froze.
"I uh… hadn't thought that far ahead."
"Seriously? I wasn't making fun of you that time, I thought you really had something. What was the point of all that complaining then?"
"Heat of the moment."
"We've just gotta think of one now then, right?" Spence finally found a good place to interrupt, also sitting down.
"Well, that's kind of obvious, right? You don't even have to mention that. Did you just want something to say after waiting around for so long?"
"...Yeah."
Mary finally got up.
"Okay, I think my head's in working order again. Wait, what are you doing?"
"Planning?" Luke replied.
Mary looked confused for a bit.
"Yeah. That is what you are doing. But… why? No wait, I think asking how is a bit more accurate."
"More time we spend idly talking, less time we're gonna have to go after it." Isa slapped the ground, motioning for her to join them. "Hurry it up."
"Okay, not everything's changed then."
The Rathalos heard the ground rumble. Once more, Panzer ran towards it.
The King of the Skies responded to his challenge by swooping forwards.
Luke clung to his back and fired at the Rathalos.
"I'll lead the charge with Panzer."
"You sure?" Mary asked.
"I don't want him to get hurt, but he's the best fit for our vanguard, right?"
"Will you be able to do much to him, though?" Spence asked.
"I can shoot him, but I doubt that'll affect much. That's what the rest of you are for."
A fireball connected with the Rathalos' side, catching it by surprise. Kasa rushed towards him, trying to overwhelm him with quick strikes. These proved ineffective, the target adapting and fighting back before any real damage could be dealt.
Luke continued firing, while Mary swung at it from below.
The Rathalos clashed with Kasa in the air, staying above the threats on the ground.
"So what?" Isa asked "You want us to all just rush it?"
"Not quite. It'll probably get messy if all eight of us try to attack at once. Instead, let's take turns. Mary would probably be best going first because Kasa can challenge him in the air. Then…"
"Me and Storm." Spence cut in.
"...Okay. Why though?"
"Because we'd get bored if we had to wait that long."
"That makes sense." He thought for a moment "Okay, I think I've got how you should approach him."
The Dreadking heard a sound in the distance, before something sped through the trees towards him. He barely had space to avoid Storm's lunge. The fanged wyvern jumped between the trees, refusing to allow even the target's eyes to catch up to him.
He tried to use the fireballs to the same effect as before, but was barely able to fire any before being attacked by Kasa again. Storm leapt off a tree, trying to knock him down, but the Rathalos flew downwards to avoid the attack.
He noticed movement above him. Spence jumped off Storm's back and tried swinging at it. He failed to connect, but boosted through the air to adjust his course slightly.
While it wouldn't have hurt much to take the hits, the Rathalos decided to dodge regardless, taunting his opponents with his superior movement. Spence swung upwards, forcing it down again, before he lost to gravity and fell to the ground, being grabbed by Storm as he jumped past once more.
The Rathalos' feelings of superiority were only allowed to last a moment before he remembered what was below him. As he remembered, Panzer smashed his skull into the monster, slamming him into the ground.
"So, that leaves me for last."
"Well, yeah."
"That's fine. I just had a fun idea."
The Rathalos opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. His eyes finally settled on Isa, standing there grinning.
"Hey there. Miss me?"
She signalled to the barrel bombs that had been quickly set up. Before the Rathalos could recover, Isa chucked a rock towards one of the bombs.
Before they detonated Irontusk dug up a chunk of the ground to act as cover, the rest hiding behind it. The blast shook the entire forest.
As it cleared, the rock dropped to the ground. A moment of hesitation. The Dreadking stood up once more and roared.
"That seriously wasn't enough!?" Spence yelled.
"It's gotta be almost dead." Mary replied "Just a few more hits should do it."
"Well, you're probably right." Isa looked over "Any plans, plan man?"
"It'd just be quicker to say my name, wouldn't it?"
"And it'd be quicker to not point that out."
"Ugh, fine. I don't know. It's near death, so let's just rush it!"
"I like that one!" Spence yelled as he and Storm led the charge. The Rathalos spit a fireball in their direction. The two split off to dodge it. As it exploded behind them, they closed in with a pincer attack.
Luke fired at it while Panzer closed the distance once more. Before the Rathalos could try to escape to the air, Irontusk's jaws wrapped around his tail and slammed him down. Isa followed up with a strike to the head. Mary slashed at it as Kasa rained down fireballs from above.
After a short while more of hitting him, the Rathalos finally stopped moving. The rest paused, catching their breath.
Isa hit it one last time.
"What the hell are you doing?" Luke asked.
"Making sure he's dead. Don't want it suddenly getting back up and dragging this out even longer."
"Oh."
Luke paused for a moment and started firing as well. The two of them kept attacking the fallen monster far more than necessary, Spence even starting to join in.
"You know that we still have to carve it… right? Guys?" Mary's slightly fearful sounding reminders ended up going ignored.
Back at the town, the four of them intently stared at Mary's guild card.
"We finally made it." She began.
"It was so much effort getting here…" Spence continued.
"Are you sure?" Isa asked him. "We only did two hunts."
"Don't go disrupting the moment."
"This isn't the moment though. We're at the start line. Celebrate later."
"It'll probably take a while." Luke interrupted "We might as well celebrate now. It's dangerous out there, I dunno if we'll be getting many more chances."
"Fair point. Then, here's to good luck."
The next day, the group were finally allowed past the border. With the monsters by their sides, they numbered eight in total. Their weapons ready, they looked out onto the infinite horizon.
"This feels like the kinda part where we'd say something dramatic, right?" Spence asked.
Luke sighed.
"I was too worried last night to think of anything."
"Then just go with the first thing that comes into your head." Spence puffed his chest out. "That always works for me."
"We know." Isa replied.
"Then, on three." Mary began to count down "One. Two. Th-"
"Let's beat its ass!"
"Fear our names!"
"L-let's go!"
"...FG, here we come!"
TO BE CONTINUED