A/N: Thanks to my brother Sai for the script and making the video. Remember to watch it if you haven't so you can follow along, it's titled "The Burning Brute! Anjanath Lore" by Sai Blade. Also thanks to my friend qazse for help with reactions.
Sai simply stood in the Ancient Forest, looking on at something in the distance. "Welcome... To Triassic Park." He declared to seemingly no one. Then, screams were heard and things completely descended into chaos. And the reason why was because a number of other hunters were seen being viciously attacked by a monster akin to a T-Rex.
Upon getting their first glance at the monster, Nora quickly recognized it. "Hey! That's that bully that picks on Tobi!" She realized.
"I was wondering what that thing's deal was. I guess now we're going to find out. At least it looks cool. Like a mix of a T-Rex and a vulture." Cinder said, impressed.
"Actually, Miss Fall, it is now believed young T-Rex may have had a coat of downy feathers to keep them warm to make them look like a vulture. But beyond that, it is also believed dinosaurs evolved into modern birds, so looking like a vulture makes sense." Glynda informed the Half-Maiden.
Then, they took a closer look at Sai's armor. "Wait, isn't that Fatalis armor he's wearing?!" Summer asked.
Katana groaned at this. "Note to self: kill my brother." She made a note for later.
A blue-haired girl with a greatsword was pounced on by the monster. A lavender-haired girl with a longsword was sent flying back by a bite from the beast. A man with long black hair with a polearm was slapped away by the beast's tail. And finally, a younger-looking man with short light-black hair with a bow was knocked down by the monster. "No! Please!" He pleaded as it snatched him up in its jaws and threw him back to the floor.
The group was a bit caught off-guard when they saw the two female hunters attacked by the Brute Wyvern. "Wait... Razara, Tekko, was that you two?" Blake asked.
"Yep. Uncle Sai asked us for a quick hand with this while you guys were watching the Marvel movies. Us and the other hunters were supposed to look like we were in trouble, but those particular Anjanath turned out to be tougher than we expected." Tekko admitted.
"He called my babies in to get beaten up by an Anjanath? I really am going to kill him!" Katana snapped.
"At least he gave us both a million Zeni for it." Razara said with a shrug. "Besides, it hurt less than the butt-whoopings you gave us for having Fatalis armor." The older daughter muttered under her breath.
"No amount of money is worth getting yourselves purposefully injured, girls." Ozpin told them.
"Oh, really? I think the very long-running and successful show 'Dumbasses' would disagree." Roman said.
Sai continued to stand there and watch this carnage, seemingly completely unaffected. "Maybe a dinosaur Theme Park was a bad idea." He mused to himself as the screaming continued.
Then, a certain family was shocked to hear Sai pondering on a dinosaur-themed park being a bad idea. "Whaaa-!? What'chu talkin' 'bout, Sai!? A dino theme park would be the most awesome thing EVER!" Ruby defended the idea, Qrow and Yang nodding in agreement.
"I know, right? who wouldn't want to take a selfie with a T-Rex?!" Yang asked.
"Did you not just see how that beast sent two demons far more powerful than us flying, along with other powerful hunters?" Weiss questioned.
"Hey, you heard them. They admitted they went easy on the thing. Besides, dinosaurs are just too cool to hate." Qrow dismissed Weiss' concerns. This earned a headshake from the rest of the cast, with Summer shaking her head with her face buried in her hands in embarrassment from her family's actions.
Sai was then seen riding a Mosswine through the Ancient Forest. "Evolution is the constant race to improve in order to survive in the cruel, unforgiving world we find ourselves in. Creatures are constantly changing and adapting in order to gain an advantage that will ensure they survive in order to carry their DNA into the next generation, which will then further improve their genetic design, slowly but surely. But there are rare cases when evolution just... gets it right and stops. No need to adapt and change because a creature is already as good as they're going to get. This is the case with sharks and crocodilians, which haven't really changed since the age of the dinosaurs." He explained as he looked around at the nature around him.
"Is he really riding on a pig right now?" Ilia questioned, giggling along with the rest of the students.
"A Mosswine, actually. They are incredible at tracking down rare and valuable mushrooms. Or any mushrooms, really." Katana corrected.
"Ooh, maybe we could head to Mistral and break into the truffle market." Neo said, rubbing her hands together.
Many of the students nodded at Sai's mention of sharks and alligators. "Guy's got that right. You know something's a perfect killing machine if it hasn't changed since the dinosaurs were around. That's just facts. Look at how much humans had to change from monkeys and there's no comparison. Especially sharks. They're just awesome." Emerald agreed.
"Yeah, they are! I am not exaggerating here. Those sea water death-machines are SO old, they are older then trees!" Tekko said excitedly. Everyone was silent hearing this, unsure of exactly what to make of that info. "Yeah, y'all heard me. TREES! Sharks are over four-hundred and fifty MILLION-YEARS-OLD! Even the earliest tree didn't sprout until around three-hundred and eighty-five million years ago. Isn't that just mind blowing!?" She explained.
NOW most of the cast was floored by this information. "Dang! I knew sharks were living fossils, but that's on a whole other level. And I call that level EPIC." Coco praised the vacuums of the sea.
"It is truly amazing how they've managed to stay the same after so long. And honestly, you have to be glad they did. They'd probably be the deadliest thing on the planet now if they kept evolving." Pyrrha said, gaining nods of agreement from the other animal enthusiasts: (Velvet and Emerald) and intellectuals: Ozpin, James, Penny, Glynda, Weiss, Blake, Ren.
Oh and Winter. Especially Winter. "Indeed. They are shining examples of perfection we should all respect and strive to be more like." The eldest Schnee child said.
"I'll say. I thought they were just oversized fish. I'll be sure to give them more respect from now on." Adam said, nodding along with Hazel and Cinder.
"Hey now, don't sell crocodiles short. Because those magnificent scaly bastards are over two-hundred million years old! That's one-hundred million years older then the most overrated dinosaur, the T-rex!" Razara jumped to defend the modern day dinosaurs.
"Wait, seriously! It's older then the king of dinosaurs?" Yang asked in disbelief.
"Oh yeah. And while dinosaurs eventually evolved into birds, crocs have had little to no changes in, again, two-hundred million years, because they're already the perfect killing machines. A half ton of cold blooded fury, with a bite force of over fifteen-thousand newtons and stomach acid so strong, it can dissolve bones and hooves." Razara said with disturbing levels of excitement. [1]
"Oh, great. I already thought they were creepy, but now they're terrifying!" Jaune said nervously, holding Pyrrha's hand tightly. Luckily, the champion of Mistral was still far stronger than her leader and wasn't bothered by the pressure he was putting on her hand.
The braver teens, however, were both blown back, but highly impressed by this news. "WOW! That is crazy! I mean, I already knew crocs were super deadly, but I didn't realize they were THAT awesome! They might be the most badass animals EVER!" Nora said, gaining glares from all the monsters. "What? I said 'animals', you guys are 'monsters', that puts you a step above animals. If it makes you feel any better, humans are technically animals, too, so that means crocs are more awesome than us." Nora said, nodding sagely at Yang's cheer of "preach!".
"It just goes to show how perfectly adapted to survive in this world they are as true apexes and living fossils, much like the sharks." Ren said, equally as sage-like as his girlfriend.
"Just one of the many reasons nature is amazing and should be respected." Velvet said with a smile.
Suddenly, he was seen walking up behind a very Tyrannosaurus-like monster. "Then, there's our topic of discussion, which has also had little reason to change since the time of the dinosaurs. And still very much a dinosaur itself... The Anjanath." The host declared as the creature noticed him and roared at him.
The crew was shocked by what looked like very much a classic theropod dinosaur. "Whoa! It looks like an actual dinosaur! I mean, Deviljho and Glavenus look close, but that is the closest thing to a real-life dinosaur we've seen so far." Nora said.
"It looks like quite the impressive opponent. I wonder just how much it's capable of." Hazel said, intrigued by the beast.
"Well, it looks like a T-Rex, so it's probably got a super strong bite, plus we already saw it jump pretty far to pounce on Razara, so its legs must be strong." Ruby said.
"Strange, though. We may be comparing it too much to the T-Rex off the bat, but do to similar sizes, they'd probably suffer similar issues. Due to its large size, the T-Rex could be grievously injured by simply falling over, so jumping an extreme distance and bringing all of its weight down on those legs should cause them to snap." Penny pondered.
"That'd be common logic, but I think we agreed MANY TIMES now that common logic just goes out the window with these monsters." Qrow said.
Some time later, Sai was following the Anjanath as the creature made its way throughout the forest. "Truly a creature ripped straight from ancient times and found mostly in the Ancient Forest and Wildspire Waste, the Anjanath does indeed appear to be almost identical to the T-Rex albeit with black and grey fur on its tail and back, almost like a cape. And yes, I said fur, not feathers. Yet, even without feathers, their flesh-toned scales on its bald head do give it an appearance also strikingly similar to a vulture. Beyond that, it has some gnarly fangs growing out of its bottom jaw, making it look as if it has an underbite. Oh, but don't worry, it has plenty of equally gnarly and sharp teeth inside its mouth, too. To counterbalance these massive jaws, the Anjanath has a powerful and bulky tail, tipped with quills, as well as powerful legs to hold up its massive body, as well as leap great distances and deliver powerful kicks." He listed the creatures defining characteristics, being sure to focus closely on them as he mentioned each part, before a Tobi-Kadachi suddenly attacked the Brute.
"If Anjanath is as much like the T-Rex as Sai claims, the teeth are more than likely serrated in order to slice through flesh and strong enough to bite through bone." Ironwood theorized, remembering his own youngers days being interested in dinosaurs as well.
"Or maybe its two rows of teeth do different things. Like the ones on the bottom jaw are longer, so maybe they're for holding on tight and keeping prey from escaping, so the inside teeth can do the tearing you were talking about." Emerald theorized.
"I find it strange that such a large creature would have fur in the first place. Larger creatures have a much broader thermonuclear zone, where they are much more resistant to the cold, but in exchange, they are quick to overheat in warm temperatures. Even our world's elephants must limit the amount of exercise and activity they do in order to avoid overheating. Anjanath being so large and having a coat of insulation should cause it to immediately drop dead from overheating, unless it has some way to shed that excess heat." Glynda said, unaware of the knowing smirk on the faces of Katana and her daughters.
He continued to follow the monster through the forest. "Other adaptations of this creature include a pair of dorsal sails going from roughly its mid-back to just before its tail. These allow it to quickly release any excess heat from its large body to cool down quickly." Sai explained as he sat down next to the Anjanath as it also sat down on a rocky outcrop with the aforementioned sails spread out. "In addition, the Anjanath also has a large protrusion coming from its nose, mostly deployed when it is enraged, that is also believed to help release heat, as well as to obviously increase respiratory functions by allowing it to intake more air and improve its sense of smell, which compensates for their poor eyesight. And its also helpful for launching out great globs of mucus onto cliff faces, trees, etc. to mark its territory. Also, apparently, the mucus is very fragrant. DO NOT want to know how we figured that out." He added as the Anjanath was seen apparently sneezing and launching out its mucus onto a tree.
Then, the sails and nasal protrusion were mentioned. "So, did you mean something like that when you meant it needed ways to shed some heat?" Roman asked with a smirk, to which Glynda rolled her eyes.
"So, is that its nose bone sticking out? Because that TOTALLY looks like bone." Ruby said.
"Highly doubtful. If it was an actual bone, that would mean that there is a direct path into the body for bacteria and infections to get in, which would surely kill the Anjanath after too long. It must be some kind of cartilage structure." Weiss theorized.
"But that is strange that they have poor eyesight. Most theropods had quite developed binocular vision, due to their more forward facing eyes." Winter noted.
"There's always gotta be an exception to the rule somewhere." Qrow said with a shrug.
Then, a lot of the group cringed and/or gagged at the monster's method of "marking its territory". "Eww! Why is that the way it marks its territory?! That's just nasty!" Ilia cried out.
Blake raised an eyebrow at her old friend. "You do not plenty of other animals mark their territory with urine or feces, right? I think I'd prefer the snot." She told Ilia, causing the chameleon girl to turn green... and not because she was using her color changing ability.
"Why would snot ever be fragrant?! Why would anyone want to smell something that came from something else's nose!?" Weiss cried out in horror.
"Actually, Weiss, there are a number of animals that produce rather fragrant bodily fluids or organic materials. In fact, many whales excrete a substance known as ambergris that is made into very high demand perfumes. Some of which are actually brands you use." Penny informed her, much to the heiress' shock.
"Oh, my god! Weiss sprays herself with whale poop!" Yang laughed. [2]
Anjanath was then seen taking on a Tobi-Kadachi as Sai watched on. "And speaking of territory, Anjanath are extremely territorial. While it IS willing to let humans off with a warning as long as they keep their distance, it is relentless towards any other monster it sees, even other Anjanath in the case of the males, younger ones often trying to steal the territory of their elders, since the females go for the males with the biggest territory. I'm sure there's a joke here, but I won't make it. With that in mind, it's also believed they can communicate with each other with the use of their sails, but this has yet to be proven due to their solitary natures. But still, if Anjanath sees another monster, even if it's bigger than them, they will attempt to fight it. And if it's smaller than them... May Alatreon have mercy on their souls." The host declared as the turf war played on loop.
Then, an Anjanath was shown absolutely dominating a giant yellow iguana-like creature, tearing into it with brutal ferocity.
A small band of knights and a strange hermit were seen peering over a small cliff. "Jesus Christ!" The man who appeared to be the king shouted in horror as they all ducked down behind their cover.
Quite a few of them were unsettled by the brutality Anjanath used against the poor yellow creature. Especially a certain cinnamon trio. "That poor iguana!" Velvet said, immediately tearing up.
"Why does it have to use such ferocity? Surely, such a powerful predator can finish off its prey without the extra violence." Pyrrha said, flinching away a bit.
"And then it stopped to roar while it had the Jagras pinned down. It's like it's actually taunting it and dragging out the kill. It's acting like an actual bully." Ruby said distastefully.
"With all my experience with Cardin, I can confirm. This must be his spirit animal or something." Jaune groaned.
Sai was then seen fighting with the Anjanath. "Now, despite what I just said about them willing to leave humans alone if we keep our distance, this doesn't seem to apply when we are moving in large groups or dragging large amounts of supplies through its territory. During the Elder Dragon crossing, we attempted the monumental attack of capturing an Elder Dragon, something nothing had never been done before. So, you may be wondering, what did we start with? Something small, right? Like a Kirin, or a Kushala Daora at most? Well, uh... No. No, the first Elder Dragon we ever attempted to capture was Zorah Magdaros, a mountain-sized dragon with a literal VOLCANO on its back." Sai explained as the monolithic Elder Dragon in question was shown.
Seeing Zorah Magdaros for the very first time, the group was in complete shock at the quite literal mountain of a dragon. "Dear brothers... Even after we think we've truly seen it all, something new comes along to completely shatter that belief." Ozpin said, completely stunned.
"It's gigantic! It makes even Gogmazios look tiny!" Neo cried out.
"Oh, it's at least double the size of Jhen Mohran, who's already a bit bigger than Gog. So, yeah. That's about right." Tekko said.
"And you believed yourselves to be capable of capturing that!? It would require an all-out assault from our Atlesian fleet, complete with flagships, to destroy such a creature!" Ironwood said in shock.
"Ooh, yeah. Trust me. You DON'T want to kill it." Katana assured them.
"I wouldn't mind trying my hand against such an awesome creature. See if I can be the immovable object to its unstoppable force." Hazel admitted.
"It could be fun to go up against such LITERALLY giant odds." Adam agreed.
"You're all crazy!" Weiss yelled at them.
"Yeah... Totally crazy." Ruby and Nora laughed nervously, as secretly they, along with Qrow, wished to face the beast as well.
Hunters staged a siege against the giant as it looked on at them. "But to do that, we had to set up a siege as massive as Zorah itself in a ravine just outside of the Ancient Forest. But we were worried about Anjanath getting in the way, so it had to be dealt with first... Yep. We thought we could handle a walking volcano, but only if a much smaller T-Rex didn't get in the way..." Sai questioned the decision, before he was seen back in Astera, glaring at the commander with crickets in the background.
Despite nothing being said between Sai and the Commander, many could tell Sai was clearly not happy with the man in charge. "Oh, yeah. That's brilliant. Something the size of an Anjanath is a problem, so we're going to tackle something about one hundred times bigger. That's brilliant." Coco said with a roll of her eyes.
"It's certainly questionable. If they've really never captured an Elder Dragon before, they should start with the smallest and easiest to deal with, like Kirin, as Sai had mentioned. Anything larger would make the process difficult by many more levels, depending on the size difference. And there's clearly a size difference here." Ren agreed.
He was then seen fighting Anjanath again. "However, these concerns turned out to have merit, as many hunters went to deal with Anjanath, but were absolutely demolished by the beast. Fun fact, I was actually a medic on the commission before I was a hunter, so I saw first hand the devastation this Brute Wyvern could cause to a person. And on the lucky occasion hunters did wake up from the beating Anjanath gave them, this was generally the response I got from them." He explained as he launched himself at the beast.
Suddenly, the black-haired boy with the bow from earlier in the video was shown laying down on the floor in Astera. "Call my therapist. Tell him he's a rich man." He requested as he refused to move from his spot.
This got a good laugh out of the group. "I mean, we did see him get snapped up in that thing's mouth earlier. That's gotta be some trauma right there." Roman admitted.
"Indeed. We just received a first-hand look at how violent Anjanath appear to be, so causing hunters to require therapy doesn't seem like much of a stretch. We may have to have counseling prepared for our own Huntsmen and Huntresses that deal with these creatures." Glynda agreed, a bit of concern in her voice.
"But, if Sai was a medic, why is he a hunter now? Doesn't that go against the oath to do no harm, even if it is against an animal?" Summer asked.
"Well..." Katana started.
Sai was then shown fighting with the beast once more. "So, eventually, too many hunters were put out of commission by the Anjanath, so the commander just handed me a set of dual blades, pushed me out into the Ancient Forest and told me to deal with it. And by some miracle, I was the one who finally put an end to the Anjanath's shenanigans... But now the commander won't let me go back to being a medic." The host explained as he managed to knock the beast down. He was then shown standing in a clearing, the view slowly coming closer to his face. "HAAAAAAAAAAAALP!" He cried out in desperation.
Upon hearing Sai's reason for being a hunter, they were completely floored. "Okay, this Commander guy is crazy. Who throws a medic out into battle?" Blake questioned.
"Someone who completely disregards the rules of combat, apparently." Winter said with a glare.
"I mean, hey, if he's good at hunting, make him hunt. Makes sense to me." Nora said.
"But that's not what he signed up for when he joined the Commission, Nora. He's being made to do it, which is cruel. And I'm certain also breaking several laws." Ren informed his girlfriend.
Then, they all had a good laugh at Sai's cry for help. "Sorry, bud. But it looks like you're stuck hunting. Nothing we can do." Jaune said.
He then mounted the Anjanath and began stabbing its back. "So, what are the major concerns when fighting an Anjanath? Well, there is plenty to be concerned about. First of all, it has a vicious bite, estimated to be on par with the 6 ton bite force of the T-Rex, which would be like placing a car on its jaw filled with razor sharp teeth that will be slamming down on you. Its tail can deal some serious damage, especially with the quills at the end. Also, with its super strong legs, it can easily leap great distances to come crashing down right on top of you. Or just deliver a kick that could cave in your entire rib cage in one shot. Or it can snap you up in its jaws, chomp down on you and THEN throw you to the ground, at which point, it's probably going to stomp on you." Sai warned of the harm the beast could inflict as Tekko was shown being bitten, the glaive-wielder was knocked back by its tail, Razara was pounced on, Sai received several kicks and finally, the bow-wielder was snapped up in its jaws and thrown to the ground.
Many groaned at the level of detail Sai went into about the creatures lethal capabilities. "Ugh! I thought Sai was the one that DIDN'T get super violent about how you can die fighting these things!" Emerald complained.
"He's being descriptive, at least. Letting us know exactly what we need to watch out for. Or would you rather not know and get slapped in the face by it's tail, or crushed when it pounces on you." Cinder pointed out.
"Yeah, this guy definitely knows how to put up a fight." Yang agreed, a bit surprised by how the creature even combos up chomping on someone, flinging them to the ground and then stomping them.
The host then rushed in and attacked the dinosaur while it was down. "But that's not even including Anjanath's greatest weapon. Its sails are meant to help it cool itself off and regulate its temperature while its nose protrusion increases its oxygen flow. Temperature and oxygen. What do those things both lead to?" Sai questioned as he managed to bring down the beast again.
Some large humanoid creature was on fire and running around in a panic. "FIRE!" He screamed, crashing through buildings in an attempt to get the inferno off of him.
Everyone was shocked at this. "A FIRE T-REX!?" They all cried out together.
"That's the most metal thing I've ever heard in my life." Ilia said.
Cinder smirked at this. "Well, now I'm interested." She admitted.
"Pyro." The other former villains, minus Emerald, all called her out.
"I just appreciate my gifts. That's all." She said, making a fire in her hand.
"Less talk-y! More fire T-Rex-y!" Ruby cried out.
The creature was in its enraged state with its sails and nose protrusion extended as it continued to fight Sai. "Yes, Anjanath is indeed a practitioner of the flame. Thanks to an incredibly well developed Inferno sac in its throat, Anjanath is capable of igniting its mucus to produce incredibly controlled fire. You see, whereas most fire-breathing beasts shoot out powerful, but rather limited fireballs that they have to precisely aim, Anjanath's control of fire nearly matches a that of Teostra and Lunastra as it, too, can breathe a consistent stream of fire that reaches several feet away and can be swept back and forth as Anjanath turns its head for as long as it holds its breath. If you see an Anjanath with its nose and sails raised, then the absolute last place you should be is directly in front of it." Sai warned as he struggled to avoid the beast's intense flames.
"Whoa! Now that is some serious... Fire power!" Yang said with a smirk, causing everyone except Neo to groan.
"How can she be right and make a joke so wrong?" Velvet questioned.
"Still, such a powerful and consistent stream of fire does put it on a level above most other fire breathers we've seen outside of Elder Dragons." Pyrrha said.
"But flammable mucus? That's one of the weirdest and most ridiculous things in all these viewings." Weiss said.
"Oh, man. Imagine when it sneezes." Nora giggled.
"Actually, you don't have to." Razara said, showing them a video of several monsters sneezing. Rathian, Silver Rathalos, Lunastra, a strange snake-like creature and Kulve Taroth all sneezed very normally, but Anjanath let out a powerful sneeze that unleashed a mighty torrent of flame.
"Whoa. It's gotta be a nightmare when that thing clears its sinuses." Yang said, actually managing to get a few laughs from the group.
Sai then managed to send the Anjanath into a wall, causing it to crash to its side once again. "So, Anjanath may seem a bit overwhelming at this point, which is understandable, but rest assured. It is still an animal that can be brought down by anyone given the proper preparation and strategies are put into place. And the ideal strategy would be to get yourself a water weapon, since as a fire monster, Anjanath is unsurprisingly weak to good old H2O. just head to the Wildspire Waste and have yourself a Jyuratodus fish fry after you've carved the materials you need." He instructed, before he was then seen standing next to strange balls of moss. "Also, be on the lookout for Watermoss. If the name wasn't self-explanatory, these balls of moss are completely filled with water and being in round balls makes them perfect slinger ammo. Fire this into an Anjanath's throat when it's enraged and you can almost immediately return it to its normal state, the cold water inside the moss somehow rendering the flame sac temporarily inactive." He advised as he continued to fight the creature.
"Smart, using resources from the environment to your advantage." Adam noted.
"That's one of the big lessons we learned in the White Fang." Blake admitted.
"Water Dust rounds should likely have the same effectiveness, in that case." Weiss said in relief. [3]
The Anjanath was then seen chasing after Sai as he was fleeing from the beast. "Also, while the Anjanath was very much like the T-Rex, one big difference is the size of that brain cavity, the T-Rex having a decently sized home in its head for its brain while Anjanath's is less than spacious. In other words, Anjanath isn't the smartest cookie, especially in the Ancient Forest, where most creatures are pretty big brain. Once it's enraged, Anjanath can basically be led anywhere you want. This will allow you to lead it into the upper canopies of the Ancient Forest, where royalty can be found. And by that, I mean the King of the Skies, Rathalos, who does not take kindly to the Brute Wyvern stepping foot into his domain." The host explained as he led Anjanath straight to Rathalos, who picked it up into the air before dropping it harshly to the ground.
Thankfully, the beast's intelligence, or lack thereof, put them at ease. "Well, that's a relief." Winter said.
"With that in mind, they could be lured into traps to be easily tranquilized and relocated." Ironwood planned out.
Then, many were impressed at how Rathalos picked up and slammed down the theropod. "Dang, now that's one hell of a slam." Qrow declared.
Sai was then seen peacefully following Anjanath through the forest once again. "But the sad thing is, it is actually believed Anjanath was once the proud king of the Ancient Forest before Rathalos one day showed up and staked his own claim to the Forest. Yet still, the Anjanath is proud, willing to fight against any other monster it thinks will take its domain, even if it knows it can't win. But that is your standard Anjanath, a living relic of dinosaur times, changed little, if at all over the years because it has had little need to do so, a powerful and capable predator in both forest or desert, capable of standing up too many powerful monsters it may encounter." Sai finished as he allowed the beast to go about its day as always.
Many smiled at Sai's closing words on the creature. "Well, that was rather poetic." Ozpin said.
"Agreed. Quite impressive how he can make a vicious brute seem noble and majestic." Glynda agreed.
Sai then turned to face the audience. "Alright, then. Am I done now?" He asked, heading back towards the nearest campsite.
Suddenly, everything was black, but a voice was heard. "No. There is another." Yoda said dramatically as he was suddenly illuminated by a red light.
Some will laugh at the supposed end of the video. "Ooh, bait and switch. Very nice." Neo praised.
Sai was then seen in the Hoarfrost Reach. "Ah, yes, I nearly forgot. Shortly after the conclusion of the Elder Crossing investigation, the Legiana migration began, leading us to the new frozen landmass that was the Hoarfrost Reach. And there, we found a number of incredible new monsters, as well as striking new subspecies of familiar ones. And Anjanath was no exception. For the first time since we've discovered the species, we've found a new, altered version of them, the Fulgur Anjanath." He declared as he approached an Anjanath with white fur and grey skin, save for its head, where the skin was orange with tiger stripes running down its body from head to tail. The creature then spotted him and roared at him.
"Oh, yeah. I remember this one from Tobi's video, too." Ruby pointed out.
"And if I remember correctly, I won't be nearly as much of a fan of this one." Cinder said with a bit of apprehension, still not over her fear of anything that could shock her.
The Anjanath then roamed the frozen tundra with Sai not far behind. "Vastly different from its ordinary version, this Anjanath has developed an interesting color pattern to say the least. The white fur and grey skin understandable to blend in with the ice and snow of the Hoarfrost Reach, as well as having tiger stripes which are famous for breaking up the big cat's colors for extra camouflage amongst the tall grass and vegetation of their home... which doesn't really help Fulgur in any way, because there's almost no vegetation in the Hoarfrost Reach, but I'll let it pass because tiger stripes are cool. The head, however, I have no idea what is going on here, this just makes him stick out like a sore thumb." Sai criticized as he focused on each aspect of the creature once again as he followed the beast.
"Yeah, I gotta agree. It would be almost impossible to see in the Tundra, if only it wasn't for that orange head. That just makes no sense." Blake agreed with the host, getting a few nods from the other animal lovers.
"But you also have to agree, like he said, tiger stripes are pretty cool. And with the grey colors, it almost reminds me of those super rare white tigers." Coco pointed out.
"We were SO close to snatching one of those from Garfield and Joy! We could've been rich doing shows with that thing!" Roman lamented.
However, the two of them were suddenly seen in the Elder's Recess. "This might be why, then, that Fulgur Anjanath is highly nomadic, appearing all over the map of Astera along with the Reach. And wherever it goes, it is speedy and powerful enough to catch up with and take down most of the herbivores it encounters. And somehow, this new Anjanath is on a whole other level from its standard counterpart, able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of..." Sai began, before suddenly taking a deep breath. "Great Jagras, Tobi-Kadachi, Viper Tobi-Kadachi, Barioth, Diablos, Black Diablos, Nargacuga, Tigrex, Brute Tigrex, Zinogre and Stygian Zinogre. All monsters most of the time capable of taking down a Rathalos." He listed off the creatures this newer Anjanath was capable of facing off against, before falling to his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath.
"Whoa! I guess this Anjanath went through a training montage!" Yang said, impressed.
"And not only is that a large list of opponents, but also a quite varied list of different kinds of opponents, so it is capable of taking on a wider spectrum of enemies." Penny said, equally impressed.
"But how? Just changing colors doesn't make you stronger." Emerald questioned, not noticing Ilia glaring at her.
Sai was then seen in combat with this new version of the Brute Wyvern. "So, you may be wondering, what could have brought about such a drastic change, a creature in the middle of the food chain suddenly able to hold its own against Apex predators? Well, that would be a change in Element. You see, rather than flames, this Anjanath has adapted to use the Thunder Element. And this simple change automatically gives him an advantage over at least 50% of all known monsters in the New World." He explained with a bit of a deadpan as he fought the beast while it crackled with electricity.
Many were surprised and impressed by hearing who this Anjanath could take on. "Dang. A little change in element can make that big a difference?" Neo asked.
"Well, Of the 71 monsters in the New World, 41 are at least moderately weak to the Thunder Element." Katana explained.
"It does make sense. Our cells carry electricity through them, so any electric disrupts them and throws off our ability to transmit signals through our nervous systems." Ozpin noted.
"Interesting. Perhaps I should have my men carry around Lightning Dust rounds at all times, at least, if not make it their main rounds." Ironwood plotted.
Sai evaded more electrified attacks from the Thunder Jaw Wyvern. "Alright, in all seriousness, this Anjanath has the exceptionally powerful Lightning Sac in its through in place of normal Anjanath's Inferno Sac. This causes it to slowly charge up electricity as it fights. And upon reaching a critical state, usually when the monster enrages, it does something very similar to the original Anjanath by unleashing its nose protrusion and its sails, which now have an epic glowing pattern on them that honestly makes me just want to stop fighting and look at them." He explained as he marveled at the glowing pattern on the sails.
A good number of the group was mesmerized by these new glowing patterns on the sails. "So pretty..." Nora said with stars in her eyes.
"It's so shiny! I can't look away!" Ruby said in amazement.
"But still dangerous, Ruby. Remember that." Summer chided her daughter.
"Those would make epic outfits for night clubs!" Neo said, stars in her eyes as well.
"They'd be a hit anywhere you went with them. They'd LITERALLY light up the catwalk. Please tell me they can be made into clothes that glow like that!" Coco pleaded, to which she and Neo fist-pumped at the nods Katana gave them.
The fight between Sai and the beast then continued. "But anyway, instead of streams of fire, this Anjanath now has an electrified bite, as well as possessing the ability to spit out globs of mucus charged with electricity... Yep, it hawks lightning loogies at you. And apparently, this Anjanath somehow got its hands on a copy of Street Fighter and decided to main M. Bison, to the point where it even learned to do an lightning version of his Psycho Crusher, flying through the air light an electric missile." The host explained as he dodge many of the aforementioned attacks, including the electric missile, which caused a portion of the ice formation they were on to break away and fall, taking Sai's Wulg companion away with it.
"Whoa. Those are some gnarly attacks." Jaune said nervously.
"And it looks like those kicks are electric, too. You'd have to be wary fighting it at close range at all. An interesting challenge." Adam said with a smirk.
"Ugh. And yet it still manages to be disgusting. Actually shooting mucus at its opponents. Has it no shame?" Winter scoffed.
"It's an animal, I doubt it." Qrow said.
"I'm not sure if I'm more disgusted or frightened by the idea of being hit by electric mucus." Weiss said uncertainly.
Then they saw the electric missile attack. "Whoa, mama! That's what I'm talking about. It'd probably plow right through one of your guys' Paladins." Qrow said to the Atlesians, who paled at the thought.
"I'd like to see if I could hold it back." Hazel admitted.
"The poor Wulg!" Velvet cried out as they saw the creature fall into the abyss.
"The Hoarfrost definitely doesn't seem like the safest place to be." Pyrrha said in concern.
The host then managed to send the Anjanath into the side of a cliff, which resulted in an avalanche, sending the Anjanath down into a cave as Sai narrowly avoided the snowy landslide. "So, what should you do while you fight a Fulgur Anjanath? Well, this version is a bit more tricky, as it has two different states, those being when it is normal or charged up, where elements effect it differently. Let's get its resistances and immunities out of the way: it resists Dragon and is completely immune to Thunder. What a surprise. Now onto what WILL work on it. In its normal state, it is weakest to Ice, even though it mostly lives in a tundra, with Fire and Water being just slightly less effective. When it is fully charged, ice loses some effectiveness, but this is where Water takes center stage. In addition, with the exception of Blast, all ailments work pretty great on it as well, just like with the original." He explained as he managed to drop a couple of icicles onto the beast.
"Well, that could make things difficult, having to switch between what's most effective." Roman said in annoyance.
"Then you should focus on the constants, the things that stay effective at all times, like fire or the ailments." Cinder told him.
"Then again, the two that are most effective are still strong options all the time, they just switch which is better sometimes. It doesn't mean they're not still good when they're switched." Ren pointed out.
"But he does have a point, it is quite strange for Fulgur to be weak to ice, yet live in a tundra. I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that ice and snow are poor conductors, as their molecules are frozen and not in motion, allowing a charge to pass through them." Penny theorized.
For one final time, Sai was seen peacefully following the Anjanath. "So, that is the Fulgur Anjanath, a stronger, electric nomad version of the already impressive Brute Wyvern and somewhat of an inspirational tale: by reinventing itself and roaming the land, gaining greater experience, it is able to reach levels its fiery brethren could only dream of and gained the power to take on the Apex level monsters that could previously toss it around like a ragdoll. One truly only needs the right weapons and proper skills and they can take on almost anything that comes there way." The host finished as he stopped and watched the beast walk off into the distance.
"Once again, a very poetic note to end on." Ozpin said.
"And inspiring, as well. No matter how outmatched one may be, if they can find and exploit an enemy's weakness, they at least have a fighting chance. Words all of us should take heed of." Glynda agreed.
"Yeah. Sai does a good job of reminding us that these are still animals that belong in nature and even the weirdest still have a beautiful side to them." Emerald admitted.
"So, thoughts?" Katana asked.
"I still don't like that it hunts Tobi, but it's still really cool. I know I have to stop hating animals because they fight or eat other ones I like. Both versions are awesome." Ruby admitted.
Summer smiled at this. "That means you're learning and becoming more mature, my dear." She said, kissing Ruby's head, but then fangirled like her daughter previously did. "But Anjanath is still awesome! I mean, it's already basically a T-Rex, which is awesome, but it's like a living flamethrower! And Fulgur Anjanath could probably supercharge our electric weapons!" She added.
"I'm with Mama Rose over there! Fulgur Anjanath is super cool! and I bet riding on it when it does the lightning missile would make me turn into Super Nora or something! It's definitely gonna be part of my army of thunder monsters with Sigrun, Tobi and Zinogre!" Nora cheered.
(You know you should have more than JUST thunder, right? It doesn't work on everything.) Sigrun informed her partner, who pouted.
"It's nose sticking up looks a bit goofy, but I definitely don't want to deal with the stuff inside of there. Especially with Fulgur Anjanath." Yang said.
"I think either Anjanath would be super fun to just ride around on. It's the closest we'll ever get to riding on the best dino ever!" Jaune cheered.
"And like I said before, I loved the tiger stripes on Fulgur. And those bombing sails it's got." Coco added.
"So, what might be next?" Penny asked.
"Well, there are some videos on monsters from a land known as the Frontier, but it's all but been wiped out, along with the monsters there, so there's not much of a point-" Katana said, before checking her phone. "I don't believe it." She said in shock.
"What is it, Kat?" Yang asked.
"A new land has been discovered, with monsters from the Frontier living there! Well, I guess there is a point to show them after all!" Katana cheered, before looking to her daughters. "Even if absolutely NONE of those monsters can safely go to Remnant." She added, before playing the next video.
A/N: Another chapter done! A bit long, but I hope you still enjoyed it. And I hope you watched to the end of Sai's video, because he has a special announcement that could help both him and this story. And remember to subscribe to him so he'll stop being depressed.
[1] Yeah, qazse got this from a mix of TheRussianBadger and Archer. Still, all the facts there are pretty epic. I definitely learned more than I thought I would.
[2] Thanks to LordoftheSwamp1269 for that information on Ambergris. And while Ambergris is not TECHNICALLY whale poop, it still comes out of the same place. It is NOT vomit like everyone thinks. I looked it up.
[3] I looked it up again and yes, there IS water Dust.