Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Monster Hunter, only how the story goes. The characters and world of Monster Hunter belongs to Capcom. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I do apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: That's right, I'm not giving you one new chapter, but two. This chapter is a lot bigger than the previous one, but there's a lot of stuff going on in it.
\_|_/
Chapter Two: A Whole New World
Sharp pains in his head and back were the first thing that Jacob registered when he started coming to. He scrunched up his eyes as he laid there on the floor. He could feel the cold floor beneath the palm of his hand. Gathering his strength, Jacob pushed himself up into a sitting position and moved to lean back against the wall. Looking out the window, he noticed that the storm had passed by and only calm looking clouds were rolling about in the sky. It was then he noticed that the boat wasn't rocking anymore. Carefully rising to his feet, Jacob moved to the dash to look out the front window. He saw the calm sea before him and that was when he wondered why the boat wasn't moving at all. Quickly moving to the door of the cabin, he opened it and was met with a bizarre sight. The boat, his uncle Simon's boat, was now beached backwards against a rocky perch and a few feet from the water. Jacob figured that he must have drifted onto the island and was a bit stuck.
He knew that he was probably going to get in a lot of trouble, but Jacob fully intended to call someone for help. He just hoped that his parents wouldn't be too ill with him about this. And he knew that if the boat were damaged, he'd have to do something to make it up to his uncle. Pulling his phone out his pocket, Jacob was greatly surprised to see that he didn't have a signal. Deciding to try something else, Jacob moved back to the dash and picked up the speaker for the radio. He turned it on and twisted the nob a little. When he seemed to find a frequency that was used to call for help he said, "Hello? Hello! Is there anybody out there?"
But all he ended up getting was static. He twisted the nob again and tried to reach someone. Soon, he dropped the speaker in defeat when he couldn't reach anyone for help. Deciding to at least try the phone again, Jacob placed it in his pocket and stepped out of the cabin. He became greatly surprised to see that he was beached under an outcrop of stone. Above him there was a narrow crevasse where he could see the blue of the sky above. Looking to his right he saw a path that led from the outcrop and up a cliff. He moved to the back of the boat and could see that the rocky ground was a few feet. It was then that he remembered that the boat had a ladder that he could extend to reach the ground. He moved to go get it.
Once he had it in hand and had two ends tied to the boat, he let it fall to the ground. Jacob carefully made his way down and when he reached the ground, he was almost tempted to get back on the boat. But deciding to face his fear, he let go of the rope and followed a small path that led up the cliff. He rubbed his arm as he carefully made his way down the path. Jacob then started to sing a song that would help to calm his nerves a bit, "No one has to be alone, in this world we live in.
"You don't need to feel, there's no one by your side." His foot brushed up against a stone and made it tumble off the path and into the water below him. Jacob looked back to where he was going and kept singing, "Everything you see, is a gift you're given.
"Anywhere is home. You don't have to be alone." Jacob finished the verse whenn he reached the end of the path. He climbed up a ledge and was met by an astounding sight. Before him was an arching rock that had two paths going further up the hill. He looked to his right and saw a slope that went down right into the ocean. He walked through one of the openings and was met with an even more amazing sight; he couldn't tell if it was a large jungle or a really large tree before him.
This greatly confused him as he knew that there wasn't anything like this on the island. Mostly because it wasn't like this on the map of the island. Jacob tried to calm himself by telling himself, "It's okay, Jacob. You're going to be fine.
"You probably just drifted to some other island. Probably somewhere around Florida." He shrugged, hoping that was the case. When he exited from the rocky outlook, he found tall grass and tall smaller trees swaying in the breeze before him. Cautiously taking a few steps into the grass, he kept an eye out for anything dangerous. He didn't see any people or wildlife at the moment, but the sound of running water made him look to his left. He turned that way and passed by a few hanging vines before coming up a small rise. Keeping his voice low he started singing again, "There so much that surrounds us, there are friends we've yet to find.
"There are things to be discovered and dreams to left behind." He sang as he came across some large boulders standing in the grass. The sound of running water grew louder as he grew closer. And it was a good thing that he was moving away from the rocky cliff, for a large figure was starting to approach it. The figure came to the opening that Jacob had come through and bent down to sniff it. The creature growled as it didn't seem to recognize the scent and found it moving through the grass and towards the water.
"All the wonders up above us and splendors down below." Jacob kept singing when he reached the top of the hill. He became amazed when he saw a pretty wide but shallow river running through the clearing. Suddenly feeling a little thirsty at the moment, Jacob moved towards the water and saw that it was pretty clear. Stooping down on the bank, he cupped his hands in the water before bringing it up to his lips. When he took a sip he found it refreshing. He glanced around to look at the area he was in. The hill where he had come from seemed to grow a bit one side while dropping off into the river on the other. Across the river another river bank and some trees stood. There were two openings in the trees. Looking to his right he saw the river extend to a waterfall and another opening.
The sounds of bellowing made him look up from his drink and to his right. He could see shapes moving towards him and felt a little nervous about them. Quickly getting up, Jacob ran to a spot behind a rock in the river and ducked down behind it. The bellowing grew louder and in multitude, making him curious as to what could make sounds like that. Curiosity getting the better of him, Jacob slowly lifted up to see what it was and he was amazed by what he was seeing. A small herd of what looked like a cross between some kind of Hadrosaur and Stegosaur, came into the clearing. Some of the creatures started grazing on the tall blades of grass, telling him that they were herbivores. With a quirked brow he then questioned to himself, "Where am I? Some bizarro version of Jurassic Park?"
He could hardly believe what he was seeing and decided to get a picture of them to have proof when he got back. But before he could pull his phone out of his pocket, the sound of heavy, thudding steps could be heard. Jacob and the herd grew anxious from the sound of what was coming. One of the dinosaur-like creatures bellowed to the rest of the herd and they started to move away from the hill. Jacob kept low as he waited to see what was coming. He was both awestruck and worried by what he was seeing.
It looked like a large purple theropod dinosaur, almost like that of a T-Rex. It almost looked like it had a coat of feathers or fur along its back and had a protruding jaw on the underside of its muzzle, making it look like it had an underbite and a bit of a bulky tail at the end. What he really wasn't expecting was a crest rising on the end of the beast's nostrils and wing-like extensions on its back. The larger creature looked about the small herd but seemed to ignore them as it started sniffing around. The crest and the wing-like extensions folded back down when it didn't seem to see anything looking like a threat to it. Though he was wanting to run, Jacob willed himself not to make a move until the predatory creature left.
The new creature moved towards the river and bent its head down to take a drink of water. Jacob kept his head down to try not bring any attention to himself. He quickly ducked down when he thought that the creature turned its left eye towards his hiding spot. Keeping as silent as he could, Jacob placed a hand over his mouth to keep quiet. The sounds of fading foot falls made him slowly rise up again and saw that the creature was starting to leave. It headed towards the opening that the herd had come from while they were keeping their distance from it.
Jacob slowly rose to where he was standing straight again and watched the creature go. Curiosity once again getting the better of him, he kept to one side of the river as he followed after it. Once he was out of the water, Jacob slowly kept a good distance behind it as the creature went around a bend. Coming to a stop before he met the water again, Jacob waited until it had gone further down the river. When it had gone a good bit, Jacob waded across the river. He moved to the bend in the river and moved behind the rock wall. He watched as the creature turned to the left and disappeared through some foliage. When he was sure that it was gone, Jacob carefully stepped down onto a muddy path and followed after it.
He came to a small T-junction and saw that the path that the creature took led deeper into forest while the other looked as if it returned to the tall grass. Jacob carefully made his way through the opening in the woods and soon found himself deeper into the forest. He saw the creature in the middle of the area, but he nearly lost his cool by what else he was seeing; large light green and blue scaled lizards. They weren't as big as the purple dinosaur-like creature, but they seemed to be much bigger than your typical lizard. There was a good number of them with some either being on the ground or up in the trees. They seemed to be hissing or growling at the larger beast, but it seemed to ignore them and continue through the forest.
Jacob didn't think following the creature was such a good idea anymore. He tensed up when the lizards suddenly all looked in his direction and gave screeches. It seemed to also make the purple theropod stop in its tracks and turn to look back. That made Jacob quickly turned and hightailed it out of there. He didn't look back as he ran through the opening. The frightened teen rushed down the path that came to the high grass and looked about. He saw the path to the cliff and quickly ran for his life. Jacob slowed down but kept up the pace when the bottom of his shoes scrapped against the cold stone ground beneath him. When he reached the drop, Jacob looked back to see if anything was chasing after him, but didn't see anything coming from the opening. Not taking any chances, he climbed down and made his way down the path. From the cliff, the creature had followed after him and was watching the boy run.
Jacob had reached the boat and moved towards the ladder when he looked back. He gasped in fright when he saw that the large purple creature had followed him, but didn't seem to come after him. It was just standing there on the cliff just watching him. Jacob didn't stay any longer on the ground as he quickly climbed up onto the boat. He rushed right down into the living quarters of the boats and pressed his back against the wall next to the stairs. The teen took deep breaths to try and calm himself. Slowly sliding to where he was sitting on the floor, Jacob said to himself, "It's okay. You're okay. You're fine."
Jacob soon felt much calmer and then realized that he really was okay. It hadn't been as bad as he thought. He thought it a plus when he noticed that the boat wasn't being shaken by the creature or anything. Moving to a window that was facing the cliff, he looked to see if it was still there. The creature was still there, but now it seemed to have turned its attention away from him and the boat and was now looking out to the ocean.
Seeing that it didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon, Jacob thought it best to stay inside the boat for the time being. Moving to lay down on the couch, he looked up to the ceiling of the boat and thought about his current situation. He shook his head, "Okay, you're stuck somewhere where there are dinosaurs. Only they're not dinosaurs, they're something else entirely."
The word monsters came to him, but he shook his head, "Can't exactly call them monsters only by appearance and all that.
"That purple one has me curious, though." He thought aloud and glanced to the window. He saw that the creature was still there but still wasn't looking at the boat. With a sigh he looked back up at the ceiling. Jacob then continued to think of his situation, "So the radio doesn't work, but maybe if I were to get high enough or something, maybe I can use my phone.
"I know that it's a long shot, but I've got to try." He shrugged. He made a mental note not to go back into the part of the forest with those lizard things. He also knew that he couldn't go too far from the boat. He planned to go back out the first chance that he got, but Jacob knew that he would have to wait until his apparent 'neighbor' left. He closed his eyes to try and rest a little.
…
It was a few hours later when Jacob awoke and rubbed his forehead. For a moment he was hoping that it was all a dream, but when he looked to his left he saw the empty cliff from the window and sighed. Still deciding to make the most of it, Jacob got up from the couch and walked to the stairs. When he was nearly on the deck of the boat, Jacob poked his head out to see if there was anything out there. The coast seemed clear and he made for the ladder again. He climbed down from the boat and made his way to the cliff again. Jacob was hoping that the creature was really gone as he came closer. When he had a clear view of the cliff, he saw that it really was gone. He didn't hear any growling or anything and carefully made his way up onto the cliff again. Before pulling himself onto the flat surface he looked about. Seeing that the coast was clear, Jacob pulled himself up and walked through the opening that he took the first time today. Once again he came upon the river and saw that a few of those herbivore creatures were still there. Keeping his distance, Jacob moved onto a flat rock and took out his phone. He held it up to see if he could get a signal, but nothing happened yet.
Jacob groaned in frustration when he didn't get a signal. Putting his phone away, Jacob yelled as he didn't understand why this was happening to him. He sat down and tried to think of how he could get back home. But when nothing came to mind, Jacob decided to explore the place for a bit before the sun set. Getting back up, Jacob walked around the herd and waded through the river again. However, he was unaware that something was watching him from the opening that led to the forest filled with the big lizards.
When he came to the other side, Jacob walked up to the tree line and stepped onto the bare rock between two of them. Looking both ways he saw that the way to the left went a little deeper into the woods while the path to his right was a path made of a rocky cliff. Deciding to take the path to his left, he walked deeper into the forested area. He thought of singing again to keep him calm, but when he came to something that surprised him. It looked to be a really old camp, deep within the forest area. A small, fallen tent stood next to what looked to be a stone oven that had a few seats and a table close to it and a pretty large wooden chest. The chest had some odd symbols on the front of it. Walking up to the collapsed tent, Jacob looked around to see if there was anyone around. Placing his hands up to his mouth he started to call out, "Hello!"
But he stopped himself before he could shout more. Remembering movies where the characters shouted or screamed and it lead to trouble, Jacob kept his voice low when he said, "Hello? Anyone there?"
No one answered him and he didn't hear any movement nearby to show that someone had heard him. He took a look around again before lifting up the collapsed tent. Underneath the fabric, a few abandoned items lay on the ground. A set of goggles, a large dagger and a hat that had pointed cat ears on the top. Jacob was a little curious about the hat and picked it up. Turning it over, he saw that it was made to actually cover a felines ears. Placing it back on the ground, he picked up the goggles and rubbed his thumb on one of the lenses. Shaking his head he wondered, "Who was here? And why did they leave their stuff?
"Neat stuff to boot at that." He added when he looked at the cat's hat and the large dagger. Picking up the dagger next, he pulled it out of its sheath and examined the blade. Even though everything around looked as if it had been abandoned for a while, the blade of the dagger looked to still be sharp enough to cut. Jacob decided to hold on to it in case he would need it. And he made a note that if the person were to come around looking for it, then he would give it back without a fuss.
Jacob stood back up and moved over to the large wooden chest. It wasn't locked, but the lid was a bit heavy to lift. When he pushed it over, he cringed when it hit the back of the chest with a bang. The teen looked around to see if anything had heard that, but the only things moving were the sounds of birds and insects. Turning back to chest, he looked to see what was in it. There were a few items that looked interesting; a green vial of something, a pair of what looked like binoculars, a small rock, a leathery bag and a journal.
Taking the journal out first, he opened it to the first page. While most of the words were written in a strange dialect, there were a few entries that were in English which surprised him. He sat down on one of the seats made of wood and read aloud, "Arriving to the New World with the Fifth Fleet felt like a dream. We came to find answers as to why the Elder Dragons crossed over the great sea to come here. With the rest of the A-List hunters and myself and my friend Plagg, I feel as if we have a chance to find out."
"Elder Dragons?" Jacob said to himself, not sure that he wanted to run into any of them. He flipped through the book to see what the last entry was. He stopped when he seemed to find it and it said, "After spending months here in the New World, we seem to grow closer to discovering the answer. The Commander plans to lead an expedition to a secret site that references an old mystery; The Sky Tower.
"They say that the tower was built by an ancient civilization who came to the New World long ago. Maybe when we get there, we will discover what's going on and all the mysteries will be solved." But the entry ended there, and it said nothing else on the next page. Jacob guessed that something must have happened to the man this belonged to.
He flipped through the book and saw images of different kinds of creatures. He even saw some of the herd of animals at the nearby river, the big lizards and the theropod as well. Unfortunately, these entries seemed to be written in that odd dialect and he couldn't read them. Keeping the book open, Jacob got back up and returned to the chest. He looked at the other items within and started with the green vial. Flipping through the book, he found a picture of what he was seeing. While he couldn't read the words like the creature entries, he did see that there were diagrams to help him. He figured that the green vial had something to do with health, for the diagram had a man that looked wounded before drinking the contents of the vial. The next image was of the figure looking all better. Nodding that it was best, he said, "Yep. That's definitely a keeper."
He took out the vial and placed it on the ground next to him. There was nothing really on the binoculars, but there was something on the little rock. He saw a diagram showing the figure scraping a weapon against it and it looking sharper in the next. Thinking of his dagger, Jacob removed it from the chest as well and placed it next to the Health Potion. Taking the items from the chest and the cat's hat, Jacob looked up to see that the sun was just starting to head towards the west. He jumped a little when he heard the sound of growling, but looked down to himself when he realized that it just his stomach. Thinking that it was best to return to the boat, he placed all the items into the bag and started the trek back.
Jacob cautiously came back to the opening in the trees and looked out at the river to see if there was anything threatening there. He seemed to be in the clear when he saw the herd of herbivores grazing on the grass or drinking from the river. He looked both ways to see if those lizards or that purple theropod were around. Still not seeing anything, Jacob quickly made his way towards the river. But had he looked behind him, he would have seen two large yellow eyes watching him with curiosity from up on the rock wall.
Jacob waded through the river while keeping his distance from the herd to avoid spooking them. When he reached the other side of the river, Jacob quickly made for the tall grass. But the sound of something coming made him freeze for a moment. He quickly moved back and moved onto a flat rock while pressing up against a wall of stone. Jacob thought that it might have been the large theropod creature, but he was proven wrong when a really large lizard rushed from the shade of the trees and made a B-line for the herd. The herbivores were greatly spooked by the newcomer and some moved to get out of the way. One of them weren't so lucky as the large lizard managed to bite its hindleg from behind. The Hadrosaur-Stegosaur like creature bellowed in pain as it fell to the ground. Jacob was about to move from the rock when a sudden roar made him look across the river. He became greatly surprised when he saw the purple theropod rushing from the opening he had come from and moved towards the lizard.
(Cue The New World – First Uproar from Monster Hunter World)
The lizard looked up from its potential meal and became frightened when it saw the larger creature coming right at it. The two roared at each other while the herbivores bellowed at them from a distance. The herbivore was trying to move away from the two predators even though it was injured from the earlier attack. Jacob didn't want to be around if these two were about to brawl it out. The theropod rushed at the giant lizard and used its head to knock its foe back. The lizard squealed as it tumbled along the muddy bank of the river before getting up and hissing at its larger foe. The purple beast just roared back as its crest and wing like appendages flared up to make itself look even bigger.
Jacob noticed that there was a bit of distance between the two brawlers and the opening that led back to the boat. He quickly and silently rushed towards it, hoping not to draw attention from the two. He sighed in relief when he made it to the shade of the trees. But something made him feel like turning around to watch the ending of the battle. So turned he did, and he made himself promise to hightail it out of there when it was done.
The theropod roared again as its crest and wings folded back. It moved back when its foe tried to scratch at it with its claws before turning and whacking the smaller creature in the face with its bulky tail. The lizard screeched before rushing at its foe. Jacob thought the lizard was either really brave or really foolish to take on something that looked like it would crush it easily. And he was proven right when the larger beast moved out of the way of the charging lizard and lunged for its exposed neck with wide jaws. The giant lizard screeched in pain as the purple creature lifted it up into the air before turning its head and slamming its captive hard on the ground. Jacob winced from how painful it looked, but didn't move just yet. He watched as the dinosaur-like predator lifted its head again before spinning around and launching the giant lizard across the riverbank. The weakened predator once again tumbled across the muddy shore. It looked defeated, but it was very much still alive as it got back up. But instead of fighting on, the giant lizard started whimpering as it turned and ran along the river bed to escape further conflict.
(End of track)
Seeing that the fighting was over now, Jacob quickly turned and made a break for the tall grass. He didn't stop for a moment as he came upon the opening and dashed through. Once he was at the cliff's edge again, he climbed down and quickly made his way back down the path and to the boat. This time he didn't look back as he kept the bag in hand as he climbed up the rope ladder and on to the deck of the boat. He made his way down the steps and sat down on the couch.
The teen took deep breaths to calm himself and noticed movement outside. He glanced out the window to the cliff and once again saw the purple theropod standing there. As if knowing that he was watching, the dinosaur-like creature looked down at the boat. Or more specifically, at the window where Jacob was. Jacob ducked out of the way and sat against the back of the couch. His stomach rumbling again, Jacob got up and walked over to the kitchen portion of the boat. While he remembered some of the supplies that he had brought, Jacob also knew that his uncle did keep his boat well stocked in case that he used it.
Jacob opened up a cabinet and saw that there were a few cans of beans in cans sitting there. He got the lid off with a can opener and moved to the stove. The teen was grateful that the stove still worked, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't last forever. Taking out a pan, he poured the beans into it and turned the knob on the stove to heat it up.
While waiting for the beans to warm up, Jacob thought it a good idea to look over the journal again. He moved to pick up the bag and glanced out the window and saw the purple creature still standing there. Moving to sit down on a bar stool next to the island in the kitchen area, Jacob took the journal out of the bag. He placed it on the countertop and opened it up again. He flipped past the entries and came to a section that looked as if it had maps. While later pages were of other areas, the very first page was of the forest where Jacob found himself marooned. Becoming interested, he could see that the map displayed what looked to be multiple layers and areas of the forest. It was then that he noticed something to the east of his position; from the look of a drawing, there was another camp within the forest.
\_|_/
Author's Note: I think I'll stop the chapter right there. Man, that was a lot to unpack. But do I feel really excited to continue with it. Now as of moments with large monsters and the likes, I may just reuse those tracks depending on which area we find ourselves in, especially during the fight scenes. I can't promise that we'll see a new monster every chapter, but I do plan to have a good deal of them in this story. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.