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: I hope that this chapter will be very exciting and a bit foreshadowing for future stories.
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Chapter Eleven: Dealing with Egg Snatchers
Part Two: The Rescue
Jacob got to work really quickly on which trees would work great for their plan. Moving away from the tree, he instructed, "Valiantops, think you can push the tree over?
"And be careful, we need large chunks of the wood to be intact to carry the eggs." He advised. Valiantops nodded with a snort before moving towards the tree. Pressing up against it, the Diablos used much of his might to topple the hollow plant. The bark cracked and groaned from the Flying Wyvern's pushing and wit a snap, the trunk came loose and fell to the ground. The trunk broke into several pieces. But Jacob was glad that there were four large pieces from the wreckage. The pieces curved enough to where the eggs wouldn't fall out. Nodding with a grin he said, "Okay, we got the eggs' transportation.
"Next, we'll need some vines." He moved over to the long vines and started cutting them with the carving knife. He made eight strands of vines long enough to be pulled and said, "This way we'll be able to pull the sleds and the eggs out.
"And this part is crucial." He said when he turned back to them. He explained, "Those who pull the eggs out of there, you're gonna have to be careful when you start running.
"And burrowing won't be much of an option either. Can't risk anything happening to those eggs." He shook his head. The teen looked about and clarified, "Any of them."
Nana Diabla grunted as she looked to the others. Jacob then said, "Since Nana here's gonna be helping with the egg sleds, and Valiantops will be helping the Rathian by the time I get the bird brains out of the way, who wants to teach Benny a lesson."
He saw that they were confused about whomever this Benny was. Jacob noticed this and said, "Uh, basically that's the name for the traitor Diablos.
"So, who wants 'em?" He asked again. Then he said, "Do the mothers want to go with the eggs, or do they want to give that guy a piece of their minds?"
The six Diablos looked to each other before three of them stepped forward. Now knowing that he was talking to the mothers, Jacob then watched as they moved to stand with Nana Diabla. Seeing that the egg extraction team was made up, Jacob looked to the three fathers and said, "Well, fellas, looks like you'll be teaching someone about not messing with another's babies."
They all snorted in agreement and Jacob then got to work by picking up some of the vines. He motioned for Nana Diabla to come forward. He motioned for her to turn around to where the tail was facing him. Jacob started using his carving knife to make big enough holes so he could tie the vines through them. He hoped that his knots would be secure enough when he tightened them both to the wood. Jacob then moved the other two ends of the vines over to the Diablos and started tying them to her tail before the club. When he was sure that it was secure, he backed up, "Okay, try walking forward a bit."
Nana Diabla did as she was instructed and walked a few paces forward. The teen was thankful to see the pieces of the vines tied to Nana seemed to be holding pretty well. Jacob then said, "Now, let's turn to the right."
Complying she turned to her right and the sled moved in the same direction after a few steps. Putting it to one final test he said, "Now come back over here running."
The Diablos turned back to them and picked up speed as she ran. Before she could accidentally run into them, she stopped and the makeshift sled came to a stop behind her. Jacob looked around her to see that there was still some distance between Nana's tail and the sled. Feeling confident about the plan, Jacob then said, "Okay, mommas. Let's get you ready, too."
The three female Diablos looked to each other for a moment before coming forward to the human and the remaining pieces of wood.
…
Jacob had worked as quick as he could to securely tie the last of the vines to the other threes' tails. Once he was sure that they were ready, they all moved back out into the desert. But before following after them, Jacob noticed a group of rocks on the ground and thought that they might come in handy. With a swipe of his hand, the human picked them up and applied one to his slinger. With himself loaded up and ready, he chased after the nine Flying Wyverns. The sun was starting to set when they back came to the same dune from earlier and Jacob looked over the sand to see the sand around the plateau moving again. Looking to the Rathian he said, "Okay, fly out to where he'll have to follow and try to use some of your fire to draw him out."
(Cue Rulers of the Wildspire from Monster Hunter World)
The Rathian took a step back from the group and flapped her wings once before taking to the skies with a spin. Jacob and the Diablos all watched as she made her way towards the plateau. About halfway there, the Queen of the Skies unleashed a fireball or two down on the sands. The projectiles exploded against the ground and Jacob looked over to where the traitorous Diablos was moving through the sand. Removing the binoculars from his bag, Jacob looked to see the sand rapidly moving as the Rathian descended a little to keep the traitor's attention on her. The ground not too far from her exploded and the Diablos emerged from the sands. The two entered a roaring contest of sorts before the Rathian turned within the air and swatted at him with her tail. The blow seemed to make the traitorous Diablos stagger a moment, but he didn't stay back for long. With a swift swing of his clubbed tail, he threw some sand up into her face. The Rathian roared as she tried to shake the sand from her eyes and started to come down from the skies. Seeing that she was about to be in trouble, Jacob looked to the three and shouted, "Get a move on, dads!"
The three males of the group all rushed forward and down the dune a little. With quick motions of their wings, all three disappeared under the sands and started moving towards the battle. The Rathian had just touched down on the dune and the traitorous male took a menacing step towards her. But even from a distance, Jacob could see confusion on his face when he saw one of the fathers pop up out of the sand and startle the rogue. The father Diablos quickly turned and bashed his tail against the side of the traitor, earning a screech of pain. The other two fathers emerged from the sand with high-pitched roars and the rogue was shocked to find himself surrounded. He didn't look like the type to just give up as he roared back at them and turned a full circle with his tail. The three males who had something in this fight backed away from being hit, and one rushed the traitor from behind.
Seeing that the rogue was distracted, Jacob looked over to the Rathian and stood on the dune and waved his arms to get her attention. The Green Rath, who had cleared the sand from her vision, saw the human and flapped up into the air to get back to them. Jacob looked to the remaining five and said, "Okay, when I give you all the signal, you be ready to come over.
"And remember not to burrow. Run as fast as you can." Jacob reminded those with sleds. He didn't give them time to respond in their own way as the Rathian came up to the dune. Jacob fired the grappling hook and she seemed to get the gist of it. She grabbed the end in her mouth before flying towards the plateau. Jacob felt a little unsure when he said, "This is probably not going to be fun."
He was proven right when he screamed as he was yanked off his feet. Jacob had the grappling hook retract and he was pulled a little closer to the flying Rath. When they were but a few yards between the battling Diablos' and the plateau, he said, "Let go, now!"
The Rathian did as instructed and he plummeted to the ground. He landed on top of a dune and slid down the side. Coming to a stop at the bottom, Jacob rushed for the cave of the plateau. As he approached, he noticed a few partially eaten cacti laying on the ground. Figuring that's why the rogue was working together with the bird-brains so well, Jacob felt disgusted by the Diablos' actions. When he came to the opening, Jacob looked inside to see about five Kulus were looking to get ready to feast one the hoard of eggs. He aimed his slinger at one of them and fired the stone he had applied. But when the rock connected to the Bird Wyvern's side, it ignited and a small patch of flame burned it. The Kulu-Ya-Ku screeched in pain and it drew the attention of the others. Jacob applied the remaining stones and fired each one at one of the egg thieves at a time. They all squawked from the searing pain of the torch rocks.
Jacob noticed that though they weren't retreating, they didn't look too happy from the burns they just received. Jacob smirked and mocked them, "Oh, you don't like that.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" He asked and removed the Dual Blades from his back. The five Kulu-Ya-Kus screeched as they rushed forward to meet his challenge. Jacob smirked to see them coming and quickly moved back out into the sunlight. The Kulus weren't far behind him as they came out with another screech. The human stopped a few yards outside of the plateau and turned to face the Bird-Brained Bandits. Raising his weapons, Jacob rushed between two and sliced through their legs. The two Kulus screeched as they fell to the sand while Jacob turned to face the rest of the group. All three of them moved as they planned their attach while the other two fought to get back up. Jacob took a stance while glancing up. He smiled when he saw the Rathian dropping down from the sky and landed right behind him. She growled at the five and they all squawked in alarm. Moving around her, Jacob shouted, "Keep them busy."
She just snorted in response before charging for the five with jaws wide. Jacob ran back up to cave entrance before turning to the dune where the rest of the Diablos' were waiting. He formed an 'X' with his weapons and became startled when he felt them starting to shake. Jacob cried out as he dropped them to the ground and watched as they stopped. Though still a little freaked out from what just happened, Jacob picked up the weapons again and placed them onto his back again. Placing two fingers in his mouth, Jacob hoped that they could hear him as he gave a loud whistle.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Valiantops the only one to start burrowing in his direction while the four ladies started running after him. Jacob looked over to the battle of the fathers against the rogue and saw them overpower him with a well-placed slap of their tails. He could hear the traitor cry out in pain each time a clubbed tail smacked into his side or his chest. But the father's didn't let up as they all quickly burrowed under the ground before popping back out from underneath him in a grand explosion. The rogue was tossed down the dune and the three fathers kept a close eye on him.
Turning back to the Rathian's battle with the five Kulu-Ya-Kus, he saw that she was standing in the middle of them all. But he didn't have to worry when Valiantops burst out of the ground behind her. Both Flying Wyverns looked to each other before roaring at the smaller beasts. The Rathian unleashed a few fireballs at a couple of Bird Wyverns while the Diablos of the duo rushed forward and smacked one away with his head when it tried to swipe at him with its claws. Valiantops then twirled around and bashed his tail into the other Kulu-Ya-Ku and sent it tumbling in the sand.
Jacob's attention turned from the battles when he saw the four female Diablos' rushing up to him. Nana Diabla came in behind the other three and Jacob said, "Okay, let's make this quick."
He rushed into the cave and looked about the clutches of eggs. While still ticked off about the Kulus trying to make a meal of the babies, he was impressed by how organized they were with the eggs. Each one was kept to a clutch and it seemed to make the job a little easier. He carefully lifted one of the eggs up and grunted from how heavy it was in his arms. He started moving back to the entrance with the egg and said, "Okay, I need a sled like now, please!"
One of the Diablos' ran forward and stopped before him with a sled. Gently setting the egg down, Jacob rushed back inside for another. Once he had secured the egg, Jacob went back. He repeated the action again and set the final egg from the first clutch onto the sled. Looking to the female he said, "Get these to the forest area. The others will be right behind you and we'll meet up with you girls there later.
"Now go!" He shouted and she took off running. Jacob watched her go for a moment to make sure that the eggs wouldn't roll off or something happen to them. They watched as she ran around the dune to try and keep the sled stable for the eggs. When they saw her disappear, Jacob motioned, "Okay, time for the next one."
Jacob ran back into the cave and repeated his actions with the next clutch. Once he had placed them all on board, he sent the next one off. The third one didn't need to be told twice as she came forward. Jacob rushed back in for the next clutch. But as he picked up the first egg, he heard a screech from the other side of the cave and turned to see a sixth Kulu-Ya-Ku rushing in. Jacob glared at it, "How in the world did I miss you!"
Jacob rushed forward to meet the Bird Wyvern halfway and dropped down to slide underneath the Egg Thief. He land reached the other side and unsheathed the iron katana from its sheath. The Kulu-Ya-Ku turned around just as Jacob delivered a slash to its side. The slash seemed to really hurt the beast as it stumbled away. But Jacob gasped when it saw its foot getting too dangerously close to the remaining eggs. He quickly thought of his next move and shouted, "Come on you bird-brained moron! I didn't think you'd be such a loser!"
That seemed to tick the Kulu off as it screeched at him. Jacob got ready as it came pecking at him. Quickly sidestepping out of the way, Jacob rushed to one of the walls before using it to launch himself at the Bird Wyvern. He lunged the blade forward and it sank into the Kulu's side. The egg thief cried out in agony from the great pain. Pulling himself onto the bird monster's back, Jacob grabbed its neck with his free arm and had it facing towards the wall of the cave, far from the eggs. With his free hand, he quickly pulled out the carving knife and plunged its blade into the Kulu's rump. The Kulu-Ya-Ku squawked from it and rushed towards the wall. Jacob waited until the last minute before jumping off of its back. The Kulu-Ya-Ku slammed head first into the rock wall before falling onto its side. Jacob could hear it still breathing and knew that it was only unconscious. He shook his head to focus himself and rushed to get the rest of the eggs out of here. He started with one and quickly carried it out.
Nana Diabla and the third female Diablos looked to him with questioning looks as he came out with the egg. He sighed when he set it down and said, "Sorry, I got a little sidetracked.
"How we doing?" Jacob asked and looked to the two battles. He was surprised to see that the fathers had knocked the rogue down and it didn't look to be alive other than it breathing. The Rathian and Valiantops on the other hand were having a difficult time against the remaining Kulus as the Bird Wyverns were mostly trying to avoid their attacks. Knowing that they would need help, Jacob quickly got back to getting the eggs.
He kept an eye on the sixth Kulu-Ya-Ku as he rushed through the cave. He picked up the egg before rushing back out with it. He looked to the female and said, "One more and then you'll be good."
The female only growled in response to that. Jacob rushed back in and picked up the final egg. Not wasting a second he rushed back to the entrance. He placed the egg down next to the others on the makeshift sled and said to them, "Don't worry. You're in good hands, er, claws.
"Go, go, go!" Jacob said and stepped back. The third mother took off in the direction of the other two Diablos' and all that left was Jacob and Nana Diabla. Looking to her he said, "Okay, last clutch."
Nana Diabla looked away from the teen as she observed the battles. Jacob didn't need to stay and watch as he rushed back inside. He picked up one egg before rushing back outside. Placing it down, Jacob then went to go fetch the other two. He managed to secure the last two in a timely fashion and set them down next to the first. When they looked to be nice and secure, Jacob looked to Nana Diabla and said, "Okay, I know they'll be safe with you. Go!"
Nana Diabla gave a small growl before rushing off after the other three females. Jacob watched her go before turning his attention back to the fights. While the Diablos was still down, the Rathian and Valiantops had managed to at least kill two of the Kulus. One of the bodies looked to have two big holes in the side while the other was charred to a crisp. Three still remained and all five looked to be very weary from the fighting. Knowing that it was time to help out, Jacob looked to the unconscious Kulu-Ya-Ku and went to retrieve his weaponry. He plucked both katana and knife from the Bird Wyvern, earning a pained groan from the knocked silly monster. Placing the knife back, Jacob readied his sword and rushed out of the cave. In the sunlight once more, Jacob rushed for a Kulu-Ya-Ku that looked to attack Valiantops from behind.
With a yell, Jacob dropped to where he slid down the sand dune before moving to jump at the Bird Wyvern. It turned to look at him in surprise and Jacob slashed his sword at it. The blade nicked the bird beast's shoulder and it squawked in pain from the blow. Jacob quickly turned around and landed a jab from the point of his blade into the Kulu's chest. The Kulu-Ya-Ku backed up before trying to swipe at him with its claws. Jacob backed away before swinging the sword again in a flurry of swipes. Each swipe connected and left long, shallow gashes on the Bird Wyvern's body. Jacob was about to go for another strike when he glanced to his right. He backed away as Valiantops managed to knock the one he was battling away. The blow caused it to crash into the Kulu-Ya-Ku in front of him and they fell to the sand. Jacob looked up to see the Rathian carrying the last one in her talons as she flew through the air. She released it over the other two and it crashed against them. Jacob covered his eyes from the light explosion of dust. When he lowered his arm, he saw all three Bird Wyvern's laying in a heap. Jacob thought they had this coming as they all groaned in pain. The Rathian landed next to Jacob and Valiantops moved to stand next to them as one of the Kulus looked to them with a pained look. Jacob held the sword at the ready while Valiantops lowered his head and the Rathian opened her mouth as if to fling more fire at them. All three Kulu-Ka-Kus started squawking in a panic as they scrambled to get to their feet. The three watched as they got up and started running off over the dunes. Looking over to the three father Diablos, Jacob then said, "We've still got a little business to take care of."
(End of track)
The two Flying Wyverns looked over to the other three with the rogue and Jacob started walking over to them. They looked to each other before following after the human.
The rogue groaned in pain from the bashing it received and slowly opened his eyes. What he saw shocked him. Valiantops, the three fathers, the Rathian and Jacob stood in front of it with the human pointing his sword at him. And all six of them glared down at the rogue. Valiantops stepped forward and gave a warning growl at the rogue. The rogue looked at each of them with a hateful glare before shakily rising to his feet. Then with a small roar, he turned and started tunneling away. The six watched him go until they didn't see the sands moving from his tunneling. Jacob returned the sword to the scabbard and turned to the direction of the forested area. Glancing back he said, "Well, let's get back to Nana and the moms shall we?"
The five Flying Wyverns all snorted in agreement and started following after him.
…
The sun looked to be about an hour or a few from setting even though the desert was still pretty hot from the fading day. When they arrived at the forest, they were relieved to see that all four Diablos had made it with their load of eggs. Jacob smiled at the thought of the three families being reunited. Walking up to Nana Diabla he asked, "So, do we follow them back to their caves or…
"But first we're gonna need to see which eggs belongs to whom." He said and scratched his head when he looked to the four makeshift sleds. While there was one that only had two eggs, the rest had up to three. Not knowing what to do he shrugged, "To bad that there isn't a way to tell which was which."
Thankfully, an answer was provided. One of the fathers walked up to the sled with the two eggs and growled. Figuring that he was the father, they were surprised that the apparent mother was tied to one of the other three sleds when she gave a growl too. With a shrug he said, "Well that solves one mystery."
They were all startled when the sudden sounds of cracking shells came from the sled tied to Nana Diabla. One of the eggs started to shake and Jacob moved closer to take a better look. The shaking egg started to crack even more as the hatchling started to get a little restless. Kneeling down, Jacob tried to urge the little one out, "Come on. Come on.
"Come on, little on." He gently urged as the baby inside started to push on the egg shell. He laughed a little, "Come on now.
"Very good, push. Push." He said just as the hatchling pushed a piece of the egg. He saw the head of the little wyvern poke out and saw that it had a more triangular head, so it didn't look to be a Diablos. The baby Rath gave small screech. The Rathian slowly came around the group of Diablos to look at her newborn child. The little Rath managed to break more of the shell with its little foot and it caused the rest of egg to break apart.
The little Rath squealed a little when it fell onto its back. Jacob tried to stifle a giggle as he thought it adorable when it tried to right itself. But he became serious again when the other two eggs in the makeshift sled started to hatch as well. A couple of wings popped out the egg to the hatchling's right and it looked to see their brothers and/or sisters coming out. The third egg had a tail emerge from it and from the looks of it, it didn't look like it had bony spikes but more like the needles of the Rathian. Jacob took a look at the first one and saw that it looked like it had spikes. He saw that the little Rathalos was still squirming on his back and Jacob gently reached his hand to help it back up. A small growl made him look up to the Rathian and saw her a little protective of her child. Retracting his hand he said, "Sorry. Just trying to help."
But it seems it wasn't needed as the newborn Rathalos was able to right himself. Looking to the final egg with the wings sticking out, a pair of clawed feet popped out. Jacob laughed a little when the baby started running around in the sled. The two other Raths screeched when their sibling ran by and the full grown Rathian lowered her head in the little one's way. The baby still in the egg knocked into her jaw. While it didn't hurt her, it did make the rest of the shell fall off and reveal a new Rath to the world. From the looks of the tail, Jacob saw that it was another Rathian. He was really surprised to see that unlike her sister, this one wasn't green, it was pink in color. Figuring that there might be some kind of answer, Jacob put it off for later.
"Now how do we tell about the others?" Jacob wondered when he looked to the two remaining sleds. Getting a bit of an idea, Jacob walked up to the two remaining females and untied the sleds from their tails. He repeated the action for Nana Diabla and the last mother so she could be with her mate and two eggs. Jacob looked to the remaining couples and shrugged when he asked, "Don't suppose that you could tell by scent or something, huh?"
It seemed to get them thinking as the two mothers walked up to the remaining sleds. They both sniffed at the trio of eggs on the pieces of wood before moving to where they could smell the others. After the second sniff, both mothers seemed pretty confident with the clutch of eggs before them. Jacob looked to Nana Diabla and asked, "Maybe the sled idea could work for getting them all home?"
But the six Diablos' didn't seem to want to do that idea again. Though they weren't aggressive about it, the fathers gently started pushing the pieces of wood with the eggs on them out to the desert, likely back to their home turfs. They watched the three couples disappear out into the dunes. At a loss for words, Jacob shrugged, "I guess that works fine as well.
"I guess that's that then, huh?" He said when he looked up to the remaining adult monsters. They just snorted in agreement. Looking to Valiantops and Nana Diabla he nodded his appreciation, "Thanks for your help.
"I think we all benefited from today." He added when he glanced to the Rathian. She gave a small growl as she glanced away. The squawking of the three babies made them look to the little hatchlings. Jacob scratched his chin and said, "Makes me wonder how you're going to get them back to your cave."
The Rathian surprised him by taking one of the vines that had been used for pulling into her mouth. Arching a brow he asked her, "You're really going to walk all that way?"
She gave her answer by tossing the vine to him. Jacob caught it and said, "Okay, I guess I can pull and you watch from the skies for any trouble."
The Rathian gave a growl as if to say duh. Nana Diabla and Valiantops both growled their goodbyes before tunneling away through the desert. The sand moved as the Diablos moved through Jacob watched them go and was almost knocked off his feet when the Rathian took off. Flapping her wings to keep her airborne, the Rathian stayed overhead while Jacob started walking. The Rathian growled down to her little babies and Jacob was impressed at well they listened to her by hunkering down on the piece of wood. Jacob just hopped that the trip to the Rathian's cave wouldn't have any bumps to it.
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Author's Note: I hope part two was really exciting for you guys. I don't know how long the next chapter is going to be, but I do plan on making it as fun as I can. 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.