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: A certain someone is returning in the beginning of this chapter. And this chapter will help foreshadow something coming in the future.

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Chapter Eighteen: Dreaming of Visions

(Cue Unsettling Premonition from Monster Hunter World)

The last thing that Jacob had felt was great pain coursing through his body, but now all he was feeling was a certain feeling of weightlessness. He felt the dusty, cold hard ground beneath his palm. Opening his eyes, Jacob sat up and took a look at his surroundings. He was sitting in the middle of the clearing where he and the wyverns he knew had been fighting against the Deviljho, but didn't see anyone, friend or foe there. Something felt off about the place he was in as it didn't feel all that real to him, even though he recognized just about every tree and rock. Standing up, the teen started walking around a bit before finding himself under the shade of a lot of trees. He was about to head back when he noticed something standing amongst some of the trees. Jacob made his way over to the shape when it disappeared around them. Quickening his pace, the human came around the tree to find no trace of whatever had been standing there. The sounds of twigs snapping made him look to the left to see the shape running behind another tree. Rushing after it, Jacob came around the tree and suddenly screamed when he ended up running off the side of a cliff. He landed on his stomach at the bottom and groaned as he picked himself up. The human didn't feel hurt from it and glanced back to the top. Jacob gasped when he found himself looking up a very high wall. But upon taking a much closer look at this wall, he became frightened when he found himself looking at monster bones and rotten flesh either scattered before it or part of the wall itself. A sense of fear, dread and sadness came over him when he asked, "Where… where am I?"

The sound of running made him look back to see the shape running down a long tunnel of rock, stone and bone. Getting up, Jacob ran after them and shouted, "Hey, wait!

"Come back!" He shouted as he followed it to another area. When he exited the tunnel, Jacob saw the place full of bodies of monsters of all kinds just about everywhere in a large yellow mist. In the middle of the area, the figure had stopped running and just stood there and seemed to be facing him. Taking a reluctant step forward, the figure became more visible to Jacob the closer he got. He became very surprised when he saw that it was the creature he and Boltia had ran away from months ago. The same one that had disappeared before his very eyes. Stopping a good distance away from it, Jacob asked, "Who or what are you? And why did you bring me here?"

The sounds of movement, like the scraping of skin moving across the ground, made him look around the cavernous space. Jacob became fearful when the various corpses of beasts started to either raise their forelimbs towards him or pull their decomposed bodies forward. From the look in their eyes, they looked like they were in pain or greatly sad about something. Jacob started to breath heavy as they came closer. When he turned back to the creature, he gasped to see that it was standing much closer now. The being was looking down at him. The teen started violently coughing, even though he didn't feel any pain or inflicted with anything. He tried to take a step back, but was stopped when he felt a large rotten talon move behind him to prevent him from leaving. He looked to the monster corpses and was a little freaked out when they all moaned and heard voices full of dread and sorrow from them, "Save us.

"Save us." They repeated over and over again. Each time they said the two words all of their voices raised and grew louder. Jacob looked around and questioned, "S-S-Save you? From what?"

He gasped when he felt the creature before him grab him by the arms. Jacob became really worried when he looked up into its hollow eye sockets. It lifted him up to where Jacob stared directly where its eyes would be behind the skull. The rotten corpses around them continued to call out for them to be saved. Jacob became really afraid when they suddenly flashed a fiery red and a low, raspy voice came from it, "Free me."

"What?" Jacob asked before the grip of the creature released him. He grunted when he fell on the ground, but screamed again when the claws of the corpses suddenly started to appear in his vision and lowered themselves to grab him. But just before they touched him them they and the being all shouted in unison, "SAVE US!"

(End of track)

…

Jacob quickly sat up with a gasp and panted from such a scary ordeal. But his expression soon changed from fear to pain when the soreness of his wounds came back and lightly hissed from them. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jacob leaned to the left and propped himself against the couch to try and make himself more comfortable. He closed his eyes to resume sleeping, but immediately opened them again when he felt not a couch cushion underneath him, but what felt like grass and twigs underneath him. Which made him question what he was leaning against. It felt a little soft, but didn't feel like fabric underneath him. Plus the fact that it was slightly moving as if it were breathing made him nervous too. Carefully placing his hand against what he was laying against, he slightly pushed against it and it felt like scales to him.

It was then that he heard the sound of breathing coming from what he was laying against and slowly pushed himself off to try and see where he was and what lair he found himself in this time. Though there was little light, Jacob could see enough to see that he was in what almost looked like a hideaway of sorts. Vegetation covered his head but allowed enough light to seep through. And from how dark it was looking, he had a feeling that it was night time. Jacob looked ahead and inwardly gasped when he saw the head of the Anjanath in front of him. He was slightly relieved to see that it was fast asleep, but worried about him being in the Brute Wyvern's presence when it woke up. A quick thought came to mind and Jacob decided to do it fast to get it over with. Reaching into his tunic, he pulled out the stone before holding it up at the sleeping Anjanath. It turned blue and Jacob began wondering why the Anjanath hadn't allowed him to use the stone months ago. But he didn't dwell on it as he placed the stone back under his clothes. Right now he felt like getting himself out of here before the Anjanath wakes up and becomes ticked off with him.

Slowly rising to his feet, Jacob started to look for a way out. He saw one on the other side of the Anjanath's head and he carefully moved around him. But before he could even get past the Brute Wyvern, the Anjanath suddenly slowly moved his head to block the human's path. Jacob tensed up and saw that the Anjanath still had his eyes closed. Thinking he might be able to get around the other way, Jacob made his way for the tail. But like with the head, the appendage moved to stop him from going any further. Jacob glanced back to see that the Anjanath's eyes were still closed.

The sound of something else breathing made Jacob look to the side to see Boltia laying on the other side. He wondered how he got to this new spot and felt around his person. He felt a few indentions on his person, but they didn't seem to be too bad. Many questions were running through his head right now. But before he could try to come up with a plan to get him and Boltia out of there, the Anjanath's tail suddenly lifted up and gently pushed him back down. Jacob lightly grunted when he fell on his rear and looked to see the tail lower itself to the ground. A shiver ran down his spine when he felt something staring at him. Looking back, Jacob saw the right yellow eye of the Anjanath looking at him. The Brute Wyvern gave him a low growl before shifting his body to where he was laying down on his side.

Jacob started to get the feeling that he nor Boltia was in any immediate danger right now. Plus with him feeling sore, he didn't want to be out and about at night with any nonfriendly predators. Laying back down, Jacob winced when his back touched the ground and moved to sleep on his side. His eyes slowly closed and he drifted back to sleep.

…

He didn't have any more dreams through the rest of the night and slept a little more peacefully. The next time he woke up, he felt a shadow come over him. Opening his eyes, Jacob looked up to see what was going on. He came face to face with the Anjanath's maw wide open above him. With a yelp of shock he started to move out of the way. But a laugh like grunt came from the towering beast and it made him look up. The Anjanath had closed its jaws and was giving what may pass off for a smirk. But a low shriek from the side made Jacob look to see Boltia getting up. The Tobi-Kadachi rushed around the teen before tackling into the Anjanath from the side. Both wyverns fell to the ground with a loud thud and the bigger monster squirmed underneath her as she growled down at him. Doing his best to get up while trying not to hurt himself, Jacob gave the Brute Wyvern a heated look and said, "Gee, thanks for the heart attack!"

With a slight huff, Boltia got off of the downed beast and moved back to the human. Jacob was greatly surprised when she grabbed him and pulled him close. He felt her arms wrap around him in a tight embrace and her head lightly touched his. A relieved sounding growling sound was coming from her, almost as if she were purring, if that were possible. He wondered if she had been really worried about him since the fight with the Deviljho. It was a moment later when she released him and started to look over him. He glanced over to the Anjanath who had gotten up. Lightly brushing a hand under chin he said, "Don't worry. I'm going to be all right."

Boltia only gave a worried grunt before nuzzling him with her head. Lightly pushing her back, Jacob then told her, "I need to get going. I want to check on Mama, Papa and their babies."

This earned surprised and confused looks from the two wyverns. Jacob shrugged, "I'm worried about them.

"I need to see them." He firmly said before carefully making his way around the two. Boltia and Grumper watch him go up the slope but he stopped when he felt a little pain in his body. The Tobi-Kadachi quickly came to his side and was there in case he needed to lean on her. The two continued up and managed to reach the top. He saw that from the dripping plants that it must have been raining again recently. The sound of shuffling made them look back to see Grumper emerge from the tunnel behind them. The Anjanath lightly nudged Jacob with his head before turning towards the opening that went into the tree limb arena.

Jacob and Boltia followed after Grumper out and when he stopped before the base to the arena, he looked back to the human. The teen didn't quite understand it even when the Brute Wyvern gave a huff while gesturing to the arena with his head. Jacob came a little closer and was a little startled when Grumper gently pushed him up with his head. Deciding to humor the wyvern, Jacob walked up to the top and looked back. The Anjanath threw his head back and both Jacob and Boltia winced from the loud roar he released. When he stopped all three looked around to see what would happen. When nothing seemed to happen, Jacob was thinking about leaving. But he stopped when two familiar roars could be heard higher in the Ancient Tree. Looking in the direction of the nest, he waited to see if they were coming down.

It took them a moment, but the sound of flapping wings made them soon look to the opening in the branches on the far side of the arena to see the family of five Raths coming down. Grumper and Boltia remained standing back at the base while Jacob stood on one side of the arena. Papa Rath allowed Mama and the three younglings to descend first before coming down himself. The two bigger Raths touched down with a loud thud and Samson, Verda and Diana all screeched with joy when they saw the human. They hopped down from their mother's back and glided down to the boy. When they touched down they rushed up to him.

Kneeling down to their level, the three little Raths pressed up against him. Looking over each of them he said, "You seem to be alright."

The three slightly fidgeted from his touching and observation and Samson pushed the human's hand back with his head. A low growl from Mama Rath made him look up to see the Rathian coming forward and lowering her head to him. She lightly nuzzled him and he chuckled from the attention. The teen was a little surprised when he felt Papa Rath come in and rub his head against him from the other side. The two seemed greatly relieved to see that Jacob was alright as they all gave low growls like Boltia had. He laughed while placing a hand on both of their snouts, "Yeah, good to see that you're all okay, too.

"But what about the injuries you two got yesterday?" He asked, remembering that he hadn't been able to treat Papa after their fight with Grumper and him and Mama getting hurt by the Deviljho.

Mama Rath just gave a slight movement of her wings as if she were shrugging it off. But Jacob felt guilty as he gestured to himself, "But you all had gotten hurt defending me."

But Papa stopped him with a light nudge from the side with his wing, telling him that they were all right. The Rathalos looked over to the Anjanath and the Tobi-Kadachi with slightly narrowed eyes. Seeing this, Jacob moved to stay in between them and raised his hands a little when he said, "Let's not start something now."

He was greatly relieved when none of the older monsters seemed to start fighting. The sound of snorting came to their ears and Jacob wondered aloud, "What was that?"

Boltia lifted up onto her hindlegs and sniffed the air a bit. She seemed to become really excited from the smell when she gave a small roar. Jacob looked to the other wyverns as he had no clue what was going on. The Tobi-Kadachi suddenly bolted past the Anjanath and down the spiral path beneath the botanical arena. Jacob watched her disappear before wondering aloud, "Where is she going?"

It was about a moment later when they heard the sounds of squealing coming from nearby. The sound startled them all and Jacob started to move to where he could go after her. But a wing from Papa Rath stopped him from going any further. The Rathalos then flapped his wings before taking off. He flew through the opening in the branches before diving down. They waited a moment before they heard two roars coming from Papa and Boltia. Mama Rath growled to the trio and they looked up to her. The mother Rath quickly took off to see what was going on. Still not knowing what was going on, Jacob looked to the only wyvern remaining and asked, "You not gonna let me go too?"

"Or them, for that matter?" He gestured to the three hatchlings. The Anjanath only gave a small huff before quickly walking down the way that Boltia had gone. Taking that as Grumper's answer, Jacob huffed as he decided to follow Papa's choice in staying put. He moved over to one of the branches growing towards the sky. He leaned against it but made sure not to press his back directly on it. Samson, Verda and Diana all gathered around him as they waited for their parents, Grumper and Boltia to come back. Jacob wondered what was going on and was a little worried when the sounds of roaring, squealing and other sounds that he didn't really like all that much was heard from where the four had gone. He was slightly comforted when the trio rubbed their heads against his legs. He kneeled down to their level and lightly ran his hands over their heads.

They didn't have to wait much longer when they heard the sounds of something being dragged below them. Moving to the other side of the arena, Jacob, Samson, Verda and Diana all looked to see Boltia and Grumper pulling what looked to be a pretty large pig between the two of them. From what could be seen from the fresh-kill, there was some green, moss-like fur on its back. They heard the sound of flapping wings and looked to the opening to see Mama and Papa Rath both flying back to them as well. The two Raths touched down on the arena a bit before the Anjanath and the Tobi-Kadachi made it with their catch. When they stopped next to the arena, Boltia seemed giddy about the giant pig even as she took a step back. Jacob couldn't help but say, "That's a pretty big pig."

Both large pigs had puncture wounds, slash marks and noticeable bruises about their bodies. Grumper quickly tore a piece off of one of them before moving back to let Boltia have a go. The Tobi-Kadachi removed a piece of it and looked to still be wanting more as she looked between the two large swine. But a growl from Mama made her back off. Mama Rath was the next one to step up to the more untouched carcass and took a chunk big enough for her and her hatchlings. Papa Rath was the last wyvern to get him a piece of the pigs. Once the Rathalos had gotten himself a piece and Mama Rath moved to let the trio have some themselves, they all looked to Jacob. He gave them a slight look before moving to one of the dead pigs. Using the carving knife, he removed some of the meat from the carcass where it didn't have bite marks taken out of it. When he had a good-sized chunk of it, he ducked when a fireball flew over courtesy of the Rathian. While Jacob quickly blew on it to douse the flames, Grumper and Boltia all looked to the Queen of the Skies with confused looks while she and Papa both watched their babies eat their piece. The flames had managed to cook the meat to a certain degree and Jacob looked to her with an appreciative nod. He tried some of it and found the taste to be pretty good. Much different from the bowls of mushroom stew, soups and different fish that he had eaten over the past few months.

Not a bad way to start the day if he was honest with himself. The teen stayed back while Boltia and Grumper took another chunk from the giant hog that had most of its flesh gone. Everyone stayed back when the trio tried to take a piece of it for themselves. Jacob thought it pretty adorable how they were tugging and pulling on the skin. Samson ended up pulling a little too hard and the skin tore off. He went tumbling away and over the edge. Jacob gasped and moved to try and catch him, but was greatly surprised to see the little Rathalos turn and flap his wings to keep himself in the air. The human became impressed when Samson flapped up onto the branch. He moved back over to the carcass to resume eating with his sisters.

As he sat down in a spot not too far or too close, Jacob was greatly surprised at how well the different wyverns were getting along. Occasionally, Verda would glance over to him, like she was wanting to be in his company but didn't stray from her siblings, parents and the meal before her. He only grinned as he lightly shook his head.

The feasting didn't last much longer as Mama Rath soon called to her babies. The trio all squealed as if they didn't want to leave just yet, but a deeper growl made them hurry to her. Once the babies were all safely on her back, Mama Rath looked to Jacob who only smiled at her. With a flap of her wings, she took off into the air before heading in the direction of her nest. Papa Rath opened his wings to follow after her, but not before looking to the remaining three. With a slight nod of his head he then took off after his mate and young.

The Anjanath finished his portion of his meal and when he didn't eat any more, Boltia grabbed a portion of the eaten pig before pulling it to her nest. She returned for the rest in swift repetition and left Jacob with Grumper. The two waited to see if she would be coming back, but from the sounds of snapping, crunching and happy growls, she sounded pretty content at the moment. Jacob turned to look at Grumper who had turned his attention on him. With a shrug he said, "Never really done anything together before.

"Mostly because I didn't know how to approach you." He added as he glanced down. Grumper moved over to the boy and the human looked up to the behemoth standing over him. With a slight gesture of his head, Grumper was telling him to follow after him. Not knowing what the Anjanath had in mind, Jacob rose onto his feet and followed after the Brute Wyvern. They went back over to where it lead to the space underneath, but Jacob watched as the Anjanath moved towards a hole in the wall. It was a bit of a squeeze for Grumper, but he managed to fit through and went down what appeared to be a tunnel. Jacob waited a moment before following Grumper down. The fuzzy tail of the purple theropod ahead of him wiggled the further they went down. They reached the bottom of the tunnel when Grumper pulled himself out. Jacob was right behind him as the Anjanath turned to the left and towards the opening with the hanging boulders and the small herd of Kestodon. The herbivores were weary of the two as they kept their distance while Jacob and Grumper headed for the opening at the south end of the area. Once they were through, the Anjanath continued to lead Jacob further south in the Ancient Forest. It wasn't long until they came upon the cliffs before the tall grass, and therefore; the boat. Grumper was the first to hop down before turning back to Jacob. The teen was grateful that there was a wall of vines for him to climb down and started to make his way down. But just when he thought he had a proper foot hold, his grip slipped and he started falling. Luckily for him, Grumper moved forward and broke his fall by catching the human on his snout. Jacob looked into the Anjanath's eye and giving an appreciative grin. Grumper lowered his head to allow the teen to slide off. When he was sure that he had his footing again, Jacob asked, "So, where to now?"

The Anjanath responded by turning away from the cliffs and walked into the tall grass. Still curious about where his new friend was taking him, Jacob followed after the Brute Wyvern. They came to the openings before the cliff and Grumper turned to walk down the one big enough for him. Jacob came down the other side and met him on the other side. Grumper gave a sigh before lowering himself to lay and observe the world before him. He glanced to Jacob before returning his gaze to the horizon. Following his friend's lead, Jacob sat down with his legs dangling over the side and looked to the horizon too. It was at that moment when Jacob felt a sense of peace come over him. Glancing up to Grumper he said, "This is a pretty nice view."

Grumper just lightly growled in agreement with him. As he continued to watch as the creatures of the sea and air go about their business, Jacob slightly remembered those times with his family when they had gone on leisurely trips out into the country. And as he started to wonder about getting home, Jacob started to feel a little torn about leaving this place. But he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind to enjoy the moment.

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Author's Note: I do apologize if the chapter was too short. But we start the upcoming story arc in the next chapter. I can't exactly promise that it'll be really long, but I do plan on it being fun in a way. And I plan for it to be at least three chapters long. 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 all of you next time.