[BizzarreCoyote]

Fourth Chapter up on 14/11/2010
Fifth Chapter up on 12/6/2010
Sixth Chapter up on 12/12/2010
Seventh Chapter up on 1/13/2011
Eighth Chapter up on 1/26/2011
Ninth Chapter up on 2/11/2011
Tenth Chapter up on 10/29/2011
Eleventh Chapter up on 1/26/2012
Chapter 1: New Team, New Journey

“Here you are Roy! Careful with the edge, it's pretty sharp!” The blacksmith said, handing me my carbalite sword, Odyssey Blade. Infused with the power of water through a process I admittedly don't understand, it was well worth the Basarios materials I had spent the better part of a month looking for. It just so happened the first ten I helped kill hadn't slept at all, apparently.

I thanked the man for his hard work, handing over the remaining payment. Giving the blade a cursory once over, I decided to go over to the training grounds, just to try it. I glanced over at the Guild building, where the strange little man from yesterday morning was standing. I didn't think he had moved since yesterday either.

I sighed. Rei had asked to come along, but the man had denied her the chance, saying she 'wasn't up to snuff.' That in and of itself would make the trip boring, and the place we were going was a good week or two away by airship, depending on weather.

Coming into the clearing, the dummies were set up, and I took my frustrations out on them, cleaving easily into the straw targets. The geezer had introduced me to the team I would be working with, and told me three other teams were being sent as well. Apparently, this was rather serious. How the Guild didn't know about this was beyond me. There was a Long Sword user, a Hammer user, and a Light Bowgun user. None of them were around at the time, so perhaps introduced was the incorrect term. More like told me about them. I would be meeting them later today, as we loaded the airship.

I cut apart the last dummy with surprising finesse for someone in my armor. Then the live target testing came in. Five Velociprey, nothing too worrisome. I dove forward, swinging at one of them. Annoyingly, it jumped away, seemingly mocking me as it did so.

I spun quickly, slashing at the air, catching one that had attempted to jump me. The blade easily split into its ribs and lungs, killing it instantly. The remaining four took the loss of their comrade in stride, not slowing in the slightest.

Another tried to clamp it's mouth on my shield arm. I bashed its teeth out for it's trouble, incapacitating it for the moment. I then swung low, gutting it in one swift motion. It died gurgling and bleeding on the training grounds.

As I recovered from the gutting, a Velociprey used the chance to jump me. It tackled me to the ground, biting and scratching at scale it couldn't quite get through. I calmly reached up, and grabbed it by the throat, throwing it off. As it recovered, I stabbed the sword through its skull, ending its existence.

The remaining two paused, trying to decide whether to attack me or not. I made the decision for them, taking a swipe at one. The carbalite sword, now stained red, took the raptor's arms off, and it shrieked in pain. I then slashed upwards, cutting it's throat.

Spinning around to face the lone survivor, I advanced. The blue creature ducked and weaved, attempting to stay as far from me as it could, to no avail. I swung, cutting its left calf muscle apart. It collapsed, moaning weakly. I put it out of its misery, plunging the sword into its head.

I glanced at the battlefield, now coated liberally with red. I chuckled, liking how sharp the edge was. The blacksmith wasn't kidding this time, carbalite really is sharp. I took a cloth out of my bag, wiping the bloodstained sword down. It reacted to the wipe, releasing water from its edge, helping the cleansing process. I enjoy that about water weapons; they are exceptionally easy to clean and care for. After wiping the blade clean, I took a whetstone to the edge, careful to keep it perfectly sharp, the blade lubricating itself.

After I was satisfied, I sheathed it and walked out, giving the instructor the (shockingly hefty) rental fees I owed. The smug snake then went into the classroom, ready to needlessly berate the students. He has the highest fatality rate in the region because of his training classes. No one's stepped in to replace him though, and he pays the Guild off to keep his abomination of a school open. 'Esteemed Instructor' indeed...

I sighed, walking up to the doors of the Guild Hall. The Pokke branch was a rather cozy place, if a little small. It was fitting though, as few hunters passed through to begin with. Myself, Saha, Aiko, and Rei were the among the most experienced hunters in the village, only one or two surpassing us. The man by the door looked at me expectantly, though I ignored him for the time being. I wasn't in the mood to deal with him, not right now. I promised Rei one last meal together before I left.

I ordered lavishly, going out of my way to make this meal worth me being gone for weeks. We ate in silence, something I wasn't used to from the usually chatty girl.

“...everything okay?”

She glanced at me, then back down at her plate. She had barely touched her food, instead settling for pushing it around the plate. I reached over, placing my hand on hers.

“I'll be back. Trust me. I'm not gonna pull the same stupid stunt I did a month ago, I'm smarter than that.” She gave me a look, but remained silent. “...what?”

“I don't want you to leave. What if you don't come back? I...I don't think I'd be able to handle that. I'd probably kill that man for making you go on this stupid quest in the first place.”

I gave a small smile. “Please, believe me when I say I'll be back. Take some time off, relax. I'll be back before you know it. I'm in a group twenty hunters strong. I'll be fine.” I stood up from the table, walking around. She stood as well, and I enveloped her in an embrace. “Rei, I love you. Take care of yourself.” I sealed it with a kiss, then reluctantly broke away. Rei had a smile of her own, though a worried expression could still be seen when I looked a bit longer.

As I walked away, I heard her say “Hey! I'm supposed to say that!” I laughed as I walked out, ready to get this over with. I was in a surprisingly good mood, which I felt would definitely be dampened in the next couple hours.

I sighed, then looked at the old man, whom at this point I had identified as Wyverian.

“Alright, I'm ready now. Where's the airship leaving from?”

He grumbled at me. “Took your damn time, didn't you? The airship is at the base of the mountain, the rest of your team has been waiting there patiently for the past three hours.” I caught him taking a peek at Rei through the doors, then heard him whistle. “Nice piece of tail you got there. I'd hi-”

I struck him across the jaw before he could finish that thought.

“You will NOT speak about her that way. I don't give a damn about what you need me for, if you don't stop being a lecherous creep, I'll kick your ass out of here and let you find someone else.”

He was silent the entire trip to the airship.


Chapter 2: The Meet 'n Greet

The hunched man had lead me to the airship, which was much larger than standard. It had a large, oblong balloon on top, and an enclosed metal cabin underneath, attached to the balloon itself. Some...strange looking things were on the back, spinning lazily. Needless to say, I was in awe. I had never seen something like this before.

The hunched Wyverian noticed my stare, and gave a smug look.

“Like it? It's called a zeppelin. It's faster and safer than the airships the Hunter's Guild employs. A few small holes won't down this bird. In fact, the Guild will be purchasing some of them from me in a few months time.” He gave me a toothy grin after that, then gestured towards the door. “Go on, get in! Time's a wasting!”

I blinked, then walked towards the waiting door. It lead to a hallway, with a closed door on the left side, and an opening straight ahead. Going through the open end, I came into a massive room that was definitely made with comfort in mind. There were seven people in the room, but only three of them looked up when I entered. One of them, heavily muscled man, spoke in a deep baritone.

“Hmph, about time you showed up. What'sa matter, had to kiss your mommy goodbye?”

This was going to be a fantastic ride, I could just tell.

__

None of the hunters were in their armor, which made sense, as we would be flying for a few days. Everyone was wearing casual clothing, looking none to worried about the quest at hand. The gruff hunter who had 'greeted' me, Samuel, was currently hitting on a woman from the other group.

The woman in question looked uninterested, which seemed to frustrate him to no end. I learned he was the hammer user. The weapon fit his personality, oddly enough. His armor was Uragaan, a creature I had no experience with. Apparently as brutish as he is.

I was also introduced to Elizabeth, our Longsword user. She seemed overly interested in me, and tried to touch my hair at any chance she got. She was flirty, and had attempted to get me to sleep with her pretty much the hour after I walked aboard. She also insisted that I, and I alone, call her 'Lizzie'.

I, naturally, turned her down. She had bragged to me about her Longsword, Gaelic Flame, and how she had to take down a Kushala Daora on her own. I highly doubted that story, unless she managed to catch it completely off guard with a Dragonator. She also bragged about her Rathalos S gear, though she fawned over the “quality of the scales” in my Soul U gear.

The third was soft spoken and shy. Another female, she manned a bowgun, Profusion. She was humble about it, never going into much detail. She said her name was Rachel. Her armor was made from Barioth, yet another wyvern I had only just heard of at that point.

“Think of it as a faster, less violent Tigrex. It would have exceptionally good camouflage...if not for one thing. It has long, bright orange tusks. Fairly fragile too.” She explained. I thought for a moment, then decided I didn't want to fight another pseudo-wyvern for a [I]long[/i] time. Both she and Samuel were from a place called Loc Lac, surrounded by a sand sea. I had to see that at least once in my lifetime.

Then they questioned me. I explained in some detail where I had gotten my Rathalos Soul U equipment.

“Well, myself, my girlfriend Rei, and two other close friends, Saha and Aiko, were tracking down a monster that was taking livestock. It hadn't attacked people yet, but the Guild assumed it would only be a matter of time.” At the phrase 'my girlfriend', I noticed Lizzie's face darken considerably. I ignored it, I wasn't interested in her anyway.

“We followed the rather visible trail of blood to a nest. Whatever was taking the livestock was not a very graceful hunter, at least, not yet it wasn't. It followed the same path after every hunt, causing the blood to stain a line right to it. It was a rather small, but violent Azure Rathalos. I figured maybe a few years old. Ten at the most.”

“Keep in mind, of course, when I say small, it was still at least twice my height. Not like those strange little Kut-Ku or Khezu that pop up every now and again. Now, the Rathalos made a challenge, huffing and roaring like Rathalos do. It was rather amusing, actually. I think it understood we were laughing at it, as it blew a fireball our way. It fizzled out halfway to us.”

I took a moment to allow the laughter to die down. The other group had come over to join in our conversation, and had stuck around for my story. I had learned their names, though I was rather bad with names to begin with. I doubt I'd remember even my own team's names tomorrow. They were Jason, a Great Sword user; Samantha, a Lance user; Kyle, using a Bow; and Clara, wielding dual swords.

I continued the story after the laughter had died down a bit. I personally hadn't found that very funny at all. “Now, it was rather pissed off. It looked like an overgrown Kut-Ku, the way it was carrying on. Stomping around, screaming, I swear it was throwing a tantrum. It lashed out at anything in range, usually a rock or a wall. That Rathalos was certifiably insane. Putting it down was a mercy kill.”

I patted the chest piece sitting in my lap. “That's where this all came from. That's also why the scales are such a good quality. It hadn't lived long enough to mess them up through natural use...though I'm quite shocked that it hadn't. That was...” I paused, thinking back. “...About two weeks ago. Man, I remember getting an earful from the doctors when we got back...” I chuckled lightly, then noted the confused expressions on the group's faces.

“Rei had been hit in the spine with an arrow, and was supposed to be in physical therapy. She...didn't take well to that, so she got away from the docs long enough to help us.” I noticed most of them had lost interest in the story. Good thing, I had nothing else to tell.

“If I may have your attention, please! This is Captain Tobias speaking, of the zeppelin Chimera.” Everyone looked up, towards the door I had come through. A rather tall, lean man in a blue Guild uniform was standing just inside. “We'll be lifting off in just a moment, we had some engine trouble. Dinner will be served in just a moment, I just wished to apologize for the wait.” He smiled, exposing a row of perfect, shiny teeth.

He then retreated into the hallway, back through the door that was shut on my way in. The door remained open, exposing yet another hallway. “Shall I give you fine hunters a tour? It's the least I can do.”
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“The area you were just in is the Observation Deck, as seen through the large windows on either side.”He paused, then gestured us through. “This is the kitchen/dining room area.” The room itself was rather impressive, with a tall ceiling and a second floor overlooking the main dining area. The kitchen itself was mostly out of sight, aside from a small door with an open slot. “As you can undoubtedly smell, dinner is nearly ready. Ignatus, what's on the menu tonight?”

“Bullfango steaks with a side of herb mashed potatoes. Bread rolls as well.” A deep voice from out of sight rang back.

“Stellar!” the captain turned back to us. “Now then, to the rooms. Each room is the same, rather spacious though.” He walked up a flight of stairs to the second floor, then off to the left. We followed, the aroma of dinner following us. I heard a stomach growl behind me, followed by a sheepish “Sorry.” from Clara.

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“And these are the rooms. Room enough for two people, though I assume you'll all want your own. Not to worry, there are more than enough on this floor alone.” He smiled, then glanced around.

“You are free to pick your own rooms, just not on the second floor. They're closed off for renovations that were not finished before the ship was called away. Still, there are fifty rooms on this floor. I'm sure everyone will find something. Now, if you excuse me, I must take my leave. The ship is ready for takeoff, I am needed.”

With that, he bowed, and walked away. I noticed Clara and Jason pick a room together, and got a bit jealous and lonely. I sighed, then selected a room on a corner, making sure to pick one after Lizzie did. I didn't like being around her for some reason I couldn't place.

“Attention all guests and crew, dinner is served!”

I looked around, the sound seeming to come from the very walls themselves. A few others looked confused as well, so at least I wasn't alone. I heard a few chuckle though, and I looked at them for an answer.

“Intercom. The speaker talks into a horn attached to pipes all around. The pipes transfer his or her voice around the entire ship, to openings like this.” Samantha pointed just above me, and what looked to be a small horn was attached to the wall. “It's very efficient, though if the pipes don't vibrate right, the sound doesn't get through. A big pain for maintenance crews. As they tell me, anyway.” She shrugged, then headed to the dining room. I followed soon after, making sure my armor was safely locked away in the room.

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Dinner was uneventful. Some chatter between groups, though we all mostly kept to ourselves. I was back in my room, looking out the small window provided. We were much higher than the Guild's airships could reach, above the cloud layer. There was frost collecting along the lining of the window, though the room remained relatively warm, courtesy of the excess heat from the furnace being pumped through.

I sat down on the bed, noting that it was exceptionally soft, almost...uncomfortably so. Laying down, I started daydreaming. I found myself wishing Rei were here, not for the first time that day. I sighed, before closing my eyes to drift into a dreamless sleep.
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Chapter 3: The Stowaway

The next few days were uneventful. I mostly spent them sleeping or reading a book I had managed to find in the room. It was a relatively simple story, a hero goes and saves a fair maiden from a dragon, a Kushala Daora in this instance. I was about three-quarters of the way through, and was fairly engrossed in it.

There was a knock on the door, and I jolted, nearly dropping the book. I got up, creasing the page I was on and placing the book on the nearby shelf. I stretched lightly, then opened the door. A man in a dark blue uniform with the Airship's name on his chest was standing in the doorway. The uniform had gold trim along the edges, and was fairly sharp looking. He bowed slightly, then beckoned me forward, not saying anything. I raised an eyebrow, then followed.

He had gathered almost everyone in the command room. The Captain looked us all over, his face grim. I noticed that Kyle was not with us, nor did the crewman attempt to find him. It was curious...until the Captain reached over and dropped an arrow in front of us, stained with blood.

“This was found embedded in a crewman not too long ago, in the engineering room. You may have noticed one of your group missing, he's in the brig. I don't think he did this, and it's actually more for his safety. The crew will lynch him if he's found outside, at least until we have another suspect. If any of you have any information, please, I beg you, speak up.”

Shock descended on us. We were silent for a long time, attempting to digest this particular bit of information. Several of the group shook their heads, myself included. Tobias sighed.

“Very well. If you find anything, and I mean anything at all to help your comrade, I'll happily let him out. Until then, well...he stays there. You all may leave.” The troubled look never left his face as he turned back to the command crew.

I turned to walk out, before turning again.

“Where is the Engineering Room, by the way? I'd like to check something.”

The Captain didn't look at me as he rattled the directions off. “Go through this door on the left. Follow it down until the first right, then follow the signs. Good luck finding something.”

__

I had stopped at my room to get my armor and weapons. There was a murderer on board, I wasn't taking any chances. I then proceeded to the Engineering Room, and searched for a good half an hour.

“Dammit, there's nothing here.” I looked around again, to no avail. The crewmen around were attempting to be helpful, though most had seen nothing. Those that HAD seen something, had only seen the arrow itself, not the shooter. I sighed, thanking them for their help. I walked out, and down the hall.

I was about halfway out when I heard a crash come from a door next to me. I narrowed my eyes, walking towards the door and sliding it open slowly. It was a storage room, and a few of the boxes had fallen, spilling their contents on the floor. That alerted me right away, as we hadn't hit any turbulence; there was no reason for those boxes to have fallen.

Drawing my Corona, I let its ambient glow act as a meager torch. I stepped near the boxes, then quickly whirled around them. Nothing was there to greet me. Ready to move on, I walked near the door, when I heard the distinctive sound of a bowstring being drawn. If I hadn't been around Rei for so long, I never would have noticed it.

I spun, slashing with the blade and bringing my shield into position. The slash had caught the arrow right on the head, deflecting it entirely. The archer had disappeared into the dark, invisible. I frowned, then had a brainwave. I struck one of the boxes with the flaming blade, igniting it. Mr. Archer didn't like that, shock evident in his body language. I caught a glimpse of his armor, and had to double take. Before he slipped away again, I saw what could only be described as a ninja wardrobe. His bow was made of Narga materials, blending perfectly with the darkness.

I struck another box, lighting the room further, before ducking. An arrow sailed over my head, embedding itself into the bulkhead. That...worried me. Those arrows would have little issue punching through my armor, this guy was here to kill people, not hunt a dragon. Ducking around another box, three more arrows flew, one grazing my shoulder. It shaved a nice little chunk off, before punching through the door. I glanced the damage over, grateful it hadn't actually hit me.

“Who are you?!” I shouted, before moving behind another box. My assailant didn't answer me, choosing instead to fire another two arrows at me. Deflecting one with my shield, I began to wonder when he would run out. The second arrow went wide, striking the ceiling. Another arrow was being knocked, and I chose that moment to move. I rolled forward, just under the arrow, then sprang up, before taking a mighty swing at him.

The ninja attempted to block with the bow, to no avail. The fiery sword easily split the bow in two, setting the Narga scales on fire. He jumped back, avoiding my follow up attack. He drew a sword of his own, once again made of Narga materials. He offered no words, no indication he would surrender. Pulling a shield off of his back, he fell into a ready stance.

He was on me before I could blink, the blade embedding itself into my left bicep. The sword cut through my armor like it was wet tissue paper. I hissed in pain, dropping the shield and pulling away. Dropping my arm to my side, I returned the strike, though he easily redirected the attack with his shield. He swiped at me again, and I jumped back, though the sword still cut shallowly across my chest plate. I grimaced, suddenly realizing how outclassed I was. Still, I couldn't retreat, my pride wouldn't let me.

I stepped back, and he went for another attack. I sidestepped the Narga weapon, before elbowing him in the face. He grunted, before stepping back, out of my reach. I collected my shield, flexing my arm experimentally. It hurt like all hell, but I could use it. I let a small smile on my face, before turning to my opponent. He twirled his sword twice, before leaping forward and bringing the sword down. I pushed it aside with my shield, before striking with my own blade, which was blocked in turn.

The ninja delivered a swift kick to my stomach, the armor taking the brunt of it. I staggered back, and he buried the blade to it's hilt in the right side of my stomach. My vision blurred and swam, and everything went numb. I saw a small smirk on his face, and I felt myself sink to my knees.

“Lady Aquila wishes your airship destroyed and all of you scattered to the four winds. By our honor, it will be done.” The man whispered, bringing his mouth to my ear.

His voice was soft and silky, though I barely noticed, more intent on keeping myself alive and breathing for the moment.

“Th-there's more...of you...?” I choked out.

I collapsed onto the floor, though interestingly enough, I didn't lose consciousness. I felt him draw the sword from my stomach, and my vision stopped swimming, though it was still blurry. I felt a small amount of strength return, though I was rapidly losing it. There was already a small puddle of blood staining the floor. I glanced up, and saw the ninja slowly slide the door open, before peeking out.

I carefully and slowly picked myself up, then staggered over to him, Corona at the ready. I raised it just as he began to turn around, before bringing it down on his left shoulder, removing the appendage entirely. I then swiped at his right side, removing his remaining hand, the flame sword pulsing dangerously all the while. Shock and disbelief were etched on the man's face, and he died without a sound.

"Rookie...mistake," I croaked out, panting heavily. I looked at him for a moment longer, then tried to stop the bleeding.

I quickly and carefully removed my chest plate, rapidly getting lightheaded. The wound looked rather clean, not too ragged. He also appeared to have missed anything vital, if my continued survival was any indication. I tore my shirt off in its entirety, before wrapping it tightly around my midsection. I then grabbed my fallen opponent by his remaining arm, dragging him through the hall, somewhat disappointed that no one was roaming the halls. I managed to make it to the command room, pushing the door open, before finally giving in and collapsing.

I dimly heard Tobias shout for a medic, before darkness took me.

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Chapter 4: Unfriendly Skies
I jolted awake, in a cold sweat. I felt something tear, and a fresh wave of pain rolled over me. I felt a pair of hands push me back down, and I was dimly aware of a few voices.

“Ah dammit! Lie down and don't move!”

I had no problems complying. A second wave of pain hit me like a Gravios, and I blacked out.

__

I groaned, rolling over on my back. My armor smoked lightly, battered and charred. Something out of sight roared, and I felt a source of intense heat pass over my prone form. A scream sounded not long after.

“Roy! Get up! C'mon, you have to get up, please!” A familiar voice pleaded. I raised my head, seeing Rei's worried face brighten up into a smile. I narrowed my eyes, confused.

“Rei...what? What's going on?”

I never got an answer.

A bright light slammed into her chest, burning a dinner plate-sized hole straight through it. She collapsed on top of me, eyes wide and lifeless. She had died without a sound.

My mind blanked, and I froze. A cold fury soon settled on me, and I gently pushed Rei's body off. I stood shakily, noting that most of the other hunters were either heavily wounded...or dead. Only two were actually still fighting, both of whom I didn't recognize.

I turned to Rei's killer, drawing both blades. Ice was flowing through my veins, and my heart and body cried out for vengeance. Vengeance I intended on getting.

Glittering scales shone in the dim sunlight, and icy blue eyes met my own furious glare. The creature launched an orb of light, and my feet suddenly were immovable. I only had time to throw my arms in front of me, in a feeble attempt to block.

__

My eyes snapped open, burning with unshed tears. I looked around frantically, before my heart stopped pounding and I realized where I was. I noted my armor was missing, and I had heavy amounts of bandages and stitches on my wounds. My stomach wound burned like fire, though my arm was oddly numb. I immediately feared my arm had been crippled, but flexing and feeling my fingers relieved me. It was dark, and glancing out of the window confirmed it was at least midnight.

“Ah, you're awake.” I glanced over, and saw Kyle sitting in a chair, watching me. “Must have been one hell of a nightmare. Anyway, thanks for what you did. I'm not the only one who wants to say that, I'm sure...but I wanted to say it before the 'committee' came in to do it. You saved my hide.” He grinned, then extended his right hand. I shook it, smiling back.

“It was no problem. That guy wanted to take the airship out too, so I killed two birds with one stone. What worries me is the fact he said 'our' during the fight...he's not the only one. There's more either on this airship...or waiting for us somewhere else.” I glanced at my wounds and grimaced. “By the gods these hurt...”

“Yeah, you got lucky.” He motioned towards my stomach. “Another inch to the left, and that guy would have split your spine in two.” Kyle then gestured at my arm. “And any deeper there, and you'd have lost that arm. According to the doc, anyway.”

He shrugged, then went to walk out, before stopping in the doorway. “Really, thanks again.” With that, he walked out, likely to go to sleep. I sighed, looking myself over again, not liking the extent of the injuries. I rolled over as far as I could without pain, and settled in to sleep.
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Sunlight poured in from the window, waking me abruptly. A nurse was currently changing the bandages on my arms, and noticed I had woken up.

Her skin was dark, my guess being because she spent an large amount of her time in the sun. It wasn't a permanent tone, more of a suntan than anything. Her eyes were a vivid blue, and she had her black hair in a bun, her nurse cap over top of it.

“Ah, good morning! How are you feeling? Do you want something to eat?” Her voice was melodic, and it took me a moment to respond. She giggled at my inability to answer.

“Uh, yeah, I'm feeling alright, but this still hurts a little.” I responded, gesturing at my abdomen. “I'm a bit hungry as well.” She smiled, then ducked out of the room.

The bandage on my arm was off, and hadn't been replaced, allowing me to actually see the damage. It was neatly stitched together, though the stitches themselves sometimes felt like they were going to split on their own. Both my arm and stomach itched like hell as well.

I wasn't too sure how much time had passed, but the nurse eventually came back with a heaping stack of food, just slightly more than I thought I could eat. It was stacked six inches high with pancakes, with sides of bacon, scrambled eggs, and sausages on smaller plates surrounding it. My mouth watered when the delectable aroma finally hit me, and the nurse wheeled the cart over.

“Take your time, please. We don't need you choking on top of all that, now do we?” She laughed lightly, excusing herself so I could eat in private. I charged in, fork leading the way. I managed to clear it all in a little over twenty minutes. My stomach hurt, but it was a good hurt. The nurse, seemingly psychic, walked in at that very moment and took the cart out, smiling gently as she did so.

“Anything else I can do to help you?” She asked politely.

“Ah, no. Not at the moment Ms...?”

“Oh, my name is Linya.” She raised her hand as I went to introduce myself. “I already know who you are, Roy.” She giggled again. “I read the reports on everyone here. Yours is impressive, as is everyone's here. Though, you've got something about you that makes me curious...”

“Nurse, may I ask what you're doing?” The doctor had come in, and was glaring at the nurse like she had killed someone. “I specifically recall telling you to check on the patient, not get his life story.”

“Sorry doctor, won't happen on duty again.” She looked down, then hurried out of the room. I frowned. There went any chance of conversation to pass the time...

“Now then, let's check on these wounds, shall we?” He peeled back the bandages on my side, 'hrmm'ing and 'aha'ing every now and then. He pressed on it, and I hissed in pain, sending the doctor a withering glare. He sent a stony look back at me, before replacing the bandages and repeating the actions on my arm.

“All appears to be in order. You should be able to stand on your own two feet. You'll be discharged momentarily.” With that, he gave a curt bow and walked out.

A short while and a stack of paperwork later, and I was back in my room. The book was where I had left it, though it would be difficult to read with my arm in a sling. I settled on my bed, awkwardly picking the book up anyway. The sun was still high in the air, shining merrily into the room. I cracked the book open to the page I had left on, and started reading. After all, I wouldn't be doing much else for quite a while.

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Two days had passed, and my wounds had healed nicely, thanks to continued visits by the nurse. My arm was still sore and almost unusable, though it was getting better as the days went on. My stomach wound had almost fully healed, a thin scar still barely visible. Or it was visible, until a blue gel was planted on it. I shivered, still not used to the chill of the medical gel.

“What's in that, anyway?” I asked through chattering teeth.

“Ground Kelbi horns with mashed bitterbug. Helps immensely with scarring, though it's expensive and difficult to make.” Linya replied. She dropped another glob on my arm, grinning when I shivered again. “You don't like this much, do you?” She teased, giggling lightly.

“No, not really.” I ground out. “It's cold, dammit, and I would know! I live on a mountain!” She only chuckled in response, her soft hands rubbing the gel into my skin.

“You know, usually you would have hit on me by now.” Linya said bluntly. “What's wrong, am I not attractive?” Her sapphire eyes looked at me, seeming to bore into my very soul.

“Oh, no, you're very attractive. I'm just more on the chivalrous side. Well, that, and I'm already taken.” To my surprise, she sighed in relief.

“Well, thanks for that. Usually I can't get men to stop staring at me. Especially at my breasts.” She set her jaw, looking particularly insulted with that last thought. I chuckled, and she turned her glare on me, before cracking into laughter of her own. “Oh, I wish I had met you sooner. You seem like a nice guy, and I'd love to...get to know you, if you get my drift.”

I flushed slightly, before chuckling nervously. “Yeah, I think I do.”

She finished applying the gel, and placed the lid on the jar. “Well, it appears I'm done for today. We should have dinner one night. I know I've gone over your papers, but...” She looked away, a semi-frustrated look crossing her face. “...these damn things don't tell the entire story. Or even part of it, to be frank. They only tell what the Guild wants people to know.”

I smiled. “I'm sorry my dear, but...that's all there is. I haven't done anything overtly secretive, nor have I done anything really worth mentioning.” She frowned again, and glanced away from me. I raised an eyebrow. “I never said no to dinner.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as a rumble tore through the airship.

“What in hell's name was that?” she cried, picking herself up off the floor.

“All engineering crew, to the engine room. Firefighting gear will be provided. Attention, all engineering crew...”

“If it's not one thing, it's another...” I growled. Another rumble tore through the ship, this time from the front.

“All hands, Silver Rathalos inbound! All available crewmen, man the ballistae!” Tobias' voice carried over the intercom. “Fend it off! Requesting the assistance of all hunters! Harnesses will be provided, get to the roof and get rid of- augh!”

I looked at Linya. “Stay in the hallway, this room isn't sa-” There was a mighty crash, and the window blew out as the wyvern slammed into it. It punched a sizable hole in the wall, and was thrashing around, making the hole larger.

I picked the nurse up and dashed out of the room, before diving to the right. A fireball tore through the wall of my room, going into the room across the hall. I set her down. “Run! I'll do what I can to hold it off!” It was then I realized I left my weapons and armor in my room. I groaned, walking over to the opening in the wall.

I glanced in, noting with pleasure that the Rathalos had moved on. The mighty airship groaned under another assault from the metallic wyvern, it's structure holding...if only barely. I quickly donned my armor, picking up my swords from the closet. I kept Corona sheathed; it would be no use against the wyvern flying above.

“No, no! Stay away from me! NOOOO-” A wet crunching noise sounded over the intercom, and I winced out of sympathy. Dashing down the corridor, I passed Clara, who was busy going over her swords, making sure they were nice and sharp. It was a strange set, one looked reminiscent of Thor's Dagger, and the other was a...small wooden mallet. She wasn't wearing her armor, and her jet black hair was a mess. It looked as though she had just woken up, though Clara was alert and awake.

“So much for a peaceful ride...” I heard her grumble as I passed. I allowed myself a small chuckle, heading up a ladder to the upper deck. Another rumble passed throughout The Chimera, this time directly overhead. A fireball punched through the ceiling, setting fire to the floor in front of me. I jumped back in shock, before getting a running start and leaping through it. There was a bloodstained ballista station to my right; likely where that crewman had gotten eaten. Said crewman's lower limbs lying on the floor attested to that fact.

I walked over to it, seeing it was loaded. Grinning, I settled into position, thankful these were made so that a brain-dead conga could shoot one. The silver wyvern blew past me, and I tracked it, hoping to get a good shot. I lined it up, and squeezed the trigger. The two massive arrows launched...and missed as the flying wyvern rose suddenly. I groaned, looking around to see if any ammunition was lying around. No such luck.

Walking away, I heard a massive explosion and felt a concussive wave pass over me. I spun, and saw the ballista emplacement reduced to timbers, crackling loudly. I bit off a vicious curse at how close that had been, before turning and continuing to the next ladder. I would have made it too, if it weren't for that meddling Rathalos. He burned another hole in the wall, and this time smashed his way in, glaring at me. He roared, before launching another fireball.

I brought my shield into position, feeling the impact and heat through it. I looked, and saw the scales on my shield scorched and warped, and the outer edges were glowing white-hot. I felt something warm running down my arm, and I cursed again. Doing that had torn the wound back open, I was running on a timer now.

I lunged forward, catching him in the chin and nicking the thick scales there. The wyvern roared again, and clamped his jaws down on my blade, trying to tear it from my grasp. He won easily, tossing the blade away. It buried itself into the wall, up to the hilt, and I was forced to draw Corona, at least until I got Odyssey back. I swiped at Sol's legs, and nicked the scales there as well. Nothing I had was sharp enough to penetrate his carapace, and I groaned. I groaned again as Sol spun, slamming me with his tail and throwing me through a wall.

I dimly noted how cheap these walls were as I picked myself out of the rubble. Thankful he didn't have enough room to charge me, I sat back for a moment, dodging the occasional fireball. Sol eventually got bored and left, going to attack the airship again. I sheathed Corona, before hearing voices over the intercom.

“Dammit, another engine is going up! What gives! Hey, who ar-ack!”

“Engineering...Engineering, respond. Damn, someone get down there and figure out what the hell is going on!”

I reached over to the panel, which had been spared from the blaze. “I'll go.”

“Not alone you wont. Find Elizabeth, take her with you. Godspeed. Ensign...”

I had stopped listening, as I dashed over to the wall where Odyssey was embedded. I tugged, and it held fast. Pulling harder, I put my foot on the wall, using that for leverage. It finally came free, almost launching itself out of my grip. I sheathed it, before turning and running down the hallway I had come from.
__

Chapter 5: The Knight

I dashed down the hallway, heading towards the rooms. A fire had started, and it was quickly consuming everything it could. Debris crashed down in front of me, forcing an alternate route. I chose smashing through the already weakened walls, and just going around the obstruction. The walls were cheap as well, making that decision even easier.

“Ah, Roy! Over here! Help!”

I twisted my head around so fast I heard something crack, simultaneously coming to an abrupt stop. Linya was trapped beneath a wooden pillar, the fire slowly creeping it's way up.

“Hang on!” I sprinted over, bending down and grabbing the debris. I lifted, and it barely moved. Frowning, I tried it again, this time bracing myself as best I could. To my frustration, the results were the same. I thought quickly, mindful of the flames. “Hold still, I'm gonna try something.” Even in this position, the nurse still had enough calmness about her to shoot me a nasty glare. “...right.”

I drew Odyssey, and struck the column. The blade cleaved halfway through the beam, soaking it partially. At least the fire wouldn't reach her for the time being. I swung again, and this time the blade finished the job, the severed end rolling away. Taking position where that chunk used to be, I lifted, managing to raise it enough for Linya to slip out from underneath. She stood, moving to sprint out of the room.

A crack sounded over the doorway, and I pulled her near me, placing myself in the way of whatever made that noise. We waited for a few moments, then I looked up. The ceiling had started sagging, and it was getting lower as we watched. I started moving, when she suddenly overtook me, sprinting out of the room first. We had both managed to get down the hallway when the wood door frame finally splintered, and the entirety of the room's ceiling collapsed.

I paused to catch my breath, now that we were safe for the moment. I took my helmet off so I could breathe a bit easier. Linya herself was hacking up a lung, though I didn't blame her. Smoke was a bitch to breathe in.

“Are you alright?” I looked her over as I asked. Hacking aside, she appeared fine.

“Yeah, thank you.” She looked herself over, grimacing at her burnt clothing. “Other than some light singeing, I'm fine.” She shuddered lightly, before abruptly clutching herself. “I...I don't want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't heard me.”

“Then don't.” I answered simply. I placed my helmet back on, turning to head to the engine room. “Try to find someplace safe this time.” my tone light and joking. She nodded slowly, then looked up in time to see me start turning towards the fire in the hallway.

“Be careful, you still owe me that dinner!” I nodded back, dashing back into the blaze. I was confident my armor would protect me, regardless of the damage it had sustained already. That was the equivalent of placing a giant target on my back. An ember managed to leap into the open crack on my arm guard, torching the already tender wound.

I howled in pain, trying to get the flaming chunk out, to no avail. I ripped the gauntlet off, and the debris rolled away mockingly, its damage done. The injury wasn't severe, just some light burning; painful, but not too hindering. The wound itself had been partially sealed by the flames, the bleeding having already stopped on its own some time ago. I growled as I placed the gauntlet back on, not enjoying fate sniping at me.

The flaming wreckage sat stubbornly in my path, though the pile didn't look too wide. I thought for a moment, then went into the room next to the pile. I walked to the back of it, and keeping in mind the thinness of the wall, charged it at full speed, praying I was far enough back to move past the obstruction.

I hit the wall and smashed through it, running straight into the flaming barricade. Thankfully, my armor held off the fire and a large majority of the impact. I escaped with no injury, but my ego wasn't as lucky. Even with no one around, I still felt immensely embarrassed about a screw-up like that.

I looked at the wall to my left, drawing Odyssey and thrusting it in. I twisted the blade, making a hole and peeking in. Seeing another room, I kicked the wall in, passing through the enlarged hole, making another small hole with my sword in the adjacent wall. I looked out into the hallway, noting that I had finally made it past the barricade.

I backed up, and charged forward again, shoulder lowered. I rammed the divider practically shattering it under the sheer force of the strike, and I stumbled into the hallway, sweeping dust and wall chunks off of myself. I jogged out of the hallway, heading to the engine room.
__

“Ah, there you are. About time.” Elizabeth was standing just outside of the engine room, which itself was eerily quiet. Even the usual roar of the furnace was missing, it was unsettling. “I've been sitting out here for about ten minutes. No one has come in or out, nor has anything made a noise.” She glanced at the door, readying her longsword. “I don't like it.”

“Neither do I.” I responded. “There's likely at least one more of those ninjas in here, so be careful. Those arrows punched through the bulkhead like it wasn't there. Ready?” I placed my hand on the handle as I asked.

She nodded at me, and I slid the door open.

Total darkness greeted us. I drew Corona, once again using the sword as a light source. This time, however, there were no boxes to strike for additional light. A few moments later the light problem solved itself. There was an explosion at the far end of the room, and light from the adjacent hallway poured into the room. Bodies littered the floor, most of them still breathing. The boilers were out, some wrecked beyond repair. Others were damaged, but semi-functional.

“What the hell?!” Elizabeth cried, shielding her eyes from the sudden change in lighting. The explosion wasn't what caught my attention though. What did was the figure calmly striding out. The person was armored from head to toe in snow white armor, with similarly colored wings adorning the waist and shoulders. Red streaks crossed the shoulders, and on the person's back was an enormous curved white blade.

“Hey, you! Stop!” I called out, bringing my shield into a usable position. Something told me I'd be needing it.

The figure halted mid-stride, before slowly turning to face us. From the nose to the base of his neck was exposed, betraying his gender at the very least. His chest plate, greaves, and gauntlets all had red lines running down them, and he simply radiated power.

Strapped to his thigh was a small steel-grey sword, with ridges running the length of it. The hilt curved upwards, and on the bottom of the handle was a small round fixture with blue gems. The armor near the blade had iced over, though the man either didn't notice, or didn't care.

“Ah, the one who managed to kill Komatsu. Well met.” He smiled, ignoring the vicious glare Elizabeth was shooting him. “I am Sulevac, one of several Knights of Lady Aquila. I apologize for the mess, but I really must be going...” He turned to leave again, when Elizabeth rushed forward with a battle cry, unsheathing Gaelic Flame and striking in one fluid motion. The sharp Daora steel caught the man in the side, deflecting off the hardened material. He sighed, completely unfazed.

“If you wish to fight, I'd happily oblige you. However, there is very little time to duel right now. Survive the crash, and seek me out. I'll be waiting.” Without warning, he spun and kicked her in the chest, sending the Rathalos clad woman staggering back. Before she could recover or I could react, he dashed out and disappeared around the corner.

There was an explosion, and the wall dented from the force of it. I peeked out, and saw a jagged, smoking hole in the floor, Sulevac no where to be seen. I stared for a moment, before seeing a flash of silver beneath.

“You just don't quit!” I shouted in frustration, leaping backward as Sol forced his way in, seemingly hellbent on getting at me. His head got in, but his large wings prevented the rest of him from entering. Undaunted, he blew a sloppily aimed fireball in my direction. I easily ducked it, noting with disdain that it nearly melted the bulkhead on contact. I made a quick swipe with Odyssey, nicking the plating around his face. The stroke did little else, besides get the mighty wyvern a little wet.

Sol tried to bite me in retaliation, though the opening didn't allow him any mobility. He settled for firing another ball of flame, before retreating again. A short while later, as I was sheathing my sword, the airship rattled again, worse than it had before. The Captain's voice sounded over the intercom, sounding distraught.

“Dammit! That was our last engine, that Rathalos picked it off! All hunters on the roof, get inside! Everyone else, brace yourselves, we're going in hard!” The airship rumbled again, Sol continuing to harass it. “Oh for...ballista gunners! What are you doing?! Knock that wyvern out of the sky already!” There was a short pause. “What do you mean 'We tried?!' Try harder!” I would have laughed, had it not been my hide on the line.

“Roy! Help me get these guys to a safe spot!” I jogged over, helping Elizabeth find secure spaces for the living crew members. We were halfway done, when a shout sounded over the intercom again. One that chilled my blood.

“Brace for impact!”

I did just that, grabbing onto one of the boilers and praying it held.
----

Chapter 6: Aftermath

There was a mighty rumble, and it felt as though the room was tearing itself apart. A tortured shriek of steel and splintering of wood pointed that out. My momentum carried me forward, and my helmet met the boiler I was hanging on to. My vision blanked, and I lost my grip, slamming heavily into the tilted wall. I felt several bodies pile on top of me, the weight pressing down on my armor. The rumbling slowly came to a stop, hissing sounding from several of the failing boilers. Another shriek of metal being torn apart, and a boiler on the far end detached from it's position, slamming into the opposite wall.

After what felt like hours, my head stopped spinning and my vision cleared. I slowly pushed my way out of the stiff pile of cold bodies, a pang of regret coursing through me. We weren't fast enough, and these men paid the price. I prayed silently that a few survived, though I didn't think the crash killed most of them. Upon closer inspection, many had puncture wounds through their hearts or throats. I shook my head. How a man in bright white armor had stayed hidden for so long, I didn't know. There was a soft moan behind me, and I turned.

Elizabeth was lying on the floor, a spike of metal driven through her left leg. She had a dazed look on her face, either in shock or concussed. Groggily looking at me, she smiled softly.

“...good. You made it too...” the Rathalos armored woman said tiredly. She laid her head back, closing her eyes. Her breathing slowed a bit, though it didn't stop, and the smile never left her face. Breathing a sigh of relief, I lifted her up, trying my best not to hit that pole sticking out of her arm. For the most part, I succeeded. Only once did it tap my armor, and a short spray of blood lanced out, almost warning me to not do it again.

I reached for my bag, only to realize with no small amount of horror that it wasn't there. I groaned, remembering that I had left it in my room, which was likely buried under twenty tons of airship at this point.

I stumbled once or twice, my head still not entirely clear. I regained my balance each time, though came dangerously close to dropping the unconscious woman on the second stumble. I hit my first roadblock in the form of a pile of debris. On the up side, it wasn't on fire. On the down side, it was made of various steel girders and parts of walls. It completely blocked the path, leaving only enough room for a mouse to slip through.

“Great. How am I...” Shifting the woman to one arm with enormous difficulty, I drew Corona. 'This just might work...'

I placed the tip of the blade on the steel, and pushed. The metal began heating, though progress was slow. Before the sparks started flying, I attempted to find a place to set the wounded huntress. I could work more easily that way as well. Setting the woman down carefully, I re-applied the heated blade and got to work. Occasionally, I would strike the glowing surface, large chunks coming off. An hours worth of work, and I had made it through the first beam, the broken steel rolling towards the tilted end. I had checked on Elizabeth every fifteen minutes, noting with relief there was next to no bleeding. The iron pole had lodged itself tightly, sealing the wound off as it penetrated.

Turning back to the barricade, I sighed. “About thirty more to go...” I re-applied Corona, settling in. It was going to be a long, hard day.

======

“Ugh...Roy?” I jerked my head up. I had managed to knock out four more beams, though I was sweating profusely. I needed water, fast. The wounded huntress doubtlessly needed it more than me at the moment. “Can...Can you come over here, please?” Her voice was shaky. I walked over, sheathing the fiery blade. The woman made a drinking motion, silently signaling for water, as I figured she would. Glancing about, I noticed a pipe running along the ceiling, bent and twisted around. What piqued my interest, however, was what was dripping from it. I reached up, collecting it in my cupped hand and taking a sip. I grinned, drawing Odyssey...and immediately felt like the dumbest creature on the face of the planet. I scowled, slicing the pipe and letting the crystal clear liquid flow into the room.

Moving to support the skewered huntress, I sheathed Odyssey, feeling like a bigger fool every second. Embarrassment burned in my face, and I was glad my helmet was on. Thankfully, Elizabeth had failed to notice the blunder, so my embarrassment quickly faded.

I walked her over, and she tilted her head back, opening her mouth and drinking deeply. She then removed her helmet, turning it upside down and collecting water in the curved bottom. After she was done, I removed my helmet, doing the same.

Sitting my helmet on as level a surface as I could, I reached up and squeezed the pipe, easily pinching the soft metal. No need to waste it, as we had no idea how long it would last. I glanced back at the barricade, not liking the amount of work that was going to be needed. I hoped the water lasted, and in the back of my mind, prayed none of these men would wake up.

I shook the thought out of my head, suddenly disgusted with myself. Drawing Corona once again, I got back to work. Those beams wouldn't dislodge themselves.
===

I managed to knock out six more beams before I wore myself out. I assumed it was late, judging from how long I had been at it. Corona was slightly worn, and I had no whetstones on me to fix the edge up. Elizabeth had provided a little in the way of conversation, though I worked mostly in silence.

I had emptied my helmet of water, and had filled it up twice more in the time I had been working. The water supply had to be getting low, though at the same time, Odyssey could pick up some of the slack. Wouldn't taste particularly good or even be all that healthy, but it was something.

I stepped over to the Rathalos armored woman, the huntress in question sweating profusely. I removed my gauntlet, placing my hand on her forehead. “You're warm... probably getting a fever.” I bit off a curse, looking around for something cloth I could use.

Spotting a crewman, I jogged over to her and ripped a length off of her uniform, spending just a brief moment praying she went painlessly, as she was certainly dead, if the unnatural position of her neck was any indication. I opened up the water line again, soaking it thoroughly and folding it over. I pinched it shut again, before walking over and placing the cool rag on her head.

She moaned lightly in relief, opening her eyes tiredly. “Thank you...”

I smiled. “It's not a problem. I'll take care of you, don't worry about anything.” She smiled weakly back.

“Do you say that...to every girl?”

“Pretty much.” I grinned cheekily, sparking a chuckle from the feverish woman. I settled into a spot within reaching distance, though not quite falling asleep. She groaned lightly, closing her eyes and attempting to get to sleep. I felt the rag, noting with disdain that it had gotten warm already. I removed it and stood, cooling it again. I repeated the action at least seven times that night, and her fever refused to go down. I grimaced, looking at the barricade again. I cursed internally, standing and returning to work. I needed to get Elizabeth help, and sitting there wouldn't get it to her.

I managed to knock out nine more before exhaustion forced me to stop, my arm trembling and sore. I merely moved the blade to my left arm, doggedly continuing. An iron will drove me, I refused to let her die. I glanced over, sparing a sad look at the groaning huntress, though it didn't slow me down. If anything, it reinforced my drive to keep going. I rose my left arm, striking the glowing bar. It collapsed, and fell to the side with its brothers.

“Ten...”

====

I jolted awake, glancing around blearily. As soon as I realized what had happened, horror leaped into my heart. I dashed over to the floored woman, feeling her forehead with an un-gauntleted hand. She was ice cold.

“No...no no no! You're not dead!” I felt around her neck, her pulse non-existent. I slammed a fist into the deck. “FUCK!!” I lifted my hand, and pounded the metal again. I growled angrily, more at myself than anyone, even though I knew in the back of my mind I wasn't to blame. I knew exactly who to be angry with. Those bastards who had crashed the airship in the first place! I turned to the barricade, teeth bared. I practically ripped Corona out of its sheathe, striking the metal violently. Corona gentle pulse quickened, though the metal heated at the same rate it always did. I grunted.

“Not fast enough! Come on, melt god dammit!” I shouted. The metal glowed white, and I struck again, taking a large chunk out. The loose steel beam clattered down, barely missing my feet before sliding to the wall with the others. The rate I was moving inwards more or less kept the pile level. I savagely struck the next beam, and a small part of me wondered how I hadn't broken the sword yet.

To speed up the process, I drew Odyssey and swiped, trying to knock small chunks out. The blade made contact and went clean through. My blood ran cold, and my fury turned icy, turning from those hijackers to myself. “No...no way! You just had to do it the hard way, DIDN'T you Roy?! Because of you, she's dead. Good fucking job!” I yelled, berating myself. I decided to vent and free myself at the same time, taking vicious swings at the barricade. Metal cleaved like butter, water flying in all directions.

Each time the sword cut through a beam, I grew angrier. It was so easy! If I had done this first, Elizabeth wouldn't be dead! I blazed through the remainder of the blockade in two hours, growing angrier and more disgusted as time went on. The final beam fell away, sunlight beaming through the hole. The entire starboard side had been torn away; that half was lying a good one hundred yards away.

In the space between, the survivors had set up camp with whatever they had left. The shriek of steel finally giving way attracted the attention of a few, who then alerted others in the area. The pointed at me, and a few people with stretchers approached. I sat in the elevated door frame, legs dangling over the yard long drop. Suddenly feeling exhausted, I felt my anger bleed away, sadness and depression replacing it.

“ROY!” I glanced up slowly, hoping...no, praying I hadn't heard that voice. My fears were confirmed, when I saw a flash of Rathian scales, and someone leaping up to the door frame. Rei stood there, bright smile on her face and tears in her eyes. “I-I thought I lost you...”

I was confused. “Wait, just how did you get here!?”

She pointed north, where a second airship awaited. Emblazoned on the side was 'The Lightbringer', and it was tethered to the ground, engines shut off. “They stopped in Pokke, thinking this airship hadn't picked you up! I talked my way aboard, thank the lord our names start with the same letter huh? I just convinced them they had the wrong name, it wasn't hard. I think the captain wanted to leave more than he wanted to argue with me, so he let me aboard, and, well, here I am~!”

I blinked. “Remember Rei, breathe when talking.” I glanced back into the dark room behind me, another pang of guilt washing over me. “Rei...I killed someone. I didn't mean to do it, but I did.”

She didn't gasp, as I had expected her to. Instead, she silently pulled me into an embrace, wrapping her arms comfortingly around me. “Shhh...I'm sure you didn't murder anyone.” I felt her chuckle, before she continued. “I know you. You wouldn't have done it unless he provoked you.”

“Rei, I didn't lay a hand on her. Even so, I moved too slowly getting out of here, and she's dead because of me! Worst of all, she died alone. I was too busy working to take care of her, and s-she...” I felt tears of shame burning, but I refused to let them fall. Rei said nothing, but tightened the embrace.

“There was nothing you could have done though. No one's going to blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself.” She said gently. Rei continued holding me, occasionally rocking back and forth. I felt like trash, powerless to stop someone from dying of something as trivial as a fever.

“Come on, you need to get something to eat. You've been trapped in there for the better part of two days, I'm shocked you're even awake right now. Besides, we're blocking the medical team.” I glanced up, and Rei was smiling warmly at me. She jumped down, and after a final glance into the room, I followed.

===

The doctor had later told me that, after inspection of the wound, it had gotten infected. Once again, there was literally nothing I could have done to help Elizabeth. She, along with Clara and Kyle, were dead from the crash. Samuel was down for the count with a concussion, while the others had various bumps and bruises. Captain Tobias and the entire command staff had died on impact, some more together than others.

I myself was suffering from mild starvation, exhaustion, and moderate dehydration. Guilt kept me from doing anything more than drinking fluids. I wasn't hungry, and I couldn't sleep. Instead, I chose to look at the room I had freed myself from. In addition to the huntress, twenty five crewmen had been in there with me. Only five survived, and they all were in failing conditions. The doctor had given them maybe to the end of the week, if they were lucky.

“Hey, Roy. Come here.” I snapped out of my thoughts, glancing in Rei's direction. She beckoned me over, leading me behind a rock, well away from the campsite. She smiled, before coming closer and locking her lips to mine. I leaned into it, tension lessening. Reluctantly, she broke away, heart-melting smile still on her face. Rei began to remove her clothing, the smile turning mischievous. I returned it, following her example.

If anything, I slept well that night, my love in my arms once again.
---

Chapter 7: Recovery

My eyes slowly crept open as the sun hit them. Rei was snuggled up against me, her head nestled in my chest. My arms were wrapped around her waist, and I could feel her warm breath on my skin. I was too comfortable to even wake up properly, let alone actually move. I willed myself to lean over and give Rei a light kiss on the forehead.

“Nnmnmh, five more minutes...” she groaned. I smiled warmly, fulling intending on giving her that time and more. Shifting slightly, I closed my eyes and fell asleep with her.

–

The sun was high in the air before I woke again, though Rei had turned away from me and had my right hand in a death grip. I chuckled tiredly, stifling a yawn as I did so. I placed a kiss on her neck and tried to wake her up.

“Rei...c'mon hun, time to get up.” I whispered into her ear. She stirred, but didn't wake up. “Rei, get up.” I said with a little more sternness. No reaction. I sighed, then had an idea, a wicked grin spreading across my face. My free hand drifted down to her exposed belly, and set to work tickling her. She jerked awake, laughing and trying to hit me at the same time.

“Stop! No, wait, please! I'm up, I'm up! No more!” She choked out, tears of laughter in her eyes. Satisfied with the results, I complied. The grin was still plastered on my face as I stood and offered a hand to the hysterical huntress, fully expecting on retaliation later.

I wasn't expecting “later” to be “two seconds from now.”

The girl tackled me to the ground, hands trying to find a weak spot, somewhere I would crack a smile. Her hands glided across my stomach, neatly avoiding the small amount of stitches still present there and looking for that one spot. I made no move to stop her, a bemused expression on my face.

“What's wrong? Can't find it? I'll give you a hint: It's further up...” She glanced at me, then back down. It was almost comical how hard she was concentrating, squinting and covering every inch of my chest with her small hands.

“Warmer, warmer...colder, arctic, warmer...” I sounded out, faking a bored tone. Rei touched a spot just above my heart...and I jumped. Her face went from determined to wicked grin mode in a second, and she moved in, fingers moving at lightning speed over the sensitive spot. I bit off a laugh, making it sound more like a yelp. She stopped, perplexed.

“Did you...wow. That's a sound I never expected to hear from you of all people...” The blue haired huntress sat back, suddenly attacked by a fit of giggles. I frowned, embarrassment burning in my cheeks. She leaned forward, pecking my cheek and leaning back, still fighting off the giggles. I smiled.

“Yeah yeah, so I yelped. At least I don't snore!”

The smile dropped off her face so fast I thought it would make a crater when it hit the ground.

“I...I don't snore! ...do I?”

“Hate to break it to you, but...”

She leaned forward, eyes wide and fearful of the answer.

“...no, you don't.” I stuck my tongue out, smiling cheekily at her. Rei...wasn't amused. The upset girl jabbed me in the shoulder, before turning her back to me. “Hey come on, I was just joking!” A huff was all I got in response. “I'm sorry, I won't do that again.” Still no answer.

I leaned forward, noting with amusement her attempts at not looking at me. I reached down towards her stomach with hands bared... and I pounced a moment later, hands going to work. Soon enough she was laughing again, pleading with me to stop.

I loved hearing her laughter. If I could stay here and listen to it all day, I would.

-----

With some difficulty, we worked the giggles out of our systems. We had spent another hour simply
goofing off and having fun. It helped me keep my mind off of what had happened yesterday, and I was grateful for it.

I still felt a pang of guilt when I saw the body bags, knowing I could have done something more to help. Several were being sealed by the Lightbringer's medical staff. The Chimera's doctor was nowhere to be seen.

I noted idly that I hadn't seen Linya since before the crash. I grew worried the more I thought about it. Still, my stomach didn't let me dwell on it for long, interrupting my worries with a loud growl. Suddenly growing lightheaded, I stumbled and tripped over my own feet, falling head first into the ground.

“Roy! What happened!?” Rei called out, concern in her tone.

I groaned, vision spinning at a painful rate. Forcing my eyes closed, the spinning ceased and developed into a headache instead. 'Lack of food plus sex equals terrible idea' I thought, simultaneously fighting off the urge to be violently ill. I felt Rei's hand on my forehead, and felt it trace a line down my face.

Cracking open an eye, I looked around experimentally. Satisfied my vision wouldn't start spinning again, I slowly sat up, noticing some medical staff making their way over to me.

“I'm alright, just...just got dizzy.” I called out. Several staffers turned around, though two still came up to me, giving me a once over and demanding I eat something. They turned to leave, and I slowly stood using Rei as stable ground. She helped walk me to the fire pit the campsite had, and a plate of hot food was delivered to me, apparently already prepared.

I didn't even register what was on the plate as I tore through the food at a ravenous pace. Not eating for almost three days does that to a guy. The worried look never left my companion's face, not that I could blame her. She carefully watched me, looking for signs I might pass out.

She wasn't vigilant enough, because twenty minutes later that's exactly what I did.

-------

I came to hours later, under the careful watch of the blue haired woman. The sun was beginning to set, and the weather was beginning to cool. A light breeze kicked up now and again, chilling my exposed skin. I shivered, before sitting up and yawning mightily. I noticed I was under an open-sided tent, on a small medical bed.

Rei had apparently zoned out, because she jumped a little when I yawned.

“Ah, you're awake! Do you feel alright?”

“Yeah, I guess I was just really tired.” I responded with a light chuckle. “I feel much better now.”

“Oh, good. You're awake.” A third voice cut in. I glanced over and saw Linya standing with a clipboard, smiling brightly at me. She was sporting a bandage on her left cheek, and slight bulk around her torso betrayed the presence of bandages there as well.

The nurse stepped over, giving me a light embrace. “Thank you for saving me from that fire. I wouldn't have made it without you.” I smiled back, feeling an invisible weight lift from me.

“It was nothing.”

“No, it wasn't nothing. You risked yourself for me, and I'm in your debt.”

I mulled that over, suddenly deciding I didn't like having someone indebted to me. It didn't feel right. “Just help me out here, and I'll consider us even.” I replied. Linya let go and stepped back, bright smile still decorating her face. She nodded, looking over her clipboard again.

“Let's see... you haven't had anything to eat in three days?! Are you crazy?!”

“Yes.” Rei cut across, a smirk on her face. I frowned at her, sticking my tongue out at her childishly.

“Barely any sleep, no food...no wonder you passed out. I suggest you get something to eat and get some rest...though you've probably already fulfilled the rest part. Take some time and take care of yourself, you should recover in no time.”

“I'll be sure to. Thank you.” Linya nodded, smiling once more at me before walking off to another patient.

“Alright Samuel, how are we feeling today?”

“So, who's your friend?” Rei asked, tone strangely sweet. I involuntarily gulped.

“She's a nurse from the airship. Took care of me when I got stabbed.” It then registered exactly what I just said. “Uh oh.”

“You were stabbed?! How?” Her eyes were wide, and they were suddenly scanning every inch of me, coming to rest upon the thin scars that I had recently received. Her hand gently traced the line, and I jumped a bit.

“A...well, a ninja did it.” Rei arched an eyebrow. “No, really! Listen, I'll explain as best I can.” The next twenty minutes were spent going over everything that happened on the ship, ending with the crash itself. The blue haired woman listened intently, nodding every now and then to let me know she was listening. She cringed when I reached the part about the ninja... Komatsu I think that knight called him.

Story finished, I smiled disarmingly at Rei. She seemed to be in slight shock, staring off into the distance.

“That's twice I've almost lost you...” she muttered quietly. I pulled her into a warm hug, running my fingers through her hair comfortingly.

“Hey, I promised you I'm not going anywhere. I don't break promises, you know that.” I heard a light sniff, and felt her nod.

“Yeah, I know. I can't help but be worried for you now though. What if next time you leave you don't come back?”

I thought for a moment. “What if I do?” I replied with a smile. She didn't respond, but instead wrapped her arms around me, as I was doing to her.

“I'd be happy.” She answered simply. I loosened a hand, using it to lift her chin up before kissing her deeply. After a moment, I broke off.

“Then I guess I'll be making you happy. C'mon, my stomach's killing me and I need to get something in it.” I hopped off the bed, taking a minute to steady myself. “I'll bet you haven't had anything since I passed out either.”

She grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “No, not really. I could go for some Aptonoth steak...” The woman trailed off wistfully.

---

A hearty dinner later, and I was feeling stuffed. A contented sigh made itself known, and drowsiness took over. I collected two unused pillows and a blanket from the medical tent, with their permission. Several of the patients were up and about (Samuel included), and unfortunately all of the rooms in the Lightbringer were filled, otherwise I would be using one.

I spread the blanket over a soft-looking patch of grass, setting the pillows just above it. Rei began to strip as I settled in, and she soon joined me. The woman pressed her back against me, sighing happily. I wrapped my arms around her again, lightly kissing her neck.

“Good night Rei, see you in the morning.”

“Good night Roy. Love you.”

I smiled, and she quickly fell asleep. My thoughts turned to what had happened over the past several days. That man, Sulevac... I made a note to end him the minute I saw him again. Him and this “Lady Aquila.” They've caused the senseless deaths of well over forty good people, and they wouldn't get away with it. I'd make sure of it.


Chapter 8: The Tower

The next two days were spent recovering, the remaining hunters from the Chimera doing the same. The hunters from the other airship were getting impatient, but kept their frustrations to themselves. I was regaining strength, my body finally getting the rest it desperately needed. Samuel was getting over his concussion at record speed, completely shocking the doctors that were helping him.

Jason was wandering the camp, looking utterly devastated. He was taking the loss of Clara especially hard. His Greatsword, Siegmund, was sunken into the ground above a shallow grave that he had personally dug for her. There was little I could do to console the man, as he was unresponsive to any attempts to speak to him. He was without his armor, though was looking over his knife with worrying frequency.

Samantha was similarly wandering, though her wandering was more out of boredom than distress. Her lance was the mighty Babel Spear, and it was currently resting with the rest of her gear. Thick black carapace was visible on the ground, piled up near the lance.

Rachel was checking her gun over, making sure the barrel was clean and the string taut. Her check complete, she began to polish her armor to a blinding white sheen.

Rei was checking her bow and armor over, as well as readying several vials of Rathian venom. It was a nasty poison that caused necrosis at the impact zone within several minutes, and death in less than an hour. Still, it was completely harmless if it stayed out of the bloodstream, and was easily treated if acted upon swiftly.

As for myself, I was checking Corona over for damage from that metal cleaving frenzy. I wasn't worried in the least about Odyssey, and a cursory glance revealed the edge was still very sharp. My armor had been patched up a bit, both holes sealed. It would still need a blacksmith's touch to actually fix, but it would hold for the time being.

I stretched my tensed muscles, yawning slightly. I swiped the whetstone over Corona's edge one final time, inspecting the blade carefully. Satisfied, I sheathed it and placed the whetstone in a bag I had borrowed. While the half of the airship with my room was accessible, I hadn't yet had time to actually explore the wreck for my stuff. Not to mention it was probably gone anyway, what with the gaping hole in the wall, exposed to the open air.

I glanced up. Perhaps it was time I went in to look.

--

I donned my helmet to protect myself from anything that wanted to brain me. Namely, hanging pipes and twisted metal of all shapes and sizes, balancing precariously on each other. It was dark in the wreck, so I was using Corona to once again light my way. I wound down the halls, debris strewn about and the occasional flame still burning in a room.

I eventually came across the hall my room was supposed to be in, and sunlight was pouring in through the hole in the outer wall. I forced the door open with some difficulty, before stepping into the wreckage. I looked around for the distinctive white fur of my bag for a few minutes, loosing hope the longer the search went on. I sighed, and turned to leave.

As I walked past the doorway, I caught a glimpse of it, sitting underneath the ruined bed. I felt like a colossal moron, smacking the back of my helmet and walking over to the bed. I sighed, collecting the bag and noticing it was dripping wet again. The potion bottles had shattered at some point, and the glass shards were jingling around in the bag. I overturned it, dropping the broken bottles onto the floor and draining a good amount of the (now useless) liquid.

I sighed again, and turned back, stumbling my way out. At least the whetstones were still there, though the sharpening fluid bottles had broken as well...

“Wonderful.”


--

After what remained of our group had finished with preparations, we met up with the Lightbringer's hunting group, and started walking to the destination, a large tower that was barely visible in the distance. The ground was too rough and narrow for the airship to deliver us, otherwise it would have done so.

There was the occasional burst of small talk, but little in the way of meaningful conversation. We all were tired, battered, and wanted to get this over with so we could go home. The collective thought was more or less “This isn't worth it.”

“Ah, I wondered when you would arrive.”

My blood ran hot the instant I heard that voice. I spun my head around so fast I felt my neck crack. On top of a ridge was Sulevac, white armor glinting in the sunlight.

“YOU!” I roared. I tore Corona out of its sheath, clutching the hilt tightly.

“Yes, me.” He put a hand to his chin for a moment. “Hmm. What ever happened to that woman that was with you? I was hoping to see her.”

“She's dead.” I spat, sending a furious glare in his direction. “Come down here! You've got a payment to make in full!”

“Mm, that's too bad.” He seemed to be ignoring my other words. “I really was hoping to see that hot-blooded woman again. Well, no matter. You are nearly there, just a bit further. Lady Aquila has forbidden me from engaging in combat until we are at the Tower. She wishes to speak with you, specifically. Your friends can tag along, she has no qualms about that.”

He then jumped off the opposite side of the hill, and was gone by the time I had clawed my way over. Corona was pulsing dangerously quick. I seethed with silent rage, slowly sheathing Corona and rejoining the group.

“Who the hell was that, and who's 'Lady Aquila'?” Samuel asked as I returned, confusion in his tone.

“That was Sulevac. Apparently, he's one of four 'knights'. They're the ones who sabotaged the airship and cost all those lives.” Barely controlling my anger, I took a deep breath, counted to ten, then repeated the process three more times. I was still as angry as I had been when I started. Jason similarly was furious, and his U Generation Black Diablos armor was a perfect reflection of that.

“That bastard is mine. He'll pay for what happened to Clara...” Jason growled quietly. He was trembling with rage, and it was obvious he was fighting the urge to just run ahead of the group and find Sulevac alone.

Rei placed a hand on my shoulder, pressing down lightly. “Roy, please calm down. Getting angry won't solve anything.” I huffed, taking a few more deep breaths. Eventually I calmed down enough to think, remembering the white armored man's words.

“She wants to...talk to me? Why...?” I glanced up, and the group had started walking again, leaving me behind. I jogged to meet them.

----

We had walked for a few hours, and the tower was finally becoming completely visible. It extended beyond the cloud layer, leaving a few of the group in awe.

“We don't have anything like this back home...” Rachel breathed. “This is amazing...”

“Yeah...” Samuel agreed. I looked at the tower, then something clicked and I groaned. All eyes were on me.

“You know there's gonna be thousands of stairs...right?” I mentioned. Everyone groaned after I said that, thoroughly tired of walking. “Well, if I remember how these were built, there were landings every dozen floors or so. We could set up camp on one of those.”

“We didn't bring tents.” Someone shouted. I couldn't place where they were, nor could I recognize the voice. Likely a hunter from the Lightbringer.

“That's fine. We'll sleep under the stars then.” Rei chimed in. “It won't be that bad.”

“If you say so...” The voice responded, resigning his position.

“C'mon, not much further now. I wanna get in there and tear that smug bastard limb from limb.” Jason said angrily. No one responded, and we followed the furious man who had taken point.

---

We entered the tower after another fifteen minutes of walking. The stairs, however, were a different story. We walked up flight after flight, which took hour upon hour to do.

“I wanna meet...the guy who built...this thing...” Samuel muttered, panting all the while.

“Why's that?” I questioned. I was slightly better off than Samuel was, though I was beginning to feel exhaustion setting in.

“So I can...kick him in the nuts...”

The group chuckled tiredly, thinking along the same lines.

---

After climbing a few dozen flights of stairs, we came upon a landing. It was large and spacious, little in the way of debris spread around. Likewise, there were no holes in the floor. This landing had been well
preserved...or taken care of. I'm not sure why, but it made me uneasy.

Night was falling, so a small camp was set up. A fire pit was built and shrubbery was used to fuel the flames. Many of us had removed various parts of our armor. I had removed the top half of my equipment, placing the armor and my swords in a pile nearby.

The temperature was quickly dropping, and I shivered. I reached into my pack and pulled out a thin blanket I had packed, wrapping myself in it. My armor wouldn't have helped keep the warmth in, and it would have hindered my efforts to regain it. My light shirt wasn't helping either.

Rei was leaning against my chest, reading a book she had brought along. She huffed unhappily when I shifted to get the blanket, but otherwise didn't react. Apparently the book was that good. Samuel was cooking something for the group, some recipe he had picked up in Loc Lac. It wouldn't be ready for a couple hours though.

Feeling bored, I decided to make a pest of myself.

“Hey, whatcha reading?” I asked my companion. She didn't respond. “Heeeeeellooooo...” I tapped her on the head, and she merely swatted my hand away. I sighed, obviously being ignored on purpose now.

Not having much else to do, and being unable to move due to the woman practically sitting on me, I closed my eyes and tried to catch a quick nap.

---


I awoke to shouting. Quickly getting my bearing, I jumped up...only to knock Rei over, who had been napping against me. The shouting was Samuel losing a card game to Rachel, a few other hunters playing as well and laughing at his reaction. A few eyes glanced at me, but none lingered.

“Roy! What the hell?!” Rei snapped, slowly picking herself up. I bent down and helped her up, and she wrenched her arm from my grip. “Seriously, why did you do that?!”

“Well, I heard shouting, what was I supposed to do!?” I snapped back. She didn't respond, instead picking her book back up snapping it shut, completely ignoring me. A small voice in the back of my mind was mocking me, saying that was our first fight over nothing, and many more would be coming. I sighed, before walking over to the angry woman.

“Rei, I'm sorry. I overreacted.”

She didn't look at me, though I saw her shoulders fall a bit.

“Just give me a minute to calm down, okay? That hurt, you know.” She turned and showed me her chin, which was currently dripping with blood. I cringed, guilt welling up.

“Let me at least help clean you up. I didn't mean to-”

“I know.” She interrupted, pressing her hand to her chin to stem the flow. I moved closer, reaching into my pack for some gauze. “Don't. This little thing doesn't need it.” There was a coldness to her voice that I didn't like, though I knew I deserved it in some small way.

“Then what can I do to help?”

“Stay away from me for a bit. I still need to cool off.” She replied, tone still icy. I felt as though I had been struck. I stood and walked away, biting back a retort all the while. No need to get myself into deeper trouble.

----

An hour passed, and the full moon had settled high in the air. I had joined in the card game for several hands, and came out a good deal richer than I went in. Rei had stopped the bleeding, and was back to reading her book, though I saw her head droop every now and then. I walked over to her, apology at the ready.

“Rei, I-”

“I'm sorry.”

I blinked. “Uh, what?”

“I'm sorry. I overreacted, not you. Your right, there's no way you could have known. I don't want to fight over this anymore.” She recited. Rei had obviously been thinking about this for a while. “So, do you forgive me?”

I blinked again, before laughter forced its way out. It started out as a chuckle, then turned into a full blown laugh. She frowned at me, and I held up my hand, trying damn hard to stop my sudden onset of chuckles.

I took a breath, quashing them for now. “Rei, I was about to come apologize to you.” I sat down next to her, and she laughed too, our 'fight' completely over and done with. “I'm glad you don't want to fight anymore. I don't either.”

The blue haired huntress pressed herself up against me again, settling in for the night. I bit off a chuckle, grabbing the nearby blanket and draping it over both of us. I placed a light kiss on top of her head.

“Good night, see you in the morning.” I whispered. Rei replied with a sleepy grunt, and her breathing fell into a slow rhythm. She shifted her head a bit, nestling it over my heart. I wrapped an arm around her and similarly fell asleep.


---

[I]Grey smoke clouds whirled around me. I looked around, confused.

“What...oh no, not again...” I groaned. A dream like this usually signaled it was about to become a nightmare. I tried desperately to force myself awake, but to no avail. “Looks like I gotta tough it out...”

Some of the smoke cleared, and darkness met me outside of it. A curious glow was a distance away, and as I had nothing to do, I went towards it. I was there before I could even register my own footsteps, something I chalked up to the dreamworld.

“Alright, and what are you...?”

The light was no bigger than my palm, but when I went to grasp it, it floated away, this time into a little girl's hands. She was dressed in a pure, blinding white dress, red streaks running down it like angry scars.

She smirked, then brutally crushed the light, darkening everything except her. There was a flash of blood-red lightning, blinding me for only a moment. When my vision cleared, the girl was gone, and was replaced by the corpses of everyone that was with me. On top was Rei, her body broken and life gone.

I remained unimpressed, knowing that it wasn't real...even if it was rather convincing.

“Help me...”

I jerked my head around, and another flash of lightning blinded me. Again, my vision cleared. Rei was on the ground, chest torn open, crying.

“Please...make it stop! It hurts, please!” She begged. “Roy, please! It hurts so much...”

I was losing the mental battle. Why these nightmares plagued me, I didn't know. Rei's begging was quickly wearing down my resolve. My knees began to quake, and a helpless feeling spread over me. She was obviously dying. The only way I could stop her suffering was to...no, I wouldn't do it! I couldn't, but at the same time...

I lost control of my body. My legs moved of their own volition, not responding to my attempts to change direction, or stop. My left hand went for the carving knife on my waist, which the nightmare had conveniently placed there.

I stood over her after a short time, before sinking to my knees. I still couldn't stop myself. Not when my arm arched back, and not when it came hurtling down, aimed at Rei's heart. The knife made impact and my vision faded to white.


–

My eyes shot open, and I felt tears burning their way down my face. I glanced down, just to comfort myself that Rei was still there. A smile split my face when I saw her still asleep against me, breathing slowly and calmly, as opposed to my near hyperventilation. I held her tight, for once legitimately frightened. I didn't want to let go, didn't want to lose her again.

The moon was setting, the sun began rising, and a new day had started.

–

A few hours later, the rest of the group had woken up, breakfast was eaten, camp was packed up, and we continued on our way. It wasn't much further, and we had seen no sign of Sulevac, nor his mistress. It was curious, especially after he had said we weren't far...

I was staying close to Rei, the nightmare had affected me that badly. I didn't want to let her out of arm's reach, just in case I needed to help her. I knew that chance was very, very slim, but I still had reason to be on edge. She shot me the occasional questioning look, but didn't say anything.

Walking up the final flight of stairs, we came to an ornately decorated room. There was a long table in the middle of the room, with a deep red carpet underneath. Several candle-lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling. In the massive windows hung drapes, once again a dark shade of red.

“Ah, there you are. I wondered when you would arrive.” Sulevac greeted. “Now that you are here, Lady Aquila wishes to speak with you.” He pointed at me, and I stepped forward. “Your friends will be treated to a feast in the meantime.”

“What about?” I asked, not entirely convinced that I wouldn't be killed the instant I stepped away.

“She wouldn't say.” He replied, an uncharacteristically displeased tone evident. “Still, I'll find out soon enough, as will you. Come.” He walked off to a doorway on the left, and after one last glance at Rei...I followed.

Thick wooden doors met us, and were pushed open to grant us entry. The interior of the next room was more ornate than the last, with gold plating everywhere. There was a large bed in a corner off to the left, and a dark-stained wood desk near it. In the bed, was a young woman in a pure white dress with red streaks. My blood ran cold and my body locked up. Sulevac noticed this and laughed.

“Intimidated? You should be. She was chosen by the Mighty One himself. She has great power, it's why we follow her.” The white clad man told me. “Now, if you excuse me... Lady Aquila? The warrior you wished to see is here.”

There was a light groan, and she slowly sat up and yawned. Her hair was a snowy white, and her iris' were red. Her right eye had a hideous burn over it, otherwise marring her pale and soft looking skin.
e
“Ah, thank you Sulevac. You may leave us.” She replied, her voice light and barely audible.

“Are...are you sure, milady? He is a brute from a far away land, he may harm you.” Sulevac responded, worry in his tone. I looked at him and glared, though it was invisible under my helmet. He seemed to have seen it anyway, because he shot me a similar glare, the first actual show of hostility from him I had seen.

“I'm sure. He wouldn't harm me and get away alive, you and I both know that.” Aquila remarked, a warm, confident smile on her face. Sulevac hesitated for a brief moment, then bowed and walked out, closing the heavy wooden door behind him.

“Now then, I hear you took down one of our people. Ordinarily, I would be upset, but Sulevac tells me that the injury you sustained should have killed you. Now, I would like you, to tell me, just how you did it. How did you kill Komatsu?” She was eager for my answer, more eager than someone should have been when asking for details on how one of her men were killed.

“I was stabbed, yes. He missed anything vital though.” I replied simply. She shook her head, unsatisfied.

“Nonono, how did you kill him? I know how he failed to kill you.”

“Oh.” I thought for a moment, the memory slightly hazy. “I remember being stabbed, and he left me to bleed out in the cargo room. I don't know how, but I stood up and hacked half of his limbs off. He died from the shock to his system.”

“Ah, so he was careless. So, it was not an issue with our training after all. Very well. You may return to your friends for now. I may have more questions later. Go, enjoy the feast.”

“Uh, what is the feast for?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“It is the weekly visit of the Mighty One, the very One who blessed me with this.” The white-garbed woman pointed to the burn on her head. “The feast is held in his honor, and once a month he blesses someone new. This is that day. We would be disrespectful to the Mighty One if we did not bring you before him as well.”

“Me?” I asked, perplexed.

“Yes, you. You proved yourself in combat against Komatsu, regardless of the circumstances behind his defeat. Besting one of our warriors makes you worthy of being judged. Later tonight, when the black clouds come in and the red lightning flashes, we shall take you to the roof. There, you shall be judged by his holy power. If you are unworthy, you will die. If you are worthy...you will become one of us.”

Chapter 9: Lightning Ceremony

“I...suppose I have no choice in this, huh?” I asked glumly. Dammit, we were only here to find out what happened to those eggheads, not get involved with some crazy cult!

“If you wish for your friends to remain unharmed, then that's correct.” Aquila replied, a smile on her face. “Now then, if that is all, you ma-”

There was a shout and a thump behind the door, followed by the tip of a red Great Sword punching a hole in the thick wood. The weapon was torn out with a roar, then brought through the door again, cleaving through the door as if it were cheap plywood. The top half fell off of its hinges, revealing just what was going on.

Jason was swinging Siegmund with wild abandon, aiming at Sulevac. The white-clad man was desperately evading the heavy sword, not having time to draw his own Great Sword. No one moved to stop either party, though I noticed some similarly white armored people standing around and monitoring the fight.

Another shout tore itself from the Diablos man's throat, and he slammed the weapon down, cleaving the table in two and embedding the blade into the floor. Sulevac barely had time to draw his own weapon before Jason was on him again. Aquila was watching intently, not seeming concerned about Sulevac's wellbeing.

“That man is dead, you know that right?” She asked me idly. I looked at Jason, and the sheer rage in his eyes made me flinch. Sulevac, conversely, was borderline fearful for his life if his body language was anything to go by.

A mighty strike from the Diablos clad man knocked the white blade away, and the follow-up attack tossed Sulevac like a doll. The Knight hit the ground hard and bounced. He didn't get up, though he was still alive if his labored breathing was any indication.

“Depends on which man you mean.” I shot back, smiling smugly under my helmet.

Aquila's face quickly shifted from confidence to anger. “He won't be getting away with that. Nyardiss, end him.” One of the white armored figures nodded, and drew a spiral shaped hammer, once again continuing the color theme of the user's armor.

I jumped out of the chair, rushing to Jason's aid. The rest of the hunting group responded as well, drawing weapons. The remainder of the armored figures drew weapons of their own, and several shifting shadows alerted me to more of those ninjas.

“I thought we had an agreement, warrior!” Aquila shrieked. “You were to-”

“Shut up bitch!” Jason roared back, cutting her off entirely. “Clara is DEAD because of you! It's only right YOU repent for that!” The Diablos clad man charged past me, cocking his weapon back and bringing it down on Aquila. There was a loud crash, and a scream. The hammer had countered the red Great Sword just a few inches above Aquila's head, and she had covered her head with her hands and screamed.

Jason was roughly shoved away, then brutally struck in the side by the weapon. Chunks of his armor flew in all directions, and he just collapsed on the spot. The woman raised the hammer, and I moved in that instant. I sprinted and dove, placing myself and my shield in the way of the hammer. The titanic blow was felt throughout my entire body, and it floored me as well.

My shield arm was bruised and sore, and my shield itself wasn't doing much better, bent out of shape and missing a few scales. What had scared me was the pulse of black energy that erupted out of the hammer on impact. If that had actually hit me...I didn't want to think about it.

The woman drew her hammer back again, but never finished the swing. An arrow lodged itself in Nyardiss' throat, and she died in an instant, brain stem severed. Aquila had fled in the time it had taken for myself to recover from the blow, and Jason was still out for the count. The two remaining Knights gasped in disbelief.

“Nyardiss, no! Please, get up!” One of them cried, another woman. She sounded on the verge of tears. “Please...”

“You'll pay for that, you bitch!” The other roared at the archer.

“Bring it on then!” I heard Rei shout back. The bowstring was drawn back again, and an arrow whistled through the air, catching a ninja in the side and downing him. I blinked, then grinned, standing shakily and drawing Corona.

“Tykel, Errian! Hold them off, the Mighty One is almost here!” Aquila cried from behind them, the roof visible through the doorway.

A shadow jumped Rei, and was suddenly and viciously slammed into the ground by a hammer. A wet snapping noise echoed through the room, and the Shinobi had suddenly become several inches thinner.

“Hehe, pop goes the weasel!” Samuel laughed, taking a swing at another. The ninja dodged and took a swing with a sharp Naruga short sword, though did little to the heavy armor. The shadow was forced to abandon the weapon as it was lodged in the armor itself and refused to come out. Another mighty swing from the Uragaan hammer met nothing but empty air, the target having long since retreated.

One of the Knights, Errian, moved in with twin swords, one matching her armor and the other a stark contrast of black. She swung the blades, catching a hunter across the chest with both and producing both black and bright red sparks. The hunter was dead before he hit the floor, two smoking holes in his Tigrex S armor.

The other, Tykel, also had dual short swords. One sword was steel grey and jagged, a red strap present near the hilt. The other was a coppery red and looked like a claw. A quick slice produced flames from one and a chilling breeze from the other, denoting the Dragons they had come from. Tykel brought them to bear on two hunters, who successfully fended him off and retreated, saving their own lives.

A groan sounded from behind me, and I spun. Sulevac had woken up, and was in a sitting position, trying to get his bearings. He shook his head clear and jumped up, drawing his small Daora sword as he did so. His white Great Sword was embedded in a pillar some thirty feet away.

He advanced in my direction, intent obvious from the way he was staring at the fallen hunter by my side. I stood and brandished my battered shield and Corona.

“You wish to hinder me? Very well, I'll remove you first!” Sulevac shouted, bringing the sword in a wide arc. I brought my shield up and countered, the warped shape of the shield making that somewhat difficult. He swung again, and I countered with Corona.

The blades met and sparks flew, Corona's steady pulse flickering and dying. Corona began to lose heat where the Daora sword had met, color dulling out to a grey. The Daora sword was beginning to heat up at the contact point, glowing white hot and on the verge of melting.

We both shoved off, inspecting our weapons curiously. Coloration returned to Corona, whereas the Daora sword was no longer in danger of melting off the hilt. I shrugged, and thrust the sword at the white armored man, who deflected it with ease and threw me off balance.

The frozen weapon then struck my right side, biting deep and freezing that part of my chest plate. It had avoided touching my skin by mere millimeters. I pulled back my right fist and punched Sulevac across the jaw, forcing him off and hearing a satisfying crack. He stumbled back a bit, then moved his jaw experimentally. There was another crack and he flinched in pain, then moved in on me again.

“Why?!” He shouted at me. “Why do you refuse Lady Aquila?!”

“You think I would follow murderers? What did those crewmen do to you?” I shot back, swinging and missing as he back-stepped.

“They were a danger to us! That entire machine and everyone aboard, you included, are a threat!” He lashed out, striking my shield again and tearing it out of my grip. It skipped over the stone floor, tripping a Shinobi and getting him run through with a longsword. Sulevac saw this and roared in anger. “How many more will you kill before you are satisfied!? Before you can go back and tell your precious Guild we are no longer a threat?!”

“You started all of this, not us! We came here to check on a research team!” I swiped at him, catching his side but not penetrating. “We didn't even know you were here!”

“Your Guild DID know! We've seen their scouts, seen their balloons! We are different, so we must be eliminated? Is that it?!”

“I'm telling you, we-”

“Enough lies!” He screamed, bringing the sword down in a mighty two-handed chop. It caught Corona's handle, forcing it out of my grip and again skipping across the floor, embedding itself in a wall. “Why does Lady Aquila want you, of all people? Komatsu was ready to become one of us!”

He struck at me again, tearing my left gauntlet in two and somehow missing my arm itself entirely. “He should have been blessed, not you!” He swung again, and I ducked the heavy blow. I punched him in the gut as the sword glided over my head. He doubled over and I followed with an uppercut to his chin, snapping his head upwards and forcing him to stumble back.

“I don't know WHAT is going on in that head of yours, but I am not here to kill people! It's your fault this happened. If Komatsu hadn't killed that crewman, or if you hadn't sabotaged the engines and killed those crewmen, this likely wouldn't have happened. No one would have had to die!” I shouted back.

“We had to defend ourselves from a threat. We did what was right.” He responded, determination in his voice. “I knew I should have killed you before you even set foot in this tower. Because of you, Komatsu is dead. Because of that harlot of yours, Nyardiss is-” He never finished the sentence as I shoulder-checked him. The white armored man stumbled away, I drew Odyssey and charged after him.

“How dare you!” I roared, taking a vicious swing. The carbalite edge tore a chunk out of one of his wings, the white webbing floating to the floor. Sulevac took a swing at me, and I caught it on the sharp blade and redirected it, before brutally slamming my helmeted forehead into his exposed face. A wet snap sounded and he yelped in pain. The white clad man's nose was flattened to the side, and it was bleeding freely. He was grinning though.

In a flash, I had doubled over as he kneed me in the gut. There was a triumphant laugh from Sulevac, followed by the sound of a sword being removed from stone. I stood slowly as Sulevac was bringing the heavy white blade down. It was quicker than I could have hoped to react.

The blade cut into my helmet, the curved edge stopping just as it cut my scalp. The dark pulse of energy scorched the scales of my helmet, disintegrating a good number of them outright. The white clad man removed the sword with a tug, and my helmet fell in half as he walked away. Blood was running down my face and I felt dizzy from the dark pulse. I sank to my knees.

“You son of a bitch!” I heard Rei shout, and watched with blurry vision as she placed a bottle of poison on the bow, brush overlapping the arrow. She let it fly and it buried into a Shinobi who had placed himself in the way. He shouted in pain and collapsed, convulsing as the venom did its painful and gruesome work.

Sulevac spun and brought the massive white blade to bear, though was countered by the Uragaan hammer once again. Finding it oddly funny the massive man was watching over one of the shortest people here, I allowed myself a small dazed grin as my world stopped spinning. I collected the fallen carbalite sword and stood shakily.

“Hey! I'm not done with you!” I called out blearily. Sulevac stiffened, and slowly turned towards me. Shock was etched into his face, which was quickly replaced by rage.

“Why won't you just DIE?” He cried, coming back at me with the heavy sword and frustration in his voice. My vision cleared as adrenaline spiked my body.

“I've defeated the King of Wyverns!” I ducked the side-swipe and countered with a slash of my own, tearing scale away. “I've taken down the Tyrant of the Sands!”

“Your previous accomplishments mean nothing to me, vile one! I'll end you here and now!” Sulevac screamed back. I stabbed at him, finally penetrating the armor and wounding the man beneath.

“They didn't stop me!” I continued, heedless of his own declaration.

I stabbed again, punching a hole in his right lung.

“YOU won't stop me!” I shouted, bringing the blade across his throat, ending our fight. The razor edge cleaved his windpipe with ease and he fell to the ground silently, blood pooling around him.

“No, not Sulevac too! I...I can't do this. I give up!” Errian cried, tears streaming down her face. She dropped her swords and fell to her knees, hugging herself and rocking back and forth. Tykel dropped his swords as well and pulled the woman into an embrace. He glared up at us.

“Go on! End us, I know you want to! We're ready!”

Two hunters did advance on them, but stopped upon seeing Samuel's steely glare. They backed off shortly after.

“You two...have no combat experience, do you?” Samuel asked the two. Tykel slowly shook his head, shame burning on his face. “That's what I thought. You definitely have good equipment...but it means nothing without the skill to back it up. Go on, get out of here. We didn't come here to kill you anyway.”

“What, that's it? You're just...letting us go?”

“Mmm. Don't make me change my mind,” the Uragaan clad man growled. “Ugh, kids on the battlefield...”

The two white armored people stood and walked out, Tykel guiding his female companion out. The remaining three Shinobi didn't follow. They instead went through the door to the roof, where Aquila was.

A cry echoed through the opening, and thunder rumbled. There was a flash, and the earsplitting sound of a storm overhead responded. The cry sounded again. It was high pitched and loud, louder than the thunder overhead. In fact, crazy as it was...it almost seemed like the thunder was responding to the cries...

The bleeding slowed and stopped, and the dizziness finally faded away completely. Rei jogged over to me, worry etched onto her face.

“Roy, are you...”

“I'm alright. A little banged up, but I'll live.” I replied. I flashed a smile and pulled her into a one armed hug. “I've had much worse, I'll be fine. Trust me.”

The woman didn't look convinced, but she smiled anyway and kissed me on the cheek.

“Alright, I will. You've never let me down yet, please don't start.”

“I won't.”

----

We walked out onto the roof, and we couldn't believe our eyes. Standing in the center of the almost arena-like structure was a tall, blindingly white dragon. It matched the description of a Fatalis, except for the scale color and a few other differences. In place of vicious spikes running down its back, there was a line of soft-looking fur. This fur also adorned its face, giving the mighty dragon an aged aura.

It spotted us, and looked down at Aquila, who was standing in front of the Fatalis.

“That's them my lord! My Knights have failed, please protect me!” Aquila cried. The dragon seemed to nod, turning away from her and loosing a mighty roar at us. Red lightning crashed down in response, thunder cracking overhead. There was a lightning strike several feet to my left, and I saw a limb soar away from the corner of my eye.

I spun and saw a smoldering hole where a hunter used to stand, scorched limbs lying all around. I then saw a pure white circle underneath me. I was perplexed for a moment, before it dawned on me.

“OH SHIT!” I shouted, diving to the side. The moment my feet left the ground, the lightning hit. The blast tossed me off my feet, though thankfully I wasn't struck. “Keep moving! That circle is a strike zone!”

I stood quickly, drawing Odyssey and my beaten Rathalos shield. Seeing yet another spot under me, I sprinted towards the dragon, who was content to stand still and watch us for the moment. I launched myself into the air, bringing the razor sharp blade to bear. The edge easily sliced through the thick scale, though didn't go deep enough to penetrate the skin. The dragon responded with an electrically charged claw, connecting with my side and knocking me away.

Samuel returned the attack with a counter of his own, slamming the heavy hammer onto the Ancestor's left foot. It flinched and shrieked in pain, before calling down a strike where the Uragaan man was standing. He had barely started to move when the bolt struck him and he collapsed on the spot, twitching occasionally. The convulsions stopped after a moment, but Samuel didn't get up.

“Samuel!” Rachel called out. The lack of response brought a hardened look to her face, and she loaded a cluster round into her gun. The Barioth clad woman quickly took aim and fired, the round striking the dragon on the snout and breaking open. The destructive payload spread all around, kicking up chunks of stone and blackening the Fatalis' scales. One orb made contact and blasted open a small ragged hole into the creature's skin, causing pain but not truly harming it.

Another bolt was called down, though the gunner was already moving by the time the dragon even thought of retaliating. She loaded the silver and gold gun again, firing another clust round at the dragon, though the shot went wide when a gust of wind hit it. Rachel cursed aloud, diving as another strike split the ground nearby.

As the dragon assaulted the Barioth clad woman, Rei launched twin poison tipped arrows. They penetrated the scale but did little to its flesh. She cursed and drew another back, though abandoned it when the telltale circle appeared. Missing once again, the Fatalis grew angry, screaming at us and beating its wings. It launched upwards, firing a ball of plasma down and disintegrating another hunter. A crater was made where the Blangonga clad man had been standing, the room beneath exposed.

It flew up to a ruined perch, shrieking again. One light appeared...then another...then two more...then another six. The lightning bolts all crashed down at once, and more lights appeared. Stone flew as the bolts split the floor, the air smelling of ozone. I barely managed to avoid a strike, the concussive wave pressing against me and causing me to stagger. I shook off the hit, and the rain of lightning ceased. Another hunter lie dead, a hole burned into her chest. Her Basarios armor had done nothing to stop the bolt.

The glimmering dragon made its way down, landing on all fours to keep itself steady. A torrent of ammunition pelted the creature's face, courtesy of the six gunners with us. It flinched and screamed in pain, quickly recovering and lashing out with its tail. One was hit by the appendage and was sent over the edge of the platform. He fell for a mile, and screamed the whole way down. I prayed he died on impact, I couldn't imagine the agony of surviving that kind of fall.

I rolled in again, carbalite blade lashing out and cleaving scale. The blade bit deep into the creature's thigh, crimson flowing from the wound. It shrieked in pain again and lashed out with its claws, striking my battered chest plate and slashing it open. The claws were enveloped in electricity, and the power blew me off my feet. I landed in a heap, vision blurry. My armor smoked and smoldered, and I still felt the electricity coursing through me. This felt...familiar...

“Roy!”

Rei had dashed over, leaning over me. “C'mon, you have to get up! Please!”

I blinked, then it clicked. A rush of adrenaline took me, and I forced myself forward, pushing her down. A cry sounded and an orb of red light soared overhead directly afterward. The orb struck the far wall, shattering it and knocking rocks over the exit. We weren't getting back out that way.

I lay on top of Rei, breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide and she looked confused. “How did you...?”

“I'll protect you until the day I die. Now isn't any exception.” Rei blushed slightly and I stood, pulling her up as well. I grinned. “Now, let's slay us a dragon!”


Chapter 10: Ancestral Dragon

I sprinted towards the dragon, sword up high and shield out front. Rei retreated towards the back wall, arrow nocked and bowstring drawn. The green-scaled bow launched the arrow at high speed, soaring at the dragon and embedding itself into the Fatalis' left wing.

Dashing into the magnetic field, I strained and pushed, swinging down and contacting the thigh of the white creature. A water jet leapt from the weapon, cleaving the thick natural defenses. Fatalis retaliated with claws again, catching my shield and cutting three nasty gashes into the metal. Another pulse sent me sprawling to the floor, Odyssey falling from my grip and skittering across the ground.

A Gunlancer in Cephalos S approached the beast, solid iron weapon shining in the faint sunlight. She leveled the weapon at Fatalis' stomach, a blue flame lit on the barrel and a high-pitched whine quickly growing louder. A loud roar came from the beast, and it beat its wings in an attempt to escape. Fortunately for us, it was too slow.

A massive blast erupted from the Gunlance, sending the woman stumbling back from sheer recoil. A small hatch popped open, heat venting into the air. The fire engulfed the bottom half of the angelic dragon, scorching and even melting scales all along its body. It shrieked in pain, and collapsed to the ground. The gunners took the chance to fire on the downed beast, several grinning as the Fatalis failed to retaliate. A loud bang came from one of the guns, and a large, heavy round traveled slowly through the air.

The explosion from the round was almost as impressive as the Wyvern Fire. It swallowed Fatalis' face in a large smoke cloud, a shriek indicating a direct hit. A retaliatory red bolt leapt from the cloud, but it missed the gunners by a large margin, impacting the wall and blowing another chunk out and off the tower.

Picking myself up from the floor, I dashed to retrieve Odyssey. Grabbing the steely blade from the stony ground, I spun on my heel and advanced on Fatalis. A woman in a stripped-down variant of Rathian armor advanced with me, flanking from the left of the dragon as I came from the right. She had clawed gauntlets on, and a blade of Gold and Silver Rath in her hands.

Drawing nearer, the Fatalis managed to finally pick itself up and attack. It struck at the woman with its claws, who deftly ducked beneath what would have surely been a decapitating blow. Taking my chance, and noticing the red markings gone from the dragon, I lashed out.

Odyssey struck true, cleaving through scale and muscle almost effortlessly, inciting a groan of pain from the dragon. The sword didn't stop until it hit bone, and with a tug I freed the sword for another attack. The woman who followed me lashed out as well, scoring a successful hit and cleaving several scales off of the dragon.

A glow from underneath warned me, and I dove to the side. The lightning bolt struck the dragon instead of me, burning yet another hole into the scale and shell. It was bleeding profusely, and seemed to be growing weaker. The venomous arrows were also doing their gruesome work, poisoning the mighty creature's blood and destroying it from the inside.

“Almost done, just a little more!” I heard Rachel cry, and her gun clicked as the bolt was cycled back. “Eat this!”

Another thump, and yet another explosive round made its way downrange. The Fatalis took the cluster round in the chest, the bomblets raining destruction on the ravaged dragon and battlefield. It cried in agony and collapsed, breathing heavily.

“No! Great one, please! Get up!” Aquila cried, pushing past me and running to the dragon's aid. She clutched the creature's face, and it moaned pitifully at her. She looked at me with rage in her eyes, and charged. A flash of gold, and an ornate knife was in her hands, presumably having been hidden in her dress somewhere. She raised her arm, knife tip pointing downwards, and struck at me.

The knife caught in my chestplate's chainmail, cutting a shallow hole in my skin but otherwise leaving me unharmed. I grabbed and wrenched her wrist back, hearing it crack. She let go of the weapon reflexively and yelped sharply, her wrist twisted at an unnatural angle. She struggled against my grip weakly, water threatening to spill down her cheeks.

“Why?” She asked meekly, before passing out. From pain, or exhaustion, or a combination of the two, I didn't know. I dropped her unceremoniously to the ground as I gingerly extracted the weapon from my chest. Blood covered the tip of the blade, and crimson liquid oozed slowly from the wound. I winced involuntarily.

“No matter how many times I see it, never get used to it.” I muttered, mostly to myself.

A low groan from behind alerted me to the fact that the dragon was still alive. It was standing from the daze our team had given it, and a quick shake of its massive head cleared its vision. The red glow returned to its chest, and blood red electricity surged around the mighty glittering dragon. The large horns atop Fatalis' head were damaged, large chunks taken out of the left one and the right one missing completely.

Fatalis glared daggers at me, then with a great effort began beating its wings. It groaned again and began flying away, off the tower and towards the ruins below. The remaining hunters and myself rushed down the tower, unwilling to let our quarry escape. Aquila lay forgotten on the roof of the ancient structure, though we would be back for survivors after the dragon lay dead.

---

Jason was sitting up at this point, and breathing heavily. He looked up as we were running past, obviously disturbed by just how few were left. A scant ten of us were left out of thirty, and those of us that were still alive were haggard and beaten. It was a tie between myself and Rachel for the title of “Most Battered”, though I was still running under my own power. Rachel couldn't walk, and was being escorted by a hunter in Ceanataur.

“Hey, guys...wait up,” he said tiredly. The Diablos-clad man slowly stood, using his massive sword for leverage. “Urg...I don't feel good...”

“Join the club, we've got jackets,” I replied dryly. Rei was standing nearby, watching me like a hawk as I walked over and retrieved my fallen Corona. “Rei, hun, I'm fine.”

“No, you aren't. It's a shock you haven't just...fallen over yet,” she replied, half awestruck and half concerned. She smiled smugly. “Who knew I had a boyfriend made of Novacrystal?”

I offered up a half-smile, watching Jason slowly make his way to the group. He fell in line and placed his Rathalos sword on his back.

“Hey, how are you holding up?” I asked.

“I'm fine, just a little dazed.” He said simply.

“Not what I meant.”

Jason went silent, and for a moment I thought he was ignoring me. I was mildly surprised when he finally did reply.

“I...I miss her. I miss her so much...” The hunter replied, voice cracking slightly. “What happened to that bitch, Aquila?”

“I broke her wrist after she stabbed me,” I gestured at the shallow hole in my chest. It had only recently stopped bleeding, and would definitely need stitches. “She passed out shortly after, so I just left her up there. She can't cause any more harm.”

“I'd have done more,” Jason muttered, menace in his voice. He fell silent, but kept pace with the rest of the group. His tone told me the conversation was over, though his expression was hidden by the helmet he wore.

Unfortunately for us, it was just as long down as it was up. It was nightfall by the time we reached the bottom, and the Fatalis was long gone. We had no camping supplies, all of them having been left at the dining room when the fighting broke out. In our rush, it hadn't occurred to us to grab them.

“Ugh, I can't move anymore.” Rachel declared. “Put me down, please. I need to rest.” The Ceanataur man obliged, lowering the injured woman to the ground. He then took her gun off of his back and set it next to her, before taking his helmet off.

“I agree, I'm exhausted,” the black haired man said, flopping down next to her.

“We have to keep moving though. The Lightbringer isn't safe with that dragon around, we need to warn them,” I said.

“Then you can go. I'm not.” Rachel replied simply.

I sighed. “Okay, who's going back with me?”

No one raised their hands, not even Rei. I rolled my eyes.

“Roy, we're exhausted. Going for so long without rest, after a fight that killed so many?” Rei said, almost pleading. “Please, sit down and rest.”

“I can't. I have to check on them. If you need to rest, then rest. I'll be back.” With that, I started jogging away. The large chunks torn from my armor reduced the weight by a considerable amount, letting me move at a respectable pace.

--

I had been jogging for the better part of an hour, the camp drawing closer and closer. I could easily see the glow from the fire pits that had been lit, and I made a mental cheer.

That cheer quickly turned to horror, as I realized the fires weren't from pits. The entire camp was burning, and a tall figure drew my gaze. A high-pitched shriek confirmed who it was, though I knew just from looking. The White Fatalis found the camp, and had obliterated it.

I walked towards the camp, taking cover behind a crate. Peeking out, the dragon had its back to me, tail lazily swishing back and forth. I crept out from behind the crate, creeping over towards a ruined tent.

“Hey, Roy!” A voice whispered. I jumped lightly at the sound, then looked in the direction of the voice.

Linya.

“Oh, there you are. What the hell happened?” I asked quietly.

She jabbed her finger at the Fatalis. “THAT happened!” She hissed. “There's only a few people left, they took cover in the jungle behind us. I came back to grab some supplies.”

“Are you crazy? That thing will kill you without a thought! It's already single-handedly slaughtered two thirds of my hunting group!”

“I know, I watched it decimate the camp. It just...killed everything...”

Looking out into the camp, I saw several charred bodies, as well as detached limbs scattered about. Anger built up in me, directed at the creature standing in the clearing.

I stood and walked towards the beast.

“Roy, what are you doing?!” Linya quietly asked, just barely not shouting. I ignored her, drawing Odyssey and continuing my path towards it. I then pulled my hand back, and rammed the blade straight into the beast's spine. It cleaved through, definitely cutting something as the dragon loosed an earsplitting scream.

It whirled on me, somehow still active despite the damage to its nervous system. A glowing spot appeared beneath me, and I went to roll away. The dragon's tail tripped me, and I landed on my back, the charged earth beneath me. I desperately tore my ruined shield from my arm and threw it into the air just as the bolt came crashing down.

It struck the concave surface and redirected, slamming into the dragon's face and forcing it to rear back and groan in pain. My battered shield finally had enough, however, shattering under the power of the blast. Electrified chunks of it went in all directions, leaving me nearly defenseless.

The damage inflicted was incredible. The Fatalis was missing an eye now, as well as a large chunk of its snout. The mane and beard that covered its face was gone, burned away in the intense heat. It would quickly bleed to death, if I didn't kill it first.

I fully intended to end this here.

Standing quickly, I charged the dragon and rammed it, to little effect. I jabbed the blade into the dragon's ruined scales over and over, drawing significant amounts of blood each time. I then forced the weapon in all the way to the hilt, twisted it, and dragged it along the beast's abdomen. Odyssey effortlessly cleaved through the damaged areas on the dragon's skin, tearing through the dragon's vitals as well. If it wasn't before, now it definitely was on borrowed time.

I withdrew the carbalite weapon and watched as the Fatalis' intestines spilled out of the wound. It toppled silently, and I was shocked at how easy it was. It barely put up a fight.

“That's it, you bastard? Huh?!” I shouted, walking over and kicking the dying beast in the head.

“Roy, stop.” Linya said, sounding shaken. “It's over.”

The Fatalis groaned one final time, then fell silent. The light left its eyes, and blood pooled around the wound. I sighed, then immediately blacked out.
--

Chapter 11: Fury of the Sun

I awoke what I assumed was hours later. I was in a small, broken down tent and laying on a small roll-up mattress. My torso armor, gauntlets, and helmet had been removed, and fresh stitches lined my abdomen. Faint trails of blood were visible around the wound, and I realized what had happened. I had broken the stitches and the injury from a few days ago had opened back up. I groaned as the stitched area throbbed, which alerted the tent's other occupant.

"You know, you Hunters are always doing this. We tell you bedrest, and you're all 'No, I need to slay a dragon' or 'But I need to get myself horribly maimed before the day is out!'" Linya said, tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're lucky you passed out in front of me, you'd be dead otherwise."

I only grunted in response. My mouth was horribly dry, and my head was pounding. Looking about with my blurred vision, I saw a glass of water on the nightstand next to me, which I promptly (and clumsily) grabbed and emptied into my mouth. Feeling a little better as the cool liquid made its way down my parched throat, I gazed around again. Scorch marks were visible on the tent, and several other people were in the room with Linya and I, several with wounds, some without. I mentally cringed when I caught the nurse's glare, then asked what seemed to be an obvious question.

"How long was I out?"

"Not long," she replied. "Only for about two hours, more than long enough for me to haul your stupid ass in here and patch you up. Again."

"Did anyone else come back?"

"...no, just you. Why?"

I mentally swore, before standing up. My sides twinged painfully, as if warning me to stay off my feet. I ignored the feeling, gathering my weapons and earning a huff from Linya. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Look for the rest of the group. They're alive, and waiting for me to get back, if I remember right."

The nurse said nothing as I left, turning instead to treat another man with serious burns on his face and arms.
--

I walked back outside, instantly noticing the fact that the dragon was no longer there. A trail of blood lead off to my left, then disappeared entirely. I was worried, as that was the way I had come from. I sprinted as fast as I could without tearing my stitches, which was a pace just above a wounded hobble. The path was clear, though it would be a while before I got to where the group had set up camp. I was worried about Rei.

"Eh, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself," I muttered quietly.

I slowed down to a quick walk, wounds threatening to stop me cold. I noted the clouds had cleared up, and the sun was setting. A light breeze skirted across the land, grass and trees bending to its will. I sighed, realizing I wouldn't make it to camp before nightfall.

A bellow sounded, one that I had become quite accustomed to. A Rathalos. Looking up, I saw a glint of silver in the orange light. Speeding up again, I ignored the pain of my stitches pulling against my tender flesh. I had to reach the camp now, I just had to! Sol suddenly dove down and even from this distance I could see the flames in his mouth, ready to be unleashed on the camp he was currently diving towards. A fireball made its way to the ground, and it disappeared behind the treeline.

I felt a stitch tear again, but simply pressed my hand down on the wound. I couldn't afford to stop now. The path was winding and long, avoiding rocky outcroppings and dense patches of trees. Deciding I needed speed over safety, I cut through a patch of trees, carbalite blade in my free hand. A quick look towards the sky caused my breath to hitch in my throat.

"Oh...oh no..."

Not only was Sol attacking the camp, a Gold Rathian decided to join in on the action. She plummeted to the ground, quickly disappearing beneath the treeline. Sol was still bombarding the camp from the air, though he did flinch every so often. I assumed an arrow or two were finding their marks, mentally cheering.

It was then that I tripped over an exposed root.

"Arrrgh!"

I hit the ground chest-first, sliding a few feet before coming to an abrupt stop. Odyssey skipped across the ground and came to rest over a patch of grass. I pulled myself into a semi-sitting position, checking my ankles over. My left one hurt, but it wasn't sprained or even twisted. I just needed a moment for the pain to subside, something I didn't have. What was worse was the state of my stitches. All but one had ripped, and the wound was bleeding freely again. Growing agitated with the recurring injury, I pulled myself over to the weapon. I emptied the contents of my bag onto the ground and clamped my jaws down on it. What I was about to do was going to hurt.

I drew Corona and, before I could try to reason with myself, slammed the flat side of the blade onto the injury. My vision exploded and I screamed in pain, the sound only barely muffled by the bag currently in my mouth. I pulled the weapon away after five seconds, which had the results I had expected. The wound had stopped bleeding due to being cauterized, but the skin in the immediate area was blistering and raw. I looked towards the stuff I had dumped on the ground, seeing a canteen. Praying it was full, I unscrewed the lid and with a thankful groan, poured cool water onto the injury. I almost sighed in relief, but the intense pain stopped me from doing much else but pant heavily. Having no cloth to cover the slash-turned-burn injury, I gathered the rest of my things and placed them back in the bag. I then stood shakily, wiped the tears from my eyes, and continued on. The pain in my ankle, obviously, was forgotten.
--

After taking my shortcuts, I made it to the camp in under an hour. I had many more scrapes and bumps than when I started, but I was finally there. Fires raged on the ground, as more fireballs hit the floor from the aerial wyvern. Luna herself was causing problems, though she also seemed to be in trouble. One of her wings had the majority of its webbing missing, and her tail had been neatly removed. The tail in question was sitting on top of what used to be a campfire, smothering it completely.

I watched as a man in Rathalos brought his Gravios-based Longsword down onto her wing, neatly cleaving through what was left of the bone and amputating the limb. She would never fly again, and at this rate would die quickly. I decided to join the battle, slashing at her ankles and noting with mild surprise that I was actually cutting through. Corona bit into her Achilles Tendon, and her left ankle suddenly went limp. She fell over, and was at our mercy. Sol didn't try to attack us at range, for fear of hitting Luna. Instead, he came down to us to attack.

With a loud, ear-shattering bellow, Sol hit the dirt just behind Luna and began his assault anew. He launched a barrage of fireballs, several of which struck the man in Rathalos. They just melted his armor on impact, burning through him as well. He hit the ground silently, smoking lightly.

A few arrows pelted Sol from the right, and we both looked over to see Rei firing arrows as fast as she could. One struck the silver wyvern in the left eye, instantly blinding it on that side. He screeched in pain and anger, sending a white-hot orb her way. She deftly ducked the projectile, before returning fire with another sharp arrow. The fireball she ducked struck a tree, causing the bark to burst into flames. The fire quickly reached the top, burning the entire tree almost to the ground.

I also attacked Sol, striking his ankles much like I had Luna's, but as before on the airship, I merely deflected off of his scales. I attacked again, aiming higher and slicing some of his webbing, though not causing any real or permanent damage. Sol hit me with his tail, knocking me back as he focused on Rei. He charged her, missing yet again as she dove away. Sol slammed into the burning tree, uprooting the massive plant and knocking it over. A woman armored in what appeared to be yellow sponges struck at Silver Sol with a lance made of the same creature, punching small holes in his wings. He retaliated with another fireball, which she expertly blocked with her over-sized shield. The heat warped the material, but it still held strong as the Rathalos lashed out with his tail.

Ignoring the Silver wyvern, I turned my attention to Luna, who was still on the ground. She moaned weakly as several hunters gathered around her. The hunters blocked my vision, but a spray of blood and Luna's eyes going dim told me they just slashed her throat open. They then let out a brief cheer as they turned their attention to Sol...who had watched the entire thing.

Sol was so angry, it was beyond description. Every movement he made only made it more evident he was going to kill each and every person that had just participated in the golden wyvern's execution, and he was going to do it slowly and painfully.

The metallic drake exploded into fury and motion, bowling over several of the hunters approaching him. One was pinned down by a talon and promptly killed as Sol bit down on his head, cleanly removing it from the rest of the man's body. I decided to sprint over to Rei while Sol had his attention on massacring the guilty.

"C'mon, over here!" I gestured, pointing to a thick bush we could take cover in. She nodded, and we both dove inside for cover. Sol ignored us as he was currently disemboweling another hunter. The man's Naruga materials were absolutely no match for the sharp talons of the Silver Rathalos. He screamed as the talon sliced him open, then went silent as the Rathalos incinerated his head. Several weapons hit the wyvern, but only served to make him more angry. Sol flew into the air, then came barreling down again, talons outstretched. They made contact with the sponge woman, tearing into her and killing her almost instantly. She let out a low moan, much like the Rathian had, before departing from the mortal coil.

Sol touched down again, facing down the only remaining hunter actively fighting. He wore Guild Knight armor, and was armed with twin ornate daggers...that served him little use as Sol blew a barrage of fire at him. While the Knight avoided as many as he could, the sheer number overwhelmed him and eventually he was hit, the entirety of his left arm suddenly missing.

One of the fireballs flew our way, and I felt a rough shove from behind me. I hit the dirt, heard an explosion, and my vision suddenly muted, color washing out. All I could hear was a ringing sound, unaccustomed to hearing the sounds of battle without the protective padding of my helmet.

I watched as Sol picked the Knight up in his talons, flew high into the air...and just let go. The man plunged to his doom, screaming for the fifteen seconds it took to hit the ground. Sol, satisfied with the outright destruction of what was left of the hunting group, landed next to his dead mate. He nuzzled her one final time, bellowed in anguish, and left.

"Oh man...that was close..." I whispered, afraid to attract Sol's attention even though I knew he couldn't possibly hear me from as far as he was. "Rei, you can come out now."

No response.

"Rei?"

I turned, and my heart fell into my stomach, which was currently doing back flips. She was laying on the ground, eyes closed. She wasn't breathing either.

"NO!"

I quickly flipped her over to do CPR...only to discover there was nothing to do CPR with.

"This...this can't be happening. This is a bad dream, this has to be." I pinched myself, then slapped myself, then resorted to punching myself...to no avail. This was really happening.

Her chest had been blown open by a fireball, which only happened because she was moving me out of the way. "If I had been paying attention, she would be alive. This...is my fault...no..."

I fell to my knees, unsuccessfully willing the tears away. "Rei...please forgive me...please...If...if I had been faster, or more attentive..."

My voice broke, and I cried loudly, knowing no one was alive to hear it.
--

This post has been edited by BizzarreCoyote: 23 May 2012 - 05:44 AM

[BizzarreCoyote]

So, first chapter is up. You should notice an improvement in structure. That's because I finally realized "Hey, I can use OpenOffice for this, then paste it here!"

In any case, next chapter will be formal introductions to the ones Roy will be working with. The others can pretty much be considered Redshirts, if it makes you feel better XD

[SemajChaos]

Like it.

[Chaa]

Tee hee! Cute how you built up their relationship.

Me likes too!

[Rekee Soen]

LOL Red Shirts.

Simple writing, entertaining humour, and although there's the often used plot of hunters going to fight a fatalis, you manage to flesh the characters (Roy, so far) and give it a nice build-up. +rep for you too!

[BizzarreCoyote]

Oh, geez. Updated, but forgot to bump for a good ten minutes. :|

[BizzarreCoyote]

Next chapter up, apologies for the lengthy wait. As always, I'm accepting any constructive criticism. Enjoy!

*bows, and walks out*

EDIT: Ack, just realized I called the Corona a 'Falchion' at every turn. Oops.

This post has been edited by BizzarreCoyote: 23 October 2010 - 04:28 AM

[One]

way to teach that guy a lesson.

I normally don't read fanfics n stuff, but i like this one.

[Rekee Soen]

An introduction of a third party. Some fatalis-worshipping cult?


Either a stomach isn't vital to Roy, or he really IS that tough.

You pointed it out, and I was indeed wondering, where was everyone? The airship seemed disturbingly vacant.

Did the ninja deliberately want Roy to know that some organization was attacking, and even mention who was leading it?

Otherwise, nicely written.

[BizzarreCoyote]

When I said stomach, I meant general area more than vital organ
I'll fix that for clarity

Yes, the ninja did tell him deliberately, if only because he didn't expect Roy to get back up and lop half his limbs off.

I'll address the empty airship next chapter.

This post has been edited by BizzarreCoyote: 23 October 2010 - 03:20 PM

[BizzarreCoyote]

Just a heads up- I haven't forgotten about this. After maintenance is over, I'll post the next chapter. Until then, ciao~

[BizzarreCoyote]

Apologies for the double post and the wait. Fourth chapter is up, it's a long one.

[SemajChaos]

One, on 22 October 2010 - 08:32 PM, said:

way to teach that guy a lesson.

I normally don't read fanfics n stuff, but i like this one.

||||||||||||| <LOL WTF that's still on my clipboard?
FUCK YOU ONE>:B

Nice Coyote, letting you know that I'm reading.

Cough, Fury's Fallen One's...

This post has been edited by SemajChaos: 22 November 2010 - 04:52 PM

[BizzarreCoyote]

Bump with new chapter, enjoy

[BizzarreCoyote]

DOUBLE POST GET!

Chapter 6 up, enjoy. *bows, steps out*

EDIT: Also, for anyone curious, this fic is now 11.5k words long.

This post has been edited by BizzarreCoyote: 12 December 2010 - 08:07 PM

[BizzarreCoyote]

Triple post, who's awesome?

Anywho, Chapter 7 is up.

Fun Fact: This fic is now 13455 words long.

[Solyeuse]

BizzarreCoyote, on 28 September 2010 - 01:21 PM, said:

“You were stabbed?! How?”

“A...well, a ninja did it.”

Really? A ninja did it? A ninja?

[BizzarreCoyote]

Chapter 8 is up. Getting close to the end now, I think. Maybe not. Haven't decided yet.

Anywho, Bios as well this time.


Roy Alomar:

Spoiler

Age: 23
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 165 lbs.
Hair Color: Silver
Armor: Rathalos Soul U
Favorite Hunt: Blos Family
Favorite Weapon Class: Sword and Shield
Favorite Weapon: Corona

Background: Born into a large trading family, he had a comfortable upbringing.
Decided to become a Hunter at the age of 16, when a Blangonga attacked and destroyed a caravan on it's way back from Pokke, killing his father.
His first major kill was the very same Blangonga, and his hunting pack is made from it's fur and skin.
Cold has little to no effect on Roy, due to his mountain life, though the peaks of them are still unbearable without protection.
Silver hair is a family trait.
Romantically involved with Rei Samaran.

Rei Samaran:

Spoiler

Age: 22
Weight: 122 lbs
Height: 5'7"
Hair Color: Electric blue (dyed), suspected Brunette
Armor: Rathian S (Gunner Variant)
Favorite Hunt: Rathian
Favorite Weapon Class: Bow
Favorite Weapon: Queen Blaster line


Bio: Born on an open road, so has no home village or city.
Became a huntress at the age of 18, due to the sacrificial actions of a hunter to protect her wandering family from a enraged Rathian.
Has held a grudge against the entire Rath family as a result, and wears Rathian armor, perhaps ironically.
Insanely overprotective of those she cares about.
First major kill was a Kut-ku, the usual 'exam' wyvern for most beginners in the Minegarde region.
Insistent her current hair color is natural.
Romantically involved with Roy Alomar

Elizabeth Cashlin:

Spoiler

Age: 27
Weight: 145 lbs.
Height: 6' 2"
Hair Color: Blonde
Armor: Rathalos S
Favorite Hunt: Rathalos
Favorite Weapon Class: Longsword
Favorite Weapon: Gaelic Flame

Bio: Born just east of the city of Minegarde.
Raised to respect the power of the Rathalos, and dons its armor as a result.
Mother passed away when she was 23, father is a blacksmith.
Eyewitness reports claim she killed a Kushala Daora on her own with a well-timed Dragonator.

Samuel Dume:

Spoiler

Age: 32
Weight: 265 lbs
Height: 7' 2"
Hair Color: Bald
Armor: Uragaan S
Favorite Hunt: Uragaan
Favorite Weapon Class: Hammer
Favorite Weapon: Gigas Hammer

Bio: Born in the Volcanic Belt near the Loc Lac area.
Has reportedly killed a Great Jaggi with his bare hands.
Actually quite bright, leading an Uragaan into a trap he set, burying it under a mountain. Later excavation confirmed the kill.
Veritable mountain of a man.

Rachel Teigra:

Spoiler

Age: 24
Weight: 125 lbs
Height: 5' 4"
Hair Color: Snowy white
Armor: Barioth S (Gunner Variant)
Favorite Hunt: Qurupeco
Favorite Weapon Class: Light Bowgun
Favorite Weapon: Profusion
Bio: Born in the city of Loc Lac, to a seamstress and Dragonship sailor.
Picked up an affinity for guns at a young age. Became a huntress at 19.
First major kill was a Great Jaggi.
Has a habit of going out into the cold (if available) and doing nothing for hours on end. Cause of this is unknown.

Jason Marlon:

Spoiler

Age: 26
Weight: 221 lbs
Height: 6' 2"
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Armor: Diablo U
Favorite Hunt: None.
Favorite Weapon Class: GreatSword
Favorite Weapon: Seigmund.

Bio: Born in the city of Minegarde, to a shoemaker and housewife.
Wanted to escape his poor upbringing, so became a Hunter at 15, forging the documents needed.
Romantically involved with Clara Jemma.
First Major kill was a Velocidrome.

Clara Jemma:

Spoiler

Age: 23
Weight: 145 lbs
Height: 5' 10"
Hair Color: Ginger
Armor: Khezu U
Favorite Hunt: Kut-Ku
Favorite Weapon Class: Dual Swords
Favorite Weapon: Kirin/Wooden Mallet combo

Bio: Found abandoned in Pokke, Elder and Nekoht helped raise her.
Has a near psychotic enjoyment killing Kut-Ku for unknown reasons.
First major kill was a Giadrome.
Romantically involved with Jason Marlon.

Kyle Montauge:

Spoiler

Age: 35
Weight: 254 lbs
Height: 6'
Hair Color: Black
Armor: Diablo S (Gunner Variant)
Favorite Hunt: Diablos
Favorite Weapon Class: Bow
Favorite Weapon: Diablos Gale

Bio: Born to a desert village in the Minegarde area.
Village constantly fended off Diablos attacks, so materials were abundant.
Used to the desert heat, and is unaffected by it.
First major kill was a Diablos during a group effort to defend the village.

Samantha Walta:

Spoiler

Age: 24
Weight: 175 lbs
Height: 5' 11"
Hair Color: Black
Armor: Gravios U
Favorite Hunt: Gravios (Any)
Favorite Weapon Class: Lance
Favorite Weapon: Babel Spear

Bio: Born in Kokoto to a blacksmith and housewife. Enjoys defending more than attacking, and her armor and fighting style reflects that.
Extremely passive in temperment. There is little that can visibly bother her.
First major kill was a Vespoid Queen.

EDIT: 17,207 words

This post has been edited by BizzarreCoyote: 26 January 2011 - 07:04 AM

[Rekee Soen]

The group responsible for so many deaths, now handing out dinner invitations? Awkward...

[Solyeuse]

Duuude. White Fatalis Battle coming up.