Why do these things always happen? Guess Zen's just a magnet for these rifts, that can be a good thing, makes it easier to track them down, what isn't is having them show up at the most inconvenient of times.
Myself, Topaz, and my family ran out to investigate 'what' exactly Topaz meant, and from the sound of the monster it was furious, unlike any I've heard before, I could feel it's rage. Along the streets we could see smoke rose from houses, and the atmosphere turned to dark tone, the cries of battle and fear raging on with a rhythm of flashy eruptions that were drawing closer. The indications were the explosions; Wood and stone were thrown into the air, some knocking a few Night and Royal Guard ponies from the air.
"This is bad, how could something like this slip through the gate?" Mom murmured, and from my parents' expressions, this was completely unexpected. With a heavy sigh, my Dad looked to Topaz
"Topaz, was it?" She turned to his attention. "What exactly broke through the line? There is no reason to act rash without atleast knowing what the threat is."
She nodded, rubbing her chin. "I didn't get much of a look before I ran to the barracks, then all the way over here to inform Vega, but it was big, probably the size of the Princesses put together, as for attacks--" Another explosion erupted from the corner of the street. "Fire, lots of fire."
"What about our forces? Did they weaken it?" Vega inquired, but from the pained look on Topaz's face I think the answer was obvious
"They... it just swatted them like flies, I've never seen such power, not in whatever it was." The disgruntled look was shared, whatever it was, we'd see it soon enough if we lingered any longer
Dad closed his eyes as though to envision the monster, but I had no time for any of this, we needed to get out of here, and I need to find Zen, I can imagine he heard the noise or his ruby went crazy. Another roar of the beast and the smoke blew across the street, blinding us with rubble and ash for a moment. "Everypony get back!" Vega's hoof pushed me back, and the shadow loomed with a familiar snarl.
"No way..." I must be light-headed or delirious, but from the smell of ash and distant carnage created by the monster, there was little room for doubt or misinterpretation. Through the plume of smoke and embers, a single, bright-red eye blazed through the darkness
A large thresh of the wings dispersed the smoke, the flames hummed to the strong coloration of purple, the gradient of the wings lime-green with moss, the same could be said for the spined tail. There was a noticeable scar through the left eye-socket, leaving behind the right, glowering eye with a red contrail. The left ear was also missing. It was him, Yian Garuga, the very same one from the temple
"Oh come on! Zen and Mira dropped two tons of water and rock on you!?" Filling in for Zen's absence and the fact this thing made my ears bleed one too many times, all eyes were drawn to the monster now stomping toward us. My eyes shot back to my family, and panic boiled in my chest. "You need to go -- W-wait, don't just--!"
My brother the idiot lunged through the air, the tail missing him as he spun back around, a sword snagged between his teeth as he nose-dived, there was a streak of silver, and my brother landed at the monster's side. His expression morphed with horror as the shards of his sword clattered to the ground, and Yian bent down to stare directly at him, snarling like a crocodile.
Without a second to spare, Vega flew back, but the jaws clamped down on his armored leg, thrashing him down into the ground before us, talons plucking at the ground under it as it roared once more, charging toward us as Topaz helped Vega to his hooves alongside my parents. This monster would be on us in seconds, guess there's no choice...
From under my cloak, I threw a moon opal to the ground and crushed it, bringing the dust closer to my muzzle. "Meditor." The particles flew off my hoof, the words reacting to the pale-blue dust as it expanded into a small cloud of mist, a second later, and Yian's head buried itself in an abandoned house opposite our own, the bricks and tiles collapsing atop its frame for the time being. "What? Zen's not the only one with tricks you know."
"Amazing, you can use magic!?" Topaz grinned out of her stupor but I wasn't smiling, pulling my brother forward with a glare
"Are you an idiot? A basic sword can't so much as scratch its scales, you'd know this if you didn't run in before I said anything!" No response and I pushed him back, seeing the wyvern slowly shaking the stone off its body. "We need to run, this thing's even angrier than the last time I encountered it, and believe me, that time it was alot less volatile."
"Yui, just what exactly is this monster?" Dad faced me evenly and I finally broke a small smile
"Dad, if I told you, one, it would take too long, and two, you wouldn't believe me." His hoof on my shoulder tightened, and no trace of humor was left on his face, I don't think there ever is
"Try me."
The moment shattered under a hail of bricks and wood, and in a heartbeat a tail swept across the street, throwing all of us back. The contrail swaying back and forth before it solely landed on me, a gurgling growl emanating from its throat. This is bad, I could try another reflect spell but that won't keep it disorientated for -- "That's it! Everyone, cover your eyes, quick!" I had little time to ensure they listened as I withdrew a small flask from my bag
Covering my eyes from the white material housed inside the bottle I smashed it across Yian's face, feeling some of the air around me heat up spontaneously followed by the pained cry of the monster as it stumbled back, knocking into lampposts and walls trying to rub its eyes under its wings. Knew ordering some white phosphorous was a smart investment, thank you Everfree tower.
"Okay, I'm out of party tricks, let's move!" I helped my brother to his hooves as we quickly ran down the street toward a small courtyard that created an intersection between streets, if we took the right we'd make a B-line for the market and in turn the majority of the Guard ponies. Course, we have a very angry bird on our tails too
"You were always a quick thinker," Mom ruffled my mane as we ran, exciting a chuckle from me
"I learned from the best," Having a Mom as a master alchemist would lead to a few tips and tricks being picked up. My ears twitched again, and I pulled my brother to a stop as a shadow collided with the way forward. Yian swept the street we needed to take, rising high to fire a startling barrage of fire blasts to littering the courtyard, decimating benches, the road, and a tree in the process. Since when could he do that!?
"Okay, that hurt," Topaz groaned next to me, the two of us at the frontline of this monster's carnage as it slowly stalked toward us, fire licking its teeth, the wings twitching with uncontrollable frenzy. I couldn't properly form a single line of thought as it threw itself toward us, chin raised high as the large underside barreled down with a large gust of hot wind
"...yeet!!" The snap and electrified crackle in the air slammed against Yian's face, a pair of black feet sinking against the scaly face with a sharp, crimson splash of energy, tossing the crazed bird across the pavement and into another wall with a howl. "Made it, with an awesome entrance to boot might I add!"
"You again -- well, I guess it's a good thing you are here," Topaz sighed, dropping her anger for our abrupt runaway for the time being
Despite the severity of the situation, seeing the familiar black and blue wolf standing over me was a comforting sight. Helping Topaz sit upright, Zen knelt down with a toothy grin, bobbing a thumb back at the downed monster. "How come two tons of rock and water didn't stop him?"
My hooves waved outward with a scoff. "That's what I said! But clearly it needs more than that," Shaking my head I smiled. "How'd crossing the gate go?"
Zen shrugged. "They left the door open so I just walked right through," Of course he did. His smile dropped, ears standing on end. "Get your family and get going, I don't know how but the manifestation's taken on a new form, but it's the same Yian," Zen revealed the ruby to me. "I... I didn't even check to see if its essence was stored, and now its turned into a Dead-Eye Yian Garuga."
My expression deadpanned. "Seriously? Who comes up with these names?"
"File a complaint to Capcom later, you need to go," He motioned to my family, the three of them watching us curiously, but now Yian was recovering, coughing up dust. Not to mention Topaz looked to still be processing mine and Zen's one-sided conversation, having not said anything for a good minute. "Yui... please."
My hoof shoved itself against his chest, pushing the ruby against his fur. "I handled myself just fine alone before you swooped in, thank you very much," Standing tall I pushed my muzzle against his. "Do I look like some Princess in need of saving? I saved your sorry hide a few times too," Pulling back I held my wing up. "Mira isn't here to give you an advantage, so let me help you."
In a direct confrontation, I'm useless, especially since this creature is by far the most volatile, but I can still try in my own way. The look in Zen's eyes, he always overthinks everything at times like this, about me, himself, others, and what the monster is capable of, it was endearing, with a solemn sigh, he held out his fist, smiling with a glint of challenge in his eyes, one that I happily mimicked, curling the tip of my wing to bounce off his fist.
"You win, and I've got a plan," I followed his mirthful eyes toward the corner of the buildings to our right, there, a large water tower used for emergencies such as, oh I don't know, a town burning. But one look at the untouched tower atop the elevated land, roughly twenty feet higher than us, I realized exactly what Zen had in mind. "Think you can give Yian a good soak for me?"
This was good but again, "But last time you dropped a ton of water and it's still standing, what makes you certain this time?" But the only answer received was him lifting me high and throwing me to the left, rolling back himself to evade a chin slam from the monster
"This time's different; I'm counting on you, Yui!" Again with his confidence, it was almost unfair sometimes, how he can be so confident despite the pressing danger. When this is over, I'm going to tell him... I will tell him!
[Zen's POV]
Not exactly the way I wanted to -- Ack -- Be meeting -- Dammit! -- Yui's -- Son of a! -- Parents! The third chin slam against Protect shattered the barrier, performing a handstand I swung both legs around with a bronze glow, the double Brick-Break blindsiding Yian across the glowing eye as I hopped over the sweep of the hazardous tail of his. One drop of that poison and I'm dead for sure.
Flying back I lobbed two Aura Spheres before it could use that flaming barrage, landing I slapped my paws together and withdrew Bone Rush, spinning it to face the wind pressure building around Yian's form for within seconds of preparation the ground under the monster broke apart to its blinding hurdle toward me, With a quick Swords Dance I blocked the charge with the staff, wincing as I was dragged along for the ride, my feet digging across the cobblestone road.
The strength behind this hypercharge of its... I can't hold it back for long. Yian's red-eye brightened at my struggle, the groan of my steel-like bones became more audible with each stomp of its powerful legs. Grinding my teeth down hard, I pushed with all the strength I could muster, my perception of the world stretching and fading into obscurity with every fiber of strength in my body. With a flutter of the wind, Yian screeched, landing in a heap on the floor as my body ricocheted off of the buildings at a speed exceeding any Quick Att -- No... this was... Extreme Speed! "Haha, my turn!"
I could barely track the word, my aura made it visible but all smudges as I focused, bouncing off and over many objects as the details slowly catered to my new velocity, like a person freezing time, my perception was a crawl, Yian was confused, eye unable to keep track of my sharp stops and starts. At this speed, I can take out that tail. The last drop of fine lines written in aura burst to life and my feet burned a streak of blue flames from point A to B.
One left cross with the polearm, landing I shot across the right, then spun back around to create a zig-zag down its spine, followed by twirling the staff across the tail, seeing the scales break under the force. Landing, my arm moved like a blur, thrusting the endpoint against every visible weakness I could exploit, chips and webbing across the scales and skin spreading for a final twirl in both hands, lobbing the staff across the underside of the chin so hard it shattered, ending the Extreme Speed with a glorious hail of blue shards and a ring of sound through the air.
Wasn't expect that. I ran to my right, evading the hypercharge again, but the stomp of those talons forced me to cross my arms, the translucent barrier diverting the wyvern's course into another tree that it simply splintered as the tail skewered the ground, hoisting the body back around to slam into me while my paws threw an Aura Sphere to trip up the erratic bird before it could leave the square.
Yian's body snapped back through the air, teeth glowing marigold and orange; I flipped off my right foot, evading the hail of flaming attacks as the burnt up the square. His body twirling to my back and he repeated the action, layering the surrounding field in my weakness as it slammed back into the ground, fanning the flames with both wings as Yian flipped backward, Quick Guard deflecting the potent poison from touching me but it didn't prevent my body from slide through the flames.
Through the fire and flames another low-bearing swing of the tail forced me back, another two Aura spheres bounced right off its face, the jaws snapping down to peck at my feet, then Yian whipped its tail around, the spines throwing me into a wing that clotheslined me. I rolled under another chin-slam, my right fist shrouded by darkness as my left glazed over with frost.
A helix flip to avoid the tail I brought both arms down in a cross-chop over its back, a large arc of ice and ghostly ectoplasm forcing the Yian down for my feet to press down on the snout, its eye resting on mine as a purplish-white glow hissed between my jaws. To counter, flames gathering between teeth as we roared, a torrent of flames against the thunderous cry of Dragon Pulse as both energies reacted dangerously, the resulting impact throwing us both across the cobblestone, my fur singed and Yian's body gashed and bleeding.
With a tremor in my legs, I forced myself back into a jog, Metal Claw tearing through the flames as Yian dove into a backspin, the tail scraping with my claws as I lunged, slicing across the softer underbelly, stepping aside as it landed, sweeping again with the tail while bringing its nose down to peck at my locked claws, each jab pushing me away. It brought the nose down, then swung back sharply, the tail shattering the claws, and in turn, scratching my right shoulder.
Like a heartbeat, my body succumbed to the effects of the Deadly Poison. A potent ailment only Dead-Eye and Dreadqueen Rathian have, and if its the same one as those two from the older generation use then I might not have any energy left to fight if I wait it out, aren't I immune to this stuff? Must be Monster Hunter's mechanic overriding Lucario's type immunities. Great, that's one more thing I'm not immune to. I doubled over at that moment, coughing up a sticky, purple substance as my vision swayed almost hypnotically to the contrail on Dead-Eye's face.
I could barely stand, this is bad, very bad. The poison won't kill me but I'm going to feel its effects if I don't act fast, though everything is becoming fuzzy I can still use two moves. Before Yian could exact its vengeance on me I held a pained grin and used Quick Attack to lob my body across the pavement, each bump was numb like pins and needles in places as I slid behind a burnt tree that had fallen over. Next, I felt nothing.
"I... have to... to rest... need to..." I lost my voice, my body slumping against the ground as my vision completely cut to darkness, the last thing I heard was a roar and flames
. . .
. . . . . .
"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭..." Her voice again. "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬... 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭... 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥..." A sigh, then a pleased hum. "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?"
There was feeling again, and my eyes snapped open. I sat up, spotting many of the so-called 'Royal and Night Guards', the two divisions banning together to take on the crazed wyvern that left fire and chaos in its wake, swatting the flyers down like pests, while the flames battled the ones with magical barriers, forever caught in a deadlock while those who remained were disposed of with stomps and slams of Dead-Eye's body.
"Thanks for the pick-me-up, Trinity," The last of the pink glow faded and I was feeling good as new. Narrowing my eyes, I bent down with my fingers to the ground, legs bent for a sprint as the wind gathered in a pressurizing force, the glint in my eyes acquiring its own contrail. "I got a nice 'Rest', appreciate your compliance, Dead-Eye."
It was almost time, had to finish this now! Extreme Speed! With a brief blip through the air, both my feet caved the wyvern's snout in, the multitude of kicks followed with pushing Dead-Eye away from the ponies as I kicked off the nose, twirling through a hail of fire. He flapped back, spraying another bombardment to blanket the already charred area in more waves of embers. Up to my right, I saw the shadow begin to sway, and my time was down to the last few grains.
Pushing off the ground I slammed numerous fists and kicks into Yian's form, swinging my body around by its ear to land a nasty Aura Sphere between the spines and nape, hearing it wail as we fell from the sky, the head slamming into the concrete while I spun around, my right fist overflowing with a bright blue light that I felt connected to people freshly in my mind. Summer, Taka, Kazu, Asher, Merry, Mom, Dad, Trinity, and Yui, all of it amalgamate between both my fists.
End of the line, Yian Garuga, "...Return..."
Opening my eyes again, I smiled and bridged the gap between myself and the surge of flames bubbling from within Dead-Eye. My left cross brought Yian's head away from me and the ponies, the flames burning out. With the neck exposed, I stomped once and bent for the right hook, burying my fist through its neck with a satisfying crunch against my knuckle, the reverberating force casting the wyvern across the square, but it didn't stay down for long, but the wings fell limp, and it was panting.
Before it could so much as squawk, I poked my finger high comically. Yian's eye slit, and it roared--
*BOOSH!*
Everypony in the area winced as the water tower was dropped atop the wyvern not a moment too soon. The contents gushed from the wooden frame that splintered under Yian's spined body. With an icy mist exhaled from my mouth, I slammed my fists into the ground, the wave of frost snaking across the body of water before it could disperse, the result was a glacier of ice that imprisoned the Dead-Eye for good, the last of its cries forever frozen on its face as snow fell from the tips if the jagged glacier.
I held my scarf up, smiling as a few more motes of red joined with my ruby. There were cheers and applause behind me, but I focused on the Bat-Pony happily swinging her hooves over the edge of where the water tower previously stood, a prideful smile plastered across her face as she saluted me, and I reciprocated the action.
"Thank you, Zen." Her thoughts came through loud and clear
I merely rolled my eyes her way,"You dropped the water tower like a bad habit, so thank you." I chuckled, flopping back onto my haunches, stretching as the crowd continued their cheers
To Be Continued...