//------------------------------// // Chp. 12 - Prepare For Trouble // Story: Dragonhearted // by Slendy //------------------------------// [Argo's POV] I'm not one to talk about 'mental health problems', but for all tense and purposes, Garu Daora is by far the craziest dragon, or really anypony, I have met in my life, and mind you, one of my mothers is a human from a world of monsters. "Hahaha, this way, I can smell them...!" He must've grinned beneath that golden helmet of his, what a curious item too, made from the scales and horns of a supposedly Elder Dragon that sounded like a Kushla Daora but if Akira said it doesn't exist, then where did Garu obtain one? We were neck-deep in the Dark Below, Akira was with Myst, but even before I left I knew Akira would clam up at the topic of her phobia of caves, hopefully, Myst would figure it out, or worse, abandon her. Not that I distrust Myst's intensions but she was an unknown factor. She has communed with the likes of Silver and Blue, but she did seem to be genuine in her apologies as of late. Who knows... Back on topic, myself and Garu wandered across a ridge that overlooked a large cavern with a massive spire of rock in the center, it looked weak around the middle from erosion. And the derelict remains of mineshafts, rail lines, and carts were strewn about the walls. The Dark Below, when it first was discovered, was used as a mine for a short time before the monsters moved in, transforming the ecology in a matter of months. "May I ask... what are you looking for?" I had to wonder as I jotted down the new routes in my page for a map of the location, my magic doing all the work. He turned to me, walking backward with his fist clenched. "There are monsters down here, what else? I'm gonna kill them and bolster my ranking beyond yours and Rika's!" "Akira," I corrected. "Hmph, that's what I said, Darvo!" He nodded astutely. "Argo - do you even listen to us half the time?" I sighed, running a hoof down my muzzle as something shifted the rocks below. "Hold on," I trotted over to the edge, peering down at the base of the cavern to find exactly what my scoutflies only now detected. "Did his sense of smell react faster than the scoutflies?" Well, he is a drake I suppose. The distinctive lavender, crimson, and tangerine scales with a frill and a barbed tail - a Great Jaggi. It sniffed around what appeared to be a creature of the underground, an arachnid of somekind as it growled at the half-eaten body. I moved slightly but then Garu held my neck tightly, twisting it silently to the far right. Uh oh... Two yellow eyes glowed in the dark cave entrance, and from it, a large creature with deep blue scales and a cream underbelly stepped into view, it's head mounted with a thick, navy horn with dark ridges lining the top of the muzzle. Black claws and talons and a few tuffs of black fur lining its back down to a thick navy tail. Small black spikes protruded beneath its jaw. A Great Baggi. "Another?" I whispered as I suddenly realized Garu was over by an old mineshaft entrance, tossing junk everywhere as I slowly approached. "You're going to alert them, and... what are you-" He shoved a large barrel into my hooves, making me stumble. "Turf war, this is the perfect chance to swoop in while they fight," His eyes sparkled with glee before holding up his own large barrel, filling it with something he found in the rubble. "Gimme that!" Then the barrel I held was swiped to be filled with black powder. "What are you planning? You can't honest think to take two of them on at once - at least separate them first," This was beyond insane, even for him. Sure, the likes of a Tigrex makes these monster appear easy but they could still kill you if you weren't careful. "Just watch, tell me if they try to leave then stop them!" Garu barked as he kept shoveling black powder into the two kegs. I shook my head, I wasn't a fighter, I didn't even have a weapon other than my clutch claw, but it was loaded with blast pellets. I sighed, moving back to the ridge to inspect the turf war - the more research the better. The Jaggi hopped back with a growl as a small cloud of light blue mist separated the pair. The Great Jaggi and Baggi circled it, snarling at one another - they had no back up by the looks of things, this was a fight between them over this cavern. Baggi was the first to move, leaping forward as its sleep mist cleared as it sunk its talons across the Jaggi's flank as it spun backward, sweeping its tail across the Baggi's jaw, causing it to headbutt the large column, a few loose rocks falling from the spire as the dark blue monster roared and spat a new cloud of mist but Jaggi moved wide, charging forward while swiping its claws through the Baggi's tail, causing the pair to tumble as they slashed and bit at one another. Jaggi snapped at the Baggi's throat, kicking it off its stomach and onto its side while the springy alpha recovered to turn and hip-check the downed Baggi. It snarled, rolling onto its feet again to smack Jaggi with its tail again, slamming it against that large column. "Take these!" Before I knew it, two large barrels were pushed in my face, and they were heavy too. Garu then withdrew his thunder cleavers, sharpening them against one another. "Place them at the spire, then sit back and watch how a hunter works!" I very much doubt that. "Wait, you're going down... there..." He had already jumped, leaving me with two heavy barrels to move with my horn, great, fantastic. I honestly wonder what Akira was thinking letting this guy join the group. If he died here I'm not being held accountable. Reluctantly, I strained and raised the barrels with my amber magic. "Sure, leave it to me, the non-fighter to do - tch - the heavy lifting..." "Ahahaha!" Landing with a hard thud, I moved the barrels in a wide arc alongside me as Garu held both cleavers either side of him, brandishing their edges toward the pair of monsters as both slowly turned to the interruption. "That's right! The real foe is here, your worst nightmare raised by the legendary Garuba Daora!!" The Great Jaggi lunged first into a sweeping charge with its claws, but all it did was headbutt the wall in front of it as Garu dove into a helix spin, swiping the monster with his tail, using that sharp shift in momentum to twirl down the full length of the wyvern like a sawblade, leaving several blue slashes across its back as it suddenly twitched and fell over with a wail. The Great Baggi had already reeled back to spew more sleep gas in Garu's direction, but to my complete bewilderment, he charged straight through. "Like a little gas will pierce the crown upon my head!" He laughed mockingly, in reality, I saw him toss an empty vial that was more than likely filled with an energy drink substance. He then inverted his blades as a pulse of red light burned across his body like a flickering aura. "Demon Mode - Air Cutter!" With an explosive rush, Garu swung both blades upward into a cross, tearing a deep red incision through the Baggi's snout and forehead. I didn't relent and bit down on the air as Garu spun himself to its side, striking in a frantic series of attacks, tearing scales from its hide as the Jaggi charged them. I didn't even see him glance before his feet were off the ground, landing with one foot on either monster as they crashed into one another, giving him ample time to leap and swing in another flurry of red flashes before the cold wind pulled at his blades. "Roar!!" The impact split the ground beneath them, the shockwave tossing both wyverns aside as his 'Demon Mode' ended. While I had to admit, I was impressed by his awareness, while planting the bombs I realized another big problem had been stalking us from the upper levels of the cavern. "Garu!" I yelled, waving my hoof upward. He slowly turned to see a shadow form over him. A mighty slam resounded, and I quickly took cover behind the column with the barrels as a pool of sickly purple liquid dripped down the stone from the dust cloud. There, Garu was pinned underfoot by probably the largest of the three monsters. It had slick, orange salamander-like skin with a yellow underbelly and spots across its back, leading to a long, sharp spine at the tip of the flabby tail. A Great Wroggi. "You've got to be kidding me..." Now we had three problems, two of which had recovered and were looking between Garu, the Wroggi, and me. "Garu, what now?" I could use my clutch claw to escape but then I'd be leaving him to either die horribly or fight three monsters at once. He didn't reply, only the sound of him taking a long breath as the weight of the Wroggi pressed down on his chest, snarling as poison dripped from its lips. "Garu!" I had to do something, but what!? I had flash pods, if I use them it could free him from the pinned state but then we'd have three discombobulated wyverns throwing their weight around. Think, there's a way out of this! Maybe use a smoke bomb? Or perhaps a bomb pellet on the Wroggi? I... I didn't know which was correct, maybe just all of them? Loading my slinger, a sudden, arctic wind tugged through my mane, causing me to shiver as my attention drew back to the downed drake. He was drawing in breath at an alarming rate, now, the white fur of his armour was starting to shimmer... with rime? He bent his head forward slightly, the grip around his cleavers shaking as he growled deeply. "Four Form..." I should... probably keep my head down. Doing so proved to be a bright idea as the Wroggi's head recoiled with a cry. "...Cloudburst!!" That frigid wind was unleashed in a wide dome of vicious slashes, carving through all three monsters while the sheer pressure along threw the large Wroggi onto its backside as it rolled, shaking off the back blast as large lacerations lined its underbelly. Garu spun through the air upside down, arms extended to banish the wind dome surrounding him, crescents of white wind left in his wake with snowflakes. Just what was his power? "Move, minion, use your claw!" He hollered at me, the three wyverns giving chase as I pointed my hoof up without question, seeing the claw and wire snag on the edge of the elevated levels of the cave, pulled to safety at the last second. Garu ran and sprinted up the column vertically, leading the trio of monsters into one another as they snapped and bit at one another. High above, Garu pointed his own smooth clutch claw downward, firing a single, sharp pellet from the slinger. The black object punctured the three wyverns and through the first barrel with ease, and then I realized why he was so fixated on them to begin with. My face was struck with an intense wave of heat from the two large blasts that shook the whole cavern, a few loose rocks falling from above as the column destabilized entirely, but by now, it was far too late. Hundreds of pounds worth of rock, soil, and other minerals collided with the fanged wyverns below, hearing them roar and cry in terror as they were buried beneath the rockslide, some sharper boulders making their mark as I held my ears, all while Garu cackled madly next to me at the rush of black soot that stained our bodies, his arms crossed. "My name is Garu Daora! The greatest monster hunter in the world! And my fearless underling, Ragna!" Eh... close enough. Shaking my head as the large plume of dust and ash rose toward the ceiling, I couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Please, don't do that ever again..." "Huh!? But we won!" He sparkled slightly. "Yeah, with a few years off my life..." But my gloomy state wouldn't shift. Still, I managed a small smile. "Good work," "Like there was any doubt!" Garu probably grinned. To Be Continued...