With the Rathalos conquered, or at least he was sure of that when he considered what the First Wyverian had said, Grogar returned to Astera and found that everyone happened to be busy, which he was fine with since there was no telling what Zorah Magdaros was up to, before he landed and made his way to the Researchers.
"Grogar, we've figured out who the other monster is." Sherry said, speaking as soon as he and Patches reached the area that she and the Researchers were working in, where he found that one of their tomes was open to a page that contained a brown scaled wyvern that resembled the horned one they had seen in the Wildspire Waste earlier, "It's a Diablos, the apex predator of the Wildspire."
"Makes sense the First Wyverian would send us after two different apex predators," Grogar remarked, as it made sense if one thought about it from the sense that this was a test, as anything else could be seen as the being messing with them as he dangled information in front of them, before he sighed for a moment as he lifted the tome, "Let's see, supposedly this monster is weak to the ice element, while it is somewhat more resistant to dragon, water, and thunder, so that gives me a slight edge for when we arrive in the desert. Oh, and I beat the Rathalos, just like the First Wyverian asked."
"And let him go, based on what I saw earlier," a voice said, where they found Alexia joining them as they talked about the monster that needed to be hunted down next, though there was a frown on her face, like she was disappointed with him and his actions, "All that training and you still can't kill a monster."
"The training was to make sure I survived, not to kill everything in my path... if I wanted that, I would have just trained all of my magic and used it to blast the continent to ash," Grogar stated, showing them that all he wanted to do was survive as he explored the New World, which many of the people in Astera did as the days went by, before he glanced back at the tome for a few seconds, "besides, the First Wyverian asked that I take down a Rathalos and a Diablos, but I'm not about to kill something that wasn't disrupting the flow of nature."
Sherry knew that many considered Grogar to be a pacifist, fighting only when necessary, but the truth was that he had a greater love for the creatures of this world than anyone she had encountered, so much so that he only killed those that were disrupting nature and spared the others, causing Alexia to growl before taking off.
"What we've figured out is that the Diablos live underground, though they have been known to wander from time to time," Sherry continued, deciding to focus on their conversation and not worry about the transformed Wyverian that seemed to dislike her partner, or maybe she liked him and this was her way of trying to get his attention, though if the latter was the case she felt the lady was failing, "You should be able to find one near where the Barroth first attacked us, though if not we can track it down together."
Grogar considered the idea for a moment as he nodded his head, as there was no way for them to know where the next monster was lurking without actually exploring the Wildspire Waste for a time, though since he didn't want to waste any time he departed for where the Barnos were resting, so he could get this mission started. Not a few moments later his group flew out of Astera, as Sherry was going to stick in the camp until she was needed and Patches would be joining him in battle, as this time there weren't any vast ledges for him to jump off of and lose his partner. As they did that he knew that Shepard had to wonder what was going on, if Sherry hadn't told him anything about what they were doing, but given who he was thinking about he knew she had told their Commander the information he needed to act on, mostly to okay the quests the First Wyverian had asked them to tackle. At the same time he noticed a Rathian and a Rathalos off in the distance, no doubt meeting up to spend an evening together, though that meant they wouldn't have to worry about one of them interrupting the quest that he and his companions were currently undertaking, allowing him to focus on the apex monster they would be tracking down next.
When they touched down in their camp, the one that Shepard's friend had told them about, Grogar made sure Sherry was fine before he and Patches headed out to track down the Diablos, where his current objective was to find the pit that the Barroth had been dragged through, as it was a worthwhile place to start. It didn't take him and Patches long to reach his destination, where he looked up at the rock pillars and found some of the vulture birds that had been hanging around the last time he had been here, who produced loud sound that even the Diablos could hear. As they entered the area he held up a hand and Patches stopped, as a Barroth was entering the area and he made sure both of them were hidden by some of his magic, causing him to huff for a moment, as not resting after facing off against the Rathalos was going to come back and bite him at some point, he was sure of it. They watched in silence for a time, where he found that the Barroth quickly wrecked one of the pillars and scattered the birds that had been on it, causing them to screech before he felt something move below the ground, giving him and Patches a front row seat of the scene he had witnessed some time ago, the sand being broken up as the Diablo burst out of it, grabbed the Barroth, and smashed it into the ground.
In that moment, as both sank into the lower level, Grogar made his move as he rushed forward and summoned some of his magic, allowing them to float down into the cavern that the Diablos was resting in, finding that it was resting on part of the sand and glanced up for a moment. That instant was where Grogar activated the second phase of his magic, sending a volley of Ice Spears down at his target as he avoided Patches, who descended far faster than he did and stabbed the side of the monster, as his Palico wanted to be useful and not be forgotten all the time. Sure enough the monster roared as it was struck by the thick icicles he had created, though it told Grogar something, the Diablos was stronger than he thought since it didn't slow down at all, rather it only seemed annoyed by his attacks and looked like it was going to try and gore him with it's horns. A few seconds later he dropped out of the air and weaved his magic along the ground, causing stone to rise into a wall as he did so, which was a good move since his foe rushed forward and smashed right into the rock wall, breaking it into a thousand pieces as Grogar threw himself backward, avoiding the initial assault and tips of his foe's horns before it could hit him.
What he had to worry about was when the Diablos headed underground and attacked him from a blind spot, where he had to rely on his magic to sense the incoming attack and avoid it as best as he could, before loosing bursts of frost magic and icicles at his current foe. His magic slowed his opponent down, though unlike the Rathalos there was no easy way to decide if it was getting tired or if his attacks were having no effect on it, and the only thing that seemed to work in his favor was when he lined the Diablos up with a wall and forced it to ram into the thick stone behind him. There were two spells in this particular type of magic that he knew, ones he rarely used and had no idea if they would have any effect on the large monster in front of him, even with it's weakness to ice attacks, but since the Diablos didn't seem like it was slowing down, well, he really didn't have much of a choice, and if those failed he'd have to try something else. As he dodged the Diablos' next attack, however, he rolled off to the side and spun around as he waved his right hand, forming an area of ice for him to reside on for a short period of time, and when the monster rushed at him he leveled his hand with his foe and watched as his spell took form. A number of ice spikes, each at least half as thick as the Diablos' body, burst out of the ice that was around him, surprising the monster in question as they lifted it into the air and pinned it to the wall that was behind it, all of which freezing a good portion of the area, some poking the monster and sending a chill into it's body, while taking a bit of his energy as well.
The 'Heavenly Ice Fangs' was a powerful spell, one that could actually freeze the environment in the early stages if one had no control over their magic, and even with his boosted power it was still a draining spell, one that might do nothing if he used it against Zorah Magdaros, but after thinking about it he huffed as he picked himself up and faced the monster that was looking at him like he was something else, something terrifying.
"Do... you surrender?" Grogar asked, trying the same tactic that he had used against the Rathalos earlier, showing it power that was above what it was capable of and then asking if it would surrender, or would it rather continue in the face of what he was capable of, even though he was sure that his depleted magic reserves couldn't handle another instance of battle, not without rest anyway.
The Diablos quickly admitted defeat and Grogar, in response to that, released his magic before the monster fled, showing him that he was successful in beating his opponent once again, to which he departed from the area and tracked down his partner, as Sherry had to hear that he was successful before they tracked down the First Wyverian again. Of course he did move a bit slower than before, as spending that much energy left him exhausted and he had a feeling that he would have to rest before tackling whatever the First Wyverian told them, since Zorah Magdaros had to be doing something bad and needed to be stopped. Patches joined him and made sure that the monsters stayed away from them, though based on what he was seeing it looked like most of the beasts that called this place home knew he had beaten the Diablos and had no desire to face him or his Felyne in a fight, which both of them were fine with. Despite his exhaustion he found that his Handler was still at the camp, a little worried for him since she had no idea what had happened, and ushered him to one of the oak stools they had crafted for the makeshift canteen, where he informed her of what he did and what it meant for their overall mission.
As he said that, however, they found that a guest had arrived, the First Wyverian to be exact, meaning he must have seen the battle with the Rathalos and knew, by listening to his tale before revealing himself, that the Diablos had been beaten as well, causing the trio to glance at him for a moment.
"Greetings, conqueror of the ecosystem," the First Wyverian said, confirming that he must have overhead the tale he had just shared with Sherry, though none of them moved as they waited for him to uphold his end of the bargain, telling them what he knew about Zorah Magdaros and what the Elder Dragon was doing, "now you may know the secret of the dragon that carries a mountain of fire on it's back. The dragon hovers on the brink of death, but the light of life is calling out to it, drawing it away from it's proper grave... it has wandered into the Everstream and has lost its way... where it is now poised to perish there, brimming with fiery life bringing energy. The Everstream connects every corner of this land, like the veins of a beating heart... should the dragon succumb to death there, its glut of energy will hurtle through those veins, setting those aflame and searing the land to ash and scorched earth. That is the dragon's secret... and that is this land's fate."
As the First Wyverian departed, seemingly unconcerned for the impending destruction of the New World, Grogar knew that they had discovered a ticking time bomb, Zorah Magdaros was going to obliterate this entire island if they didn't stop him, but after the siege they didn't have enough resources for such a thing. He considered calling the other Elder Dragons to their aid, as it would wipe out their homes as well, but he wasn't sure they would come, so he shelved the idea while he picked himself up, as there was one thing he wanted to verify before reporting to Shepard. As such he asked the Barnos to make a side trip to an area he had seen on the map, which had to be the Everstream, or an entrance to it anyway, and not a few moments later they were flying out, as Sherry wasn't about to leave him alone right now, even though his focus was on what he might discover in the near future. It didn't take them long to discover what he was looking for, a massive cave that Zorah Magdaros could fit through, a molten area to be exact that was connected to the ocean, and based on what he could feel this place did feel like a vein of the island, meaning if the monster died this island was doomed, as much as he hated the idea.
With that information gained they flew back to Astera and he dropped down into the council area with his magic, as this was far too important for him to waste time heading down the stairs, and as the others realize they had been interrupted he launched himself into the tale, leaving nothing out so they understood what he was telling them.
"I... well, to be honest, I wasn't expecting that sort of information." Shepard said, speaking once Grogar was done and he had a chance to confirm the tale once Sherry arrived, something that caused the others to speak up all at once, because if the information was true, and they knew it was, they had two options, run or face death, before he chuckled, "Well, if this is the hand we've been dealt, then we have no choice but to face Zorah and drive him out to sea... Sherry, I can see that you were thinking of suggesting that we push him away and let the water mitigate the blast, keeping this island safe while allowing a new ecosystem to start in the ocean."
"Y... Yes, that was what I was going to suggest, but even if we do that we don't have the supplies," Sherry stated, which was part of the problem, they couldn't rely on Grogar's magic all the time and, since they had no idea when Zorah Magdaros was scheduled to arrive at the cave entrance they discovered, she was considering fleeing before they were caught in the blast that would wipe out the New World.
"About that, we had a timely arrival while you were gone." Shepard replied, where he gestured off to the side and the pair found that the Captain of the Fifth Fleet had returned, no doubt with all sorts of supplies to aid them in their mission to figure out what was going on with the Elder Crossing and the Elder Dragons, "Captain, if you would?"
"I've brought everything the Commission could possibly need: ballistae, ballista arrows, cannons, cannonballs, harpoons, and a literal boatload of supplies," the Captain stated, informing them as to what he had brought with him, where Grogar had a feeling that a message had been sent ahead of him and he basically swapped ships to get back here so quickly, as in the seas must have been totally calm for him to get to the Old World and get back here in such a short period of time, and that was when a smile appeared on his face, "and the Guild supplied us with one hell of a ship, she comes fully equipped with the latest anti-Elder Dragon weapon: a Dragonator!"
"That is quite the surprise, and will come in handy during the next siege." Shepard said, to which he glanced at the rest of the team and everyone nodded their heads, as they knew that talking him down and convincing him to flee was next to impossible, so they went along with the insane plan that was brewing in his head right now, "Since we don't know when Zorah will be arriving, we should get started on a new barricade immediately, so I want all of you to get moving... Sherry, Patches, you should join them as well, as I need a word with Grogar before he gets some rest."
Grogar raised an eyebrow for a moment as Sherry and Patches nodded their heads, though what he discovered was that Shepard wanted to talk to him in a room that, apparently, was their new quarters, for their hard work so far, though he had a feeling this was temporary, though inside the room he found an interesting sight, Sherry was standing there with a frown on her face, causing him to wrap the area in illusion magic to hide them.
"This is why I asked that your partner join the others, and not follow us immediately," Shepard said, keeping his voice low so no one that was outside the room could hear them talk, even though he trusted Grogar's magic enough to know that no one could see or hear him, so he was just being careful in case the magic broke apart while they were here, "Grogar, allow me to introduce Sherry, your Handler... the real one, to be exact, as I have confirmed it."
"So, you're the one that I'm partnered with... fascinating." the lady commented, where Grogar could tell that she looked like the lady that he had spent a lot of time with since he landed in this world, sounded exactly like her as well, which told him that this wasn't a case of a twin, otherwise Sherry would have mentioned it at some point, or maybe Aiden and their friends would have done that at some point.
"We have a doppleganger." Grogar stated, though this did confirm, in part, some of the theories he had about the lady he had been working with, especially since she seemed to be a monster magnet, but for now he focused on what they were talking about and what it meant for the other Sherry, "Since we're on a tight schedule, due to not knowing when Zorah Magdaros will reach the Everstream, I'm going to assume that that problem will be dealt with first, then the issue of there being two Sherry's?"
As Shepard nodded, however, Grogar decided that there was one more thing that needed to be done, as he headed out to the front of Astera and gathered his magic, causing the Commander to follow him as the real Sherry covered herself with a brown robe, to hide her appearance so she wasn't discovered so soon, before he glanced at the sky.
"Nergigante!" Grogar called out, using his magic to project the single word all over the New World, while holding up one of his hands to stop Shepard before he could speak, and sure enough his thoughts were correct, the beast responded to his call, as she burst out of the air and landed in front of him, looking like she wanted to smash him into the ground and just end his life, "Listen, I know you don't like me, but Zorah Magdaros... the dragon with a mountain of fire on his back... is about to blast this entire island to hell if he dies in the Everstream, a place we're setting up some defenses in... will you join us in stopping him from wiping this island off the map?"
Sure enough Nergigante growled as she stepped towards him, enough to stare him straight in the face and look like she was going to tear his head off, causing him to stand perfectly still, before she let out a 'fine' and flew off, causing him to let out a sigh of relief as he told the others they had another ally in this fight, though once that was done he returned to his room to rest, as he had a feeling he was going to need his power for the upcoming battle.