//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 - Can't Spell "Chainslaughter" Without "Laughter" // Story: Monster Hunter Pie // by BronyArmitage //------------------------------// It had been a few weeks since the pair of Hunters had heard any major news from the Guild, and Lyra had only given them petty work. Qurupeco and Royal Ludroth Hunts were all that were coming their way at the moment. Neither of them complained, though. They were just glad to be able to keep hunting. In addition to that, it was doing wonders for their stock of resources. They spent most of the Hunts gathering plants and ore, since the monsters they were being tasked to hunt were child's play in comparison to some of the things they'd fought recently. The Zinogre and Agnaktor were as deadly as multiple Qurupecos. Pinkie had been talking with Magnum as of late, since the Artisan had been pretty much out of work without her around, and he had spent his free time working on a new kind of Longsword. The Huntress had been very interested in the weapon when he had presented her with the idea, and, having developed a fondness for Longswords, she agreed to gather the materials for it. Wookie had been diligently working with a Hammer, and he'd had Magnum forge the Numbingbird. A Hammer which had a head the resembled a purple lotus, with green tipped petals. Pinkie noticed that a few times when Wookie had been charging in to do an attack, that needles had stuck out from the tips of the petals. She hadn't paid them much mind, until she noticed that they seemed to have a paralyzing effect on some monsters. Sweat poured down the Huntress's face as she stood in Magnum's workshop. It was still a bit dusty from sitting dormant, but the heat from the forge was just as intense. Pinkie wiped the sweat away from her brow with the back of her hand, listening to the Artisan hammer away at something. She'd turned in all the materials that he'd asked her to gather. It mostly consisted of ore, and a few Thunderbugs. The latter crackled and let out a squeal as the Wyverian crushed them into liquid. Magnum was humming happily as he worked, hammering away at the Longsword he was constructing. "I think yer gonna' like this one, kid." he said with a chuckle. "Seems like it would really be your speed." Pinkie tried to get a look at what he was constructing, but it didn't look like what she had expected. It was rounded, and split in the center to make a compact shape, much like her Switch Axes. It was rounded at the tip, as well, wider than the base of the weapon. The hilt looked like it had some kind of lever on it. She narrowed her eyes, trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. She thought it was supposed to be a Longsword, but it looked more like an oddly shaped oar. "It'll be done tomorrow morning, so quit crowding me. Get outta' here. Don't you have other things to do?" "But I wanna' know nooooooow!" Pinkie dropped to her knees and smacked the ground. "Can't I just stay here until you finish?" "Not unless you want to have an unfortunate meeting with a hammer." he growled, giving her a glare that showed her he wasn't kidding. "Right. I'll, um...I'll just go then!" the pink-haired Huntress grinned and made haste out of the smithy's workshop. She didn't realize how late it was until she stepped outside. The moon sat high in the sky, bathing Moga Village in a soft glow. She rubbed her eyes, yawning. She decided to wander the village for a bit, maybe see something she hadn't before. The Huntress made her way to the farm, which was still deserted. The farmer hadn't come back with them, and the weeds were starting to take over. What she did find at the farm surprised her far more than the weeds, though. "How have you been, Huntress?" Luna's voice was kept at a lower level than normal. She wasn't using her Royal Guildmaster voice. She spoke like a normal person, though she still had a regal air about her. She was sitting atop a rock, though she was at face level with Pinkie. The Huntress was feeling oddly naked without a weapon even though she still wore her full set of armor. "Pretty good?" the upward inflection in her voice reflected her nervousness. The last time Pinkie had seen Luna, they were not on such friendly terms. The Guildmaster stared at her, unblinking, but there was no contempt in her eyes, like there had been before. She sat in silence, a Thunderbug buzzing around her, making a sparking noise as it went. "Is...Is there something you need from me?" Pinkie finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "Actually, yes. I have come to speak to you about the monster beneath the island." Luna stood up, her armor clinking gently. She approached the Huntress, who stood her ground, despite the overwhelming aura the Guildmaster exhuded. "I trust you have heard nothing more on the subject since you first departed from the Village?" "No, ma'am." Pinkie shook her head in response to Luna's question. "Has something come up about it?" "Yes. Or, rather, I should say that my sister and I have always known what was down there. It has lain dormant for many years, though, and we thought it had moved on." Luna's hair seemed a bit more luminescent in the moonlight, and she looked more serious than angry. "Recent events, however, have proved otherwise. You see, the monster beneath the island is actually an Elder Dragon. One of the few that we still know dwells on this planet. This one has taken refuge under this island because it isn't as predatory as some of the others. The Ceadeus is more docile than most of the others." "What does this have to do with me?" Pinkie sounded nervous, again. She noticed this and was tired of hearing that tone in her own voice. "I assume you want me to kill it, but an Elder Dragon is not an easy mountain to topple." "Which is exactly why we had not requested that you hunt this monster down before. This creature is too vicious to be killed alone. We had intended to send a full team of experienced Hunters back to this island, but none of them would sign on." the Guildmaster spoke, and a bit of malice crawled into her voice towards the end of her statement. "Apparently it was beneath them. Regardless, you and your hunting partner are here on this island, now, and my sister and I would like you to perform this task. Seeing how you handled the Zinogre and the Agnaktor, we think you two are more than capable of killing the Elder Dragon." Luna walked past Pinkie, heading towards the village. "You should know, however, that this is a very dangerous mission, and one that will require you to spend an extensive amount of time underwater. There is no guarantee that you will come back from this alive. Guild support will be minimal at best, and you will need some kind of breathing apparatus, or you'll drown." a small smirk spread across the Guildmaster's face. She derived some kind of sick pleasure from seeing the Huntress squirm, a quirk she'd shown more than once. "There is no need for you to answer immediately, however. The Ceadeus has been quiet again, as of late. Inform Lyra when you wish to accept this quest. Keep yourself alive until then, Pinkamena." and the Guildmaster walked out of sight, and disappeared into the night. Pinkie let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding onto. She had a lot to think about, now. The thing below the island was an Elder Dragon, which she was now aware of. It wasn't, however, as vicious as some of the others. She put her hand against her temple, shutting her eyes tight. This conversation had given her a headache. It was too much information to absorb at one time. She had no idea how she was going to handle this, or convince Wookie to accompany her into the depths of the sea. "Ugh...I need to sleep." Pinkie made her way back to her house, her mind swimming with questions that didn't seem to have any answers. /) (\ Pinkie woke up to the sound of a Rathian's roar. It wasn't near the village, but it was still loud enough to oust her from her dreams, which were filled with underwater monsters. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Wookie was nowhere to be found, and his bed was empty. He must have gone to sleep earlier than she had, so he was up earlier. She made her way outside, the sunlight temporarily blinding her. She shaded her eyes and made her way to Magnum's place. She found the Artisan sitting in a rocking chair outside his hut, his smithing hammer leaned up against the side of his house. "Up bright and early, eh? Crack o' noon, like usual." Magnum's gruff voice woke her up a little more. "Yer partner already went off fer the day. I, however, finished yer weapon, and I'm sure yeh'll be rarin' to go once you get yer hands on it." he hopped off his chair and made his way inside. Pinkie didn't follow him, but heard what sounded like an engine backfiring. The loud crack echoed throughout the village, and Pinkie jumped. Magnum returned with the weapon from yesterday, which still looked like an oddly shaped oar. Wrapped along the edge of it, though, was a set of vicious looking chainsaw teeth. It looked far more technologically advanced than any weapon the Huntress had used previously. "It's called the Chainslaughter. It runs off electrical energy generated by the Thunderbug engine installed at the base of the blade. It rotates at a pretty good speed, and since the teeth are made of Machalite Ore and Lightcrystals, they aren't likely to break unless you grind them against a rock fer a few hours." the Artisan crossed his arms, looking pleased with himself. There was a sparkle in the Huntress's eyes as she held the weapon in front of her. "What're ya waiting fer? Take 'er fer a spin and tell me how it goes! Go on, now!" and Pinkie took off across the bridge, giggling like a madwoman, the Longsword held above her head. As she entered the area, her eyes fell onto a pack of Jaggi, which were swarming around an Aptonoth. She decided that this would be the perfect way to test the Longsword. She lept from the top of the cliff, landing heavily on the ground, drawing the attention of the closest Jaggi. It turned around and chirped a few times, signaling to its packmates of the Huntress's arrival. The Aptonoth was able to escape as the Jaggi's focus quickly changed to the smaller target that was Pinkie. She swung her new weapon to bear, and held down the lever, the blade starting to rotate. The weapon purred, then it rose to a growl. Pinkie's grin grew as the weapon got louder. The first Jaggi lunged at her, and she was able to split its head open with a single swing, lightning jumping off the blade as the teeth rotated their way through the monster's skull. It fell in a heap, but the rest of the pack was not deterred by this, as they had once been. She could tell by their bodies that this particular group had not eaten recently, and hungry monsters were more likely to stick around and fight than one's that were well fed. The need for nourishment drove them. They hissed as they drew closer and closer to her. Her grin grew steadily more maniacal, and she started to cleave her way through the rest of the pack. Body parts littered the ground, as the Huntress tore her way through Jaggi after Jaggi. By the end of her killing spree, her weapon had started to rotate faster, tearing through scales even easier than before, and she felt an energy well up inside her that had never shown itself when she had used the Switch Axe. As she swung at the last Jaggi, she lost control of her weapon, and tore through a nearby boulder, sending sparks flying through the air as the stone split beneath the rotating teeth. Surrounded by dismembered Jaggi, Pinkie stared at the shattered stone with a mingled expression of surprise and joy. She let her hand off the lever, and the weapon slowed to a stop, folding itself down so that it was easier to carry. She slung it around, attaching it to her back. The Huntress wiped some of the blood off her face, still grinning. "This thing...Is amazing!" Pinkie threw her fists into the air in happiness.