User blog:ChaosWyvern-i/Dragon's Return IV

Disclaimer: I do not own Brave Frontier or Dragon's Dogma, those rights belong to Gumi/Alim and Capcom respectively.

A/N: Two parter.

Only a few people could find a midnight excursion into a monster infested forest enjoyable. Comprising those few were hunters, who were more concerned with season and weather, rangers, to whom the forest was like a second home, and exterminators, who generally cleared the forest of monsters. And then there was Andel, who made the forest look like his own personal playground*. It was one of the world's ironies, Andel's familiarity with the forest. He had been found as a young child at its outskirts, but had never been allowed to enter it until he became an exterminator only months prior and yet...

“Andel, you’re leaving us behind!” One of the five exterminators aside from Andel called. He had brown hair, steel eyes and a tanned complexion from many excursions into the forest that had lasted days, if not weeks. He was one of the very few to use only shields in combat and always had four on his person to attack and defend when necessary, complimenting his spike cover heavy armor. Most importantly, however, was that he was a veteran at this, five years of fighting off hordes of Goblins, Skeletons, Mandragora and Harpies on a weekly basis did that. His companions were the same, minus the other novice that had joined just before Andel. They knew that this forest only had a simple exterior, that the monsters they often encountered were little more than fodder compared to the monsters that lived closer to its heart. The exterminator shivered at that recollection, he didn’t want to remember what that thing did to his fallen comrades and how tiny he had felt when it made itself known... Or how the man swinging through the trees above had repelled it by himself**.

“Teo, he’s just scouting ahead, he’ll be back soon.” Another one of the veteran exterminators said, placing a soft gentle hand on his shoulder.

“He’s reckless, Anne,” Teo replied, but his tension had gone down. Anne was the exterminator, the leader of the group and the one who managed to slay the thing from deeper in the forest, though at the cost of an eye. Her olive complexion, hazel eye and lilac hair denoted that she was a foreigner to El Gaia, but she had been in the town since Teo could remember. She was a master of the spear and had the power to heal others- rather make their actions heal them- which was rather rare in a world where the culmination of many people’s power and effort often resulted in a masterful offensive technique. Teo wasn’t an exception to this rule, having come up with the skill he called the Dust Rave, and neither were the others... except for Andel*. Andel hadn’t showed what his skill was, but from what he had gathered, the grass haired man seemed to have a knack for reducing the severity of attacks.

“Aye, but can you expect him to not be? This is almost a bastion for him,” Anne laughed good-naturedly in response. “Don’t you remember the lightning storm that hit and how you behaved then?”

“Don’t remind me...” Teo sighed as he recalled the day, a memory he wanted to repress more than the one of his comrades falling one by one**.

“Back,” stated Andel, dropping from above and landing like a cat. “There are no signs of Goblins or Harpies.” “And Skeletons?” Anne was straight to the point when it came to exterminator related business. She knew she didn’t have to ask about Mandragora because their population was low in the colder season. Andel paused before responding, this wasn’t going to get a good response.

“Destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” Anne’s soft eye hardened in an instant. “Did you...?”

“No, I couldn’t smash any of them into such a shape,” he answered almost solemnly. “When I saw them, I barely recognized them. It was if blade and bone had been pound into dust. Trees were uprooted and torn apart, like something was bored and decided to just ravage whatever was in its path.” Teo piped up.

“How far ahead is this ruin you speak of?”

"Maybe one hundred meters, not much more than that."

"Anne, Teo, you don't think that a Deep Dweller made its way to the outside, do you?" The person who spoke was another of the more experienced exterminators. He had teal hair and cobalt eyes framed by wide rimmed glasses. Unlike the others, who wore various levels of armor, he wore a red and violet robe with a silver tunic beneath and carried an old tome.

"It's a possibility, Sein. I'd like to hope that isn't the case."

"Likewise, that's all the people need, another emergency evacuation because something strayed too far out of its territory." No one present was fond of the idea of Deep Dwellers, the beasts that resided closest to the forest's heart, being near the town*. That would be more than a simple problem, it would be a dire emergency on several levels. Andel had only heard tales of the Deep Dwellers and none of them pleasant. The one he had encountered had been severely weakened, enough for him to push it back and for Anne to slay it, but still strong enough to take the veteran's eye and toss Andel around like a rag when it hit him**. Needless to say, a monster just as strong, if not stronger, as that one was just asking for a disaster.

“I say we have the lads head back to town and let the town master know. She’ll come up with something.” The one who spoke this time was a rather tall woman with grey hair and heterochromatic eyes. She was pale as snow and had tiny black horns growing from her forehead, denoting her supposedly demonic heritage. She wore light armor made from tiny interlaced, silver scales and thick white fur. She carried an ornate longbow on her back, two wickedly curved daggers on her hips and a scimitar across her lower back, but oddly no arrows. “As helpful as they both are, we need to let Laura know ahead of time, just in case things take a grim turn.”

“Not that I’m against it,” began the last exterminator and the only other new recruit. He had shoulder length, nearly iridescent hair and clear blue eyes. He wore a green, brown and white overcoat over simple beige trousers and white sleeveless top. He, too, carried a tome, but a limited few would notice the callused knuckles that denoted a fighter, not a scholar. Contrary to his profession was his timid personality and almost meek behavior, still he managed to speak to his senior. “But, shouldn’t we report as a group, Ms. Raquel? It may take longer, but it would also guarantee that whoever left had people to return to after hearing from the town master...”

“We may be lacking in time, Agrippa. For all we know, the source of Andel’s report could be on its way to the town,” replied the exterminator. “At the very least, us being here provides you some time to report in the event that we encounter the Deep Dweller.”

“Maybe we should inspect the damage before sending anyone off,” interrupted Sein. “It’ll allow us to gauge the accuracy of Andel’s report and give us an idea of what we may be facing in the near future.”

“What he said,” agreed Teo, “It would be a waste of time to tell Laura something, only for it to be a false alarm.” With that, all eyes fell on Andel.

“This way,” he said simply, leading them to the scene he had discovered only a few minutes prior. None of them were disappointed.

“Oh my...”

“When did this...?”

“Not when, what.”

“You mean to tell me that within the last month, this happened and none of us noticed?!”

“No, this is far too recent to have happened any later than in the past day or two...”

The scene before them was terrifying. The area looked like something had torn it apart. Trees were twisted, broken and uprooted, carelessly strewn about as if something had had a tantrum and directed it at them until none stood. The soil was covered in deep gashes and craters, each adorned by tiny white fragments and scraps of twisted metal that had once been swords, countless swords. Smoke rose from several craters and molten claw marks marred the few unbroken stones in the excuse of a clearing, bringing attention to the acrid smell of burnt wood.

Surveying the demolished area a second time revealed black gashes across some of the trees, while others were completed carbonized. The few remaining discernable bones of the Skeletons that had inhabited the area had been charred and were hot to the touch. Most clearly, however, was the long stretch of earth that seemed to have been blown away, one that spanned several hundred meters and went even deeper into the forest.

“Andel.” Anne had drawn her spear.

“Yeah, I’m on it.” His leader didn’t need to say anything else, he knew what was coming and he wholeheartedly agreed. “Agrippa, we’re heading back.”

“R-right!” The mousy exterminator nodded fervently and made his way back to town with Andel- Or would have had the emerald haired exterminator not grabbed him and tossed him aside just in time to save him from a beam of superheated gas that erupted from the heart of the forest. The teen barely had time to recover before the first thunderous boom rang out, then another and another, each drawing closer. Then came the whirring of gears and sense of despair only the most dreadful of monsters could inspire without being seen.

“Anne, I don’t think we’re going anywhere...” Andel really wished he hadn’t needed to say those words, but he could feel it, something deep within him stirring in response to whatever horror was approaching. He drew his twinblades, wicked sharp blades forged with the strongest metals his teacher had and imbued with just a tiny fragment of his own essence, and crouched low to the earth, ready to attack or dodge in a moment’s notice. The others did the same, each adopting a stance fitting their weapons. Teo readied his Slaughter Shields, Anne pointed her Tidal Spear, Raquel drew back her empty Blackwing Bow, Sein opened his Pale Grimoire and Agrippa tightened the straps on his bracers. The tension in the air was palpable, growing greater as the thunderous booms grew closer up until the creature was upon them.

Red armor glinted in the light, covering the being like a thick shell of red. Long metal claws hung rigidly on thickly crafted arms connected to a bulky metal frame, the joints protected by thick plating and thicker roots spreading from the elbows and shoulders. The upper frame was heavily armored and broad, with several exhaust ports billowing black smoke and even darker flames, while the lower frame and legs were solidly built, but not as large as the upper frame, and allowed it to tower over the six exterminators with ease. Its head was shaped like a helm, with spikes jutting from the sides and chin. A singular horn was on its forehead and an eerie scarlet eye glared from behind a crystalline cover. Gold pistons emerged from its back, each crackling with fire as the pumped in and out of its back like a mechanical heartbeat. The mechanical being was something that could only be considered as a tool of destruction, one that had all of them in its sights.

The pistons began to beat faster as both the creature and the exterminators eyed each other. The creature raised an arm and the exhaust from the ports on its back came out in a pressurized burst as its legs began to glow orange and its eye shape shifted to a crosshair.

"Beginning Termination Sequence V: High Drive." The mechanical voice that rumbled from the creature heralded its action. No less than a second later had it blasted itself across the area, arm outstretched in what could have been a punch if not for the razor sharp blades that made "fingers" and the blaze surrounding it. No one had much time to register the cry of "Scatter!" from Anne as the machine bore down on them, barely avoiding the strike in time to see the fist pierce through the thickest of trees and continue through another couple before halting. It turned, wrenching its claws from a tree with the ease of plucking petals from a flower, unphased by missing its targets.

"Turbo Sequence: Jet Collider." The plating on the machine's legs and back split open*, revealing rings of tiny thrusters surrounding larger ones. The thrusters sputtered to life, long disused by the machine, gradually gather power until the deep red flame within them burned a brilliant white. Then the flames died off and the machine launched itself towards Teo, charging in a way similar to its base.

"That won't cut it, Dust Rave!" The machine wasn't expecting the creature it had labelled as earth aligned to course with lightning** as it charged towards them. It also hadn't expected the shield thrust that followed to halt it and dent its chest plating, or for its systems to have to reboot from the electric shock it received. The creature didn't expect the shock it had delivered to refresh the machine's system.

The machine narrowed its singular eye at Teo and its mechanical voice boomed as it seemed to grin. "You'll have to do better than that, Human."

It was around then that the exterminators realized they were going to be in for a bad time.


 * Not even rangers were comfortable with doing all of the flips, jumps, slides and dives he used. Then again, they also didn't enter the forest in shorts and a chest plate that left their midriffs exposed for extra maneuverability.


 * There were rumors around the town that Andel was a monster or demon in the form of a human. His lithe form and strength made even seasoned warriors keep an eye on him because, while he severely lacked in experience, he had a terrifying innate talent...


 * Teo really disliked the taste of that phrase in his mouth. He didn’t like Andel either, considering he held romantic interest in Anne and Andel seemed to be the target of her attention. The heart of a man jealous was dark indeed.


 * After being struck by lightning in the midst of a rather fierce battle against a migrating Zazabis, Teo lost his normally cool demeanor and went on what he called an acute rampage. The others remembered it as the day he went on about how great he was before being swatted by the dragon bird, then retaliating with a lightning attack that fried the bird. They all ate well that day, but Teo could never live that down. He didn’t know that the ones who had seen that side of him considered it as his “Super Mode”.


 * The last time that had happened, there were fifty casualties, not counting the hunters, rangers and exterminators that had perished trying to identify and push the creature back.


 * As much praise as he got for pushing the creature back, Andel had been unable to do more than that. The creature's hide had chipped his sword's blade and tore his shield to ribbons on contact. His twinblades had been able to pierce it, but the layer of muscle beneath was to strong even for them, forcing him to resort to using his power in order to give him the edge he needed to win. He'd still taken quite the serious beating and was on his last leg when Anne, Teo, Sein, Agrippa and Raquel had arrived after he had gone in ahead of them.


 * Curiously, this did not disturb the pistons on its back. It is likely that the plates on the back did not slide, but fold over themselves until there was enough room for the thrusters to emerge.


 * It was outside of the machine's parameters. Before the reboot, it had detected two water aligned creatures, two earth aligned creatures, two light aligned creatures and a Category 2 Demon. The one referred to as Teo was both an earth aligned creature and a Demon until new knowledge was obtained.

'''A/N: Well then, that took awhile to write, mainly because of character introductions and setting up for the major conflict next chapter. Said conflict would have been in this chapter, but mobile Docs can only handle so many characters before it delays extensively and starts acting wonky. Normally, I'd say the importance of this chapter, but since I do not consider it to be finished that'll be at the end of the next one. Instead, I'll talk about character inspiration and themes(musical and otherwise).

Teo- Inspired by Seria. He's the severe member of the exterminators and most likely to call out Andel on his antics. That being said, he's got a bit of an eccentricity himself. Musical Theme: That Person's Name Is..., Bravely Default Ost. Themes: Strength, Experience, Judgment.

Anne- Inspired by Karl/Eve. She's the relaxed member of the exterminators and leader. Able to flip between easy going and serious on the dime. No one is quite sure when she appeared in town. Musical Theme: Battlefield- Storm, Etrian Odyssey IV Ost. Themes: Kindness, Bravery, Leadership.

Sein- Inspired by the Arisen. Possibly the hardest to read of the exterminators. He is generally aloof and quiet, but he cares for others... Probably. A former Summoner with a tendency towards the dark. Musical Theme: Coils of Light, Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen Ost. Themes: Wisdom, Magic, Apathy.

Raquel- Inspired by Paris/Ardin. Easily the most bizarre of the exterminators. Her appearance suggests demonic heritage, but whether or not that is the case is up in the air. The least trusted by regular folk because of several reasons. Musical Theme: Battle 1(FFIX), Dissidia Final Fantasy Ost. Themes: Darkness, the Unknown, Strife.

Agrippa- Inspired by Tilith/Dilma. A rather timid exterminator with power belying his personality. If he were braver, his true potential would be... Musical Theme: Paradigm Shift, FFXIII-2 Ost. Themes: Potential, Flaws, Timidness.