A butterfly floated over the lush green grass. It alighted on a large, broad-petalled flower, and began to drink the sweet nectar. Suddenly its antennae flickered, and it took to the air swiftly. Moments later, the delicate red flower was incinerated in a beam of intense heat.
“Ha! You’ll have to be faster than that!”, called Cormac, as Thenardi landed lightly in front of him.
“Don’t worry! That was just a practise shot!”, shouted Lisa, whilst Cobalt’s laser sword glinted in the air.
Cormac gave her a cavalier grin, and then said, in a lower voice, “Remember Thenardi, this is a knock-down contest. First to hit the ground loses - so go for Cobalt’s legs!”
Thenardi gave an acknowledging growl, and launched himself forward, baring his claws. His quick slash was parried by Cobalt’s sword in a shower of sparks, sending the Mew staggering backwards.
Pressing his advantage, Cobalt rushed forward, hacking and slashing with fluid strokes and uncanny accuracy. But as fast as the Henger was, Thenardi was just that little bit faster - parrying all of his efforts by skill, speed, or luck. The combatants were surrounded in an aura of sparks, the sounds of their battle rang through the countryside.
Battles such as these can be won or last in an instant, and the slightest slip or mistake can decide on the victor. Deflecting a wicked sword slash, Thenardi swiftly countered with a powerful headbutt to the henger’s chest, pushing him back and giving the Mew some breathing space.
“Quick Thenardi! Use your Sonic Blast attack!”
Thenardi’s vocal skills were quickly becoming famous in the region. It was generally accepted that his sound attacks were some of the most powerful heard in living memory. It had saved Thenardi in many duels - and it had all but guaranteed his progression to the B-rank.
However, the problem with living with another rancher is that they get to know your strategies as well as their own...
The ground shook, leaves fell from young spring trees, and various small woodland animals within a mile radius fled in terror or burrowed underground. But Cobalt stood in the cone of the sound waves, seemingly unharmed. Cormac was amazed.
As he stood slack-jawed, the henger seized its opportunity. Cobalt shot forward and landed a devastating uppercut, sending Thenardi flying backwards through the air. Lisa gave a triumphant shout.
But Lisa had made the same mistake as many when they failed to look beyond the Mew’s small stature and childish looks.
Executing a perfect backflip, Thenardi landed softly on the grass. He straightened up, his eyes glowing. A beam of light lanced out of his eyes, tearing through the air towards the Cobalt. At the last second, Cobalt countered with his own pulse cannon. The two beams of energy fought for dominance, casting an eerie glow over the makeshift arena.
“Come on Thenardi!” called Cormac as sweat formed on the Mew’s forehead.
“Keep it up!” cried Lisa as Cobalt’s whirrings became more frantic.
“Not interrupting anything important, am I?” came a quiet but strong voice from the direction of the gate. All of the combatants turned, breaking off the engagement. There stood a tall and strongly built man. His face showed the signs of age, but he still carried himself with grace and dignity. He leant on an ebony cane for support, and the long white traditional robes of a Shrine Keeper flowed around him, caught in the warm breeze.
“Oh, hi, Xander!” called Lisa, wiping the thin film of sweat from her brow. “We weren’t expecting you so soon!”.
“So I see.”, chuckled Xander. “None-the-less, I’m glad I arrived early. Otherwise I might have missed some very impressive techniques as well. Plus, I feel that you two will need all of your strength soon.”
“Why’s that?”, enquired Cormac.
“Well, let’s return to your ranch so that we may talk more.”
--------------
“Thank you Lisa.” said Xander as she handed him a cup of Promiass tea.
“No problem.”
“Alright Xander,” said Cormac as he watched over Thenardi’s meditation training, “what’s up? It’s been irritating me all day.”
“Yeah, me too.” agreed Lisa, as she polished Cobalt’s chest-plate.
“Well, there’s two things - good news and bad news. Which do you two want to hear first?”.
“Good news.” said Lisa and Cormac together.
“Alright,”, replied Xander, handing Cormac a sealed letter, “there’s going to be a special tournament in Kanturk two weeks from now. There’s a huge festival planned in the city over the week, and the tournament is the main attraction. It’s restricted to A-rank and above monsters, and we’re hoping for some big names to be there.”
“But...”, began Cormac.
Xander raised a hand. “I know both Cobalt and Thenardi are only B-rank, but it’s a foregone conclusion that they’ll be promoted in the upcoming official contest next month. I’ve pulled some strings so that you two can enter. The forms are in that envelope...due to your special circumstances there are a few more than usual.”
“Why is there going to be a festival? And why haven’t we heard anything about it before now?” asked Cormac. He was flattered by the faith that Xander was showing in his ranching skills.
“It’s been a hundred years since the technology that we use to regenerate monsters was rediscovered in this area. The mayor of Kanturk was planning on throwing a...small celebration. A ceremony, a public holiday and some street parties. But a few days ago a businessman from Kawera gave the town a huge cash bonus to help fund the festival, and suddenly it exploded into a major event lasting a week.”
“Who’s the mysterious benefactor?”.
“A Mr. Ghubs. I believe that his interests lie in technology - he’s responsible for a sizeable portion of the gadget industry.”
“Hmm...I’ve never heard of him.” mused Cormac.
“Enough organisational talk, who’s our competition gonna be?” asked Lisa. She was thrilled at the idea of proving her monsters against the best, and her first real chance of international fame.
“Well, the list hasn’t been finalised, and some of the ranches are still being asked, but Balkaroth, the golem form the Marth ranch, and the zan Graymalkin, raised in the ranch of Pietro, are confirmed. Some more are to be confirmed - and we are hoping that we can add you two to the list.”
“You keep on saying ‘we’. Are you involved in some way?”
“Yes. A committee was made up of several ranching authorities to organise the competition - I am in charge of recruiting monsters from the rural areas near Kanturk.”
“Why us? There’s no favouritism going on, is there?”.
“Good heavens, no. In fact, after you two, I’m struggling to find any trainers qualified for the places. You two are some of the most promising ranchers in the region for years. I’m pleased to offer you these places.”
“Wow...” breathed Lisa. “Well, I’m all for it. This is such an amazing opportunity! What d’you think, Cormac?”.
“Well...I dunno - we’ll be serious underdogs if we take part...”
“In my opinion,” interrupted Xander, “I’d seriously recommend taking part. Even if you don’t win, with a plucky performance you’ll undoubtedly impress the audience. Remember, you’re going to be the ‘little guys’ in this competition, so it’ll be easier to endear the crowd. And it’ll be an audience of thousands from all over the world - one of the highlights of the ranching calendar.”
“Hmm...” Cormac glanced at Thenardi. He was standing bolt upright, his eyes shining, his hair practically standing on end. “Sure...why not?”.
Xander smiled, but then a dour expression crossed his normally jovial face.
“And now for the bad news. It’s particularly important in light of this tournament. Recently, there have been reports of monsters being abducted of ranches in nearby regions. At first it appeared to be completely random , but in the last fortnight or so it’s been exclusively artificial monsters. Because of this there will be intense security surrounding the tournament.”
“How long has this been going on?”, asked Lisa, aghast.
“Approximately six weeks. We were hoping that the authorities in Torble would have caught the thieves before they reached this region, but unfortunately they’ve had no luck.”
“Are there any clues as to whose behind it all?”
“Not really. Its been very...odd. No sign of forced entry, no struggle with the monsters, no noises, no real evidence, no tools or materials...it’s baffling all involved.”
“And despite this, the tourney is going ahead? That seems very irresponsible to me.”, said Cormac, almost accusingly.
“Well...the current theory is that the kidnappings are being done by an organisation against the festival. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you any more - police confidentiality and all that. The committee feels that cancelling the tournament would be giving in to the kidnappers, and then no-one wins. Hence the enhanced security - we’ll be hiring a small army of security to protect the competitors. We’re confident that enough has been done to dissuade any threats.”
Cormac looked into Xander’s eyes. He thought that the theory of an organisation against the tournament sounded flimsy - to him it didn’t seem to make much sense. But he’d known Xander for years - the Shrine Keeper had been an unofficial tutor to him during his stay in the school of ranching - and thoroughly trusted him. Also, he was swept up in the excitement of the announcement, so wasn’t as cautious as he usually was. He would regret this in the weeks to come.
“Hmm...in that case, I guess the only thing we can do is be vigilant.”, said Cormac.
“Yeah, thanks for the heads up.” said Lisa.
“My pleasure. Let me give you a hand with those forms...”
---------------
“Well, I think that’s all sorted.” said Xander, some time later.
“Yeah, got it all.” replied Cormac, signing the last form.
“Wow...I’m seriously excited now!”, said Lisa from over Cormac’s shoulder. “This could be our big break!”
“Well, take it easy. Taking part isn’t the same as winning - this is going to be really tough.” warned Cormac.
“Bull - you’re as excited as I am, and you know it.” grinned Lisa.
“I’d better get going before you two start off again.” chuckled Xander. “I’ll see myself out.”
“Bye, Xander!”, called Lisa.
“Yeah, B...wait a sec, what do you mean by ‘start off again’?”
The front door closed with a click.
Lisa looked at him and shrugged, smiling faintly.
“That’s what I love about being a Monster Rancher. You can never tell what’s gonna happen next.”.
“No kidding. We’ll have to work extra hard for the next fortnight! Ummm...”
“Yes?”
“How...exactly...did you stop Thenardi’s attack earlier? It’s been bugging me.”
“What kind of rancher would I be if I gave away all of my secrets?” laughed Lisa.
Cormac sucked his breath in between his teeth. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Let’s just say that you may be the sonic specialist, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t have a few tricks up their sleeves, ‘kay?”.
Cormac rolled his eyes. Lisa had an annoying habit of being very cryptic from time to time. “Let’s get back to work. We’ve got even more to do now.”.
------------------------------------- As usual, I'm happy to hear any comments/questions.
By DarkBlitzX on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 02:36 pm:
What can I say... CONGRATULATIONS!! lol.. this library has been dead for a while, so congratulations for being the first to start writing again. second,congratulations for a great story once again....maybe Cormac's dream will turn true? Well, im not a very good editor or writer, and i would say this story is supersuperverysuper excellent, so no critiques here. Just one thing annoys me.....of cours its a good cliffhanger but im so annoyed as to HOW the henger stopped tht sound attack...but your not supposed to tell. o well
Well...the rate at which the attack comes makes it impossible for henger to turn off ears in time as a reaction. And it can't switch it's ears off before the fight, otherwise it would be unable to hear it's trainer's commands. So, no, that's not the answer. Thanks for making me have to think up an excuse though. :)
Oh, btw CHB, you still owe us that next chapter of Tournament of Dreams...
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