Finally, the noisy monsters had left and I could finish my meal in peace. But why were they shouting at each other? Monsters are too weird. While I took large bites of juicy meat, I kept thinking about a way to escape.

I could never break the black vines, much less those huge black walls. The grid blocking the sky was no good either, just looking at it gave me chills. The only way out is that wall the charger came out of. I’m sure the monsters control it.

What was on the other side? A pack of chargers? The next time it opens I must go check it out. I won’t stay here, I will escape and go back home.

Before I realised it, I had eaten all the good parts, only the sturdy head left. Ooh I’m stuffed! I already feel a lot better.

I looked around the walls, noticing very tiny openings here and there, the faint sounds of monsters walking coming from behind. What are they doing now? And what should I do? With nothing else to do, I walked up to a wall.

It was mostly black, with some shine and scratch marks here and there. I guess I wasn’t the first one to come here. How sturdy is it? I took a step back, and smashed the wall with a tail swipe. ‘Dong!’, I flinched a little before smashing it again. ‘Dong!’, Ouch! I reeled back and looked at the now dull spikes on the left of my tail, then at the little scratches on the wall.

The walls are really hard. I’m sure even the charger would have died from that! From the sounds, the monsters were a little agitated. I couldn’t help a smile, Hehe, wait until I’m as big as Father, then I’m sure I’ll smash those walls in one hit!

I came close to the wall, and lifting one foot I scratched at it a few times. Ooh that’s a pretty good scratching material! After just a few scratches, my talons felt comfier. They got too long from not scratching all these days and I didn’t like it. This is my new scratching spot.

I happily scratched my talons on the wall for a while, then something behind me clanked. I quickly turned to see a small part of a wall protruding out. What is this?

I took off and landed in front of the thing. Water? A long part of the wall near the ground had been pushed out, hollow and filled with clear water.

I could use a drink. I smelled for anything weird before lapping it up a few times. Satisfied, I stepped back.

I blinked a little and yawned. Uh, I ate too much, I need to sleep it off.

I found a shaded corner and laid down, eyes closed. While I drifted to sleep, a thought kept creeping up.

What if I can’t escape?

***

I woke up to a series of loud noises, a fair distance away. I blinked a few times sleepily, picking myself up. I did some wing extensions and shook my head before looking around.

The room was still empty, except for the water thing and the charger carcass. What are those noises? The source was very wide, but they all came from one side of the room, which was the wall that let the charger through.

Sounds like a lot of monsters talking in one place. I frowned at the thought. That can’t be anything good. The urge to relieve myself broke this chain of thoughts.

I found another corner and did the deed, the smell reminding me of the wooden, dark room from before. Hopefully this time will be better. All those sounds made me uneasy, masking whatever the monsters in the wall could be doing. I needed to do something.

So with a few flaps I took off, doing some rounds around the room to exercise. I did not like how limited it felt, but it was far better than being locked in place and doing nothing at all for days.

As the noises steadily grew in volume, I practiced some maneuvers, imagining Friendly and Spiky chasing me. A few times I almost hit the walls, but it was somewhat fun at least.

But then a booming monster voice startled me, forcing an emergency landing. Before I even landed the wall clanked open, and as soon as I touched down I turned to look. An empty and dim corridor greeted me, no trace of anything in sight.

The voice continued talking as I approached the entrance warily. I absolutely wanted to go in and explore, but something was not right. In fact, a few things. What was that loud voice? Why did the wall happen now? Why was nothing waiting for me behind the wall?

I would not get any answers or escape by staying in that room, so I had to bite the spike and take my chances. I walked, my eyes jumping left and right, searching for any monsters. Clearly this was their doing; they opened the wall for a purpose. Whatever the purpose, it had a high chance of not being any good for me.

As I walked past the wall into the corridor, the entrance shut close with a clank. I looked back, only to see the dark wall blocking the entrance to my room. A bad feeling grew in my stomach, but I walked forward, a little faster, to the other end of the corridor.

The loud voice and the monster noises got significantly louder when I entered a smaller room at the end of the corridor. The entrance clanked shut while I looked around. It was a smaller version of my room, the smell of different creatures in the air.

Before I did anything another wall clanked open, revealing a short corridor. This time, it opened from the floor to the sky. The noises almost doubled in volume, and the bad feeling in my stomach only got worse. The new entrance did not look inviting, at all. I can do this. I have to do this.

Hesitant, I made my way past the entrance, which closed shut. A bunch of clanks followed and I looked in stupor at the moving wall. I ran to the other end of the corridor and turned back, the wall slowly approaching.

I scratched and hit the wall blocking the way in despair. It’s going to kill me! Before I lost my mind the moving wall stopped close to me.

I stared at the now stopped wall until I was sure it would not move again. Why on sky did I enter this horrible place… The resulting space was only enough to take a few steps and turn around. The loud voice said something and the monsters cheered in chorus, assaulting my ears.

I shifted uneasily, a ball in my stomach. This is not good. I should have known I would regret stepping inside the corridor. Nothing with monsters involved was good, after all. But for some reason I thought it would end well, that I would find a way to escape and go home. What an idiot.

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The cheers calmed down but my heart did not. The loud voice said something again, and the wall opened.

‘Bwoooaaar!’ A huge blowing sound accompanied by cheers blasted me away, my eyes close to popping out. In front of me was a massive area circled by rows after rows of monsters. By the endless sky! There’s thousands of them!

The moving wall touched my tail and startled me into running inside, the entrance closing shut. All my senses screamed for me to run away, but there was no escape. The grid covered the area in a dome, no entrance in any walls.

I was scared out of my mind, looking left and right. What is this! Why am I here! I felt something wrong and ducked to the left, a stick flying past me. That’s when I noticed four monsters, inside the area with me.

How could I have missed them? Each one looked shiny with bits of colorful skin or fur, and held different kinds of ‘spikes’. What are they doing? Did they attack me?

It seems I was right because they were running towards me. The loud voice said something again, hurting my ears. Fear, anxiety, frustration and anger all culminated into a roar towards the monsters. You insane monsters! If you want a fight I will give you one!

I focused on the four monsters and ignored the loud cheers. I took off and flew up some distance, examining them. Two ran in front, one a lot bigger than the other. The bigger one held a large ‘plank’ and a long spike, the other one a small ‘plank’ and a short spike. The two in the back looked the smallest, one held a spike with two hands, the other some kind of recurved bar.

Before I could examine further, I dodged another stick, which I was sure the last monster threw at me. Annoying! I ignored all the others and dove straight for that one. In mere moments I was on top of it, but I saw it pick a bunch of sticks and draw them on the bar. It’s going to shoot me when I reach it. Just as I predicted it shot me with 5 sticks, but I extended my wings and blasted them and the monster with wind. The monster fell down, and I was about to grab it when a shock pushed my head to the right.

Ouch! I looked left to see a monster with a spike in both hands. A flash came from the end of the spike and something hit my chest painfully. You!

Angered, I tried to stomp it but it rolled away. I was about to bite it when I felt something and jumped away. ‘Hiyah!’ The monster with the small plank and spike slashed the air where my head was at a moment before.

Right behind it the monster with a big plank and long spike came running, the last two picking themselves up, the group facing me. My anger deflated a little.

Oh sky please give me strength.

***

“Look, he dodged the slash!” The young miss chirped, her hands clapping with the audience. “What do you think Zach?” She said, turning to her guard, the same one that had led her to the observation deck this morning.

“His reflexes are remarkable, even in this environment it can feel the air currents and dodge attacks other monsters couldn’t. I had heard Raths were incredible fighters, but seeing is believing.” He said, looking down at the fight.

The young miss hummed thoughtfully, glancing at a small hourglass slowly filling up, then at the anxious bald hunter on her right. “Do you think he has a chance?” She asked Zach. Cupping his chin he replied, “I’m not sure. The Blue Pearl hunters have never fought a Rathalos but they have experience fighting flying wyverns, while the Rathalos is too young to breath fire and has never fought humans. He might hold out by flying around, but the hunters would never give him the chance.” As he finished the Rathalos was taking off.

“Ah! Let’s see if you’re right.” The miss exclaimed.

Before the Rathalos could get away, the archer shot his left arm and the gunner his right arm, messing his balance. He fell down with a thud, the lancer stabbing his side while the sword and shield bashed its head.

“Ooh, that must have hurt!” The young miss exclaimed. The Rathalos groaned in pain before wildly swiping its tail, pushing the lancer two steps back while the sword and shield rolled below the tail and placed something on the ground. “And a shock trap was placed! Will the Rathalos be captured?” The announcer loudly proclaimed, the crowd cheering.

“Looks like you were right.” The miss said flatly, the old hunter sweating profusely.

***

Those damned monsters! Everytime I thought I could bite a head or a leg off, one of the others disturbed me in some way, missing the opportunity while I got hit. The long spike especially hurt, my side bleeding.

I had just swiped my tail to bash them away when I felt something drop next to my feet. Danger. I tried to jump away but a ranged monster shot my feet, slightly delaying me. ‘Grarg!’ Familiar and painful shocks coursed my body, but I had already started jumping and fell down a few steps to the side. The pain reduced dramatically and I scrambled to stand up.

I felt something dropping down on my head from the left. I raised my wing and blocked a slash with the spikes, pushing back the slasher as I stood up. My boiling anger exploded in a roar, briefly stunning the monsters.

I will kill you all! The loud voice and cheers only enraged me further.

From the right. I shifted left with a step, the long spike only brushing against my scales. A flash came from my left and I flapped down with my wing, a small dirt mound erupting close to my feet. The spiker hid behind the large plank, retracting its spike. Too slow!

I jumped with a flap and stomped on the plank, pushing the spiker down and immediately bit on its neck. It screamed as I bit hard, but it felt like biting a wall. I swatted some sticks on the left, but had to let go and jump away to avoid a slash to my feet.

This monster has a tough hide! I glanced at the spiker and saw a large bite mark but otherwise no blood. The monsters were focused on it so I used the opportunity to fly off.

The ranged monsters shot me again, but this time I was ready and did not fall down when my arms were hit, although it hurt. I watched from afar as the monsters grouped and faced me while I flew around them, the one with the sticks shooting me.

Just looking at them made me angry. I can’t attack randomly, I need a plan. Which one is the weakest? They were all weak, but together they were strong, somehow. I couldn’t finish one before the others interrupted. What can I do then? I looked at the tightly packed group and a thought flashed in my head, a smile creeping on my face. I’ll just finish them all at once!

***

The young miss watched with wide eyes. “Wow. Jorah, your Rathalos really is full of surprises! The thing escaped a shock trap and pinned down a hunter in a few seconds! Zach, what do you think?” She turned to her guard with stars in her eyes. “I think we seriously underestimated the Rathalos,” Zach said with a serious face, “He is learning incredibly fast. He already understands how each hunter fights and is now learning to counter them. It is a sight to see.” The old hunter relaxed his grip on the chair, wiping his sweat with an air of confidence. The young miss smiled, ignoring the announcer. “Let’s see what he can do.” She took a sip of her drink, glancing at the hourglass, now half-filled. Just as she looked back to the arena the Rathalos stopped circling the group and went for a dive. She frowned, “Hasn’t he tried this and failed before? I thought he was smart.” Her frown deepened when she noticed something weird. “He’s aiming for… the front?”

The gunner and the archer shot him but he either dodged or let the shot hit the scales harmlessly. As the Rathalos got closer they all prepared their strongest attack. They were ready for the wind slap.

The Rathalos would fail to stun them, then get terribly hit and captured with the second shock trap. Most spectators and the hunters all had this thought in mind, when the Rathalos did the unexpected. It didn’t do a wind slap.

Instead he adjusted his aim a little higher, to behind the group. Everyone watched, stunned, as the Rathalos landed right behind the gunner and the archer, scratching deep gashes in the ground as he swiped his tail. Completely caught off guard they both went flying to the sides, unknown whether they were dead or alive.

The last two reacted immediately, the lancer charging while the sword and shield took out a horn and blew it, running with the lancer. The impact must have been strong, because the Rathalos took a second to recover before jumping out of the way. From all sides of the arena guards flooded in, rushing to stop the Rathalos.

“Blue Pearl has surrendered! Mystic Rose wins!” The announcer yelled excitedly to the resounding cheers of the crowd, and only then did the young miss react. Calmly, she stood up and turned to the stunned bald man, “Jonah, how much do you want?”