Vs. Nergigante

	"Okay, so, Nergigante was spotted around here. The Elder Dragon that eats Elder Dragons..." His Handler, Naomi, trailed off in awe, looking over towards the Elder's Recess.

	A hellish yet luminous landscape, covered in lava fields and shimmering crystal, home to some of the New World's most dangerous monsters. Currently, it held one of the worst around; Nergigante. The spiky, onyx dragon had driven out all of the area's natural inhabitants or had otherwise disposed of them, leaving the area rather desolate. A huge crystalline structure covering most of the horizon was in the distance, pulsing cool blue in color. These crystals were also underground, which they had discovered on their initial expedition through the area.

	A Hunter, armored in the scales of an Azure Rathalos, was looking in the same direction, with a Zinogre Charge Blade on his back. The yellow and teal axe-sword hybrid had been extremely useful, one of the few things he had brought with him from the "Old World". He was idly checking over his Slinger, making sure the arm-mounted crossbow was strung and set. Seeing as he had just come from Astera, it wasn't even slightly scuffed, but he knew the very first time he forgot to check...

	"Uh-huh. So what, exactly, am I walking into?" Roy asked, shifting his shoulders a bit in discomfort from the heat. He had only seen Nergigante during the first Zorah Magdaros fiasco when it had flown off before Hunters could really do much to it. The older man in the old-style Rathian armor had nearly gotten himself killed, that much he knew, but he was too busy yanking other Hunters off the wall (sometimes literally) that the colossal Elder Dragon was about to plow through to pay too much attention.

	Roy hadn't seen it at all when Magdaros had approached the final wall weeks later. He had, however, seen some of the wounded being carted in from the Wastes, onyx black quills sticking out from their bodies. They had all recovered completely by this point, physically at least. Some were still on light duty, and a few had hung up their carving knives for good. Thankfully, Astera still had plenty of things for them to do.

	"I don't know! Isn't that exciting!" Naomi replied to his question with a grin, long scarlet ponytail bouncing as she moved excitedly. Roy merely sighed quietly, the sound drowned out by the magma bubbling below. Popping the top off of a Cool Drink and downing it, the Hunter simply loosed the Scoutflies from their waist-mounted lantern, the flies immediately turning a sapphire blue as they guided him out of camp and towards the Elder Dragon.

	"I'll be back soon," Roy called back his Handler. "With a dead Nergigante slung over my shoulder!"

	"I mean, an Elder Dragon is kinda heavy, but good luck!"
----

	It didn't take him long to find it. Nergigante was literally beating a Dodogama to death, the significantly smaller blue Fanged Wyvern standing absolutely no chance. If anything, the Elder Dragon was toying with it, leaping in front of its wounded prey as it tried to retreat for...sick games, Roy could only assume. Black, sharp thorns were embedded in the blue beast's flesh, while Nergigante had white thorns on both its arms and wings.

	"White thorns? Interesting..." The Hunter mumbled under his breath, almost fixated on the way Nergigante was 'hunting'. The thorns turned black and seemed to harden before his eyes, as Dodogama's flame attacks splashed harmlessly off of them. "Regeneration, perhaps...?"

	Eventually, Nergigante grew bored with the game it was apparently playing. Leaping forward with its hand-like claws, it grabbed both the Dodogama's head and body, and with one brutal pull, both were separated. The Hunter winced, watching as blood erupted into the air and the body went limp. The savage dragon roared in triumph, abandoned the head, then dug in.

	Several scoutflies lead forward, unnoticed by the hunter as he pulled back to think of a plan. They turned green and orbited the head of the dead wyvern, which caught the attention of the Nergigante after a moment. It stopped eating, blood smeared on its face, curiosity overcoming its hunger for just a moment. It walked over to the scoutflies, which responded by briefly flashing blue, then flashing red and retreating behind a rock. The dragon followed, interested.

	Roy stopped his mental planning when the scoutflies all around him turned red and retreated into his lantern, followed by several that came from *around* the rock.

	"What...?"

	The rock he was hiding behind exploded.

	Hurled to the ground, the Azure-clad hunter clumsily rolled to his feet and stopped, looking up to and staring at the crazed Elder Dragon. The blood-covered beast bellowed, then lunged at him without pause. Grumbling a curse as he rolled again and pulled his weapon, he swung and almost lost his sword as the quills deflected the sharp blade. A second swing gave the same results, and Roy had to hastily back up to evade a swipe from the dragon's claws.

	Roy looked Nergigante over as he backed up, looking for any kind of weakness. Finding none, for now, he kept his distance and waited. Nergigante turned and lunged again, finding only dirt and rock in its claws as Roy hopped to the side. Roy had an idea as he looked at the dragon's belly, which was bare of the thorns.

	"Only one way to find out..." Roy muttered to himself, charging forward with sword tight in his grip. He narrowly evaded a massive clawed hand on his way forward, though he still felt the wind rush by as the strike missed him. He slid underneath Nergigante, dragging the turquoise-tinted sword across its midsection. Pulses of electricity scorched the reddish plating on its stomach, but the Elder Dragon didn't appear to care. On top of that, the cut was swiftly sealing, seconds later appearing as if nothing had happened. The only evidence it had even been hit at all was the scorch marks from the electricity.

	"Oh, that's not good..."

	Spinning on its heel, Nergigante retaliated. It made a high jump and overshot as Roy evaded, landing behind the hunter and smashing its arm into the ground. The rocky floor splintered and then shattered as it continued the motion, pushing shoulder-deep into the stone. Roy was lucky enough to not be flattened, but not lucky enough to evade the black thorns that came fragmenting off like a bowgun pellet shell, striking him in several spots as he turned around. His armor barely held up against them, the chainmail underneath catching the fragments the plating failed to deflect. Before the hunter could even get his bearings back, Nergigante bellowed and rose into the air. Pulling its left arm back and snarling, it dove towards the ground to end him.

	With no options left, Roy planted his shield and prayed. Nergigante hit the ground like a bomb, shattering rock and sending thorns flying in all directions. The heavy dragon slammed directly into the shield, forcing Roy back a few meters and eventually lifting him off his feet, momentum carrying him even further back. He hit the ground roughly and rolled onto his back, cringing internally when he heard something expensive on his armor snap. While Roy's armor had definitely seen better days, the hunter himself was only slightly bruised.

	Picking himself up, the veteran hunter noticed that the dragon had no thorns remaining after that stunt, and was panting heavily. Taking advantage of Nergigante's apparent lack of defense at the moment, Roy ran forward and embedded his sword in Nergigante's arm, the pulse of electricity making the dragon recoil and snarl. Surprised he was actually dealing damage, he pulled back and ducked under a sloppy swing, countering with a slash to its face. His Zinogre weapon skipped off of one of the beast's massive horns, chipping it as it did so. The warning lights on the sword lit up yellow, alerting him to the sword's accumulated charge. A few more slashes to the arms and shoulders turned the lights red, and Roy expertly dumped the charge into the shield to continue his assault.

	While Nergigante was able to regenerate, it appeared said regeneration could only do so much so quickly. Slowly but surely, Roy was overwhelming the Elder Dragon's natural healing ability while nimbly evading any counterattack. While the thorns did eventually regrow, his sword and axe would cleave them back off, the softer white thorns providing little resistance.

	Just as that thought entered his mind, he was batted to the ground and crushed by Nergigante's wing. A gasp of pain tore from his throat as a black, hardened thorn he had missed punched through his armor and finally into him, then snapped off as the dragon pushed the Hunter away with the same wing. The thorn was set deep in his left thigh, having broken off at just the right angle to not let him grab it with his armor on. Praying there weren't any poisons on these spikes, he swiftly loaded a flash pod and fired as the black dragon closed in to finish him off. The pod bounced off of Nergigante's nose then detonated, blinding it. It roared in pain and irritation, swinging around randomly to try and hit Roy.

	Roy stood up shakily, trying to ignore the shooting pains and failing miserably. A groan left him and alerted the blind dragon, who in turn closed in quickly. The hunter hobbled away, pulling a green bottle out of his bag as the brute tried to flatten him again. Downing the painkiller, he then looked at his sword. Yellow lights, it would have to do. He flipped a switch on the inside of his shield, letting the shield use all of the charge he had already accumulated. It glowed a menacing red as Roy whistled. The blind dragon stumbled its way over to him, and Roy began his assault anew.

	Roy slashed into Nergigante's left shoulder, then used the shield's pneumatic ability to let it carve a hole in its chest. It leaped backward a little and shook its head, its vision finally clearing. Roy ignored it, bringing the shield behind him and pressing the sword deep into the top of the axe. He heard a soft click as it locked in, and he made a wide slash with the axe, cleaving off one of Nergigante's horns. Not content with just that, the hunter used the momentum from the heavy weapon to continue the swing, bringing it over his head and bringing the spinning axe head into Nergigante's face.

	Like Zinogre itself had heard his call, several massive lightning bolts crashed down and struck Nergigante across its entire body. The thunderclaps could be heard for miles around, the few remaining wingdrakes fleeing from the area entirely. The dragon yelped painfully for the first time all fight, limbs spasming as electricity tore through it. Wing membrane from its left side turned to ash, carapace nearby was cooked, and the swiftly-regenerating thorns burned along the path of the lightning. These thorns did not attempt to regrow again, several massive scorch marks in their place instead. The dragon's entire body was steaming and it was favoring its right arm as it leveled a murderous glare at the wounded hunter, but did not press an assault as Roy pulled his Charge Blade back into a ready position. The Nergigante's regeneration seemed to have stopped completely, as it didn't put any weight on the limb as it backed off.

	A pained, warning growl came from Nergigante as it turned, limping towards a crystal-covered cave. As it disappeared around the bend, Roy collapsed onto his back, dropping his weapon.

	"Ugh...ow..." The wounded Hunter mumbled under his breath, hand fumbling around in his pack for another potion. Pulling out one affixed with a gold label marked "Mega" on the glass, he carefully popped the top and sat up before drinking the entire bottle. The pain started to fade a bit more, but it was still intense enough to keep him from doing much else for the moment.

	"Well, I'm not poisoned, I think..." Roy said to himself, looking at the thorn. "Still don't know how I'm going to get you out without killing myself..."

	Digging through his bag, he pulled out bandages and a bottle of antiseptic, then pulled off his plate and scale tasset. The thorn was sticking out of his thigh, and he groaned as he realized what he had to do. He placed both hands on the thorn and took a deep breath.

	"Okay, here goes nothing. One, two..."

	He yanked, and as the thorn came out a howl of pain tore itself from his throat. Despite the pain and tears, the hole wasn't as deep as he had feared, nor was it bleeding much at all. Fortunately for him, the thorn wasn't particularly jagged either. The silver-haired hunter noted he got lucky, but still needed to take care of the wound as soon as possible to avoid infection. Applying ample amounts of the antiseptic, which also burned like hell, he patched it up with the bandages and taped it down. He would likely need stitches, but he would either end up busting them during the fight, or they would get busted if he got hit again. He'd have his Handler do it when he got back to camp. He wasn't leaving until either Nergigante was dead, or he was.
---

	Nergigante had limped back to its nest, falling asleep almost immediately as it came in. Roy looked up, noticing the many sharp crystalline 'stalactites' above the sleeping Elder. Roy would have to be careful, if only because they looked ready to fall. Those would surely kill him, if only through sheer numbers. Or they might shatter on his armor. It was hard to tell, and he wasn't in any mood for an experiment.

	Creeping forward, Roy re-formed the axe and took position by the black dragon's head. Roy brought the axe head down in a heavy overhead slash, axe head again spinning despite having no charge. It struck and cleaved off Nergigante's other horn, the dragon almost instantly awaking and reacting by leaping backward as Roy separated his weapon back into his sword and shield mode. It screamed at him in pain, anger, frustration, or maybe all three, then tried to lift itself into the air, right arm pulled back.

	Unfortunately for it, one of its wings was essentially burned to the bone, and the wing had nothing to push with. Unbalanced and unable to stop itself, it slammed into a nearby stone wall like a spiked cannonball and collapsed it entirely. Dust covered the entire nesting area, Roy unable to see anything. Hearing a dangerous, pained roar swiftly closing in on him, he rolled to the left by sheer instinct and was surprised to see the Nergigante already up and clearly broadcasting its murderous intent. Most dragons, by this point, were usually too wounded to put up much of a fight anymore.

	Seems they both had the same goal, then. Kill the other, or die trying.

	"C'mon, asshole. I want to go home, and you're in my way." Roy growled, shifting his weight a bit off of his wounded thigh. The injury had burst open again, blood slowly trickling down his thigh. The onyx dragon slowly turned, left arm still not being used for anything more than balance, if even that. It roared and leaped at the hunter again, and Roy ducked while thrusting his sword forward and up. The sword hit *something* on Nergigante, tearing the blade out of Roy's grasp and nearly breaking his wrist along with it. The dragon hit the ground heavily behind him, shaking the remaining walls and ceiling and throwing dust back into the air.

	The crystals on the ceiling were shaken loose and fell, the sound of flesh being pierced echoing milliseconds later. Roy didn't hear any motion afterward. Shield up to defend himself, he simply waited. He heard nothing. The dust cleared after a few moments, and Roy saw what exactly had ripped his sword from his hand.

	Nergigante's head.

	The sharp Zinogre blade was jutting out from just underneath its nose, piercing through its nasal cavity and likely into its brain. The physical damage, and pulse of electricity immediately after, sealed its fate. The crystals from the ceiling actually hadn't penetrated very far, only about a centimeter or two. Roy yanked one anyway as a sort of trophy, then pulled his flaregun. Loading a green flare, he shot it into the sky and then sat down, head resting on the wall.

	"Great," Roy grumbled to himself, "I have to hunt another Azure for parts to fix my armor." Roy turned his head towards his dead opponent, glaring out from underneath his roughed-up helmet. "Thanks, asshole."
---

	"You did it!" Naomi cried, grinning widely as Roy limped back to camp. "I can't believe that my Hunter was the first to kill a Nergigante!"

	"Told you I would drag it back. Well, part of it, anyway." Roy grunted, limping into the camp with both of the Nergigante's severed horns draped over his shoulders. His thorn puncture wound had torn back open in the last moments of the fight, and he wasn't feeling too hot. "I need a little help."

	"Huh?"

	Dropping the horn as gently as he could, he swiftly removed his thigh armor and gestured to the hole in his flesh. "Stitches, please."

	"Oh, uh... I can't do that." She muttered quietly, the red shade of embarrassment coating her cheeks. Roy's jaw dropped a bit in disbelief.

	"...what."

	"Yeah, you're gonna have to get back to Astera for that, my hands are too clumsy. I'd probably put more holes in you than I'd fix!" His Handler chucked bashfully.

	Groaning lowly, Roy downed another gold-topped potion and waited for the crew retrieving Nergigante's body to come to pick them up. He figured he deserved a nap when he got home, but not until. She might let them leave without picking them up. His Handler could stay for all he cared, at this point. He just wanted to go home to Juniper, his Pilot Hare, and sleep this off.
---

	"Excellent work in taking down that Nergigante, Hunter." The Commander said as the team walked through Astera's main gate, the sun still high in the sky. Roy was still limping slightly, but the pain was now at a bearable level. "Now that it's been taken care of, we can send a research team in to scout the area out more completely."

	Roy nodded mutely, standing as straight as he could. His eyelids fluttered a few times, exhaustion still claiming much of his attention. He was glad he still had his helmet on if he were honest. The Commander wouldn't exactly be happy if he were to catch Roy falling asleep standing up.

	The hole in his thigh had eventually been stitched up by the recovery team, but certainly not expertly. It was going to scar, and he knew it. Next to him, Naomi was going over the notes she had taken while Roy and Nergigante had been fighting. She had been following well behind, using a ghillie mantle and a set of binoculars, right up until they had gone into the crystal cave. She had also inspected the dragon's corpse while the Hunter had taken a well deserved, but unexpected, power nap, and had written everything down in her notebook.

	Roy heard exactly none of it, the conversation no more than background noise to him.

	The Commander eventually noticed Roy's... less than stellar appearance and almost complete lack of attention and made a show of checking his assignment list. Roy knew it was still full, but he was going to turn down the next thing the man would ask him to do. He was just too worn out.

	"Ahem. As it turns out, there aren't any marks out at the moment."

	"What?" The hunter blurted out in disbelief, and Naomi elbowed him in the side. She recoiled a bit and then subtly rubbed her elbow on her hip, hiding the pain well enough.

	 "Why don't you two take a break for now?" The Commander continued with a grin. "You both have been working hard for all of Astera, the Fifth Fleet should be damn proud to have you."

	Roy smiled slightly under his helmet, nodded, then walked over to the elevator system. Waiting for a foothold to circle, he watched his Handler predictably go for the bar in the Gathering Hall. He took his helmet off and let the cold water from the waterfall jolt him awake, though even that was doing very little to help.

	Stepping onto the foothold and taking it up, he took a detour to the blacksmith to have his weapon and armor repaired. He then walked into the residential area and unlocked the door to his home. While outside it appeared no different from any other home in the area, it did have a unique look into the lake just above it. His window was, in fact, right up against it. While he had initially expressed worries about the glass not holding, he had immediately silenced those worries when someone accidentally discharged their slinger into the window, and it didn't so much as chip. The glass was either thicker than he had initially thought, or he had gotten exceedingly lucky.

	A small, red-furred creature on the floor perked its long ears up when he walked through the door, hopping close to him as Roy let out a tired sigh.

	"Yeah, definitely going to need another Azure hunt for parts, doubt the blacksmith has them all. Damn," he muttered, scratching his head in irritation. "Oh well. One step at a time, right?" He looked down at the little animal, smiling as it tried to get his attention. The silver-haired Hunter walked over to his nightstand, pulled out a treat, and tossed it to the Pilot Hare as he walked over to his bed. He fell into bed more than laid down, and he felt the hare climb up the bed and settle right in the small of his back, curling up as it went to sleep. He didn't exactly mind. In fact, it was the perfect heating pad as he swiftly fell into the embrace of sleep.