02-25-2014, 12:00 PM
Samus gave a quick review of her options. She’d initially considered dropping some blocks, but while they’d prove an effective countermeasure against fireballs, it was too risky. Those dragons, with their strength, could easily knock the heavy cubes around, and they’d likely end up as a greater threat to the hunters than the quarry.
So it was down to the staples, then. Nothing fancy. Shoot lots of bullets, and stay alive.
The dirty blonde ninja-lookalike was apparently set on his own death, though. Leaping onto the Rathalos’s back once more, he jammed his katana up through the scales of the beast’s neck. A spurt of blood was elicited, and the dragon gave a sharp cry. Meanwhile, the robo-kid and the wizard were blasting the smaller green dragon.
“Tch …” this was exactly what Samus had feared. No finesse, no co-ordination. She had no desire to see anyone die, but her first priority was to kill the dragons. Primes would come back, but the secondaries who died at the hands of these dragons were truly dead. That was what was at stake here. So if it came down to it, it was her before them. She had to stay alive, to make sure the job was finished.
And so Samus kept it simple. She raised her cannon towards the Rathalos and aimed for the eyes. He shook the ninja free, who tumbled back to the ground, and turned his eyes back towards the annoying pellets that were coming from Samus. Stomping forward, it turned and swung its massive tail. Samus cartwheeled backwards just in time as the tip cut the air before her. She raised her cannon again, switching to Gatling mode and punishing the dragon’s opening with a hail of energy fire. Meanwhile Inlumia had recovered, and was bringing his sword to bear at the dragon’s legs.
“Look out!” came a cry from behind, and Samus turned to duck just in time as a fireball whizzed past her. She’d learned from her previous error, and her peripherals had been trained on the Rathian. Still, it was hard to focus on two threats at once. In the same moment, the Rathalos charged her and snapped with its teeth. It was all Samus could to tumble backwards, grazing her arm as she fell. But that was no deterrent to the seasoned fighter. She’d been charging a shot as she fell, and unleashed it upon the side of the Rathalos as punishment. The slight recoil of the dragon gave her a moment to stagger upwards and put some distance between them.
“Taaake THIS!” came another cry as Cindy brought her hammer down on the other side of the Rathalos’s skull. Samus felt the air ripple as the hit connected, and this one caused a cry so loud that the smaller dragon cried in response. The Rathalos tumbled sideways, hitting the ground on one wing.
This was their chance. Samus switched to Gatling mode, striding forward and placing the barrel of her gun squarely at the Rathalos’s crown. She leaned forward as the wings spun up to full speed, bent her knees, and let the cannon sing. Its bup-bup-bup energy rain careened into the beast’s skull, and the sound was reassuring. She’d longed to hear that sound since the beginning of the fight.
The Rathian was quick to intervene. She rose to the skies, screaming, and Samus could see the flames escaping from her mouth. The hunter broke off her attack, running as fireballs rained down on them. One caught Samus in the legs, and she was thrown forwards. But her grapple beam was snaking out, onto the stone stalactiles of the cave’s ceiling, and she pulled herself up into a shaky jump before hitting the ground in a roll. It was better than just hitting the ground hard, if only by a little.
The others didn’t look much better. At least one or two of them had been hit, and Cindy was standing nearby, grimacing with smoke coming out of her armor. “That damn Rathian made me miss my charge hit,” she said.
Samus re-aligned her aim as she spoke. “Not so easy anymore?”
“I’ve fought Raths before, but these ones are especially strong,” she said. “You seem to be picking it up quickly, actually.”
“Not my first rodeo either,” replied Samus. The end of her gun arm glowed. “And it won’t be my last.”
So it was down to the staples, then. Nothing fancy. Shoot lots of bullets, and stay alive.
The dirty blonde ninja-lookalike was apparently set on his own death, though. Leaping onto the Rathalos’s back once more, he jammed his katana up through the scales of the beast’s neck. A spurt of blood was elicited, and the dragon gave a sharp cry. Meanwhile, the robo-kid and the wizard were blasting the smaller green dragon.
“Tch …” this was exactly what Samus had feared. No finesse, no co-ordination. She had no desire to see anyone die, but her first priority was to kill the dragons. Primes would come back, but the secondaries who died at the hands of these dragons were truly dead. That was what was at stake here. So if it came down to it, it was her before them. She had to stay alive, to make sure the job was finished.
And so Samus kept it simple. She raised her cannon towards the Rathalos and aimed for the eyes. He shook the ninja free, who tumbled back to the ground, and turned his eyes back towards the annoying pellets that were coming from Samus. Stomping forward, it turned and swung its massive tail. Samus cartwheeled backwards just in time as the tip cut the air before her. She raised her cannon again, switching to Gatling mode and punishing the dragon’s opening with a hail of energy fire. Meanwhile Inlumia had recovered, and was bringing his sword to bear at the dragon’s legs.
“Look out!” came a cry from behind, and Samus turned to duck just in time as a fireball whizzed past her. She’d learned from her previous error, and her peripherals had been trained on the Rathian. Still, it was hard to focus on two threats at once. In the same moment, the Rathalos charged her and snapped with its teeth. It was all Samus could to tumble backwards, grazing her arm as she fell. But that was no deterrent to the seasoned fighter. She’d been charging a shot as she fell, and unleashed it upon the side of the Rathalos as punishment. The slight recoil of the dragon gave her a moment to stagger upwards and put some distance between them.
“Taaake THIS!” came another cry as Cindy brought her hammer down on the other side of the Rathalos’s skull. Samus felt the air ripple as the hit connected, and this one caused a cry so loud that the smaller dragon cried in response. The Rathalos tumbled sideways, hitting the ground on one wing.
This was their chance. Samus switched to Gatling mode, striding forward and placing the barrel of her gun squarely at the Rathalos’s crown. She leaned forward as the wings spun up to full speed, bent her knees, and let the cannon sing. Its bup-bup-bup energy rain careened into the beast’s skull, and the sound was reassuring. She’d longed to hear that sound since the beginning of the fight.
The Rathian was quick to intervene. She rose to the skies, screaming, and Samus could see the flames escaping from her mouth. The hunter broke off her attack, running as fireballs rained down on them. One caught Samus in the legs, and she was thrown forwards. But her grapple beam was snaking out, onto the stone stalactiles of the cave’s ceiling, and she pulled herself up into a shaky jump before hitting the ground in a roll. It was better than just hitting the ground hard, if only by a little.
The others didn’t look much better. At least one or two of them had been hit, and Cindy was standing nearby, grimacing with smoke coming out of her armor. “That damn Rathian made me miss my charge hit,” she said.
Samus re-aligned her aim as she spoke. “Not so easy anymore?”
“I’ve fought Raths before, but these ones are especially strong,” she said. “You seem to be picking it up quickly, actually.”
“Not my first rodeo either,” replied Samus. The end of her gun arm glowed. “And it won’t be my last.”
![[Image: 0bwAI3j.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0bwAI3j.jpg)