Elite Monsters get a Meet Cute

"Hello my friend, it’s nice to meet you,”

The essence started clumping around me. I held the baseball in my hand, it was an old one my dad had as a kid but now it was a useful part of my hunter’s kit.

“You have something to say I’m here to greet you,”

Spell chanting wasn’t terribly hard to do, you had to simply reach for your essence and the words would come to you. It wasn’t something you made up, it was more like a realization, and that’s why the process of obtaining a new spell was called an Epiphany. The saying goes that when you are ready, the head and the heart come together and the Epiphany will arrive. Then as the chant is over the name of the spell will ring true as a bell.

“ANIMATE.”

The essence clumped tight together into my hands and surged into the baseball, making it squirm with energy. The ball changed color filling with life, and on the seams two puppet looking eyes, and a small cartoonish mouth appeared.

“Rei! What’re we hunting today champ!”

When I was little I would annoy my family with all my questions, they said I could talk to a wall. Maybe that’s why my essence manifested as personification. Not the coolest but it was an S rank essence and it meant that I had friends everywhere I went. Essence manifestation was still a question of nature vs nurture, though once manifested impossible to change or add to.

“Sachio! Good morning my good buddy!”

I gave the baseball a few little head pats, before lightly tossing him in my hand a few times.

“It’s the rank up mission I was telling you about. Our first elite monster, game faces on player.”

“Let’s hit a homer!”

“Alright Sachio, we know of two monsters in the area thanks to the observers, and thanks to Keisuke’s reports we know what type. The elite monsters are a lightning wolf monster, and a pin-cushion plant monster. Though Kei included a few other grand and great rank monsters of interest. Low rank monsters aren’t on the radar today, but you know if you see something, say something.”

“Gotcha, I’m ready when you are!”

I pulled my glove on, and readied my throw, I could tell Sachio was ready for some air time. It was a scouting technique we often used. I wound up my arm and began tossing him straight up into the air, starting at around thirty feet and climbing to sixty on my third throw.

“No commotion, Meika is moving to our location from the right. The three boys have gathered in the intersection to the northeast like you said. One’s a big guy, like huge!”

Sachio’s eyes got wide to prove his point.

“Almost as big as a house.”

I began to toss him back up.

“You always exaggerate things, Sachio Amore.”

The thick Italian accent came from my left ear.

“We’ll have to wait till we see him, cara”

Another thick Italian accent from my right.

“Girls come on, we’re on a mission. No talking unless you see something please dears.”

My two earrings were made from Italian metals, but luckily since they were manufactured in Japan I could understand them. Only when you can talk to objects do you realize how many things are imported. I used ANIMATE on them when I’m working, creating lookouts on either side of my head. It was a trick I came up with all by myself. It took some practice but I could keep ANIMATE active on up to five objects at a time.

“Of course, Rei! We wouldn’t let you down.”

“Nothing behind you cara”

Cara was dear in Italian. The left one was Sinistra and the right was Destra. My trusted partners, as they say jewelry is a girl’s best friend!

“Pin-cushion plant spotted in front of us, about half a mile Rei! Sleeping, I think. But there’s some trash and animal remains.”

“Thanks Sachio!”

A large black panther appeared on a building to my right, peering down on me with pits for eyes, shadowy vapor steaming off of it’s body. Meika leaned around to see to me.

“The boys have located the lightning dog, it’s in an abandoned lot.”

I guess those boys weren’t gold rank for nothing. Meika and I were expert trackers, but they still managed to find one before us.

“Sachio has found the pin-cushion plant a ways in front. What do you think we try and clear this test in style. Think the boys can manage a lure?”

The panther now on the ground next to me, Meika helped me onto the back of her ride. I stored Sachio in the pocket on my side.

“Let’s call them. Kenji’s also got a lightning attribute. These observers really trying to set us up by giving us an attacker with the monster’s essence type. Guess they don’t just hand out platinum ranks for show.”

“But if he can use lightning to lure it to the plant monster's lair, we could have a monster duel on our hands.”

“Great minds think alike! I’ll head over to him and let them know the plan, they’re going to keep tailing it till we get word.”

“Alright, drop me off outside the pin-cushion monster's range and then head over. Oh that’s them, Hello?”

The Hatman, Fukunaga was on the phone. I let him know we had found the pin-cushion monster, and the plan for the monster duel. Two monsters of the same rank often fight for territory and essence.  Only working on monsters of the same rank, as a higher rank would always win. Since we were pretty helpless against a lightning type monster, using the plant type to defeat it or tie it up, would be our only shot at getting two elites today. They agreed pretty readily, also wanting top marks on the evaluation.

“Beep me if you need me!”

Meika dropped me off behind a building in view of the park where the plant monster lay docile. Then her panther galloped off in the boy’s direction, we agreed she would give Thor a ride. He would lure the dog with thunder essence treats, it was less than a mile it wouldn’t be too long for him to manage.

“Quite a scary one cara”

“Yes that plant has been eating every animal it can see, look at all the feathers.”

The earrings, known as the girls, had been on every hunt with me and I agreed. The size of this plant was bigger than the charm-tulip monster we had faced last year, and almost bigger than the plane bear monster a couple months ago. Both were grand rank, one below the elites we were hunting today.

“Look at all those small holes surrounding the stem, we’ll have to watch out for underground attacks, as well as ranged attacks.”

I pointed to the surroundings that were punctured with steely thorn-needles as big as drinking straws. I slowly moved my way around the plant monsters range, putting the monster between me and the boys when they arrived with the lightning wolf.

The girls kept up steady reports watching from my ears, the next few minutes were tense. It was a little anxious being left alone on the job, but I always had friends with me. The pin-cushion plant monster was still unmoving, hopefully it ate recently. I took a few rocks from the ground, ready to cause a distraction when the boys arrived.

 Looking around, there were a few low rank bird monsters perched on the telephone wires and roofs. There was a couple small household item monster scurrying in the alleyway, right alongside the rats. Magic essence hadn’t changed the world too much, it just gave us a few more things to see and do.

 I was born after essence began clumping thick enough to form in humans and manifest monsters, so this was my normal. Mom and dad would tell stories about that time, it just seemed like a world with less not really better or worse.

“Cara, they are coming!”

Said Sinistra to my Left. The large shadow panther veered at full speed around the corner, handling that turn like a sports car. Thor sat waving a glowing sword behind Meika. Then the large lightning dog appeared. About as big as a car, with a head as big as it’s chest, mangey lightning crackled and coiled around itself.

“We’ve scouted elite monsters before, nothing to be scared of. This time we’re the ones that have to handle it.”

I reared up and got a little closer, within throwing range of the pin cushion monster that still hadn’t noticed the oncoming threat to it’s lair. Behind the wolf, Resize appeared about as big as a house like Sachio said. His clothing and gear was resized as well, and in his hands was the Hatman. Both wearing camouflage patterned army helmets with leafy netting on them. Being largely ignored by the lightning wolf, Hatman's essence must having something to do with that.

“Alright, now Thor!”

Meika was yelling at the boy seated behind her, and I could feel his essence start charging up for a longer chant. A lightning bolt fell from the sky, thicker and vibrant than nature. Meika’s shadow panther took a sharp turn, leaving the lightning wolf room to charge. 

The wolf leaped in the air catching the large chunk of lightning essence like a dog catching a frisbee. It tumbled into the pin cushion below, waking it up. Causing vines to poke through the ground and wrap around the wolf, now snarling and biting the dandelion monster. Singed plant smell filled the air.

“It’s working!" 

I said to the girls.

"We would rank up no problem now! Get ready, we’re moving to join the rest.”

Why were they so silent.

“Girls report.”

The thick Italian accent of Sinistra, whispered in my ear.

“Cara, on the roof, another Monster”