The hunting party, including Courage and led by Fogi, began their journey through the wilds toward their destination. The location of their hunt was a place called the Shifting Meadows - a famous location in this region of the Blend.
The Shifting Meadows are a vast expanse of fields and plains stretching hundreds of kilometers in size. Different kinds of grasses and plants grew there in plentiful quantities all year round, with different crops appearing each season. This made it a major attraction for both beasts and Catalysts alike, as every season brought new resources which in turn attracted different kinds of beasts - and consequently, people seeking to score big by hunting these seasonal creatures.
Currently, the Shifting Meadows were full of tall grass interspersed with colorful flowers and fragrant herbs. Trees and shrubs heavy with blossoms and fruits of all shapes and sizes dotted the landscape. Golden fields of reeds swayed gently in the wind, carrying the rich scent of the earth.
Right now, it was summer in the Shifting Meadows. I say "in the Shifting Meadows" because determining seasons in the Blend was far more complicated than on Earth. In the Blend, all sorts of phenomena occurred constantly across its regions, causing weather to behave strangely. Some areas might experience one season while others had a completely different one. Some places cycled through all seasons rapidly, while others remained locked in a single season year-round. There were even locations where seasons occurred out of order or in reverse sequence. In short, determining the true season across the Blend was nearly impossible - but for the Shifting Meadows at least, the warm atmosphere and abundance of summer-associated plants made it clear this was the summer season for it .
Courage was mesmerized by the sight of the Shifting Meadows. Once again, the Blend was showing him something beyond his imagination
the vast open landscapes, and the large palette of colors gave him a sense of freedom and scale he'd never experienced before. "The Blend is truly beautiful," he thought to himself.
Fogi placed a hand on his shoulder, snapping Courage from his daydream. "Yeah, it's beautiful alright," he said kindly. "Captivated me the first time I saw it too. But friend, this is still the Blend. Don't doze off for too long."
"Oh! Yes, of course. Sorry," Courage said, slightly embarrassed.
The rest of the group responded with warm, hearty chuckles.
Later on...
"Alright everyone, listen up," said Fogi, demanding everyone's attention. "We discussed our plans on the way here, but let's go over them one last time. We will begin our hunt at the edges of the Shifting Meadows since the beasts we encounter grow stronger the closer we get to the center. We hunt here for a while, and once we feel confident in our abilities, we will delve deeper into the Meadows. Understood?"
Everyone signaled their understanding.
"Good. Now for everyone's role: John, of course, is going to attack from a distance and cover us from behind. Rolf will wait for the opportunity to attack from the sides and harass the enemy. Len and Ran, you will stay at a safe distance and wait for my call—use your beasts' abilities when I tell you to. And finally, Courage and I will stand at the front."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"Let's do this already," said Rolf.
"Alright everyone, summon your beasts," ordered Fogi.
Soon after, everyone complied, and several different beasts joined the party:
John's beast was an archer fish the size of a dog. It had silver-colored scales and eyes, along with sharp-looking fins. The beast's name was the Silver-Eye Archer Fish. The fish floated calmly around its master, yet its gaze was sharp.
Rolf's beast was a small bird that looked like a cross between a hummingbird and a kingfisher. The bird's wings vibrated rapidly, producing a faint humming sound as it darted around. Its feathers were a shiny yellow with strokes of white and blue at the tips of its wings and tail, as well as a couple of feathers on its head. Seeing such a small beast belonging to the stocky Rolf was quite the contrast—most wouldn't expect it to be his. This beast was called the Bolt Hummer.
Len's beast was a large black-and-white clown fish, while her sister Ran had a black parrot with white eyes and tail feathers. They were both called the Evoker Fish and the mime Parrot, respectively.
Finally, Fogi's beast was a lion the size of a buffalo. The large beast had sharp claws and fangs, as well as a thick, bright red mane crowning it. This beast was fittingly named the Bloodmane Lion
Totem beasts, unlike regular ones, were always unique to their owners. So seeing a whole bunch of them caused Courage to stop and stare for a moment, admiring them—but soon, he too brought out his totem beast.
The moment Kabuto appeared, it immediately drew attention. Within seconds, he was surrounded by the group.
Len and Ran were the first to comment: "Ehh, how pretty! It looks like a jewel!"
John added, "So this is what you meant when you said it has good defense. Looking at it, it certainly seems tough."
Rolf chimed in: "Ooh, what a tough-looking beast! I like it—that's how beasts should be. What catalyst did you use to make it like this?"
Fogi, who'd also been studying Kabuto curiously, collected himself and turned to the others. "Don't pry into someone's affairs like that—it's rude."
"It's alright," Courage responded. Though grateful for Fogi's interference, he wasn't used to being the center of attention.
Moving on, after the group made their final preparations, the hunt was on.
Len and Ran ordered their beasts to begin scouting. Immediately, Ran's Mime Parrot flew high into the air while Len's Evoker Fish remained near her. Soon after, the fish began emitting light from its mouth, creating a projection in thin air - the image displayed a bird's-eye view of the landscape.
Seeing this, Courage exclaimed, "What the-?"
Len immediately explained, "This is a combination special move that my sister's beast and mine can perform together. It allows us to scout far distances."
"A combination special move?" Courage asked.
Fogi, the experienced senior, stepped in to explain. "You see, Courage, when a beast uses a combination of its own traits and abilities to produce a special effect, that's called a special move. But when two or more beasts combine their abilities to create an effect, that's called a combination special move."
"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Courage exclaimed.
Len and Ran puffed up with pride upon hearing this.
"Fufu, of course not just anyone can perform a combination special move," Ran explained smugly. "They require not only compatibility between the performing beasts but also incredible coordination. Most Beast Catalysts can't get their beasts to perform combination moves without insane amounts of training."
"Or simply the great talent that my sister and I have," Len added, her tone equally smug.
Hearing this, John and Rolf rolled their eyes.
Fogi shook his head helplessly at the twins' claims, though it seemed he was used to their behavior.
"Anyway, this special move is called [Audio-Video Transmit]. Here's how it works: Ran's Mime Parrot uses its sound-type abilities to create a description of what it sees through sound waves, transmitting them via silent frequencies. Len's Evoker Fish can detect these transmissions and, using its light-type abilities, convert them into the visual projection you see before you."
"I see," Courage said, finally understanding.
This was certainly a helpful special move. With it, they basically had an eye in the sky. Ran's parrot kept scouting from high above, and through Len's fish, the entire party could see what it saw. It wasn't long before they found their first target.
On one of the fields, a strange snake-like creature was peeking out of a burrow. The creature looked like a python with a turtle shell—quite strange-looking. Its scales and shell had the color of earth, and its eyes were dark green. The beast was five meters in size, large enough to swallow a cow whole. According to the team's knowledge, this was a Turtle Snake—an earth-type beast.
The beast was just observing its surroundings when several water arrows struck its neck—John's Silver-Eye Archer Fish started the attack. The snake hissed loudly in pain before coiling itself into its shell. Startled, it now tried to locate the danger in the grass surrounding its burrow.
The party emerged. Courage and Fogi came from straight ahead while Rolf came from the sides. John stayed some distance behind Courage and Fogi, and Len and Ran were nowhere to be seen, probably hiding some distance away.
"John, again!" Fogi ordered. John gave a silent command, and his beast shot three more water arrows at the snake's shell, aggravating it further.
The snake, now with its target in sight, launched into a furious attack. It spun its shell rapidly, then whipped its tail toward John—but Courage intercepted. Kabuto, with its incredible defense and great strength , tanked the attack head-on. It grabbed the tail with two limbs while bracing with the others.
Once the attack was stopped, Fogi counterattacked—his Bloodmane Lion raking its claws across the snake's tail. The snake hissed and yanked its tail back, glaring at Fogi and Courage before suddenly spitting a giant mud ball toward them.
"Watch out!" Fogi warned. "The Turtle Snake's mud ball hardens rapidly after impact—get hit by one, and you're immobilized!"
They dodged just in time. As the snake prepared a second mud ball, Rolf's Bolt Hummer dove down, lightning flickering around it. The strike came down like a lightning bolt it left a burned mark on the snake's face and flashed brightly, momentarily blinding it and stopping it's attack.
The battle raged on for about an while, with the team alternating between blocking, dodging, and attacking. The snake kept swinging its tail and occasionally shooting mud balls at them and sometimes lunging to bait them, but Kabuto was always there to intercept its attacks. Fogi took advantage of this, having his Bloodmane Lion deliver punishing blows that accumulated wounds across the snake's body.
Rolf and John continued raining attacks from a distance. John's beast seemed to deal the most damage—its water arrows consistently left deep wounds, likely due to type advantage. Conversely, Rolf's bird, while leaving scorch marks with its lightning strikes, didn't inflict significant harm beyond temporarily blinding the snake when it hit its face.
Amidst the chaos, a fierce clash erupted between the Bloodmane Lion and the Turtle Snake. The snake bit down on one of the lion's legs—a limb that might have been lost if Courage hadn't reacted instantly, commanding Kabuto to pry the snake's jaws open.
The Bloodmane Lion, injured but undeterred, retaliated immediately. It roared loudly as its crimson mane underwent a transformation: the hairs elongated like living tendrils.
"[Bloodmane Weapon]!" Fogi shouted.
The tendrils coiled into a single, spear-like point and stabbed deep into the Turtle Snake's neck.
Blood poured from the grievous wound.
The turtle snake began thrashing wildly, blood spraying everywhere.
"It's done for!" shouted Rolf.
"Not yet," Fogi interjected before turning to John.
John seemed to understand immediately. With a nod, he ordered his beast to attack.
This time, instead of firing water arrows directly, the fish spat out football-sized bubbles that filled the battlefield in seconds . John's beast then gathered power before launching a single, concentrated water arrow.
"[Ricocheting Water Arrow]!" John announced his special move.
The arrow shot through the air—only to strike a bubble instead of the snake. The impact sent it spinning violently inside the bubble like a pressurized jet until—pop—the bubble burst, redirecting the arrow at a new angle.
Again and again, the arrow caromed between bubbles, its path drawing an erratic web across the battlefield. Yet despite appearing chaotic, each rebound brought it closer to its true target: the gaping wound on the snake's neck.
Still thrashing, the snake didn't notice the arrow's final adjustment—until it was too late.
BOOM.
The arrow drilled into the wound with brutal force, snapping the snake's head backward. It collapsed, a fist-sized hole now puncturing its neck. A few spasms—then stillness. The lethal strike had likely severed its spine.
One final, shuddering breath.
The battle was over.
After the dust settled, the group launched into a small celebration. Rolf laughed loudly as he crushed John in a bear hug.
"HAHA! Nice shot, John!"
John, squished in Rolf's burly embrace, flushed but didn't protest the praise.
Fogi heaved a relieved sigh, giving his Bloodmane Lion a proud pat. Even Len and Ran emerged from hiding to join the celebration, immediately congratulating everyone—especially John.
Courage, however, still stared at the slain monster, his mind replaying the final attack that had felled it.
"Wow. What a finisher " he thought. "Special moves… Another example of their power. Not just John's, but Fogi's too. With one special move each, they brought down this beast."
He clenched his fist excitedly and turned to Kabuto.
"Special moves—we've got to get one of those, don't you think, buddy?"
Kabuto's antennae twitched eagerly as it rumbled in clear agreement.