05-21-2016, 08:59 PM
Twelve seconds into the final showdown with Volvagia and things were already starting to go off the rails. As the assembled Primes dashed in all directions, Nealaphh remained perfectly still, watching Volvagia’s movements carefully. She was everything a goddess should be, a ruthless combination of fast, nigh invincible, utterly deadly, and cunning. It was a combination that was found more often in the universe than most of the mundane races might care to admit. There was one thing she lacked, however.
The coiling, screeching wyrm, after shaking Red Hood off of her cowl, immediately curled towards the god-mind in a seamless transition from defense to offense. It was not immediately apparent how effective Red Hood’s attempt to blind the Arch Dragon had been, but for now Nealaphh had to assume she had it in her sights. Apex predators are so very predictable; however hackneyed it might be, their overconfidence was easily their undoing. As Volvagia surged through the spot where Nealaphh had just been standing, her jaws clamped down on nothing but an ephemeral black smoke.
Assessing the situation, the god-mind decided it was prudent to ensure that Red Hood not die so early on. There was but one way to ensure his safety, and so the acrid cloud flew towards the plummeting mercenary, enveloping him the moment before impact. Basalt debris and embers exploded outwards from the impact site, a solid cloud of ash obscuring the outcome of Red Hood’s grisly fate.
All at once, the umbral shroud was blown away, as if a violent wind had driven the pervasive soot outwards. There was no such breeze. At the epicenter of the crater stood a new being. At first glance, one might assume it was just Red Hood covered in ash, but upon closer look, they would see that mercenary’s clothing and armor had taken on a black iridescence, almost like a gleaming puddle of oil. A third eye had cracked open on his mask, the three gleaming slits of light now emitting a violent green color. Perhaps most remarkably, however, were the immense, black, feathered wings that unfurled on his back.
Meanwhile, the man, Jason Todd was coming to grips with his newfound understanding of the cosmos. With Nealaphh bonded to him, everything seemed infinitely more clear. Every eddie of smoke, every crumbling hut, could be predicted and mapped. He could feel the god-mind inside his head, but it was not an oppressive feeling. It was more liberating than anything he had ever felt, as if the entire back of his skull had been pried open, allowing the component songs of reality to funnel directly into his conscience.
Nealaphh was learning new things too; the complexities and depths of the man it now knew to be called Jason Todd. A rich, deep personal history that the god-mind wished it had time to review in detail. What was important, however, was that the Enigma could feel the raw physical capability of Red Hood, as well as something more. Something deep and dark. An inner wellspring of power, not often tapped. What was this word, Lazarus? Faint memories of a viridian pool, shock, and confusion. Nealaphh could feel the latent energies of this eldritch encounter lingering within Jason’s bones. It needed only a small push to be released. A predatory scream, which now seemed so much less august, drew The God Hood’s attention back to the moment at hand.
Outwardly, the God Hood’s inky black form became enveloped in a boiling, green light. Obviously this made him a very attractive target for the Arch Dragon. Again, Volvagia careened towards what she desperately wanted to be easy prey. A keening energy began to gather in her mouth, which to the God Hood, seemed to be happening in slow motion. Jason Todd watched as the very fabric of space lensed outwards in front of them, a rippling bubble, expanding to its full size right as the dragoness unleashed a nearly solid line of white fire at where they stood, accompanied by what could be compared to an unending thunderclap. A deep rumbling could barely be perceived over this cacophony, as the hyperbolic shield simply refracted the searing beam in all directions.
The God Hood could sense the dragon’s mixture of consternation and bewilderment at the concept that one of her indignant blasts hadn’t even phased the vermin. Despite her seething rage, the strafing attack had really been a token effort on her part. Clearly the sort of straightforward brutality that had worked on the fools at the summit was not going to be effective against this particular scrap of flesh. She would need time to formulate something to catch The God Hood off guard. In the mean time, there were other fish to fry. With an abbreviated howl, Volvagia swerved to the left and set her sights on the other Primes.
The God Hood reviewed his options. While he could certainly withstand a great ordeal of punishment, there was not much in its arsenal that was well suited to breaching the diamond carapace that was Volvagia’s hide. Two pistols, knives, batarangs, and a slew of exotic, impressive, yet not entirely potent attacks that Nealaphh brought to the pairing. Causing the dragon to smash into the side of the cliff face had certainly been effective the first time, but he was not certain that such a tactic would work repeatedly. Any attacks that they did attempt would have to capitalize on the already present holes, nicks and crevices that presented themselves on Volvagia’s writhing, flaming body.
The God Hood watched patiently as the Dragon Queen tormented his compatriots; Demetri narrowly diving out of the reach of her claws...Miranda hunkering down behind the remains of a statue as hellfire rained down on her. He could feel their collective panic, and their confusions as to why the Prime fusion just stood there watching as the rest of them suffered. The simple truth was that there was no point until an opportunity presented itself. There was a new game afoot, and he could tell that Volvagia knew this. Both of them were biding their time.
Jason had been on the right track with his initial attempt to debilitate Volvagia’s remaining eye. This fight was not going to be won by attempting to overcome the dragon with raw power. For all the good that would do, they may as well have tried to each individually arm wrestle her into submission. It was possible that Volvagia’s arms could serve as a weak point, but The God Hood doubted that crippling them would do anything more than have a tertiary impact on her combat abilities. There was also a very conspicuous gaping wound in her left flank that Alpha had managed to create before being slain. Based on her body movements, the fused Primes could tell that she was intentionally keeping the breach out of the line of fire. This was easy, since the rest of the remaining dragon slayers had all bunched up in an attempt to unify their remaining power. That was the wrong game. It was time to capitalize on Volvagia’s one weakness.
Split up. Surround the dragon so that someone can be attacking that breach on her left flank at all times.
The telepathic missive reverberated through the frenzied minds of The God Hood’s allies. How quick they would be to respond to the suggestion was a matter entirely out of his hands, but at least some attempt to organize their efforts was being made. In the meantime, he may as well try to take some of the pressure off of them. The God Hood reached into his coat and withdrew a small, cylindrical flashbang grenade, tossing it lazily towards the Arch Dragon. Using his telekinetic prowess, the fusion held it just behind the crest of her helmet. With this, he took one of his pistols in two hands and carefully squeezed off a series of pot shots, sustaining fire just long enough to get Volvagia to look his way for but a moment. Each bullet ricocheted off of the iron mask, ferrous sparks bouncing off into nothingness with each whizzing impact.
Flash bang. Avert your eyes. he called out.
When she did finally rear her head in fury, her raging gaze focused on a bizarre cylinder hovering right at eye level. In the next instant, everything was white.
Now would be a good time to move.
The coiling, screeching wyrm, after shaking Red Hood off of her cowl, immediately curled towards the god-mind in a seamless transition from defense to offense. It was not immediately apparent how effective Red Hood’s attempt to blind the Arch Dragon had been, but for now Nealaphh had to assume she had it in her sights. Apex predators are so very predictable; however hackneyed it might be, their overconfidence was easily their undoing. As Volvagia surged through the spot where Nealaphh had just been standing, her jaws clamped down on nothing but an ephemeral black smoke.
Assessing the situation, the god-mind decided it was prudent to ensure that Red Hood not die so early on. There was but one way to ensure his safety, and so the acrid cloud flew towards the plummeting mercenary, enveloping him the moment before impact. Basalt debris and embers exploded outwards from the impact site, a solid cloud of ash obscuring the outcome of Red Hood’s grisly fate.
All at once, the umbral shroud was blown away, as if a violent wind had driven the pervasive soot outwards. There was no such breeze. At the epicenter of the crater stood a new being. At first glance, one might assume it was just Red Hood covered in ash, but upon closer look, they would see that mercenary’s clothing and armor had taken on a black iridescence, almost like a gleaming puddle of oil. A third eye had cracked open on his mask, the three gleaming slits of light now emitting a violent green color. Perhaps most remarkably, however, were the immense, black, feathered wings that unfurled on his back.
Meanwhile, the man, Jason Todd was coming to grips with his newfound understanding of the cosmos. With Nealaphh bonded to him, everything seemed infinitely more clear. Every eddie of smoke, every crumbling hut, could be predicted and mapped. He could feel the god-mind inside his head, but it was not an oppressive feeling. It was more liberating than anything he had ever felt, as if the entire back of his skull had been pried open, allowing the component songs of reality to funnel directly into his conscience.
Nealaphh was learning new things too; the complexities and depths of the man it now knew to be called Jason Todd. A rich, deep personal history that the god-mind wished it had time to review in detail. What was important, however, was that the Enigma could feel the raw physical capability of Red Hood, as well as something more. Something deep and dark. An inner wellspring of power, not often tapped. What was this word, Lazarus? Faint memories of a viridian pool, shock, and confusion. Nealaphh could feel the latent energies of this eldritch encounter lingering within Jason’s bones. It needed only a small push to be released. A predatory scream, which now seemed so much less august, drew The God Hood’s attention back to the moment at hand.
Outwardly, the God Hood’s inky black form became enveloped in a boiling, green light. Obviously this made him a very attractive target for the Arch Dragon. Again, Volvagia careened towards what she desperately wanted to be easy prey. A keening energy began to gather in her mouth, which to the God Hood, seemed to be happening in slow motion. Jason Todd watched as the very fabric of space lensed outwards in front of them, a rippling bubble, expanding to its full size right as the dragoness unleashed a nearly solid line of white fire at where they stood, accompanied by what could be compared to an unending thunderclap. A deep rumbling could barely be perceived over this cacophony, as the hyperbolic shield simply refracted the searing beam in all directions.
The God Hood could sense the dragon’s mixture of consternation and bewilderment at the concept that one of her indignant blasts hadn’t even phased the vermin. Despite her seething rage, the strafing attack had really been a token effort on her part. Clearly the sort of straightforward brutality that had worked on the fools at the summit was not going to be effective against this particular scrap of flesh. She would need time to formulate something to catch The God Hood off guard. In the mean time, there were other fish to fry. With an abbreviated howl, Volvagia swerved to the left and set her sights on the other Primes.
The God Hood reviewed his options. While he could certainly withstand a great ordeal of punishment, there was not much in its arsenal that was well suited to breaching the diamond carapace that was Volvagia’s hide. Two pistols, knives, batarangs, and a slew of exotic, impressive, yet not entirely potent attacks that Nealaphh brought to the pairing. Causing the dragon to smash into the side of the cliff face had certainly been effective the first time, but he was not certain that such a tactic would work repeatedly. Any attacks that they did attempt would have to capitalize on the already present holes, nicks and crevices that presented themselves on Volvagia’s writhing, flaming body.
The God Hood watched patiently as the Dragon Queen tormented his compatriots; Demetri narrowly diving out of the reach of her claws...Miranda hunkering down behind the remains of a statue as hellfire rained down on her. He could feel their collective panic, and their confusions as to why the Prime fusion just stood there watching as the rest of them suffered. The simple truth was that there was no point until an opportunity presented itself. There was a new game afoot, and he could tell that Volvagia knew this. Both of them were biding their time.
Jason had been on the right track with his initial attempt to debilitate Volvagia’s remaining eye. This fight was not going to be won by attempting to overcome the dragon with raw power. For all the good that would do, they may as well have tried to each individually arm wrestle her into submission. It was possible that Volvagia’s arms could serve as a weak point, but The God Hood doubted that crippling them would do anything more than have a tertiary impact on her combat abilities. There was also a very conspicuous gaping wound in her left flank that Alpha had managed to create before being slain. Based on her body movements, the fused Primes could tell that she was intentionally keeping the breach out of the line of fire. This was easy, since the rest of the remaining dragon slayers had all bunched up in an attempt to unify their remaining power. That was the wrong game. It was time to capitalize on Volvagia’s one weakness.
Split up. Surround the dragon so that someone can be attacking that breach on her left flank at all times.
The telepathic missive reverberated through the frenzied minds of The God Hood’s allies. How quick they would be to respond to the suggestion was a matter entirely out of his hands, but at least some attempt to organize their efforts was being made. In the meantime, he may as well try to take some of the pressure off of them. The God Hood reached into his coat and withdrew a small, cylindrical flashbang grenade, tossing it lazily towards the Arch Dragon. Using his telekinetic prowess, the fusion held it just behind the crest of her helmet. With this, he took one of his pistols in two hands and carefully squeezed off a series of pot shots, sustaining fire just long enough to get Volvagia to look his way for but a moment. Each bullet ricocheted off of the iron mask, ferrous sparks bouncing off into nothingness with each whizzing impact.
Flash bang. Avert your eyes. he called out.
When she did finally rear her head in fury, her raging gaze focused on a bizarre cylinder hovering right at eye level. In the next instant, everything was white.
Now would be a good time to move.
Quote:1402 Words according to Google Docs
1 SP Used for Lazarus' Blessing
2 SP Used for Symbiotic Fusion
Stat Array: 6/7/5/9
6/9 SP Remain
Moves Used:
Warp Burst
Flash Bang Grenades
Dual Pistols
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued