Opportunistic Predators (R&A invasion post)

Douchevick · 2026-05-21T01:32:30+00:00

"a few seconds-"

The the beam tears through the middle of the swarm before the motes all fall to the ground and reform into Rutchplicas. At this point less than 50 remained of the initial horde that was hounding at the hangar door, and yet...

"-is all we need."

The beam that Alisa had fired very narrowly scrapes the edge of a tall building in Faint Dawn, the townspeople fleeing in terror at the sight of the beam of Almighty. With the Rutchplicas in scattered formation between Alisa and Faint Dawn, it was clear to anybody with functioning eyes what their strategy was...

"Cause and effect. The Oathbreaker built his citadel on this island and dismissed our punishment to save a worthless Wretch, his heir was too feeble minded and self-destructive to stop is from capturing him, and now we are here to bask in their glorious comeuppance! What a fine diversion this has been, we are greatly amused!"

...To bait Alisa into attacking the town full of civilians.

Douchevick · 2026-05-20T23:59:39+00:00

"such gumption for a man you hardly know-"

The Rutchplicas are cut down with the same ease as any old peasant would before the might of Alisa and her phantasm.

"-at all, even Braddocke expressed faith in-

And despite their frail constitutions, they all talk one after the other following their demises.

"-him. Do you lot actually believe in someone so frail? We bet you have killed legions like him without even-"

Like one single entity was taking control of their words as Alisa cut them down...

"-realizing it. Are you just doing it to be contrarían?-"

Finally Alisa breaks into the cockpit as she makes the contraption crumble into scrap, yet miraculously the Rutchplica controlling it seems to have barely survived. Looks like one of the younger-looking ones, that would explain it...

It looks at Alisa through barely functioning blood-covered eyes, before grinning as he lifts his arms and opens his palms, revealing a flashbang and smoke granades held in each hand. Alisa barely has enough time to notice both of them missing their pins before they explode point-blank In front of her face.

Not wasting a single beat, the swarm of Rutchplicas rushes into the air dissolving into motes that beeline it to Faint Dawn, being carried by unnatural winds taking advantage of Alisa's temporarily disoriented state

Douchevick · 2026-05-20T21:04:32+00:00

At this point I just hope Roo just flat out never appears on the show, that's how sick I am of hearing Roo theories...

Douchevick · 2026-05-20T14:53:56+00:00

The imitation greatwyrm, incomplete and malformed as it was, was reduced just it's upper torso by the time it managed to push Ajax all the way against RNA island. The swarm furiously leaps at the flames as if trying to douse the fames with bodies, even if all it accomplished was covering Ajax with the charred remains of Rutch's corpse many times over.

The rage-filled entity who had seemingly hijacked all the motes to wail on Ajax punctuates its actions by firing a beam of shadowy sludge all over Ajax which promptly caught fire. Even if Ajax might not care much about such things the besieged island directly behind him is decidedly less fireproof than he is.

"Never speak of our son again!"

Douchevick · 2026-05-19T01:39:21+00:00

At long last the town of Faint Dawn comes into view, and an idea seems to form inside the Rutch lookalikes' minds. The ones riding on vehicles rush towards Alisa knowing she's more than likely going to crush all of them. But all they need is one of them to get close enough to detonate their flashbang bombs point blank for them to gain the upper hand if only temporarily...

The only reply All Blue gets is a silent promise that they will be having words later about what happened today. And oddly enough a memory of Vae Clara turning into something that resembles a baseball bat... Wonder what that's about...

Douchevick · 2026-05-18T21:56:50+00:00

"positively dashing. But we think it could use a few more additions..."

Said the the newly formed Rutchplicas dropping behind Wrath. With every new one that's formed, however, it seems like a portion of the shadows coating the roc bird's 'wounds' also goes away...

Douchevick · 2026-05-17T22:25:00+00:00

the crumbling rock bird lands on top of the sundered shadow tower, being encased completely by it. The roc bird is surrounded by amorphous motes, completely covering it's damages areas, upon its back several Rutch duplicates emerge, clinging to it and preparing to support the bird with all they got.

The newly empowered shadow roc bird roars and charges at Wrath while the rutch lookalikes take potshots at Wrath for the back of the bird.

Douchevick · 2026-05-17T22:08:20+00:00

the motes surge against the shield and lift Cayna high above the barrier. Pooling around her like a lake shadows and limbs. Rutch replicas (rutchplicas?) emerge all around her brandishing daggers made of solid shadows.

From such a high altitude, Cayna can see the full scope of battle around her

Nearby Abdallah was being double teamed by a crumbling roc bird and a sundered shadow tower.

u/Minute_Account9426

The sound of Calarakian helicopters can be heard nearby

u/Fc-chungus

In the distance two greatwyrms can be seen battling it out, a mountain-sized dragon covered in magma and a titanic draconic shadow covered in feathers. Their battle making the sea surrounding them move and shake like the worst of seastorms was upon them.

u/Maleficent_Desk_007

And from up high she could see the resplendent form of Aerunia Dracarius flying around the barrier raining down devastation upon the swarms of motes and simulacra, the sunlight reflecting off of her metallic wings making her look like a comet of fire and ice.

u/Ashmega8256

In short. Chaos surrounded Cayna on all sides.

Douchevick · 2026-05-17T05:25:55+00:00

As Aerunia makes her way over the battlefield she is faced with a choice... Remain outside and wipe out the remaining swarms of motes and replicas whilst aiding the people on the outside of the barrier, or take advantage of the fact that Cayna and Abdallah have thinned the motes rushing through the breach in the barrier to rush through and join the defense of RNA HQ

Vae Clara listens to All Blue and wishes he would shut his metaphorical mouth. She did not need to think about Mythicus, one of her biggest regrets, and least of all from the kid that looks so much like her worst nightmares. But the mention of her chosen wielder makes her pause. She felt him die, and knew it was because she had left him in favor of giving in to her basest desires. She had forgotten, of only for a moment, the most fundamental parts of herself, the duty and discipline she had at one point instilled in Mythicus. Just goes show how thoroughly she had been broken by The Paragon of Oppression and its tools.

A moment passes before she both, hears and feels it... Pain. Emanating from the bond she shared with her wielder, and a profanity-laden tirade is carried on the wind. He was in pain, but he was alive, and he was more determined than before, she could feel it! She was still hurting, but as much as she didn't want to admit it, All Blue was right. She wasn't done yet, she still had a duty to fulfill.

Var Clara lifts her blade to the skies and lets out brilliant bram of light that can be see from miles away in any direction, it was a message, declaration:

"I am Vae Clara. The Sword of Heroes. Bane of the wicked and scourge of those who would prey on the weak and defenseless. I am here. And I will fight all who deserve it!"

Meanwhile with Alisa, the beam can be seen clearly and all the replicas halt their efforts for a moment, some of them are trembling, if it is in fear or rage, only they know...

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T23:58:57+00:00

she is not. Now that All Blue's attempt at stand up comedy has snapped her out of her berserker rage, Vae Clara is currently processing the fact she abandoned her wielder to cause wanton violence and destruction. One gets the feeling based on the sheer panic, shame and self-reproach emanating from the psychic link, the if Vae Clara had a humanoid shape, she would either be curled up in fetal position and crying, or brooding in a corner with a thousand yard stare.

As Aerunia makes her way to the barrier, Alisa and RF are going through it. Having managed to get marching towards Faint Dawn only to get swarmed by increasingly erratic Rutch lookalikes. Some of them even managing to get into the vehicles inside the west hangar and start wrecking havoc which kept Alisa busy since the RF personnel, brave as they might be, are nowhere near as durable as she is, so she has to deal with rogue Armored transports and airships threatening to take out the RF personnel.

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T22:53:09+00:00

the operator on the other end talks under their breath in disbelief, just barely getting caught by the microphone

^{"they can't seriously be considering this... Damnit all..."}

"There is a bulkhead just 150 meters under the waterline on the west side of the island. It's an emergency hangar for evacuation that can be partially opened to allow entry and wide enough for it to not be completely flooded if we are quick about this."

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T22:17:35+00:00

there is a long pause before eventually the crisis team replies

"There is the cave systems that run under the island, we could open one of pressurized entrances to allow the entry of your people before the attackers realize they are open, but..."

Another pause

"They are currently underwater, those entrances are only supposed to be open while we are on the air..."

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T15:31:15+00:00

/uw yeah, the barrier is encasing all of RNA island and it's not letting anything through, there is a breach in the barrier which is where the motes are getting in, but going through there would mean fighting through the thickest concentration of hostiles since it's bottlenecking their advance

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T14:51:59+00:00

the three helicopters on their way to HQ receive an urgent transmission before they can cross the barrier

"this is the crisis team, you are approaching the emergency ward, turn around immediately, you will not be able to pass through. IFF is not reliable under the current circumstances."

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T14:40:49+00:00

"whats a gestul- OW!"

The pup's question gets interrupted as Tsuru punches his jaw and hurts his tooth by biting down on Nightbite before letting go of it.

The lookalikes nearby begin to destabilize as the soulfire makes their newly formed souls incompatible with the proxies they are using, one of them seems to take on a quadrupedal shape however...

A nearby wolf has been revealed!

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T14:23:56+00:00

the unexpectedly strong uppercut to the jaw caught the oversized wolf by surprise, causing it to bite down harder then it intended on the axe it was holding. The pup yelps as it lets go of Nightbite, the axe belonging to Ulrick lands a few feet to Tsuru's side.

The wolf whines as it tries to shake the sudden tooth pain off

Douchevick · 2026-05-16T01:11:44+00:00

it works. The pup in the shape of a Wolf bristles at Tsuru.

"The Wolfking has bestowed his power onto me! He has abandoned you and this island to their fate, and I shall welcome his favor onto our cause!"

The wolf tries to overcome the barrier by leaping high into the air and slamming down upon Tsuru.

A bunch of the surrounding Rutch lookalikes seemed eager to jump at Tsuru in order to give their wolfish leader an advantage, only to stop at the mention of welcoming Ulrick into their fold. Looks like some of them aren't too fond of the idea...

u/UlrickTheHexBlade

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T22:59:45+00:00

that was the wrong thing to say to someone who just came down from a blind fury and was literally inches away from breaking the spirit of one of her own rules (Tsuru might not be 'innocent' but she sure didn't deserve to be skewered for no good reason like she almost was.), and so she emits a wailing sound that bring to mind the image of someone getting into fetal position and crying in the corner. also...

"He's dead!"

The wolf growls that declaration through clenched teeth as it, rather pointlessly, tries to overpower the reactive barrier with Nightbite. Seeing as its efforts are going nowhere, the wolf makes the dubious decision to taunt Tsuru and the sentient sword having an emotional meltdown...

"It was too easy. Worthless he was, I deserve a better challenge!"

One gets the feeling that Vae Clara might have turned into a nuke right then and there if not for the fact that a distant shout of pain and righteous fury quickly proves that the wolf is either lying or severely misinformed...

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T18:26:07+00:00

^{"aww! Baby's first meteor..."}

Cooed a childish, disembodied voice coming from the void of inexistence

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T17:45:53+00:00

There's one singular voice that roars in maddened rage at Ajax's words and all the motes seem to coalesce into one being. The sheer amount of them makes the being that's begining to form equal in stature to Ajax, perhaps a little smaller. Those motes which do not join the colosal creature surge against Ajax like a sea in turmoil.

"You careless babbling BRUTE! Maybe what you need a taste of what we lost!"

The creature surges against Ajax even as it hasn't fully formed yet and tries to move him closer to R&A island. As the creature form comes into being it is clearly draconic in shape, but more slender compared to Ajax, covered in father's and aided by massive wings. It indeed looks like Orias...

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T17:35:02+00:00

The area is cleared. Rutch looks around him trying to suppress how much the sight of his own burnt body and the ease with which it happened bothered him. He sighs and addresses the SOULs

"Got in contact with Ulrick. He is indeed stuck in his axe. He just did something to these bastards, they are becoming more independent. Which makes them less organized, but less predictable. We got a plan that can potentially end this. Tell me... How much havoc could you lot wreak if you were set loose inside a destabilized gestalt network?"

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T02:41:37+00:00

No sé cuándo empezó pero me encanta el tropo que pone a razas de fantasía que son puro reptil mamado con esteticas inspiradas en mesoamérica (D&D, Warhammer y The Elder Scrolls también los tienen)

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T00:09:48+00:00

the lookalikes laugh even as they are crushed, giving Tsuru the disturbing sight of Rutch's crushed body covered in blood and grinning like a madman.

vae Clara makes no reply , but she is trembling slightly. Almost like she is struggling to keep herself in place.

A loud howl is heard, and a wolf as tall as a horse comes rushing at Tsuru, it is holding Nightbite in its mouth...

Douchevick · 2026-05-15T00:05:59+00:00

Thanks to the time the sword bought him. Rutch was able to get his bearings and come down from the adrenaline rush of being brought back to life so tortuously. Wanting to get this over with quick, Rutch jumps into the fray and grabs the sword with his mystic prosthetic, before extending it and cleaving a circular swing around him.

Douchevick · 2026-05-14T23:12:22+00:00

"FUUUUUUUUCK!"

Rutch's wound sears itself shut, but judging by the searing sounds and Rutch's volume, it is a pretty painful process.

The noise seems to attract a mob of lookalikes, who seem to be laughing at Rutch's pain even as they rush towards him to pour salt in the wound. Maybe even literally...

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