Post by GREGOLE on Apr 17, 2008 22:34:21 GMT -5
Name: The Xenovore
Story appearances: Rygama Series - Episode 1
Height: 85 Meters
Weight: 54,023 tons
Personality:
Xenovore is an insane, ravenous psycho of a monster. His ability to absorb the thoughts of his prey, while handy when dealing with animal victims, has turned his mind into a jumbled, incoherent mess. There are very few things he understands beyond pure instinct. During his actions, he may display any number of out of place quirks he may have assimilated from prey. A facial tic, a nervous laugh, a seething hatred of churches, a seething hatred of buildings that *aren't* churches, or simply a habit of swaying musically while walking are all things he may inadvertedly demonstrate at any time.
Despite this, there is a calculating intelligence behind the insanity. He remembers names and faces, though he may never have actually encountered any of them. He remembers particular things about particular individuals. This grants him a degree of strategic learning in a battle, allowing him to adjust his fighting style somewhat to accomodate different foes.
Above all, the Xenovore wants food, however. His massive body demands nearly constant sustainance, forcing him to remain constantly on the hunt. He'll gladly devour a defeated opponent as soon as they're incapacitated.
Suffice to say, the Xenovore can be a very confusing monster.
Origin Story:
Mankind would like to think he knows every crack and crevice of the Earth. That no place is totally unfamiliar to human eyes. And while this isn't terribly far from the truth, there are just a few spots he hasn't quite looked over yet...
Shrouded in mist, a perpetual storm, not less than thirty miles across, moves along the equator, drifting slowly in an endless loop around the world. Making no wind, generating intense static, but no lightning, this storm is all but unknown to human eyes. It orbits miles upon miles above the surface, high into the troposphere. Only a few have ever laid eyes on this bizarre formation, and those that have describe nothing more or less than a massive grey cloud with a ghostly blue light coursing through its entirety.
In 2007, something passed through the storm. An American space station fell from orbit. The station was destined to be incinerated in the atmosphere.
It didn't.
As the flaming wreckage fell, it grazed the edge of the storm, passing through it momentarily. In the half a minute it was immersed in the mist, it shifted course, momentarily losing momentum and now a great deal heavier.
The mangled remains crashed much farther south than intended, crashing into the Australian coast, just outside of Sydney.
When investigators arrived, they were greeted with one charred NASA logo and over thirty-thousand tons of flaming, furry flesh.
Don Wearwin, a big name government official claimed posession of the corpse and had it hauled off to a special facility in the outback. However, as it was being moved, a brief convulsion ripped across the entity's upper neck, moments before what could only be inferred as its mouth parted, releasing a ghostly blue cloud. Fortunately for Don, he just so happened to be a compulsive neatfreak and had a dustbuster in his car. He quickly captured the fluid. Though he inititally intended to take it to the facility for study in its own right, he appointed Simon Duskan, an old college friend and current down-on-his-luck college professor to study the specimen while his people dealt with the larger creature. Afterall, if it was simply tissue from this creature, then they had plenty more where it came from, should it prove important.
The corpse was placed in the facility and study began. The creature was indeed mammalian, though its DNA matched no known genus of mammals, having only vague similarities to even the most primitive species. The closest match was the duck-billed platypus.
Days passed and with each passing hour, more was learned of the creature. It had no determinable gender. Its internal organ setup was unlike any known animal. It had no digestive system, but an extreme fungal infestation. It was theorized that the fungus may have been some sort of symbiote to the mammal. After further study, it was determined to be a predator and names were tossed around. Some wanted to call it "Megaxenos", while others opted for a less technical but more stylish nickname of "The Wendigo". Eventually, the name "Xenovore Infernalis" was chosen.
As days passed, discovery after shocking discovery was made. While it was known from the start that its fur was falling out, it was a much later shock when it was discovered that the fur was also growing back. This didn't alarm anyone. Human hair was known to grow back, even after the host's death.
On the fourth night since its arrival, heart activity was picked up. Muscular tremors erupted from its body. The facility was cleared with only a few technicians remaining behind to observe.
In a sudden shocking display, the creature rose, its body so massive that the ceiling was ripped open simply from its rearing up. On two legs, Xenovore Infernalis rose, stepping out of the building and extending a dripping black tongue, slurping up anyone within reach.
One man fled in his car, making it down the highway before the beast jumped in front of him with nightmare speed, crushing man and vehicle beneath its tongue. Steam hissed up from the concrete as powerful corrosives oozed from the appendage, only to be sucked back up through its skin, taking the liquefied mess in with it.
Then the beast bound off into the night to hunt. This terrain was new to it. It recalled latching onto a falling creature as it passed through the beast's home. But it had been too strong, carrying both of them below. It needed to figure out where it was. It would need food to do that. Food was knowledge. It would absorb its prey's minds, learning what they knew. It would familiarize itself with this strange, awkward environment. It just needed to gorge itself. And it smelled fresh meat up ahead.
Xenovore Infernalis stumbled off, right towards Sydney.
The journey was long and the terrain was awkward. After a point, the sky began to grow lighter. A glow appeared, burning its eyes. It had to find shelter. And it did so, ducking into a cave and ripping deeper into it until its entire body was in the shade.
Meanwhile, Australian Defense forces moved in to subdue the creature. An army fit for an invasion set out against the monster, forming a blockade around Sydney. As the sun set, the beast emerged, hungrier than ever.
A fierce battle ensued. Strange small creatures assaulted the Xenovore, stinging horribly. Furiously, it lashed out, devouring those it could catch with its tongue, crushing the rest.
However, the ADF wasn't one to be shown up. An experimental weapon was brought to the open, pointed right at the beast. A massive railgun, it unleashed screaming hell upon the monster. Yellow-green blood was spilt as the hyper-accelerated slugs ripped through its flesh. One of its arms was rendered useless. The beast retreated. It would find food, but not here. It needed to build up its strength.
For days more, it wandered through the outback, devouring everything it could find. Entire jungles were stripped of life, small communities were devastated in its wake. The beast needed food and stopped at nothing to get it.
With no mobility on the railgun, the monster couldn't be engaged at equal terms. And with each small town it consumed, it immediately learned of any neighboring ones. However, there was something it didn't expect. Where once its prey provided very basic information which could be tuned out if unimportant, now the creature's mind was filled with senseless babble. It saw through the eyes of hundreds of creatures, each one of them a bottomless well of incoherent babble. It picked up habits as it fed. One man a nervous twitch, which the creature began involuntarily mimicking. One woman refused to step near water, for fear of crocodiles. And whenever the creature came near water, an unexplainable dread came over it, as though something horrible were lurking in the waves.
Eventually its hunger took it to a small coastal town, which it quickly stripped of life. However, as it fed, something horrible did indeed rise from the water. It ceased its meal, stepping back inland as a terrifying beast presented itself. With unparalleled aggression, the monster attacked the Xenovore. Bony spines shot from its body, crucifying the ravener.
A vicious brawl ensued, the water-dwelling creature proving as tenacious as it was terrifying. But the Xenovore was made of tougher stuff than that. Shoving aside the fear, it lashed back out, ripping into its adversarry and slurping up pieces of its flesh. It was then that the fear was replaced by something it had never known before: Anger. The Xenovore was angry at this creature. With a final slew of attacks, it broke the water monster, leaving it crippled in the very bay it had risen from.
Something else now flooded the Xenovore's mind. Pride. It could fight! It could defeat its enemies! And it WOULD take its prey!
Its brain was a mess, but it knew what it wanted. It entered Sydney, tearing through the defenses. Even as multiple railguns tore into its flesh, it crushed them, quickly replacing the lost flesh by feeding.
Sydney became a slaughterhouse as the Xenovore enjoyed a feast like no other. It slurped up entire streets of fleeing civilians. It ripped open buildings, now fully aware that they were filled with tasty treats. It climbed to the very top of a skyscraper and perched between the two tallest towers in the city, surveying its dinner.
It knew that the smaller beings were now planting some sort of explosive device into the very towers it was perched on, and it didn't care. It knew now that these creatures' pathetic weapons couldn't harm it. let the towers fall. It would crawl up from the wreckage and continue its feeding frenzy.
Then suddenly, it was pinned to the spot. Bone spines now impaled its limbs, tacking it to the buildings it was perched on.
The bay waters churned and a familiar form rose from them. Now much larger than before, the sea monster's skin split open, allowing something else to step up from its depths.
Now more adapted to fight on land, the beast strode ashore, tipping over the towers that the Xenovore was wedged between.
As the Xenovore rose, a second battle erupted. This time, the winner would be absolute, and the loser would be devoured. The Xenovore took off into the city, hiding among the buildings.
The sea monster's back split open again, allowing two dazzling, multicolored wings to emerge. It took off on the wing, trying to keep pace with its adversarry.
The two battled, the Xenovore having a clear advantage in the city. It was only when a botched leap left it knocked silly against its enemies bulky chest. The flying monster grabbed the Xenovore and tossed it from the city, eliminating its cover.
There, the two continued their battle, until the flying monster punched a hole in the mammalian devourer's gut, breaking through the spine and paralyzing it from the waist down.
From there, it carried the Xenovore into the ocean where the final struggle took place. Now at an advantage, the metamorphic monstrosity took its opponent's head into its jaws. The Xenovore clutched at the beast's torso, trying to crack it open as it had done to it before.
A sickening CRUNCH tore through the ocean.
And the Xenovore's headless corpse tumbled back, sinking into the depths. Its tongue flailed from its headless neck, breaking the surface of the water and offering the survivors one final glimpse at the horror before life was snuffed from it.
The ravening terror had been defeated.
Special Abilities:
The Xenovore's towering height, extreme agility and great strength are his primary merits. His lengthy, yet powerful limbs, each tipped with a ludicrously strong pincer, can easily disable opponents while keeping his body out of reach. His strength is incredible, allowing him to lift as much as 40,000 tons with only one arm. Each of the Xenovore's four limbs is virtually identical and double-jointed, allowing his arms to become legs, his legs to become arms and his spine to become his stomach. He's a regular contortionist of a monster, even able to rotate his head 180 degrees. Chameleon-like eyes ensure that nothing escapes his sight. His ears are modified, allowing him to pick up large concentrations of radiation - something that serves him well among many giant monsters.
Each of Xenovore's spike-studded claws serves multiple purposes. Their sheer strength and spike studding allows them to operate as grappling appendages, maces or bone-crushing pincers. The strength behind each of his arms, coupled with the pressure exerted between the spiked segments allow the Xenovore to rip limbs out of their sockets with ease.
Xenovore possesses a secondary weapon in the form of his digestive tract - which has been replaced with a symbiotic fungal organism. Xenovore's 180 meter, prehensile tongue is actually an organism all its own. It constantly oozes digestive enzymes of extreme potency and absorbs liquids upon contact. This is how Xenovore eats, in fact, absorbing the liquefied mess through its tongue.
The Xenovore is also capable of regurgitating the enzymes in frightening quantity, granting it a short range projectile.
The Xenovore is built for acrobatics, which is where it excels. It's been witnessed to outmaneuver aerial monsters in high speed chases by swinging from building to building, causing surprisingly little damage.
Finally, Xenovore's body is capable of rapidly repairing itself when damaged. So long as he's consumed enough protein, Xenovore is capable of Heisei-Godzilla-like regeneration. This does not apply to his brain tissue, however.
Combat style:
The Xenovore is largely a hit-and-run fighter. He tends to start the battle eluding adversaries among whatever cover he can find, testing them before forming a strategy. This doesn't mean he doesn't make an effort to paste his enemy from the get-go, of course. Quite the contrary, Xenovore's attacks are a relentless string of merciless beatings of all sorts. Even in the midst battle, he'll gladly feed on an opponent to keep his body sated.
When wounded, Xenovore doesn't let up. Often he'll continue to assault his opponent, keeping his wounded portion out of reach while it heals, only to bring it back into play the moment it's fixed up.
However, this does not mean that he won't periodically break away from battle to assess the situation and come back with a new strategy.
One flaw in Xenovore's fighting style is his memory. Though he learns from past mistakes, he tends to confuse reality with the voices in his head. He may attempt a strategy which has already been bested. Worse yet, he may formulate a perfect plan, only to disregard it, thinking it has already failed him.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Xenovore's agility and weaponry are his primary merits. His limbs are utterly devastating and his tongue is surprisingly potent. His torso, while not much larger than any other monster's, is mounted on immense, grotesquely flexible limbs, allowing him to keep his main body out of reach while lashing out against enemies.
His firm grip and flexibility coupled with lightning quick reflexes make him all but untouchable in his element. Xenovore's especially formidable in an urban environment where there are buildings to swing from and hide behind.
His strength is not to be trifled with, as he's capable of wrestling out of a hairy predicament and can easily toss other monsters around.
And of course, even if his body is heavily damaged, his regenerative factor and obscene damage soak render him extremely difficult to seriously injure.
The Xenovore's primary weakness is his physical softness. Lacking armor or monstrous collections of muscle, Xenovore is at a disadvantage when trying to prevent damage to his body.
Xenovore is also built to climb, not to run. Though his massive stride allows him to quickly cover distance, even on land, his lack of traction and his general build render him rather awkward when forced to stand on a planar environment.
Though his regeneration is one of the quickest in the monster realm, Xenovore must constantly suppliment it with protein or else the process slows. Extended battles without protein absorbtion may halt his regeneration altogether.
Sample Fight:
Xenovore gurgled malevolently as he watched his nemesis rise from the bay. She had just undergone a metamorphosis, courteously after firing the last of her projectile spines into his limbs, pinning all four of his major appendages into the two towers he now perched between. Blood seeped from his wounds as Rygama strode ashore, hundreds of feet below.
Rygama casually lumbered up to one of the towers and shoved her weight into it, cracking the foundation and knocking it out from under the main structure. Xenovore gurgled loudly as the appendages of his left side were violently yanked back as the tower supportting them collapsed. His remaining limbs were forcefully yanked from their holdings as he was dragged down form his perch and into the rubble of the falling skyscraper.
Rygama lumbered closer to the pile, snarling as the mammal rose onto his four legs and glared at her, fixing both of his eyes onto her. One of them suddenly turned backwards, just before his head did. Xenovore leaped back, bending his four limbs backwards as he took a great bound and found himself clinging to another skyscraper two full city blocks back. His frontal portion remained facing Rygama, but his limbs carried him up the building backwards at great speeds.
Rygama merely stood as Xenovore reached the top of the building and gazed back down at her, parting his mandibles and releasing a loud, moaning cry of challenge. He brought his arms up over his head and waved them beckoningly.
Rygama would gladly oblidge. The massive fins at her sides swung upwards, extending their brilliantly colored membrane. Xenovore's eyes went wide as his assimilated human memories alerted him to exactly what these appendages were: Wings.
Rygama bellowed a monstrous battlecry and took off, beating her new wings like a monstrous insect. She charged straight for Xenovore, jaws agape. The monstrous mammal, however, anticipated this. He took a bound straight up, leaping right over Rygama as she smashed into the top of the skyscraper, barreling right through it and onward as Xenovore landed back on his mangled perch, twisting his head a full 180 degrees to follow his enemy.
Rygama swung her hip over and rotated onto her back in mid-flight, coming to a hover a few blocks behind her adversary.
Xenovore immediately sought to turn the tide in his favor. With another great bound, he hopped over to a nearby skyscraper and just as quickly hopped to another, taking off deeper into the city.
Rygama hissed and gave chase, taking off above the city, tracking her adversary from a bird's eye view. She quickly caught up, observing as her enemy ducked beneath the "canopy" and began scuttling across the sides of the buildings, ducking between large allies and hiding in the shadows.
Rygama could see him quite plainly, however. She dove down, aiming at the lanky predator, jaws wide open. She closed the distance to Xenovore in an instant, yet the vile beast was quicker. He leaped from the building he clung to, sending Rygama faceforward into it.
Xenovore pushed against building after building, taking off deeper into the city as Rygama toppled the building with her weight. His ears ready and with one eye fixed on her overhead form, he leaped aside again, avoiding another divebomb. He reached out, swinging his legs forward and gripping another rooftop as the crash rang into his delighted ears. He spunt his head around, extending his dripping tongue from his mouth.
Rygama fluttered over the remains of the skyscraper she had just pulverized, just in time to see the mass of black, sopping tissue slap over her face with a wet smack. Pain was imminent as the acids burned into her skull plate, rupturing one of her eyes and quickly making its way towards her brain.
Rygama snarled and snapped suddenly, attempting to clamp her jaws over the vile thing, but it retracted out of reach the moment her jaws parted. Rygama screeched in aggravation as it slapped around her neck, burning into her throat.
Xenovore retracted his tongue just as Rygama swung one of her claws at it. The member slurped back into his mouth, bringing with it the sweet flavor of liquidated flesh. Xenovore took a great bound upward as Rygama roared, glaring daggers at him. With his frontal portion facing her, Xenovore climbed backwards up a neighboring building, rising to look Rygama in the eye.
Rygama snarled under her breath. This bloody beast was working on her last nerve. The thirst for vengeance magnified in her heart every second she gazed into those beady, swivelling eyes.
She realized her mistake, suddenly. Xenovore could see her coming. She needed to adopt a new strategy.
Xenovore interrupted this personal moment by leaping, arms outstretched. Rygama tried to brace herself but she wasn't quick enough. Xenovore's twin foreclaws locked into her flesh, one clamping over her torso, one missing entirely. But Xenovore's momentum forced Rygama from the air as he tackled her to the streets below. Purple blood sprayed from Rygama's maw as Xenovore's claw crushed her armor, boring into her insides.
Xenovore gurgled malevolently, but was cut off as Rygama swung a hefty arm at his face, smacking the spiked edge against his temple, knocking his face to the right at a sickening angle.
Xenovore responded by lashing his free arm at Rygama, attempting to restrain the arm, but it was caught by Rygama's clawed hand. She brought her other arm up and grabbed it with both hands. Her claws fixed firmly over the appendage and began to squeeze. Xenovore gurgled in pain and irritation as Rygama applied more pressure, putting as much strength into the maneuver as her arms had to spare. A loud cracking sound overshadowed that of Rygama's ribs as Xenovore's armor-plated arm was crushed, bent upward at a sickening angle.
Rygama rolled over, throwing the larger beast from her and coming to a standing position on all fours. She quickly rose onto her hind legs, however, glaring at Xenovore.
The monstrous mammal gripped its own arm, popping the broken portion of its forearm back into alignment with the rest, before turning both his eyes back on her.
Rygama roared again, charging at the hairy titan. She tackled him, smashing her shoulder into his chest, pushing him back into the building behind. Glass rained upon the two as Xenovore gurgled in fury. Rygama shoved her weight against him, pushing him further into the increasingly large crater in the side of the building.
Xenovore would have none of this, however. His mandibles parted and the membranous stalks extended, freeing the chasm of his throat for the fluid to pour.
Rygama found herself caught beneath a waterfall of vile, clear fluid. The pain returned tenfold as the potent acids of the digestive enzymes rapidly ate into her flesh.
Rygama screeched, but used the pain to increase her motivation, even as her armor segments began to melt into one another. Her jaws parted and she lunged, biting deep into Xenovore's throat. The flesh gave quite easily as her fangs bore into the soft tissue, scraping out his windpipe and a chunk of his esophagus.
Rygama yanked her head back, ripping the chunk of flesh from the predator's throat, leaving him to bleed.
Wendigo slumped over as Rygama gave him room. Blood flowed freely from his mangled throat. A massive chunk was missing, quite visible as a bite.
Rygama snarled in satisfaction, expecting the beast to slump over and writhe before expiring. Instead, Xenovore lashed out with one of its feet, bashing the spiked side into Rygama's midsection, knocking her aside, busting open a chunk of her armor.
Xenovore staggered out of the crater Rygama had made. Without his weight to support it, the base gave way, toppling the structure. Xenovore hopped aside as the towering skyscraper collapsed right on top of Rygama.
Xenovore vanished back into the cover of the city, leaving Rygama.
The pile of rubble rose and she emerged from the demolished building, a look of pure fury plastered over her immobile face. She beat her wings and rose, giving chase. Her complex eyes could spot the bounding behemoth, even as he hopped from building to building in the distance.
Xenovore's ears sensed the approach of his enemy and he froze. She drew closer. He could hear her on the other side of the building he was clinging to. The perfect moment.
Rygama drew back her head, ready to lunge right through the building and bite the bastard's head right off. Xenovore, however, was quicker. The side of the structure exploded as a massive claw punched right through it, clamping over her shoulder. Rygama screeched in anger, then in pain as the thick muscles and barbs ripped into her tissue. Armor splintered and muscles tore as Xenovore tightened its grip and yanked back.
Xenovore pulled its arm back, gurgling in delight as it saw that Rygama's arm was now clutched in its claw. The rest of her wasn't.
Rygama roared in fury as her arm was removed. Immediately her body began to pump chemicals to dull the pain and halt the bleeding. Her anger quickly overrode the pain. With a great bellow, she lashed out and kicked against the building, topping a large portion of it.
Xenovore felt its perch give way and quickly disengaged, dropping Rygama's arm. It would claim its trophy later, when this beast was dealt with.
Rygama fluttered down to the ground, roaring in pure fury, thrashing angrily and stomping. This creature simply couldn't be dealt with! A sudden movement below her caught her eye as she saw a young woman fleeing from the building. All around her, rubble from the collapsing tower rained down. Rygama's mood suddenly shifted as she watched the woman fall beneath a massive slab of concrete. A loud crash rang out. Rygama could very clearly see the blood pooling under the slab as the remainder of the skyscraper's upper portion fell, leaving it half its original height.
She was causing as much damage as Xenovore! Xenovore may have devoured Erica, but who knew how many Ericas Rygama was crushing in her fury? This had to stop!
A much more signifigant movement caught her eye as she saw the distinct sillouhette of Xenovore's bulk leaping right at her, claws outstretched.
She would NOT let it get the better of her again. Firing up her wings, she charged right back at the hairy beast.
Xenovore's eyes went wide as Rygama's bulk launched right back up at it. The forest-green behemoth darted right past the outstretched arms. Her barreled chest slammed right into Xenovore's face, inciting a loud CRACK as the beast's skull fractured against the armor, cracking right back into Rygama's armored plastron.
Rygama snarled in a mixture of pain and satisfaction as Xenovore was thrown back into the air, its body limp. Blood flew from a gaping head wound as the mighty devourer crashed into the streets below.
Rygama followed her enemy's descent, landing right behind Xenovore as the beast struck the pavement. The monster gurgled painfully, but tried to stand. Rygama was quicker, however. She reached out, seezing its head in her grip. Before it could react, she rose up on the wing, zooming high above the skyscrapers. Xenovore began to thrash in her grip, but Rygama was already baring her next strategy. She began to spin, keeping Xenovore's head in her grasp. She rotated once, twice and a third time.
Xenovore lashed out with one of its claws, but Rygama released, sending the beast flying from her grasp.
Wendigo moaned in outrage as it was sent flying as breakneck speeds. The beast flew past building after building as the outskirts of town rushed up at it. Buildings became colored blurs.
CRASH
Wendigo slammed into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris twice its own height. It landed harshly on its side, cracking several ribs, causing blood to spill from it mandibles. One of its eyes rotated to find itself gazing at a series of much smaller buildings, heading out into the countryside.
The other eye spun around to gaze deeper into the city. Rygama was charging rapidly. Xenovore gurgled and rose, staggering to its four feet. Blood rained down into the shattered pavement, but Xenovore ignored it. Already, its body was repairing itself.
Rygama cackled tauntingly at Xenovore as she zipped overhead, passing the beast entirely and heading for the countryside.
Xenovore reared up and moaned challengingly as Rygama passed overhead. With a great bound, it was off, chasing her awkwardly across the ground. Few large buildings here offered much of a perch.
Rygama saw one of the few tall office buildings coming up. She could see the humans inside, even from this distance. Tilting her body to the side, she swerved to her right, slinking around the structure with shocking grace.
Xenovore, however, would not allow such a thing to slow it down. Lowering its head, the beast charged on, barreling right through the towering structure with ease. It ignored the raining shrapnel and continued onwards, struggling to keep pace with Rygama.
Rygama watched as the ground below went from pavement to grass, then from grass to dirt. It was working! Xenovore was leaving its home terrain and venturing outside of the maze that was the city. She spun around in mid-air, gazing down to the stumbling scuttler. It moaned up at her furiously.
Both monsters entered the countryside, leaving Sydney behind. Rygama rose higher, eager to finish this.
Xenovore perched onto its hind legs, waiting for her to make her move.
Rygama wasted no time in shifting her course and speeding downward, bringing her remaining arm into position. She dived, ready to lance her arm right through Xenovore's loathsome body!
But Xenovore would have none of this. It stood firm, awaiting Rygama's emminant arrival. Both arms lashed out, catching the triphibian terror in their grip. Rygama's momentum forced the beast skidding against the dirt, pushing it back several blocks, but Xenovore remained firm. Without missing a beat, it swung Rygama overhead, securing a firm grip on her. Its body swung over backwards, driving Rygama headfirst into the dirt.
Xenovore glared down at Rygama upside-down as she flailed and struggled. She pulled her head from the dirt, snarling in outrage.
Xenovore responded by raising one of its mace-like arms and swinging it down, bashing it into Rygama's skull. Her head was yanked to the side, spraying blood, teeth and chunks of flesh. Xenovore swung it in the other direction, smashing back over Rygama's face from the other side. She wheezed painfully.
Rygama rolled over onto her stomach, pushing up off the dirt. Wendigo swung a third time, this one striking her head-on. Her snout cracked and crumpled as a chunk of her jaw cracked and dangled sickeningly limp. She took several steps back, putting some distance between herself and Xenovore.
The monstrous mammal reared upright, perched on its back legs, bringing the foreclaws to bare. They snapped in menace, waiting for Rygama to come within reach.
Rygama brought her remaining arm up, contracting specialized muscles in her fingers. With an audible SHING, her claws doubled in length, now more resembling shorts swords than anything. With a furious roar, she charged.
Xenovore lunged, bringing its clawed arms foreward, but Rygama ducked low, charging on. One of Xenovore's claws closed around her waist, but she was in range now. She had the momentum.
With a furious roar, she swung her claws forward, putting every ounce of energy and strength into the strike as she buried them into Xenovore's abdomen.
Xenovore gurgled furiously as the claws punctured the armored plating of his stomach. But they didn't stop at the talons. Rygama continued to thrust her arm forward, digging her entire hand into the wound.
Wendigo felt its spine give as the claws shoved all the way through its body, poking out the other side. Rygama's arm dug deeper into the wound, shoving it in up to the elbow.
Rygama's hand burst through Wendigo's spine, severing the connection to his legs. They feel limp, dropping the monster where it stood.
With a pained cry, Xenovore squeezed with all its might, crushing Rygama's side in its grip. Blood sprayed from the wounds as Rygama felt the claw crushing her ribs. Xenovore lashed out with its tongue, freeing it from the gaping hole that had been its belly and smacking it across Rygama's face.
60% of Rygama's body was in horrible agony right now. Her arm was gone, her side was being crushed and her face was being melted. She would finish this in her own domain or die trying! Her wings fired up, carrying both her and her catch up into the air. Wendigo struggled and thrashed with its remaining two arms and tightened the coils of its tongue around Rygama's face, yet it could do very little as Rygama zipped over the city, rapidly passing it. Wendigo spat a glob of acid into Rygama's wounded shoulder, yet she continued on. The beach passed beneath them. A few more miles and she could drown the beast! She could swim circles around it and drag it into the deep!
Wendigo's claw closed around a wing.
Rygama hissed in shock and aprehension as the pain shot through her system and Xenovore yanked its arm back, taking her wing with it.
Both monsters fell screaming into the waves below. A massive splash overshadowed their forms as they sank.
Rygama's feet touched the bottom. She reared up, very nearly lifting her head above the water. No! This was too shallow! She couldn't play her homefeild advantage when Xenovore's head was above the water!
Yet Xenovore remained at eye level for her, even as it dropped the wing. Its legs were useless now. Rygama DID have homefeild advantage!
Her glee was short-lived, however as Xenovore's claw lashed up, closing around her neck and squeezing. Rygama felt her neck beginning to snap. She diverted her cerebral entity's information down further into her body. It wouldn't do to be beheaded and left without a central control! She opened her mangled jaws and fought against Xenovore's strength. She yanked her arm back, dragging Xenovore's impaled torso with it. She could scarcely feel her arm now, as the acid was having its way with her nerves.
Xenovore struggled to crush Rygama's head, yet she pulled it closer, eagerly accepting its head into her jaws. Xenovore gurgled and moaned. Then, it began to laugh. Like a hyena.
In its hunts, Xenovore had devoured one unfortunate buisnessman who had a bad habit of laughing when nervous. This had been assimilated into Xenovore's mind. And now Xenovore was nothing if not nervous.
Rygama ignored the bestial giggling, biting down. Xenovore squeezed.
A loud cracking sound rang out. A cloud of blood burst into the surf.
And Xenovore's headless body sank back into the deep, sliding off of Rygama's arm. Its tongue slipped from her jaws, flailing from a headless neck.
The citizens of Sydney watched as Xenovore's vile tongue burst from the surface, flailing and writhing in a furious dance of denial, refusing to die. Its movements slowed, however and slowly, the tendril of fungal flesh slipped beneath the surface. The mighty Xenovore had been slain. Now an even mightier monster held its crown.
Ability meters
Melee Ability: 8.5
Ranged Ability: 3.5
Toughness: 7.5
Invulnerability: 5
Healing Ability: 8
Physical Strength: 7
Stamina: 5
Instinct: 8
Logic: 3.5
Creativity: 7
Speed: 7
Reflexes: 8
Acrobatics: 9
Casey Harbison
Story appearances: Rygama Series - Episode 1
Height: 85 Meters
Weight: 54,023 tons
Personality:
Xenovore is an insane, ravenous psycho of a monster. His ability to absorb the thoughts of his prey, while handy when dealing with animal victims, has turned his mind into a jumbled, incoherent mess. There are very few things he understands beyond pure instinct. During his actions, he may display any number of out of place quirks he may have assimilated from prey. A facial tic, a nervous laugh, a seething hatred of churches, a seething hatred of buildings that *aren't* churches, or simply a habit of swaying musically while walking are all things he may inadvertedly demonstrate at any time.
Despite this, there is a calculating intelligence behind the insanity. He remembers names and faces, though he may never have actually encountered any of them. He remembers particular things about particular individuals. This grants him a degree of strategic learning in a battle, allowing him to adjust his fighting style somewhat to accomodate different foes.
Above all, the Xenovore wants food, however. His massive body demands nearly constant sustainance, forcing him to remain constantly on the hunt. He'll gladly devour a defeated opponent as soon as they're incapacitated.
Suffice to say, the Xenovore can be a very confusing monster.
Origin Story:
Mankind would like to think he knows every crack and crevice of the Earth. That no place is totally unfamiliar to human eyes. And while this isn't terribly far from the truth, there are just a few spots he hasn't quite looked over yet...
Shrouded in mist, a perpetual storm, not less than thirty miles across, moves along the equator, drifting slowly in an endless loop around the world. Making no wind, generating intense static, but no lightning, this storm is all but unknown to human eyes. It orbits miles upon miles above the surface, high into the troposphere. Only a few have ever laid eyes on this bizarre formation, and those that have describe nothing more or less than a massive grey cloud with a ghostly blue light coursing through its entirety.
In 2007, something passed through the storm. An American space station fell from orbit. The station was destined to be incinerated in the atmosphere.
It didn't.
As the flaming wreckage fell, it grazed the edge of the storm, passing through it momentarily. In the half a minute it was immersed in the mist, it shifted course, momentarily losing momentum and now a great deal heavier.
The mangled remains crashed much farther south than intended, crashing into the Australian coast, just outside of Sydney.
When investigators arrived, they were greeted with one charred NASA logo and over thirty-thousand tons of flaming, furry flesh.
Don Wearwin, a big name government official claimed posession of the corpse and had it hauled off to a special facility in the outback. However, as it was being moved, a brief convulsion ripped across the entity's upper neck, moments before what could only be inferred as its mouth parted, releasing a ghostly blue cloud. Fortunately for Don, he just so happened to be a compulsive neatfreak and had a dustbuster in his car. He quickly captured the fluid. Though he inititally intended to take it to the facility for study in its own right, he appointed Simon Duskan, an old college friend and current down-on-his-luck college professor to study the specimen while his people dealt with the larger creature. Afterall, if it was simply tissue from this creature, then they had plenty more where it came from, should it prove important.
The corpse was placed in the facility and study began. The creature was indeed mammalian, though its DNA matched no known genus of mammals, having only vague similarities to even the most primitive species. The closest match was the duck-billed platypus.
Days passed and with each passing hour, more was learned of the creature. It had no determinable gender. Its internal organ setup was unlike any known animal. It had no digestive system, but an extreme fungal infestation. It was theorized that the fungus may have been some sort of symbiote to the mammal. After further study, it was determined to be a predator and names were tossed around. Some wanted to call it "Megaxenos", while others opted for a less technical but more stylish nickname of "The Wendigo". Eventually, the name "Xenovore Infernalis" was chosen.
As days passed, discovery after shocking discovery was made. While it was known from the start that its fur was falling out, it was a much later shock when it was discovered that the fur was also growing back. This didn't alarm anyone. Human hair was known to grow back, even after the host's death.
On the fourth night since its arrival, heart activity was picked up. Muscular tremors erupted from its body. The facility was cleared with only a few technicians remaining behind to observe.
In a sudden shocking display, the creature rose, its body so massive that the ceiling was ripped open simply from its rearing up. On two legs, Xenovore Infernalis rose, stepping out of the building and extending a dripping black tongue, slurping up anyone within reach.
One man fled in his car, making it down the highway before the beast jumped in front of him with nightmare speed, crushing man and vehicle beneath its tongue. Steam hissed up from the concrete as powerful corrosives oozed from the appendage, only to be sucked back up through its skin, taking the liquefied mess in with it.
Then the beast bound off into the night to hunt. This terrain was new to it. It recalled latching onto a falling creature as it passed through the beast's home. But it had been too strong, carrying both of them below. It needed to figure out where it was. It would need food to do that. Food was knowledge. It would absorb its prey's minds, learning what they knew. It would familiarize itself with this strange, awkward environment. It just needed to gorge itself. And it smelled fresh meat up ahead.
Xenovore Infernalis stumbled off, right towards Sydney.
The journey was long and the terrain was awkward. After a point, the sky began to grow lighter. A glow appeared, burning its eyes. It had to find shelter. And it did so, ducking into a cave and ripping deeper into it until its entire body was in the shade.
Meanwhile, Australian Defense forces moved in to subdue the creature. An army fit for an invasion set out against the monster, forming a blockade around Sydney. As the sun set, the beast emerged, hungrier than ever.
A fierce battle ensued. Strange small creatures assaulted the Xenovore, stinging horribly. Furiously, it lashed out, devouring those it could catch with its tongue, crushing the rest.
However, the ADF wasn't one to be shown up. An experimental weapon was brought to the open, pointed right at the beast. A massive railgun, it unleashed screaming hell upon the monster. Yellow-green blood was spilt as the hyper-accelerated slugs ripped through its flesh. One of its arms was rendered useless. The beast retreated. It would find food, but not here. It needed to build up its strength.
For days more, it wandered through the outback, devouring everything it could find. Entire jungles were stripped of life, small communities were devastated in its wake. The beast needed food and stopped at nothing to get it.
With no mobility on the railgun, the monster couldn't be engaged at equal terms. And with each small town it consumed, it immediately learned of any neighboring ones. However, there was something it didn't expect. Where once its prey provided very basic information which could be tuned out if unimportant, now the creature's mind was filled with senseless babble. It saw through the eyes of hundreds of creatures, each one of them a bottomless well of incoherent babble. It picked up habits as it fed. One man a nervous twitch, which the creature began involuntarily mimicking. One woman refused to step near water, for fear of crocodiles. And whenever the creature came near water, an unexplainable dread came over it, as though something horrible were lurking in the waves.
Eventually its hunger took it to a small coastal town, which it quickly stripped of life. However, as it fed, something horrible did indeed rise from the water. It ceased its meal, stepping back inland as a terrifying beast presented itself. With unparalleled aggression, the monster attacked the Xenovore. Bony spines shot from its body, crucifying the ravener.
A vicious brawl ensued, the water-dwelling creature proving as tenacious as it was terrifying. But the Xenovore was made of tougher stuff than that. Shoving aside the fear, it lashed back out, ripping into its adversarry and slurping up pieces of its flesh. It was then that the fear was replaced by something it had never known before: Anger. The Xenovore was angry at this creature. With a final slew of attacks, it broke the water monster, leaving it crippled in the very bay it had risen from.
Something else now flooded the Xenovore's mind. Pride. It could fight! It could defeat its enemies! And it WOULD take its prey!
Its brain was a mess, but it knew what it wanted. It entered Sydney, tearing through the defenses. Even as multiple railguns tore into its flesh, it crushed them, quickly replacing the lost flesh by feeding.
Sydney became a slaughterhouse as the Xenovore enjoyed a feast like no other. It slurped up entire streets of fleeing civilians. It ripped open buildings, now fully aware that they were filled with tasty treats. It climbed to the very top of a skyscraper and perched between the two tallest towers in the city, surveying its dinner.
It knew that the smaller beings were now planting some sort of explosive device into the very towers it was perched on, and it didn't care. It knew now that these creatures' pathetic weapons couldn't harm it. let the towers fall. It would crawl up from the wreckage and continue its feeding frenzy.
Then suddenly, it was pinned to the spot. Bone spines now impaled its limbs, tacking it to the buildings it was perched on.
The bay waters churned and a familiar form rose from them. Now much larger than before, the sea monster's skin split open, allowing something else to step up from its depths.
Now more adapted to fight on land, the beast strode ashore, tipping over the towers that the Xenovore was wedged between.
As the Xenovore rose, a second battle erupted. This time, the winner would be absolute, and the loser would be devoured. The Xenovore took off into the city, hiding among the buildings.
The sea monster's back split open again, allowing two dazzling, multicolored wings to emerge. It took off on the wing, trying to keep pace with its adversarry.
The two battled, the Xenovore having a clear advantage in the city. It was only when a botched leap left it knocked silly against its enemies bulky chest. The flying monster grabbed the Xenovore and tossed it from the city, eliminating its cover.
There, the two continued their battle, until the flying monster punched a hole in the mammalian devourer's gut, breaking through the spine and paralyzing it from the waist down.
From there, it carried the Xenovore into the ocean where the final struggle took place. Now at an advantage, the metamorphic monstrosity took its opponent's head into its jaws. The Xenovore clutched at the beast's torso, trying to crack it open as it had done to it before.
A sickening CRUNCH tore through the ocean.
And the Xenovore's headless corpse tumbled back, sinking into the depths. Its tongue flailed from its headless neck, breaking the surface of the water and offering the survivors one final glimpse at the horror before life was snuffed from it.
The ravening terror had been defeated.
Special Abilities:
The Xenovore's towering height, extreme agility and great strength are his primary merits. His lengthy, yet powerful limbs, each tipped with a ludicrously strong pincer, can easily disable opponents while keeping his body out of reach. His strength is incredible, allowing him to lift as much as 40,000 tons with only one arm. Each of the Xenovore's four limbs is virtually identical and double-jointed, allowing his arms to become legs, his legs to become arms and his spine to become his stomach. He's a regular contortionist of a monster, even able to rotate his head 180 degrees. Chameleon-like eyes ensure that nothing escapes his sight. His ears are modified, allowing him to pick up large concentrations of radiation - something that serves him well among many giant monsters.
Each of Xenovore's spike-studded claws serves multiple purposes. Their sheer strength and spike studding allows them to operate as grappling appendages, maces or bone-crushing pincers. The strength behind each of his arms, coupled with the pressure exerted between the spiked segments allow the Xenovore to rip limbs out of their sockets with ease.
Xenovore possesses a secondary weapon in the form of his digestive tract - which has been replaced with a symbiotic fungal organism. Xenovore's 180 meter, prehensile tongue is actually an organism all its own. It constantly oozes digestive enzymes of extreme potency and absorbs liquids upon contact. This is how Xenovore eats, in fact, absorbing the liquefied mess through its tongue.
The Xenovore is also capable of regurgitating the enzymes in frightening quantity, granting it a short range projectile.
The Xenovore is built for acrobatics, which is where it excels. It's been witnessed to outmaneuver aerial monsters in high speed chases by swinging from building to building, causing surprisingly little damage.
Finally, Xenovore's body is capable of rapidly repairing itself when damaged. So long as he's consumed enough protein, Xenovore is capable of Heisei-Godzilla-like regeneration. This does not apply to his brain tissue, however.
Combat style:
The Xenovore is largely a hit-and-run fighter. He tends to start the battle eluding adversaries among whatever cover he can find, testing them before forming a strategy. This doesn't mean he doesn't make an effort to paste his enemy from the get-go, of course. Quite the contrary, Xenovore's attacks are a relentless string of merciless beatings of all sorts. Even in the midst battle, he'll gladly feed on an opponent to keep his body sated.
When wounded, Xenovore doesn't let up. Often he'll continue to assault his opponent, keeping his wounded portion out of reach while it heals, only to bring it back into play the moment it's fixed up.
However, this does not mean that he won't periodically break away from battle to assess the situation and come back with a new strategy.
One flaw in Xenovore's fighting style is his memory. Though he learns from past mistakes, he tends to confuse reality with the voices in his head. He may attempt a strategy which has already been bested. Worse yet, he may formulate a perfect plan, only to disregard it, thinking it has already failed him.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Xenovore's agility and weaponry are his primary merits. His limbs are utterly devastating and his tongue is surprisingly potent. His torso, while not much larger than any other monster's, is mounted on immense, grotesquely flexible limbs, allowing him to keep his main body out of reach while lashing out against enemies.
His firm grip and flexibility coupled with lightning quick reflexes make him all but untouchable in his element. Xenovore's especially formidable in an urban environment where there are buildings to swing from and hide behind.
His strength is not to be trifled with, as he's capable of wrestling out of a hairy predicament and can easily toss other monsters around.
And of course, even if his body is heavily damaged, his regenerative factor and obscene damage soak render him extremely difficult to seriously injure.
The Xenovore's primary weakness is his physical softness. Lacking armor or monstrous collections of muscle, Xenovore is at a disadvantage when trying to prevent damage to his body.
Xenovore is also built to climb, not to run. Though his massive stride allows him to quickly cover distance, even on land, his lack of traction and his general build render him rather awkward when forced to stand on a planar environment.
Though his regeneration is one of the quickest in the monster realm, Xenovore must constantly suppliment it with protein or else the process slows. Extended battles without protein absorbtion may halt his regeneration altogether.
Sample Fight:
Xenovore gurgled malevolently as he watched his nemesis rise from the bay. She had just undergone a metamorphosis, courteously after firing the last of her projectile spines into his limbs, pinning all four of his major appendages into the two towers he now perched between. Blood seeped from his wounds as Rygama strode ashore, hundreds of feet below.
Rygama casually lumbered up to one of the towers and shoved her weight into it, cracking the foundation and knocking it out from under the main structure. Xenovore gurgled loudly as the appendages of his left side were violently yanked back as the tower supportting them collapsed. His remaining limbs were forcefully yanked from their holdings as he was dragged down form his perch and into the rubble of the falling skyscraper.
Rygama lumbered closer to the pile, snarling as the mammal rose onto his four legs and glared at her, fixing both of his eyes onto her. One of them suddenly turned backwards, just before his head did. Xenovore leaped back, bending his four limbs backwards as he took a great bound and found himself clinging to another skyscraper two full city blocks back. His frontal portion remained facing Rygama, but his limbs carried him up the building backwards at great speeds.
Rygama merely stood as Xenovore reached the top of the building and gazed back down at her, parting his mandibles and releasing a loud, moaning cry of challenge. He brought his arms up over his head and waved them beckoningly.
Rygama would gladly oblidge. The massive fins at her sides swung upwards, extending their brilliantly colored membrane. Xenovore's eyes went wide as his assimilated human memories alerted him to exactly what these appendages were: Wings.
Rygama bellowed a monstrous battlecry and took off, beating her new wings like a monstrous insect. She charged straight for Xenovore, jaws agape. The monstrous mammal, however, anticipated this. He took a bound straight up, leaping right over Rygama as she smashed into the top of the skyscraper, barreling right through it and onward as Xenovore landed back on his mangled perch, twisting his head a full 180 degrees to follow his enemy.
Rygama swung her hip over and rotated onto her back in mid-flight, coming to a hover a few blocks behind her adversary.
Xenovore immediately sought to turn the tide in his favor. With another great bound, he hopped over to a nearby skyscraper and just as quickly hopped to another, taking off deeper into the city.
Rygama hissed and gave chase, taking off above the city, tracking her adversary from a bird's eye view. She quickly caught up, observing as her enemy ducked beneath the "canopy" and began scuttling across the sides of the buildings, ducking between large allies and hiding in the shadows.
Rygama could see him quite plainly, however. She dove down, aiming at the lanky predator, jaws wide open. She closed the distance to Xenovore in an instant, yet the vile beast was quicker. He leaped from the building he clung to, sending Rygama faceforward into it.
Xenovore pushed against building after building, taking off deeper into the city as Rygama toppled the building with her weight. His ears ready and with one eye fixed on her overhead form, he leaped aside again, avoiding another divebomb. He reached out, swinging his legs forward and gripping another rooftop as the crash rang into his delighted ears. He spunt his head around, extending his dripping tongue from his mouth.
Rygama fluttered over the remains of the skyscraper she had just pulverized, just in time to see the mass of black, sopping tissue slap over her face with a wet smack. Pain was imminent as the acids burned into her skull plate, rupturing one of her eyes and quickly making its way towards her brain.
Rygama snarled and snapped suddenly, attempting to clamp her jaws over the vile thing, but it retracted out of reach the moment her jaws parted. Rygama screeched in aggravation as it slapped around her neck, burning into her throat.
Xenovore retracted his tongue just as Rygama swung one of her claws at it. The member slurped back into his mouth, bringing with it the sweet flavor of liquidated flesh. Xenovore took a great bound upward as Rygama roared, glaring daggers at him. With his frontal portion facing her, Xenovore climbed backwards up a neighboring building, rising to look Rygama in the eye.
Rygama snarled under her breath. This bloody beast was working on her last nerve. The thirst for vengeance magnified in her heart every second she gazed into those beady, swivelling eyes.
She realized her mistake, suddenly. Xenovore could see her coming. She needed to adopt a new strategy.
Xenovore interrupted this personal moment by leaping, arms outstretched. Rygama tried to brace herself but she wasn't quick enough. Xenovore's twin foreclaws locked into her flesh, one clamping over her torso, one missing entirely. But Xenovore's momentum forced Rygama from the air as he tackled her to the streets below. Purple blood sprayed from Rygama's maw as Xenovore's claw crushed her armor, boring into her insides.
Xenovore gurgled malevolently, but was cut off as Rygama swung a hefty arm at his face, smacking the spiked edge against his temple, knocking his face to the right at a sickening angle.
Xenovore responded by lashing his free arm at Rygama, attempting to restrain the arm, but it was caught by Rygama's clawed hand. She brought her other arm up and grabbed it with both hands. Her claws fixed firmly over the appendage and began to squeeze. Xenovore gurgled in pain and irritation as Rygama applied more pressure, putting as much strength into the maneuver as her arms had to spare. A loud cracking sound overshadowed that of Rygama's ribs as Xenovore's armor-plated arm was crushed, bent upward at a sickening angle.
Rygama rolled over, throwing the larger beast from her and coming to a standing position on all fours. She quickly rose onto her hind legs, however, glaring at Xenovore.
The monstrous mammal gripped its own arm, popping the broken portion of its forearm back into alignment with the rest, before turning both his eyes back on her.
Rygama roared again, charging at the hairy titan. She tackled him, smashing her shoulder into his chest, pushing him back into the building behind. Glass rained upon the two as Xenovore gurgled in fury. Rygama shoved her weight against him, pushing him further into the increasingly large crater in the side of the building.
Xenovore would have none of this, however. His mandibles parted and the membranous stalks extended, freeing the chasm of his throat for the fluid to pour.
Rygama found herself caught beneath a waterfall of vile, clear fluid. The pain returned tenfold as the potent acids of the digestive enzymes rapidly ate into her flesh.
Rygama screeched, but used the pain to increase her motivation, even as her armor segments began to melt into one another. Her jaws parted and she lunged, biting deep into Xenovore's throat. The flesh gave quite easily as her fangs bore into the soft tissue, scraping out his windpipe and a chunk of his esophagus.
Rygama yanked her head back, ripping the chunk of flesh from the predator's throat, leaving him to bleed.
Wendigo slumped over as Rygama gave him room. Blood flowed freely from his mangled throat. A massive chunk was missing, quite visible as a bite.
Rygama snarled in satisfaction, expecting the beast to slump over and writhe before expiring. Instead, Xenovore lashed out with one of its feet, bashing the spiked side into Rygama's midsection, knocking her aside, busting open a chunk of her armor.
Xenovore staggered out of the crater Rygama had made. Without his weight to support it, the base gave way, toppling the structure. Xenovore hopped aside as the towering skyscraper collapsed right on top of Rygama.
Xenovore vanished back into the cover of the city, leaving Rygama.
The pile of rubble rose and she emerged from the demolished building, a look of pure fury plastered over her immobile face. She beat her wings and rose, giving chase. Her complex eyes could spot the bounding behemoth, even as he hopped from building to building in the distance.
Xenovore's ears sensed the approach of his enemy and he froze. She drew closer. He could hear her on the other side of the building he was clinging to. The perfect moment.
Rygama drew back her head, ready to lunge right through the building and bite the bastard's head right off. Xenovore, however, was quicker. The side of the structure exploded as a massive claw punched right through it, clamping over her shoulder. Rygama screeched in anger, then in pain as the thick muscles and barbs ripped into her tissue. Armor splintered and muscles tore as Xenovore tightened its grip and yanked back.
Xenovore pulled its arm back, gurgling in delight as it saw that Rygama's arm was now clutched in its claw. The rest of her wasn't.
Rygama roared in fury as her arm was removed. Immediately her body began to pump chemicals to dull the pain and halt the bleeding. Her anger quickly overrode the pain. With a great bellow, she lashed out and kicked against the building, topping a large portion of it.
Xenovore felt its perch give way and quickly disengaged, dropping Rygama's arm. It would claim its trophy later, when this beast was dealt with.
Rygama fluttered down to the ground, roaring in pure fury, thrashing angrily and stomping. This creature simply couldn't be dealt with! A sudden movement below her caught her eye as she saw a young woman fleeing from the building. All around her, rubble from the collapsing tower rained down. Rygama's mood suddenly shifted as she watched the woman fall beneath a massive slab of concrete. A loud crash rang out. Rygama could very clearly see the blood pooling under the slab as the remainder of the skyscraper's upper portion fell, leaving it half its original height.
She was causing as much damage as Xenovore! Xenovore may have devoured Erica, but who knew how many Ericas Rygama was crushing in her fury? This had to stop!
A much more signifigant movement caught her eye as she saw the distinct sillouhette of Xenovore's bulk leaping right at her, claws outstretched.
She would NOT let it get the better of her again. Firing up her wings, she charged right back at the hairy beast.
Xenovore's eyes went wide as Rygama's bulk launched right back up at it. The forest-green behemoth darted right past the outstretched arms. Her barreled chest slammed right into Xenovore's face, inciting a loud CRACK as the beast's skull fractured against the armor, cracking right back into Rygama's armored plastron.
Rygama snarled in a mixture of pain and satisfaction as Xenovore was thrown back into the air, its body limp. Blood flew from a gaping head wound as the mighty devourer crashed into the streets below.
Rygama followed her enemy's descent, landing right behind Xenovore as the beast struck the pavement. The monster gurgled painfully, but tried to stand. Rygama was quicker, however. She reached out, seezing its head in her grip. Before it could react, she rose up on the wing, zooming high above the skyscrapers. Xenovore began to thrash in her grip, but Rygama was already baring her next strategy. She began to spin, keeping Xenovore's head in her grasp. She rotated once, twice and a third time.
Xenovore lashed out with one of its claws, but Rygama released, sending the beast flying from her grasp.
Wendigo moaned in outrage as it was sent flying as breakneck speeds. The beast flew past building after building as the outskirts of town rushed up at it. Buildings became colored blurs.
CRASH
Wendigo slammed into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris twice its own height. It landed harshly on its side, cracking several ribs, causing blood to spill from it mandibles. One of its eyes rotated to find itself gazing at a series of much smaller buildings, heading out into the countryside.
The other eye spun around to gaze deeper into the city. Rygama was charging rapidly. Xenovore gurgled and rose, staggering to its four feet. Blood rained down into the shattered pavement, but Xenovore ignored it. Already, its body was repairing itself.
Rygama cackled tauntingly at Xenovore as she zipped overhead, passing the beast entirely and heading for the countryside.
Xenovore reared up and moaned challengingly as Rygama passed overhead. With a great bound, it was off, chasing her awkwardly across the ground. Few large buildings here offered much of a perch.
Rygama saw one of the few tall office buildings coming up. She could see the humans inside, even from this distance. Tilting her body to the side, she swerved to her right, slinking around the structure with shocking grace.
Xenovore, however, would not allow such a thing to slow it down. Lowering its head, the beast charged on, barreling right through the towering structure with ease. It ignored the raining shrapnel and continued onwards, struggling to keep pace with Rygama.
Rygama watched as the ground below went from pavement to grass, then from grass to dirt. It was working! Xenovore was leaving its home terrain and venturing outside of the maze that was the city. She spun around in mid-air, gazing down to the stumbling scuttler. It moaned up at her furiously.
Both monsters entered the countryside, leaving Sydney behind. Rygama rose higher, eager to finish this.
Xenovore perched onto its hind legs, waiting for her to make her move.
Rygama wasted no time in shifting her course and speeding downward, bringing her remaining arm into position. She dived, ready to lance her arm right through Xenovore's loathsome body!
But Xenovore would have none of this. It stood firm, awaiting Rygama's emminant arrival. Both arms lashed out, catching the triphibian terror in their grip. Rygama's momentum forced the beast skidding against the dirt, pushing it back several blocks, but Xenovore remained firm. Without missing a beat, it swung Rygama overhead, securing a firm grip on her. Its body swung over backwards, driving Rygama headfirst into the dirt.
Xenovore glared down at Rygama upside-down as she flailed and struggled. She pulled her head from the dirt, snarling in outrage.
Xenovore responded by raising one of its mace-like arms and swinging it down, bashing it into Rygama's skull. Her head was yanked to the side, spraying blood, teeth and chunks of flesh. Xenovore swung it in the other direction, smashing back over Rygama's face from the other side. She wheezed painfully.
Rygama rolled over onto her stomach, pushing up off the dirt. Wendigo swung a third time, this one striking her head-on. Her snout cracked and crumpled as a chunk of her jaw cracked and dangled sickeningly limp. She took several steps back, putting some distance between herself and Xenovore.
The monstrous mammal reared upright, perched on its back legs, bringing the foreclaws to bare. They snapped in menace, waiting for Rygama to come within reach.
Rygama brought her remaining arm up, contracting specialized muscles in her fingers. With an audible SHING, her claws doubled in length, now more resembling shorts swords than anything. With a furious roar, she charged.
Xenovore lunged, bringing its clawed arms foreward, but Rygama ducked low, charging on. One of Xenovore's claws closed around her waist, but she was in range now. She had the momentum.
With a furious roar, she swung her claws forward, putting every ounce of energy and strength into the strike as she buried them into Xenovore's abdomen.
Xenovore gurgled furiously as the claws punctured the armored plating of his stomach. But they didn't stop at the talons. Rygama continued to thrust her arm forward, digging her entire hand into the wound.
Wendigo felt its spine give as the claws shoved all the way through its body, poking out the other side. Rygama's arm dug deeper into the wound, shoving it in up to the elbow.
Rygama's hand burst through Wendigo's spine, severing the connection to his legs. They feel limp, dropping the monster where it stood.
With a pained cry, Xenovore squeezed with all its might, crushing Rygama's side in its grip. Blood sprayed from the wounds as Rygama felt the claw crushing her ribs. Xenovore lashed out with its tongue, freeing it from the gaping hole that had been its belly and smacking it across Rygama's face.
60% of Rygama's body was in horrible agony right now. Her arm was gone, her side was being crushed and her face was being melted. She would finish this in her own domain or die trying! Her wings fired up, carrying both her and her catch up into the air. Wendigo struggled and thrashed with its remaining two arms and tightened the coils of its tongue around Rygama's face, yet it could do very little as Rygama zipped over the city, rapidly passing it. Wendigo spat a glob of acid into Rygama's wounded shoulder, yet she continued on. The beach passed beneath them. A few more miles and she could drown the beast! She could swim circles around it and drag it into the deep!
Wendigo's claw closed around a wing.
Rygama hissed in shock and aprehension as the pain shot through her system and Xenovore yanked its arm back, taking her wing with it.
Both monsters fell screaming into the waves below. A massive splash overshadowed their forms as they sank.
Rygama's feet touched the bottom. She reared up, very nearly lifting her head above the water. No! This was too shallow! She couldn't play her homefeild advantage when Xenovore's head was above the water!
Yet Xenovore remained at eye level for her, even as it dropped the wing. Its legs were useless now. Rygama DID have homefeild advantage!
Her glee was short-lived, however as Xenovore's claw lashed up, closing around her neck and squeezing. Rygama felt her neck beginning to snap. She diverted her cerebral entity's information down further into her body. It wouldn't do to be beheaded and left without a central control! She opened her mangled jaws and fought against Xenovore's strength. She yanked her arm back, dragging Xenovore's impaled torso with it. She could scarcely feel her arm now, as the acid was having its way with her nerves.
Xenovore struggled to crush Rygama's head, yet she pulled it closer, eagerly accepting its head into her jaws. Xenovore gurgled and moaned. Then, it began to laugh. Like a hyena.
In its hunts, Xenovore had devoured one unfortunate buisnessman who had a bad habit of laughing when nervous. This had been assimilated into Xenovore's mind. And now Xenovore was nothing if not nervous.
Rygama ignored the bestial giggling, biting down. Xenovore squeezed.
A loud cracking sound rang out. A cloud of blood burst into the surf.
And Xenovore's headless body sank back into the deep, sliding off of Rygama's arm. Its tongue slipped from her jaws, flailing from a headless neck.
The citizens of Sydney watched as Xenovore's vile tongue burst from the surface, flailing and writhing in a furious dance of denial, refusing to die. Its movements slowed, however and slowly, the tendril of fungal flesh slipped beneath the surface. The mighty Xenovore had been slain. Now an even mightier monster held its crown.
Ability meters
Melee Ability: 8.5
Ranged Ability: 3.5
Toughness: 7.5
Invulnerability: 5
Healing Ability: 8
Physical Strength: 7
Stamina: 5
Instinct: 8
Logic: 3.5
Creativity: 7
Speed: 7
Reflexes: 8
Acrobatics: 9
“I, the applicant, have studied the FFKT rules and regulations in detail. I understand them and agree to adhere the terms and conditions outlined by the FFKT staff in this form. I acknowledge that breaking the rules are grounds for rejection of my application or disqualification from the tournament, and hold full responsibility for my actions.
Casey Harbison