Fight, Run, or Die(8)

– London Bridge, London, England, Europe - 2:39 PM –

~ Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST - A Stranger I Remain Extended ~

"Come on then."

As the battle commenced, Alcina, in her half-dragon form, and Raven Beak flew towards each other with fierce clash. With a swift motion, Alcina swung her right claw in a horizontal arc while Raven Beak retaliated with his left claw, their clash producing a resounding shockwave that slightly shook the bridge and stirred ripples across the river's surface. However, it became evident that Raven Beak possessed a superior strength with his blow carrying more force than Alcina's as they locked eyes with a menacing glare.

"Why fight on their behalf when we can bring order through power on them?" Raven Beak questioned, his tone laced with conviction.

Alcina's response came cold and resolute, "Redemption."

With a strong push, she forced Raven Beak away and began slashing his body continuously, yet to her dismay, his armor emanated an energy field that repelled her strikes, leaving him unscathed. Pausing her onslaught, she stared in disbelief as he stood completely unharmed before her.

"What?"

"Pathetic."

With a swift and calculated movement, he unleashed a left uppercut that struck Alcina squarely on the face, momentarily stunning her. Before she could recover, a searing laser blast erupted from his arm-cannon, aiming directly at her. Reacting fast, Alcina soared into the air, narrowly evading the blast which tore through the bridge, cleaving it in two and sending debris crashing into the river below.

Undeterred, Raven Beak pursued Alcina along the Thames River as it began unleashing a barrage of plasma shots. Alcina, displaying remarkable aerial agility, dodged and weaved through the attacks, executing precise barrel rolls to evade each shot. Seizing a moment of opportunity, she countered by launching a wind slash with her claws, but Raven Beak deftly sidestepped the attack.

Spreading his wings to gain momentum, Raven Beak accelerated towards Alcina at blinding speed. With precision timing, he ensnared the back of her head with his razor-sharp leg talon, forcefully driving her head beneath the water's surface in an attempt to subdue her. However, Alcina swiftly retaliated, driving her elbow into his chest and breaking free from his grasp. Seizing the opportunity, she grabbed hold of his leg, spinning him around before tossing him towards a nearby building.

Emerging from the rubble unscathed, Raven Beak looked at Alcina with an indifferent stare, his voice carrying an air of superiority as he spoke.

"You are strong, but you lack conviction."

Ignoring his statement, Alcina surged forward, determination blazing in her eyes as she aimed a precise thrust of her claws toward Raven Beak. However, with a seemingly effortless sidestep, he evaded her attack and swiftly delivered a punishing punch to the back of her head, forcing her sprawling face-first onto the ground.

"Predictable,"

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Alcina pushed herself up from the ground with a primal grunt, her anger fueling her resolve. Whirling around, she found Raven Beak deliberately handicapping himself, concealing his right arm-cannon behind his back while keeping his left hand extended.

"You are no true warrior," he mocked, his tone dripping with contempt. "Just a tall human who relies on instincts."

Her fury ignited, Alcina snarled, "I'll show you instincts," before unleashing a barrage of wind slashes. Yet, to her astonishment, Raven Beak effortlessly parried each strike with only his left hand claw, displaying an unnerving level of skill.

"You cannot compete with me," he declared with a smug superiority.

"Shut it, you bird!" Alcina roared, her frustration boiling over as she lunged forward with both claws. However, Raven Beak gracefully leaped into the air, evading her attack with ease before grabbing both of her arms with his razor-sharp leg talons. With a swift and merciless twist, he snapped her arms, eliciting a piercing scream of pain from Alcina.

Raven Beak's clawed hand descended with precision, slicing through Alcina's chest and tearing it open, while his cannon erupted, blasting a gaping hole through her abdomen.

A faint "Hm?" escaped Raven Beak as he noticed the miraculous regeneration of Alcina's wounds healing at a visible rate, recovering her thanks to the Cadou parasite thriving within her.

"Interesting," he mused, his curiosity piqued by the unexpected turn of events.

The curiosity in Raven Beak is enough for Alcina to seize Raven Beak by the throat and fly forward with ferocious momentum. The force of her impact propelled them through multiple buildings, before she hurled him against a wall with formidable strength. Without hesitation, she unleashed a barrage of wind slashes, her claws slicing through the air in a whirlwind of fury. However, Raven Beak's energy shield withstood the attacks, frustrating Alcina's frustration even more.

With a disapproving click of her tongue, Alcina charged once more, only to be met by Raven Beak's glowing left hand. With a surge of power, he delivered a devastating left hook, meeting Alcina's own right hook head-on. In a sudden and violent explosion, Alcina's entire right arm disintegrated into a shower of blood.

A startled gasp escaped Alcina as she recoiled from the shock of her severed limb, while Raven Beak stared at her with a calculating gaze.

"Your genetic material could be worth cloning, much like the Metroids,"

Before Alcina could muster a response, Raven Beak swiftly kneed her in the face, followed by seizing her by the throat and slammed her forcefully onto the ground before throwing her into the shattered remains of a bus. He unleashed a horizontal laser blast, but Alcina narrowly evaded by ducking from the searing beam which split through nearby buildings in two, reducing them to rubble in its wake.

Rebounding from the assault, Alcina began to regenerate her lost arm, her resilience fueling her determination. With a graceful ascent into the sky, she deftly dodged Raven Beak's subsequent barrage of lasers, her movements fluid and agile. Landing on top of the iconic Big Ben clock tower, she swiftly removed its minute hand, wielding it with purpose.

With a swift and powerful motion, she threw the massive hand at Raven Beak like a javelin, who intercepted it mid-air with his leg talons. Charging towards Alcina, he brandished the minute hand as a makeshift weapon and intent on striking her down.

Removing the clock tower's hour hand, Amelia meets Raven Beak head-on as she flies towards him. Bringing down the hour hand like a formidable sword, she engaged in a high-stakes aerial duel with her adversary. The clash of metal against metal echoed through the air as they danced amidst the clouds, their movements a breathtaking display of skill.

In a split-second exchange, Alcina narrowly dodged a powerful swing from Raven Beak's claws, only to be struck by a devastating plasma shot to the chest from the armored bird.

The force of the blast sent Alcina flying through the air and crashed with a deafening impact into the clock's glass. As she struggled to rise from the shattered remnants, Raven Beak materialized before her, his presence looming ominously. In a swift and merciless maneuver, he impaled her chest with the jagged remnants of the clock hand, pinning her to the monumental timepiece as blood seeped from her wound.

With a calculated flourish, Raven Beak unleashed another devastating laser blast, swinging it vertically with lethal precision. The once-proud structure of the clock tower trembled under the force of the attack before succumbing to the destructive force, cleaved in two as debris rained down upon the city below and buried Alcina beneath its weight.

As Raven Beak landed back upon the ground, a chilling declaration escaped his lips, "You cannot prevail when you cling to mere semblances of true power."

At that moment, he heard a sinister voice resonating from within the rubble, sending a shiver down any mortal spines.

"I'll show you true power."

In a moment of sheer terror, a colossal white dragon burst forth from the rubble, its massive form dwarfing the surrounding landscape, perhaps surpassing the size of a public bus. Alcina, now transformed and fused with the dragon's back, emanated an aura of primal fury as she fixed Raven Beak with an intense gaze brimming with unbridled malice.

This was Alcina's Full dragon form.

[IMAGES]

"ROAAARRRRR!!!"

"._. Oh..."

🎶I've finally found what I was looking for! A place where I can be without remorse!🎶

The mutated Alcina released a massive swarm of flies upon Raven Beak, their buzzing forms descending like a dark cloud. With swift precision, he blasted them away with his laser, but couldn't react in time when Alcina's massive tail swung with ferocious speed and struck him squarely in the chest. The impact sent him flying across the sky before his trajectory was halted only by the unforgiving surface of a nearby rooftop.

Grimacing as he rose to his feet, Raven Beak watched with a mixture of apprehension and determination as the monstrous form of Alcina bore down upon him at even greater speed. With a burst of speed, he ascended into the sky, narrowly avoiding Alcina's wrathful assault and left the rooftop to crumble beneath her powerful blows.

"You might be the only one to see me in this form except for Miranda. I'll take your blood!" Alcina roars that reverberated through the air as she flies after Raven Beak at astonishing speed.

Before he could formulate a response, Raven Beak found himself ensnared within the monstrous jaws of Alcina's dragon form, the threat of imminent demise looming ominously. With a desperate burst of strength, he slashed furiously at her jaws, breaking free from her grasp and inflicting a deep gash upon her chest. Alcina's agonized roar echoed across the city skyline as she recoiled from the searing pain, her rage reaching new heights.

In a surge of primal fury, she unleashed a devastating punch upon Raven Beak, the sheer force of her blow sending him flying through the air and crashing with bone-jarring impact into the unforgiving pavement below.

Raven Beak rose to his feet, his resolve unshaken as he analyzed the situation with a keen eye. "That form is powerful, but it lacks more agility and speed. I could take advantage of it,"

His assessment rang true. If Alcina were in half dragon form she would have more advantages to keep Raven Beak guessing but going full mutated dragon reduces that and focuses more on brute strength, power, beast instincts and less precise attacks as the form takes too much out of the user.

"I will tear you apart!"

As Alcina flies towards Raven Beak at breakneck speed, the latter aims his arm-cannon at her and charges it with lethal energy before firing two powerful shots. The first tore her right wing apart, rendering it useless, while the second seared the left side of her face, leaving it scorched and disfigured as she careened uncontrollably into a nearby building, the impact sending shockwaves through the structure.

Regaining his position in the sky, Raven Beak wasted no time in unleashing a barrage of laser shots upon the crippled Alcina, the force of his assault raining down upon her and the crumbling building without mercy.

"RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Raven Beak ceased his relentless barrage of lasers, opting instead to unleash a devastating orb from his arm-cannon, its brilliance resembling the sun itself towards Alcina, who took a quick glance and was met with the attack in front of her.

"Son of a bi-"

The sun orb exploded on her face and engulfed her in a blinding explosion, obliterating the building she had crashed into and burst with a violent force.

As the dust settled, Raven Beak landed down upon the ground, his gaze unwavering as he surveyed the aftermath. Before him stood Alcina, now reverted to her normal form, though her clothes somehow intact but bore tears and scorch marks.

With bloodied lips, Alcina coughed up blood as she struggled to maintain her stance and collapsed on her knees, her eyes burning with a fierce gaze towards Raven Beak, killing intent still present in her presence.

"Anything to say?"

"...Go to hell!"

Shooking his head, Raven Beak's left clawed hands began to glow ominously, a silent promise of impending doom.

"Wrong answer," he declared, his voice cold and unforgiving.

🎶A stranger I remain! A stranger I remain!🎶

With ruthless efficiency, Raven Beak slashed at Alcina's chest, leaving a deep gash, before instantly appearing behind her and delivering another savage blow that sent her reeling in agony. Despite her pain, Alcina retaliated with a left hook, but Raven Beak easily dodged her blow and severed her arm with a swift, precise motion of his claw. As she gasped in shock, he inflicted further brutality, slashing both of her eyes, blinding her.

In mid-air, Raven Beak unleashed a barrage of bicycle kicks, each strike landing with brutal force upon Alcina's already battered face. The attack continued until he delivered a devastating roundhouse kick, unleashing a shockwave that reverberated through the air. Before Alcina could gather her senses, Raven Beak positioned his claws dangerously close to her stomach, just an inch away.

"It over,"

Before Alcina could understand what he was doing, Raven Beak used his killing move that is known to everyone.

The One-Inch Punch.

BANG!

Faster than the eye could blink, Raven Beak's hand transformed into a fist with blinding speed and struck Alcina's vulnerable stomach with devastating force, creating a huge punch mark appearing deep into her belly before an ear-piercing boom was heard.

"..."

Suspending in midair as the world freezes in place, Alcina stood in stunned silence, the sheer power of the blow robbing her of breath and speech in an instant.

BOOOOM!

Before even a moment had passed, the ground ruptured beneath them and the force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the earth. In the blink of an eye, Alcina was propelled through countless buildings, her body careening through the air until she crashed into the tumultuous waters of the Thames River below.

Raven Beak, his victory assured, sealed Alcina's fate with a final act of destruction. Sending a blazing sun orb hurtling into the river and erupted in a cataclysmic explosion, sending torrents of water cascading in all directions until the river's surface lay still once more.

~ Music Ends ~

He snorted, "Hmph, weak."

Reeling his wings back into his back, Raven Beak approached the river's edge and scanned the turbulent waters for any sign of Alcina's presence. Despite his thorough search, there was no trace of her, not even a flicker of life detected by his advanced scanner. All that remained was a scorched hat in the river belonging to Alcina.

"Is she really extinguished?" he pondered aloud, his voice laced with uncertainty as he spoke in his native tongue.

"Herr Raven beak."

Hearing a sudden voice behind him, Raven Beak turned to find a Reich soldier approaching.

"How's it going?"

"Fine. Send a search party into the river and look for a nine-feet-tall human alive or dead," Raven Beak ordered solemnly, "I need her DNA, and perhaps she didn't bite the dust yet."

"Jawohl," the soldier nodded dutifully, "We also got reports that Godrick has been captured."

"...I see," Raven Beak replied tersely, "Send your men and retrieve him. I don't care what you do to whoever has him. I shall remain here and continue the fight."

With a respectful salute, the Reich soldier departed to carry out his orders, leaving Raven Beak to gaze out over the river's expanse for a moment longer. With a determined resolve, he unfurled his wings and soared back into the sky, his mission far from over.

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Alcina's half submerged and injured body was drifting down the river, her unconscious state leaving her at the mercy of the current, until a sudden intervention came in the form of a rope thrown from the shore. With deft precision, it wrapped around her arm and pulled her from the water, rescuing her from the brink of drowning. The rescuer revealed himself to be a wolfman wielding a formidable greatsword, accompanied by a companion who bore an uncanny resemblance to a character from a Harry Potter film.

The wolfman quickly checked her pulse and surprisingly enough, he confirmed she was still alive.

"She still has some breath in her." said the wolfman, his tone reflecting a mix of concern and relief.

His wizard-like companion, however, voiced his frustration. "Our mission was to scope Stormveil castle under Mistress Ranni's orders for unusual activity, not end up here in this mess and help people," he grumbled.

The wolf-man countered with a plea for empathy. "Have a heart for once, mate. Perhaps she might have valuable information about this place, or we could at least ask the maniacs who've been trying to kill us since we got here in the last half an hour."

The wizard grumbles, his partner does have a point, and so he begrudgingly agrees. "Fine. I'll get a healing spell ready, but we need to find a safe place to hide first."

Nodding at his partner, the wolf-man gently carries Alcina into his arms, cradling her injured body protectively as they set off

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– New Berlin, Third Reich Germany, Wolfenstein universe, Year: 1960 - 9:19 AM –

In New Berlin, Hitler can be seen angrily walking into the communications room, his fellow Reich soldiers saluting him and snapped in attention as he stormed in. Eyes blazing with fury, he confronts a Mangler stationed there.

"What in blazes is this I'm hearing?! Half of our ME262s got destroyed, failed their bombing run and one of our X-wings got stolen?!" his voice boomed with rage.

"Da," came the Mangler's curt response.

"And also I'm hearing you are working with more factions from other universes to bring about the annihilation of the cat rather than what the Forsaken recruited!" Hitler's voice trembled with anger.

"Yes, so?" the Mangler retorted, unapologetic.

"Then why was I not informed of this?!" Hitler demanded, his frustration boiling over.

"I'll make one thing clear," the Mangler's tone turned cold. "The Forsaken will stop at nothing in any lengths to ensure this war goes his way. Even if it means forging alliances with the darkest entities across the multiverse. If you have an issue with that, we can just cancel this war or eradicate your entire universe without a second thought, Fuhrer."

Clenching his fist tightly and gritting his teeth, Hitler fought to regain his composure, understanding the perilous nature of challenging an ally, especially one as formidable as the dark aether. He had learned from the countless alternate universes, each with their own version of the Reich and their ultimate betrayal of the Soviet Union. It was only the Di Yucht technology of his own universe that had ensured their survival.

"...Very well. Do as you see fit, but make sure we are victorious rather than humiliated like last time in the previous universe," Hitler conceded, his voice tinged with resignation.

"Da,"

—————————————————————

– Site-15, Santa Clara Valley, California, America, SCP Universe - 11:00 AM –

It is a Foundation facility specializing in the containment and study of electric, electronic, and computer-based anomalies ranging from safe and euclid, within a building designed to blend in amongst the civilian tech companies of Silicon Valley. The storage and containment wings of Site-15 are electromagnetically isolated to prevent any interaction between anomalous electronics and the outside world. The Site also serves as the headquarters of the Foundation's IT department and Artificial Intelligence Applications Division (AIAD), managing Foundation databases and communications worldwide.

Surprisingly enough, while gunfire raged in the streets below, Site-15 stood tall and unyielding, and the battle was perfectly well contained by the MTF soldiers who fought valiantly to maintain control of the surrounding area. So basically the valley was still pretty much under the foundation's hands.

Lawrence and Green were currently on the rooftop of the facility, keeping a lookout for any signs of threats that might approach the site but nothing at the moment.

"I got nothing," Lawrence reported, lowering his binoculars, "Anything from your Stand's hearing, Green?"

Green shook his head in response, "Nothing. Just gun fire."

"Hello there."

Their surveillance was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Mr. Brass, also known as SCP-629, a brass-colored robot close to the height of an average human.

"Hey there, Brass. What brings you up here?" Lawrence inquired.

Mr. Brass relayed his message succinctly. "The team on the 12th floor requires assistance in moving some SCPs, considering the volatile situation."

Lawrence and Green exchanged a knowing glance before nodding in agreement. "Understood. We'll head there immediately," Lawrence affirmed, his tone indicating readiness for the task at hand.

Soon after, the trio made their way towards the door. As Mr. Brass was about to follow, his attention was momentarily diverted by the strange sight of a centipede-like creature on the horizon between the valley's mountains. Puzzled by the anomaly, he found himself momentarily transfixed by its presence.

"Hey!"

The sound of Lawrence's voice broke through Mr. Brass's focus, prompting him to turn to face Lawrence who called him out.

"Yes?" Mr. Brass replied, tearing his gaze away from the distant horizon.

Lawrence's inquiry brought him back to the present moment. "You coming or what?"

Realizing he had been momentarily lost in thought, Mr. Brass shook off the distraction and glanced back toward the horizon, only to find that the creature he had spotted was now no longer to be seen.

"I... yes, I'm coming," Mr. Brass responded, his tone tinged with a hint of uncertainty as he followed Lawrence and Green toward the door, his mind still lingering on the mysterious sight he had witnessed.

—————————————————————

In the distance, the creature reappears above a building with an unsettling sense of purpose. With eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the cosmos, it fixed its gaze upon Site-15 a couple miles away from it, its presence casting a shadow of foreboding over the landscape.

This creature was a being of otherworldly origins, a being from the stars and from beyond whispered about in hushed tones by the people of the lands between. To them, this being was a harbinger of ill omens, a creature whose very presence invoked fear and trepidation.

This was...

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Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.

[IMAGES]

Clicking its mandibles in an eerie rhythm, Astel lingered for but a moment before vanishing once more, its teleportation leaving no trace of its passing.

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– Ireland, Europe - 2:59 PM –

In the aftermath of the carnage, an SCP outpost lay silent, its once bustling corridors now littered with the lifeless bodies of MTF soldiers. Amidst the grim scene stood a lone man, or should I say, a cyborg bearing the insignia of the Arasaka corporation, armed to the teeth with an assault rifle and a formidable missile launcher mounted upon his shoulder.

The only human traits that is evident on him was his bald head. This was...

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Adam Smasher.

[IMAGES]

"Pathetic," he remarked in his mechanized voice, surveying the aftermath with disdain. "I expected more of a challenge, but they went down like flies."

As he spoke, a call came through his cybernetic communicator implanted within his skull. With a grunt of annoyance, Adam answered, his tone curt. "Who the fuck is this?"

[Smasher! An escaped prisoner and an intruder have stolen our X-wing!]

Adam's response was dismissive. "I don't care."

[It was an expensive piece of equipment, Smasher.]

"Still don't care."

[...You can hunt down the thieves and kill them in the most brutal fashion possible.]

A flicker of interest sparked within Adam's mechanical eyes. "...Give me a location."

[The X-wing activates a beacon automatically. You'll receive the coordinates as a beeping signal on your map. Happy hunting.]

As the transmission ended, Adam projected a digital map before him, its coordinates visible only to his cybernetic eyes. A solitary blinking dot indicated the location of the stolen X-wing.

"Found you," Adam growled, his mechanical voice devoid of emotion. If he still possessed a human face, it would have twisted into a malevolent grin at the prospect of the hunt.

But he frowned upon noticing a name 'Tower' marked on the map, and this Tower seemed to be close to the beacon's location.

"Hmm... If that giant knight arrives first, he may spoil all the fun," Adam mused, a hint of frustration tainting his tone.

At that moment, a bullet pinged and sizzled against his chest. Looking ahead, he saw an MTF soldier barely alive and the one who shot him, which is quite good and skilled despite being severely injured, but Adam's cybernetic armor was still far too hard to be breached by a mere handgun.

Approaching the dying soldier before him with deliberate steps, Adam crushed the soldier's skull beneath his metal foot with a swift and merciless motion, ending the man's suffering with brutal efficiency.

"Weak."

————————————————————————

Far to the west of Adam's current location, amidst the dense forest strode a colossal figure clad in thick armor. Standing at an imposing height of twenty feet, this humanoid being exuded an aura of power and strength. With each thunderous step, the ground trembled beneath the weight of its iron-clad feet, sending shockwaves rippling through the surrounding landscape.

The creature's heavy armor glinted in the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy above, its imposing silhouette casting a long shadow over the forest floor. As it marched forward with purposeful strides, the very air seemed to reverberate with the sheer force of its presence.

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STOMP!

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STOMP!

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STOMP!

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STOMP!

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STOMP!

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[IMAGES]

STOMP!

[IMAGES]