When Nightmares Collide (Proarden)

The ultimate prey. Despite all of their obvious differences, Erick and the monster inside of him both knew what they were searching for. The ultimate prey. In this world of super powered people, cybernetic maniacs, and self-proclaimed demons, Erick knew it existed. Somewhere, he would find something worth hunting. They had both grown tired of sport. Of terrorizing and decimating towns, or stalking and eviscerating those unlucky enough to cross their path. They were ready for something new. They wanted to be challenged. To fight, and to bleed. To break. To hurt. To kill. His current activities had lost their appeal...well, not entirely. Erick would never get tired of killing people, of stalking and terrifying them. Of haunting their nightmares and making them a reality. He'd often station himself in local bars, listening to them, the prey. They'd speak in hushed tones of the monster, as if it was listening, which...it was. They'd whisper the tales of the beast, a horrendous amalgamation of animal and human, a sick parody of life, a monster that lacked compassion or love or any positive emotion. They told the stories of it's victims. Tales that he'd often chuckle at, silently to avoid attention, reminiscing on a particularly entertaining hunt or remembering some little detail that he'd enjoyed, be it a face or sound someone made when seeing him, or any particularly interesting final words.

He wasn't in the mood for that now, and neither was It. Yellowstone National Park hadn't been open to the public for a week or so at the time. Officials were scrambling to solve the string of disappearances and murders that had begun a month prior. Vicious had been busy. He was sloppier than usual, and that was intentional. He wanted them to come for him. He wanted the police to realize they were way out of their depth, and to send for one of the "heroes" he heard so much about. The altruistic morons who were lucky enough to strike the jackpot and come into abilities beyond their wildest dreams. Erick sneered. They reminded him of his mother, and he hated that, though the idea of sending them to meet a similar fate as his mother was appealing.  Erick was perched in a tree a good 20 feet off the ground, picking his teeth with a bone, the nature of which he couldn't recall, though given it's size he figured it either belonged to a large forest mammal of some sort, or a very small human. He thumbed through the wallet of one of his victims, who was strewn about with several others. A picture of a couple stood out. They were young, early 20's, and happy. They were both kissing a baby, couldn't be more than a year old if that. Erick glanced down, noticing the stroller among the carnage, and grunted. Small human it is.

He could feel that the Wendigo was temporarily pleased, but not satisfied, and he couldn't blame it. "Come on..," he grunted angrily, "Gimme something.". He was sick of waiting. Erick began the transformation, feeling the excrutiating pain of his bones snapping and collapsing and reshaping withing him. Feeling the life leave his body, as if being sucked out of him through a straw. Now for the hard part. He tried to grit his teeth but it failed as his jaw stretched and sharper teeth replaced his own. Blood began to run from his mouth in an unending stream, followed by his organs. He fell from his tree, slamming hard into the ground, shuddering and sweating. The forest was silent except for his own grunts and screams of pain, even the animals knew not to be seen or heard. He rose to his feet, stumbling and tripping, as he gripped his head with his hands, which moved and snapped and grew as if they had minds of their own, and his skin sank and paled like paper as rotting, coarse, matted fur tore through. The minutes felt like hours, and for a moment there was nothing. Then it rose. Vicious. And it howled. Not like a wolf, or a dog, or any animal found in nature. This howl was something else. Some would tell you it sounds like a woman screaming in unbelievable pain, and others would say it sounded as if two large animals were engaged in a horrific battle of life or death. In reality it was all of that and so much worse. Animals for miles would begin exhibiting odd behavior. Some going into fits, others hiding for hours, all of them knew. People a mile around unlucky enough to have heard the Dread Howl would be overcome with a sense of horror unparalleled, while others would fall into sudden fits of range. Everyone would know now, though. He was here, and he was waiting. Who would be the next hunt?

The quiet streets of the small town of Gardiner, Montana. The small population, the wild freedom in the surrounding expanse. There had been several reports of mutilation to animals in the surrounding region, thankfully all of them animals for the time being. The killings were in no particular order, and while the authorities had been notified, they had come to accept and support an off theory that had absolutely nothing remote to what had actually transpired. No matter how they tried though, no culprit was found. They would catch onto the game soon enough.

A family pet, a small dog was found with curved punsture marks across it's long body, left upon the doorstep of it's masters. The family was traumatized as they reported it. The examination revealed it had been bitten and picked up by the maw of whatvever beast did this. The punctures and where the teeth had hit were methodical, and almost too appropriately placed for it to be any animal. One puncture to the spine, the other to a lung, and the last through an artery. Whatever had killed this dog, let the death be slow and painful. Paralyzed, blood slowly filling it's lungs. Unfortunately the dog was not the last victim.

The young daughter and son, stricken with grief at the "animal attack" had begun to weave stories. They would tell of a large lumbering animal with stark white hair, blood throughout it's mane with large curved cone-like claws on an oddly human hand with fur and padding. The beast lumbered as it's long arms drug on the ground, it's large lupine mouth opening only to reveal large shining fangs and it's one glowing yellow eye. The creature's body was almost decayed, emaciated and slender in form, it's ribs easily visible and in fact seeming to burst from it's own body. Large black horns piercing from the beast's head, akin to elk antlers, but the vicious curves and sweeping design seemed almost akin to that of a dragon, or other mythical beast. For four days the children made these claims, both of them seeing the same beast in different locations. Upon the rooftops, outside their window staring in at them. One of them even said they had seen the beast hiding within their closet.

Psychological help was required, but the diagnosis was simply written off as a form of post traumatic stress with an active imagination. Yet the beast would still taunt them, coming closer and closer within every apperance. Seven days after the death of their beloved dog, the creature was almost upon he children. Enticing the boy with subtle noise and flowng white fur, the beast disappered into his sister's room. The beast gripped the little girl's hace, muffeling her ability to scream as he looked to the boy, and in a small yip, and a snap of the jaws, the creature disappeared and the boy's siter with it. The boy shouted ot and his parents were drawn tio the commotion, only to see their daughter missing. The father began to search the house as the mother went for the phone, hesitating to call the authorities.

The police had arrived to take their statements shortly after. But before long there was a scraping noise on the door. The sound of nails upon wood as the slow, soft scraping slowly caught the ear of the shelter's occupants. The police did their duty, and they went to the door, opening it and quickly shutting it to radio for medical assistance, but it was too late. What they found upon the doorstep was nothing less than abominable.

Random animal attacks had now become murders. A little girl was found with the same wounds as her own dog. Puncture marks in her spine to paralyze her, a fank to pierce the lung and a nearby artery as he was laid upon her own doorstep, the very threshold of the place she considered to be her absolute safety. And as she lay there, drowning in her own blood the last thing she saw was a creature scratching at her door then fleeing as the police answered, and radioed for help. Calling out for help was the last thing she saw, just as she had been doing for hours before. Calling for help...but no one was coming.

The daughter was just the first of the family. Whomever this was, Whatever this was... it was sadistic. It tortured and tormented it's victims before toying with them. The Boy would next see the monster again, this time it was stalking his mother as she went to loss therapy. The creature circled her, she walked throuh him and seemed entirely incapable of even noticing the creature. She vented her loss, and hours later she was found disembowled in the women's restroom, her own intestinal tract wrapped around her throat. The now shattered family, or rather all that remained was going to be escorted away. Armed guards and all were prepared as the family would be taken away, taken through Yellowstone National Park across the line to another state where they would be taken by helicopter.

        The creature continued to taunt the young boy as he tried to keep himself away. The creature walked up and placed it's clawed hand on the child's throat, the boy watched as he couldn't breathe. His father and an officer right there with him, in the police station. No one helped him though. He could feel the conciousness fading from him when the horrific creature removed it's hand, moving it over the boy's hair to mess it up a little as it slunk off on all fours, stepping through people as if it didn't truly exist.

The beast had gotten what he wanted. The thrill of the hunt, the drive and motivation to render it's targets completely and utterly defenseless. To rob them of their most precious bonds and reveal to them the truth behind their illusion of safety. The escort was an armored car, but the being was already there. Waiting...

The beast drug an eviscerated bull onto the path, the car would have to stop. The creature stood on the other side of ther bull, and sat there, like a loyal pet, waiting for it's master. Master... It's mind wandered. It was free to do what it wanted now. But it's mind still wandered to the face of fear. The only thing in this world that the creature feared as it's different colored eyes narrowed from behind the mask of fangs and horror. It's voice causing the best itself to shutter. It had taken his master...but where?

The sound of a howl brought the beast back from it's wandeirng mind. It's psychotic inner mind satiated as it looked at the bright lights before it. The sight of armed soldiers with guns pointed to the trees far away caused the curious beast to look. It was shaken from it's curiosity as it chose to lift the dead bull and throw it, horns first with it's superhuman strength into the glass. The horns impaled the driver into his own seat as the beast was revealed to everyone. Guns all trained on it as he gave a low and almost hollow hiss with an almost supernatural reverb.

"OPEN FIRE!" The officer yelled as bullets began to fly towards the creature. With a few bullets bouncing off of it's thick almost metallic hide, it took a second for the creature to reorient and snap it's jaws, leaping over the truck, letting out it's own very deep bellowing roar.

Vicious had heard the commotion before the roar, but the roar is what caused him to spring into action. Something was there, and it was big. This was no animal he had ever heard, and it excited him. He went after it, running on all fours, trees and plant life being destroyed in his wake. There was a road nearby, that he knew of, and he knew that was where the sounds were coming from. What he saw surprised even him, and it was exciting. Guns were already trained on him as he'd expected, his roar had that effect. These were soldiers, and they tended to be mentally stronger so only a few of them were collapsed in fear, the rest were aggressively pursuing him. He'd have partaken in the hunt, if not for what they really seemed to be after.

When he saw it, everything seemed to fall silent. The humans stopped shooting, and the animals seemed to stop moving, and time stopped. He observed it, and he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. He felt threatened. Slowly, he rose to his full height, and stared at the beast. He turned his head, eyeing it, and stretched his fingers and claws.

"heh...hehh..hehh" Vicious laughed, a choked and guttural sound.

"Issss thisss your prey?" he asked mockingly, turning his head to the side, motioning to the soldiers and family with an outstretched arm. They didn't have time to react. Vicious had two of the armed guards in his hands before they could aim their weapons, and in seconds they were dismembered. He tore the car apart, and used his jaws to snatch the older man out of the car. Inside of the ruined vehicle, his son screamed, but Vicious wasn't focused on him. He glanced at the other monster, and in an instant he knew. Predators always know who the prey belongs to. The monster wanted this this family. Vicious wanted the monster. He turned his head, making the closest thing his face could construct to seem mocking, wagging one of his long, clawed fingers at the beast. Then he bit down, and in a second, the man was gone, his son shrieking in fear within the vehicle. Vicious wasn't concerned with him. He wanted the monster now.

Vicious climbed down from the vehicle, and began walking towards the other beast, which looked like a slightly more disturbing version of himself. This upset him. HE was the Apex Predator, and he would show this pretender why his name is whispered in fear within the darkest pits of hell. He slammed his large fists onto the pavement, and roared again, as loudly as he could. The few windows that remained intact shook and shattered, and leaves fell from the trees. Crows began to circle above the other beast, and Vicious smiled, a forced and awful expression on his face. The birds all dropped and began to form a cyclone around him, then flew at the other monster, hiding Vicious among them. He ran full speed on all fours, and launched himself at the beast, jaws open, attempting to bite into its neck.

The beast watched as a new creature had arrived, one very similar to itself. The creature arrived and where the beast had been simply taking it's time, the creature seemed to display itself and it's entirety. It made quick work of soldiers, but it seemed to count on the east just standing there. The creature clawed his way through the van and snatched up something with his maw. The beast, Poltergeist, watched as the other monster snapped it's jaws down on the man, sending the child into a hysterical meltdown. Soldiers downed and dead, the child seeming to be the only survivor left.

The monster came lumbering down from the vehicle and started walking towards him. Poltergeist made no real sound of menace, just a small amount of manic laughter kept low. The beast slammed a fist into the pavement and let out a fierce roar. Poltergeist was unshaken, seeing it as if it were but a reflection of itself. Crows began to circle overhead, though with a simple snarl, the animals became immediately conflicted, as no animals dared approach Poltergeist before. The two primal naggings within their mind drove them to such conflict that the birds began to drop from the air, seizing and flopping as if they had been fish cast onto land.

The birds all began to fly towards the Poltergeist, causing it to break into a fit of manic laughter as it suddenly faded from vision. Birds all began to fall off, twitching as the creature vanished from sight and mind for a moment. This enemy, this vicious wendigo would find that his strike would not land upon anything he likely intended as the poltergeist had vanished. The beast would not reappear for another moment as it walked over and made motions for the boy to flee, turning itself around and fixating it's eyes. It wasn't until this moment that Poltergeist truly fixated upon this new beast as it's prey. Two predators, locked into a struggle.

With himself finally revealed to the Wendigo in his truest form, Poltergeist bore it's fangs, the ghoulish laughter cackling from deep within it's throat as it's pale yellow eyes began to burn bright. In the dead of night, in Yellowstone national park, death walked amongst the trees... but even he dare not tread too close. No truer monsters were there than that which was present this night. The polarity of the two was certain in their very existence, as together all of nature knew to do on thing and one thing only.

Die...

Poltergeist dropped onto all fours and began to circle around, like a lion sizing up its next meal. Poltergeist had never felt so free as it did looking into the eyes of this adversary. Forced to live under the collar of a thousand times gravity, tortured and hardened under a master that sought to turn him into the killer he was destined to be. But yet there was another. The Wendigo, Evil Personified standing against The Nightmare of the Gods. Oh how he missed his master, but oh how light he felt.

"Gehehehya!" the creature cackled before it's slow, circular motions picked up in pace, almost ready to break out into a full out sprint.

Deep within the Wendigo's mind, Erick Crown was screaming. Everything about this was wrong, and that meant a lot coming from him. The beast standing before him...it was just WRONG, and he felt himself losing what little sanity he had.

"let go." the Wendigo though, and Erick knew what it meant. He had to give full control to the Wendigo, or they might not survive. He did.

Vicious was himself. Wholly and completely, the beast was loose. His primary attack had failed, and he realized what had happened. This other creature was fast, much faster than he was even on his best day. He began to understand that for once, he wasn't completely and utterly superior to the prey he hunted, and in some ways...may even have been at a disadvantage. He began to realize...to remember. All the legends he'd heard of monsters terrorizing villages, tales he'd assumed must have been his own, may not have been. He felt it boiling up in him. Hate. Anger. He hadn't been angry in so long, just mindlessly sadistic. This thing was challenging HIS place at the top of the food change. And he liked it. He circled with it, two nightmares sizing each other up. His glowing red eyes reflecting in it's own yellow one. Vicious realized something when he saw it usher the child away, and he knew it had a weakness.

Vicious returned the beasts laughs, mimicking the exact sound, and bounded after it. He knew his healing could withstand damn near anything, and he was going to put this thing to the test. He clawed at the beasts chest, and assuming it may attempt to speed behind him, he prepared to spin around and attack. Little did the other beast know, he had acquired a new voice. The little boys. This could be useful.

"you are...a worthy hunt" he growled at the beast. As evil as he was, he respected good prey, as it was so rare to find. He was utterly and completely dedicated to one thing now, hurting, maiming, and breaking the beast that stood before him.

This thing, Poltergeist sized up the enemy to the best of his ability. The Wendigo began to mimick his laughter before charging for a claw at his chest. Poltergeist's eyes narrowed and in a streak of yellow the creature made a side-line leap off to the side, tumblinf before lunging at the Wendigo with both claws out. The Wendigo had seemed to anticipate a strike from behind, and in turning it's wide swipe actually collided and caught Poltergeist's clawed hand. The two would remain deadlocked for a moment as the Wendigo would speak to him.

"you are...a worthy hunt" The creature growled and snarled. The very details of it's lupine face were taken in by it's white-furred adversary. Poltergeist pushed off of the Wendigo weakly before scurrying back, it's strength seemed unimpressive enough to cause any real damages as it had almost been easily deflected and endured. Granted it was simply following it's nature through it's odd tactics. Despite the horrific visage that the two displayed, the true terror was beneath the mentalities of both these man-made monstrosities. One seething with rage and hatred, the other aloof and almost careless, thoughtless in it's primitive mind. The Poltergeist remained silent in response to the Wendigo's words.

There was something to be said of the undead monster and the undying murderer that walk upon the Earth this night, that danced upon the bloodied blades of grass. Ironically, for things such as these this was a simple walk in the park. The Poltergeist began to chatter it's teeth, as if trying to communicate, but it ended with just grumbles and a yip and chattering fangs. What was this Wendigo saying to him? What were these noises? Poltergesit was animalistic, and it had no value in such things as words. That didn't stop it from wondering curiously.

Vicious noted the beasts lack of reply as a sign this it couldn't speak. No matter. Banter was not his business, killing was. The beast was fast, and Vicious knew it was much faster, and possibly stronger than he was. Vicious sprang into the air, then burrowed at incredible speeds, into the concrete beneath. He hissed and laughed, setting things into motion, he began digging up, tracking the beast, and reaching for its legs, attempting to yank it into the ground. What advantage is speed when trapped in concrete?

Vicious launched himself out of the ground, a good 15 feet into the air, sure to catch his prey by surprise. He hissed and roared, attempting to pounce. He began to slash and claw at his prey, dead set on tearing what parts of it remained above ground to shreds.

Vicious began to understand that the creature may be less like him than he realized. It didn't seem driven by his rage, his need to kill. He felt something tearing away inside of him, another dimension to the rage and endless hate he already felt. The creature wasn't like him. It was an imposter. HE was the Apex Predator. Vicious contorted his decaying and destroyed face into a scowl of anger, a low threatening growl escaping his throat.

Poltergeist watched as the Wendigo then began to bury itself beneath the ground, leaving Poltergeist to its own designs. Poltergeist had never encountered another that looked familiar to it, and so it began to wonder if this had been their ways. So far, this was but a playful skirmish, Poltergeist did not identify this thing as a threat, rather as a peer. Perhaps this was simply residual of it's once human mentality, but now it's broken and undead self simply began to feel for the ground, trying to feel the vibrations. Just as avian creatures could hear into the dirt, and how some forms of animals could rely on thermal differentials to find buried organics. Poltergeist found itself curious, too curious and so confounded all at the same time.

It didn't take long for Poltergeist to feel the tremors growing beneath him, padding from the grass onto the pathway as arms shot up and pulled him into the ground. It hissed and began to squirm as it looked down into it's entrapment. It was relaying it's lack of satisfaction with being trapped, but the being did not communicate in kind. Instead it began to unleash an assault of claws against him, trying to rip him to shreds. Black ichor splattered as the claws began to leave superficial markings, slowly growing deeper and deeper. It was at this moment that Poltergeist had to truly acknowledge the possibility that this creature...despite being of his kind...was attempting to kill him. Taking a deep breath in The creature unleashed the full might of his bellowing roar, producing noise so loud that there was a kinetic pulse that came from it. It would easily throw any lesser weighted creature to the wind. A wendigo? Not likely, but it would certainly alert it that he was no longer amused.

Poltergeist found solace in it's simplicity. It did not have pride, it did not have ego or greed. It's motivation was simple. It lived for the hunt. There was no food chain to it, there was no competition. There was but a simple truth... all life must end. The creature raised one arm form the concrete with ease and pulled it's entire body up through the wreckage as it's blood splattered from it's face to the ground. Poltergeist lacked the understanding of how it's Master's harsh treatment of it was to it's advantage. To live near Gravitas, every moment of every day was traumatic, a task no living creature could. Even when gravity was a thousand times that of normal, struggling against black holes and other singularities, Poltergeist was expected to perform.

Concrete was nothing compared to the subjugation of Gravitas. His muscles and bones hardened, his speed and strength were unrivaled to any other in the entire gang. It was the ghost of death, and it's bellowing howl was the tolling bell. With an explosive flurry the large white furred beast began slinging and uprooting concrete and tossing it around, its forearm coming up and wiping the blood from it's face and snarling as it looked up, the yellow eye turning red. It dropped to all fours and curled its fingers and toes, the earth raked beneath them, watching and waiting as it would look to see what it's opponent would do next.

((**Sorry for posting on this account. I was responding to another thread.**))

Vicious was almost surprised to understand the beast, though he supposed he shouldn't be. They were of a similar ilk, and it's almost brotherly displeasure with his assault amused and upset him.

"heh...hehhhrghh" Vicious attempted to laugh, but a more strangled and labored sound came out. The roar of the beast didn't particularly hurt, but it did knock Vicious off balance, ending his onslaught of blows. The ease with which the monster tore itself free from the ground surprised him, but it didn't matter, he'd dealt a great deal of damage. Vicious lowered onto all fours, glaring at the beast, and returning it's roar with one of his own, equally loud, though his sounded more cat-like, reminiscent of a mountain lion. The other beast had seemingly grown, to Vicious' dismay, and he doubted that would he could go blow for blow in terms of strength. However, he seemed to be smarter, and more built for the hunt.

Vicious clawed at the ground with his hands and kicked at the pavement with his hooves', much like a bull preparing to charge. He spoke to the beast. In a language it should understand. To the human ear, it would sound like a serious of grunts, growls, and hisses, but this was the language of beasts. The language of nightmares, and Vicious knew that this beast was indeed a nightmare. A nightmare with something human in him, much like Vicious, but a nightmare all the same.

"anyyy lasssst wordssss...?" Vicious asked, cackling. He wasn't quite sure what the expression meant, and if it translated very well in the monsters tongue, but Erick was thinking it somewhere within him, and it felt right. Taking the beast head on seemed foolish, and Vicious was the Apex Predator, Evil Personified, the Hunter of Hunters, but he was NOT foolish. With a quick flick of his tongue, Vicious took a taste of the dark "blood" his prey's face was covered in. He shivered and shook, closing his eyes, and consuming himself with the taste and smell of the beast. He was his prey, and this was his blood. It was time, no more games. Time to fight and kill.

He lurched for the beasts legs, hoping his antlers would impale them and impede it's motion before Vicious could get his arms around them. Vicious would attempt to contort himself in a way that would allow him to kick the beast in its skull with the full might of his hooves, with the strength capable of launching a beast his own size 20 feet in the air. Vicious would roll back onto his feet and launch himself up after the beast, horns extended in an attempt to impale it. Assuming his kick had failed, he would use his unnaturally long limbs to wrap himself around the beast, clawing at his back and biting into it's neck in an attempt to hamper it's mobility and make any sort of offense difficult. He new his healing factor would be an X factor, making him capable of taking what it would dish out, but would it be able to do the same?

The Wendigo couldn't hope to match him in strength, nor durability. The Wendigo had a higher level of intelligence, as Poltergeist was without his mind or body. The beast spoke in a language that the nightmarish supernatural monster understood. It has spoken in a tongue of hissing and snarls, a primitive communication. The creature asked if there was any last words to be said, then lunged at Poltergeist's legs. Poltergeist's reflex was to drop towards all fours, though the Wendigo might be disappointed by the strange durability that he crashed into. When the two crashed,  Poltergeist rebounded to two legs and simply watched as the beast transitioned to try and kick him in the skull. Poltergeist jilted back a small bit, the next move requiring him to latch onto him, wrapping arms around him and his teeth sinking into his tough neck. The bite would accumulate to the undead beast, superficially bursting through his ungodly dense skin as it seemed to hug Poltergeist from behind.

The beast attempted to bind his mobility, though it didn't seem to realize such a maneuver required one to be stronger than the one it bound. Of course it's not the Wndigo's fault, as the hellish appirition never gave a display of it's fullest force. Poltergeist gave a small futile struggle as it tested the limits of it's attacker, sizing up the level of energy that would need to be expended.

"Laaaast Words? Yessss..." The creature seemed to ask as the teeth slowly attempted to pierce down further as Poltergeist relaxed itself, seemingly accepting it's fate. All leading up to what happened next.

"Prey..." Poltergeist said as it's muscles tensed and at lightning speeds it's arm broke free and came up. As the beast was already upon it's back and it's teeth buried into him, there was no true chance for escape. The creature was damned from the moment it willingly chose to attach itself to the being. Poltergeist would grab the beast by the back of the head and with it's fullest force attempt to rip the head from it's body. It's regenerative factor would easily save it and preserve it's life...but the beast would know that being within arms reach of Poltergeist was a horrible idea.