Even in the midst of his rage, a part of Ryker’s mind whirred as it took in every detail from his environment with his enhanced senses. Acting on long ingrained habits despite using a Kaiju’s biological senses instead of the multiple levels of sensors available to him in his Armor as a pilot. When fighting in an urban environment it was absolutely critical to be aware of everything around you. Not only for your own sake but for others as well. Civilians in active combat zones often times went into shock in places that were hidden and not immediately visible. They could be hiding in a broom closet inside an apartment complex or under a parked car in the middle of the road. That reason, more than any other was why it was hammered into new mech pilots to destroy as little of their environment as possible.

Ryker had that lesson so hardwired into his brain that the act was almost completely unconscious as he scanned every inch of the construction site with his heightened and combined senses. The smell of Kaiju was thick in the air, clouding his other senses as the scent bleed through his mind as bitter taste and alien sounds but he moved beyond that. He reached out and felt the world as no other living being should have been able to. Past the all too familiar sight of human remains on concrete to any sign of human life that might be nearby. But there was nothing. No frantic heartbeats pounding behind half constructed walls. No trace of lingering sweat in the air or fresh blood. Only the silence of the dead, broken by the monsters that had defiled their bodies like they were nothing more than meat.

Back at the campsite Ryker had immediately taken the fight with the hatchlings outside and away from the family cowering indoors until they could escape. At the gas station Ryker had broken through the wall to thin the monsters’ numbers and confirm the status of the people inside before dragging the biggest threat outside, making himself the main target to buy time for the civilians inside. Every fight beforehand he had worked to the best of his ability to keep nearby people safe. Every action had to be carefully calculated, controlled, and measured in how best he could protect others.

But here? Knowing there was no one left to die?

They fell away one by one. The rules. The long memorized operating procedures and tactical maneuvers. Releasing their hold on the fire that blazed inside Ryker’s chest as they neatly put themselves away until they’d be needed to protect people again. Ryker shuddered as a long exhale left his lungs, like he was taking a full breath for the first time. His shoulders, so tight with tension the moment he’d arrived slackening as the weight that bore them down was finally lifted.

I’m going to kill you all. Ryker thought simply, as though it were a foregone conclusion. His eleven foot frame leaned forwards, eyes blazing as he locked onto the monsters before him. But I’m gonna hurt you first.

In an instant Ryker’s back leg slammed into the concrete, cracking the surface as he hurled himself towards the pack of Kaiju. The modified muscle fibers under his scales rocketed Ryker forwards, faster than a beast of his size should have ever been able to move. In a mere moment he’d caught the Kaiju off guard as his sprint put him within their ranks. Not slowing in the slightest Ryker ducked a biting head and other swipes as he held out a claw catching one of the smaller Kaiju by the throat, one that still had bits of a red stained shirt in its teeth as he carried it into the wall of concrete the truck had crashed against earlier in its failed attempt to escape.

The wall cracked with the sound of a thunderclap as Ryker used the smaller Kaiju’s body as a battering ram. Smashing through the shower of rubble and into the unfinished building beyond as Ryker plowed through an array of doll sized power tools and other equipment. Uncaring for the things he crushed underfoot as he slammed the battered beast against the floor. The dazed Kaiju weakly struggling against his grip as Ryker straddled the beast. His legs on either side of the smaller Kaiju as hind claws dug deep into the concrete to hold Ryker upright as he rained down blow after blow on the monster. Deliberately avoiding the monster’s vulnerable throat as his claws came down over and over on its head and chest. Easily smacking away its flailing arms as it tried to protect itself.

In a matter of seconds he tore apart the Kaiju, strips of flesh carving away as its hot blood spattered the ground and stained Ryker’s claws red. He could have stayed like that for hours. Unleashing every pain and injustice these monsters had wrought upon himself and humanity. But he only had another scarce moment alone with the bleeding Kaiju before the roars of the others forced him to pull his focus away.

They came in through the hole he’d made in the wall and the unfinished sections still open to the chill night air. Charging between the iron girders that held up the concrete ceiling and immediately went straight for Ryker.

Ryker disengaged from the mauled Kaiju he was ground pounding by hurling himself to the side, but not before slashing open its neck to secure the kill. Tucking his body into a roll he rose instantly to his feet in an open space between the iron girders holding up the ceiling. His teeth bared and claws open wide as the five smaller Kaiju swarmed him. Even with his larger mass on his side these smaller Kaiju were still a mix of seven to nine feet tall. That meant they all must have had the Increased Bone and Muscle Fiber Density rungs of their DNA unlocked. Ryker backpedaled as he matched every swipe of their claws with two of his. His own Enhanced Scales deflecting the worst of the damage but not enough for him to not start feeling some of his own blood trickling from shallow wounds.

Every attempt they made to bite into Ryker, he deflected and sidestepped as best he could. Not daring to risk getting poisoned so early in the fight if any of them had venom. As Ryker’s anger fueled his blows he felt it mix with the ingrained instincts his body had been born with. He wanted to bite into these things himself, to feel the gush of their blood on his tongue as his own venom pumped into their veins. But striking out with his fangs at the wrong moment would leave his neck exposed. Even in a rage Ryker couldn’t allow himself to outright ignore common sense and allow himself to be boxed in by these small fry as the three larger Kaiju, the ones equal to Ryker in size were likely making their way to join their own kin against him.

Gotta thin the herd. Ryker decided almost reluctantly. Knowing intrinsically that a fight against all the Kaiju at once would not end well for him. No matter how much he wanted to draw the fight out to take his time breaking down the monsters.

That didn’t mean he had to made their deaths quick though.

In an instant Ryker moved forward as he took advantage of the Kaiju’s clumsy teamwork. Targeting a Kaiju that was too close to him to get immediate help from its friends Ryker got close and personal with the beast. Surprised, it tried to snap a bite at Ryker that immediately failed as Ryker abused his greater height and mass over the creature to catch its head between his claws in a clinch. Yanking its head down to crash against his rising knee as he felt the Kaiju’s jaw crack through his scaled knee.

Ryker grinned savagely, feeling every bit the monster in this fight and not caring in the least as he brought his knee into the Kaiju’s face again and again as his claws dug into its head and scraped against its skull. With every blow wet broken teeth bounced off his legs and onto the floor as he swung the barley standing Kaiju’s body around as he continued striking it. Using it as a living barrier to keep the other Kaiju from striking him directly as his head snapped down and bit deep into its exposed neck. Pumping venom into its body as it spasmed in his merciless grip.

The moment the Kaiju died in his claws, well before it could have suffered any of the effects of his venom, Ryker snarled and threw the broken corpse to the ground. The vaguely head shaped mass of pulped flesh and bone squelching between his hind claws as he stomped on the dead Kaiju. As the four remaining Kaiju rushed him Ryker kicked the corpse under his claws at the two to his left. Sending the body skipping over the concrete as it hit the two Kaiju in the legs. Sending one stumbling as it failed to recover and the other crashing to the floor. Buying him a brief moment alone with the two monsters on the right.

Ryker baited one Kaiju as he left his right flank exposed after a viscous cross cut on another left it stumbling away. As the Kaiju on his right took the bait and came in to bite Ryker sidestepped. The Kaiju’s head just missing his side as his arm came down to wrap around it’s neck in a merciless guillotine chokehold. Scales ground against scales as Ryker locked his arm tight and squeezed. The Kaiju’s maw working soundlessly as its eyes rolled in its sockets and it fought for breath. Its arms and legs flailing as it vainly tried to free itself from the choke.

Ryker’s leg flashed out in a front kick that caught the Kaiju he’d cut full in the chest as he sent it away and bought a few extra seconds for him to ensure the Kaiju he was holding suffered before he readjusted his hold on the Kaiju’s head. Flexing his arm just right as he felt the reinforced bones of its neck strain and finally give with a satisfying crack as Ryker let the dead Kaiju fall to the ground in a heap. Just in time for him to take on the last three Kaiju. The two he’d tripped a moment ago and the one bleeding from its chest where Ryker slashed and kicked it.

Years of training took over as Ryker squared his stance, gauging the distance to his targets in an instant as his body moved on instinct. The first of the Kaiju to try and get to Ryker spun away as Ryker’s spinning back kick connected with the monster’s head. His hind claws tearing open its face and destroying one eye as it reeled back in pain trying to get its bearings. The second to attack leapt for Ryker, missing completely as Ryker ducked its aerial attack and used his leftover momentum from his kick to swing his tail around as it came towards the ground. The Kaiju yelped as his tail slammed into its legs and sent it crashing headfirst into an iron girder holding up the ceiling. Falling to the floor in a motionless tangle of limbs.

The last Kaiju, the one that had lost an eye and was bleeding all over charged Ryker as he contemptuously batted aside its swiping claws before getting inside its guard. With a ruthless snap of his leg he kicked the smaller Kaiju in the side of its knee. The joint instantly breaking under his blow as it bent the wrong way. Before the Kaiju could fall to the ground Ryker caught the beast by its head and dug his clawed thumbs into its eyes. Blood from its gouged eye socket and clear liquid from its good eye ran down his claws as it cried out and thrashed desperately to get away. Its claws glancing uselessly off Ryker’s enhanced scales as he yanked up on the beast’s head to bite into its exposed neck and deliver his venom. His teeth biting deep enough to cut off its cries as a feral part of him reveled in the gush of its life blood spilling into his mouth. The taste, feel, and smell of it rippling across his intertwined senses in a wave of red ambrosia.

The bloodlust that drove Ryker had always been a part of him, just as the wild instincts that first drove him to bite another Kaiju had been a part of the body he now inhabited. But that bloodlust, that need for violence had never felt so primal as it did now. Just a few days ago, he’d considered eating Kaiju a necessity and nothing more. A means to an end. But now he ached for it, needed it in a way he couldn’t describe. Wanted it in a way that would have frightened him if there was any room left in his head to think.

That was when it hit him.

One of the three larger Kaiju that had been circling the fight and letting its weaker brothers wear down its opponent chose that moment to strike as the Kaiju barreled into Ryker like a runaway freight train. The force of the impact enough to snap Ryker out of his daze and take the wind out of him as the Kaiju kept charging. Through the back wall of the large room they’d been fighting in and through several more concrete walls until they exited the unfinished building they’d been in and continuing into the half constructed building next to it as it carried Ryker through on its-

Horn?! Ryker realized. Surprised even as he felt pain lance through his abdomen where a bone horn dug several inches into him. His enhanced scales and shock absorbing muscles mitigating the worst of the damage as Ryker gritted his teeth and wrapped his arms around the Kaiju goring him. As the Charger carried Ryker through another concrete wall within the building Ryker slammed his feet down into the ground. His claws digging furrows into the concrete as he fought for purchase, slowing the Charger down enough to grip it properly and use its momentum against it.

Once his claws caught on a solid enough part of the ground Ryker pivoted backwards. Letting the Charger’s momentum carry it forwards as he roared and slammed it into the concrete pillar it was going to crush Ryker against. The pillar shattered as the building around Ryker rumbled and the Charger fell to the ground. Shaking the dust off itself before it got too its feet. Apparently none too worse for wear as it snorted and grunted a challenge as it caught its bearings.

Stepping back Ryker held a claw to his abdomen as he examined his wound. It stung worse than the gunshots he’d suffered not too long ago but it was bearable. The sight of his own blood on his claws making Ryker push down his worried questions about what he’d felt earlier and reappraise the Charger in front of him as the other two larger Kaiju on par with Ryker entered. Roaring and hissing as one as Ryker chuckled and shook his head.

Bastards. He cursed with as he flicked the blood from his claws. You’re actually more evolved than I am aren’t you?

It was a surprise but not one that was entirely unexpected. Ever since Ryker had been reborn as a Kaiju he’d always had the option of hard focusing one DNA segment over the others. From the start he could have dedicated himself to unlocking everything from the Musculoskeletal segment to get stronger and then try and hit Stage Two before any other Kaiju had the chance. But rather than doing that he’d made the deliberate decision to try and unlock everything from every DNA segment. From a bystander’s perspective it might not have seemed beneficial to waste time on that but Ryker knew Kaiju. Knew that the best chance he had of standing toe to toe with monsters like Storm Breaker would be building a rock solid foundation during Stage One that could support the kinds of abilities he’d need at later stages.

That approach naturally meant that while he was more spread out and well rounded ability wise, other Stage Ones might get further along unlocking certain DNA segments than he did. Which explained the Charger and its two allies.

Must be the next DNA rung after my enhanced scales. Ryker thought. Taking in every detail of his enemies as he examined them closely. I’d almost forgotten that small changes like this took place during Stage One.

Even though all Kaiju were essentially genetic copies of each other at birth the differences here were immediately apparent. The Charger was bulkier than Ryker was, with a heavier upper torso that culminated in the large bone horn extending out from its head. The end of it still slick with Ryker’s blood as it stamped its feet and made as if to charge again.

The one next to it was sleeker than the Charger and even Ryker himself. The largest difference though was the tail extending behind the monster. Rather than the thick rudder like tails Ryker and other Kaiju possessed this Kaiju’s tail lashed and coiled behind it like a living whip. The end of it snapping against the concrete and cracking the floor with much more force than Ryker expected.

The last Kaiju didn’t have the drastic physical changes of the others. It seemed mostly normal compared to Ryker, but the thing that made him wary of it was the lightly red patterned scales along its chest and neck. That was all the time Ryker had to examine the monsters before they were immediately upon him.

The Charger roared and plowed forwards to gore Ryker on its horn again. Rather than tank the beast head on again and leave himself open to attack by the others Ryker ran to the right towards a fully stacked pallet of materials as the beast came for him. Leaping up onto it, his crushing weight pressing down onto the pallet, Ryker vaulted. Using the pallet as a springboard to soar up and over the Charger as it passed underneath him. Already wheeling around for another pass to gore him like a raging bull.

Ryker’s thoughts rapid fired as he landed and cracked the concrete beneath him as he took in the two other Kaiju coming to clash with him as he landed. I’ll take out the other two first and- Urk!

Before it could reach him with its claws or fangs the elongated tail of the other Kaiju snapped out and cracked against the side of Ryker’s head. Missing his eye as his head snapped to the side, the combined protection of his scales and enhanced tissues the only thing that kept the blow from reaching the bone of his skull.

The opening move by the Snapper gave its ally the advantage as it roared, eyes wide open and wild with bloodlust as it hurled itself into Ryker like a living cannonball. Almost bowling Ryker over as the Kaiju made up for any lack of fighting talent with unrelenting fury. Immediately putting Ryker on the defensive as his arms blocked and deflected strikes. All the while ducking and dodging the whip crack of the Snapper’s tail. Every time he moved to dodge one attack he seemed to leave himself open for another.

He tried multiple times to grapple the Kaiju laying into him but trying to wrangle the monster for a killing strike was like trying to grab onto a feral cat. A feral cat with scales just as hard as his own as his biting teeth skittered over its shoulder, the glancing bite failing to punch through as it slipped out of his grasp and slashed at him anew with a ferocity that could only be due to one thing.

The Adrenal Trigger. Ryker realized as he danced back from the Berserker. Both their scales a nearly matching crimson as Ryker’s wounds painted his scales to match the angry red of the Berserker’s torso.

The clatter of breaking equipment and concrete announced the charger’s return as it charged back to join the other two Kaiju in the fight against Ryker. Before it could make it back Ryker knew he had to at least take one of these Kaiju out of the fight to even his odds against the other two. The Berserker would only remain a problem as long as Ryker had to constantly dodge the Charger and Snapper supporting it. So Ryker immediately decided to take out the Snapper first. The Charger’s greater mass and simplistic style of attacks made it easy enough to avoid to put off for the moment as Ryker stopped defending and closed in with the Berserker.

He allowed the beast to score hits on him as it tore into his chest and abdomen. Ryker letting out a hiss of pain as his only acknowledgement of the damage he stepped forward and twisted his torso to put as much force into the strike his upper body could muster. Delivering a savage uppercut to the Kaiju’s chest and neck as his claws broke through the protection of its enhanced scales and came ripping out with a spray of blood that splashed onto his face.

The pain came an instant later.

Ryker’s eyes burned like fire as he stepped back, roaring in pain as he wiped at the sizzling scales on his face and desperately tried to get the acidic blood out of his eyes. Momentarily blinded he heard the coiling of the Snappers tail a split second before he felt it curl around his leg as it yanked him off balance. Lining him up perfectly for the Charger to slam into him again.

Only the synesthetic combination of his senses warned Ryker in time to shift his body and brace himself for the Charger that slammed into him. The world around him now a shifting mass of shapes made of glowing sound and shivering scent as his remaining senses filled in the gaps his eyes no longer could. Braced for the Charger as he was, Ryker only slid a dozen feet before he felt the Charger grunt in surprise at Ryker’s solidness. Gripping the Kaiju by the horn Ryker levered the monster’s head to the side as he got around behind the Kaiju before it could react. Using every ounce of muscle he could muster Ryker lifted the Charger off the ground as he roared and bent backwards. Executing a textbook suplex on the Kaiju that brought the beast head first into the concrete with enough force to shake the entire building as Ryker fell with the Charger through the floor and into the basement of the building.

Concrete and rebar gave and fell away as more of the floor broke away into the basement after Ryker, catching the other two Kaiju as they fell down to continue the fight below.

=======================================================================

“I don’t like it Martha.” William said as he peeked through the blinds at the construction site above his house in the suburbs.

“Oh please honey.” Martha mumbled from the bed as she lifted her sleep mask off her eyes to stare at her husband. “It’s not that early for them to start construction. You’ve already filed enough complaints with the construction company. Whatever they’re doing up there won’t matter after we head to work.”

“But they can’t keep getting away with it!” William glowered as he turned in a huff. His Egyptian cotton pajamas rippling over his lanky frame as he readjusted his glasses. “People down here are trying to sleep! I could have gotten another hour of sleep if it weren’t for them starting construction early again. I’ve already left a letter with their corporate offices. They are violating-”

“violating section 24-b.” Martha said tiredly. The district policy now forever burned into her brain thanks to her husbands never ending war with the local construction disrupting his sleep. “William. If its bothering you that much, why don’t we order a fan or a white noise machine to help you sleep?”

“We will do no such thing!” William said defiantly. Waggling a finger at his wife of twenty years. “I am a man of principle! And I will not lose to these uneducated savages in yellow vests-”

A distant crash reverberated through the window as William pointed a finger back at the construction site on the mountainside like he’d found a murder suspect. “Ha! See! We can get them for this Martha! As soon as I get into the firm today I can draft the paperwork. Let me tell you I am going to have their hack lawyers spinning as I get them for-”

Another crash, this one even louder than the first nearly shook the bedroom window out of its frame as Martha yelped as her cellphone rattled off her nightstand and onto the floor.

For once William had nothing to say as he stood still and watched the distant construction site with a furrowed brow.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“What the hell?” Martha said shaken as she got out of bed and joined her husband at the window. Pushing all the blinds aside to stare out into the pre dawn night and whatever the commotion was outside their home. Up on the hill it was still hard to make out but it was clear enough to see the plumes of dust rising from the construction site. Rather than the constant drone or hammer of machines the sounds coming from the construction site sounded more unrestrained. A long groan came from the site above, like metal tearing out of place. The groan was quickly followed by one of the iron building frameworks she could barely make out through the trees, disappear before a loud crashing sound rolled down the mountain and shook the window even harder.

A sound followed by a blood curdling roar.

Martha gasped as she took her husband by the arm reflexively as he backed away from the window. A bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as he turned to his wife. “Honey.” William said softly. Gulping despite his dry mouth as he tried to find the words.

“I… I think we should call the police.”

=======================================================================

Even blinded and burned Ryker growled through the pain as he fought, the sound guttural and raw as he bared his teeth in a seething snarl.

Ryker raged at the situation. Not only because of the loss of his eyes but because he knew he shouldn’t have been having this much trouble with mere Stage One Kaiju. Despite how much experience he’d had mixing it up with Kaiju the truth was that he was fighting at less than half strength than he would have been in any normal mechanized Armor. Any engagement would have opened with volleys of cannon or mortar fire. Then they would have opened with rapid fire from mounted heavy machine guns as they closed in on the Kaiju. Long before reaching the monsters Ryker would have softened them up with any number of weapons before he closed in for the kill.

Without that extra fire power Ryker’s fight with the Kaiju turned into a long drawn out brawl as their fight moved around the construction site. The battle in the basement doing enough damage to the building’s supporting foundation to cause a partial collapse as Ryker weaved his way through the metal and concrete debris. His expanded senses granting him an advantage moving through the dust that clogged the air as he made hit and run attacks on the three remaining Kaiju that could match him.

He was still wounded. Every movement he made aggravating the hole in his abdomen and half a dozen smaller injuries as his eyes constantly stung with pins and needles. But the other Kaiju were wounded too. The Snapper’s tail thrashed violently as it tried to attack the air around it to keep Ryker away, even as its right arm hung limp, bleeding profusely from the chunk of flesh Ryker had torn out of it with his teeth. The Charger roared constantly and tried plowing its way through the debris on a bad leg, only causing more damage to their surroundings as Ryker baited the Kaiju into walls and pillars to injure itself. The Berserker who’s acidic blood had blinded him roared as well. Bleeding trails of sizzling red blood from where Ryker had thrown everything he could get his claws on at the beast. Literally. Wheelbarrows, power saws, chunks of rubble and rebar. Everything. Ryker wasn’t about to make the mistake of getting too close to the Kaiju where its blood could wound him again and weaken him against its adrenaline fueled fury.

Breathing hard, Ryker gritted his teeth as the Snapper’s tail nicked his shoulder as he ran by it and raked it with his claws before disappearing into the dust to reposition.

This is taking too long. Ryker thought worriedly as he felt the warmth of the sun approaching. I need to finish this before we get too much attention.

Ironically, the same scales that protected him so well against the smaller Kaiju earlier were proving to be a pain in the ass to deal with in these three Kaiju. Combined with their greater natural abilities and numbers Ryker was beginning to doubt his own ability to take down these monsters before the police or military showed up to deal with them. If that happened, even if they helped kill these other Kaiju, there was no way in hell they’d leave him be to eat their corpses to grow stronger and hopefully heal his eyes. He needed to change the game before that happened so he could feed.

Ryker surveyed his surroundings, scrounging around for ideas until his eyes landed on a fallen stack of iron girders nearly the length of his body right before the remains of a now heavily damaged building under construction. The main offices of the construction site most likely, there were only five stories completed as the levels above the fifth floor were a mix of bare concrete, iron, and rebar. Ryker grinned as a plan came to life in his mind.

Let’s kick it up a notch.

As the dust began to settle Ryker moved over to the base of the building roaring a challenge at the three remaining Kaiju, all their heads swiveled to stare at him as he ran inside the building. All of the Kaiju immediately following him. Inside the base floor Ryker used his own bulk to smash through load bearing walls and make space on the first floor as the Berserker entered the building first and sprinted for Ryker, literally frothing at the mouth as it charged him.

Fully aware of how much damage the Kaiju could do to him if it got close Ryker allowed it to run at him. Making no attempt to dodge as it barreled towards him with claws outstretched until it was fifteen feet away.

Before Ryker had entered the building he’d stopped to take one thing with him. That thing was unwieldy as hell in his claws but it was solid. Very solid as Ryker prepared to swing the iron girder he’d picked up outside like it was one of the few weapons Ryker had trained with long before becoming a pilot, one he’d used even as a child.

A baseball bat.

With a batter’s stance Ryker twisted and brought the iron girder around like he was swinging for the fences. The end of the girder slamming into the head of the Berserker with a resounding gong as the strike sent it reeling away into and through a wall of stucco. The acidic blood hissing on Ryker’s impromptu weapon as he hefted the beam over one shoulder, ready to swing again if the Berserker came close again.

A twinge of warning in Ryker’s senses had him bring his iron bat around to block as the Snapper’s whip like tail wrapped around metal instead of his neck. Before the Snapper could untangle its tail from his makeshift weapon Ryker yanked hard. Feeling the Snapper lose its balance as it was pulled backwards by its own tail as it fought for control of its appendage. Not wasting an opportunity Ryker snapped down with his own jaws on the tail and bit deep. Feeling his teeth cut through its protective scales and into the pure toughened muscle that made up the tail. Ryker worked his jaws back and forth as he sawed through the tail and severed it with a snap.

Wailing in pain and rage the Snapper immediately came at Ryker for biting the back end of its tail off. Leaving it perfectly open for Ryker to wind up for another swing of his iron girder into the Kaiju’s good remaining arm. Slamming it into the Kaiju repeatedly without the threat of its snapping tail leaving him vulnerable for attack from the other two. With its tail severed and arms nearly broken beyond repair Ryker had to dance back from the Kaiju as the Charger plowed through one of the few remaining solid walls left on the first floor to try and gore him again. Putting himself in position at the center of the building with a pillar at his back Ryker implored the Charger to come at him again. If he could get it just right…

The Charger roared, stomping forwards with as much momentum as it could generate as it lowered its head to gore Ryker and impale him on its horn. Not moving from his position Ryker placed the butt of his now rather bent weapon against the base of the pillar securing it and letting the front end of the iron girder dip down directly towards the charging Kaiju. In its eagerness to gore Ryker again the charging monster failed to account for the solid bar of iron pointed towards it as the Kaiju ran into the end of the iron girder as it impacted the pillar Ryker had gotten it to slam into as he sidestepped.

Despite the end of the girder being flat it drove into the Charger’s gut like a spear as its momentum carried it forwards and the base of the pillar held the girder still. The blunt end breaking through the Charger’s protective scales as it buried itself in the monster’s stomach as it crashed through the pillar holding up the center of the damaged office building.

With no time to spare, already sensing the building starting to buckle at the lack of structural support holding it up. Ryker dove out of the building and looked back with satisfaction as the building groaned in protest. Unleashing a cacophony of sound that played havoc with Ryker’s senses as he waited for the building to collapse on the Kaiju inside and-

Damnit! Ryker raged as his plan to collapse the building in on itself failed as the Kaiju he was supposed to be dropping it on exited the building before it could fall and implode. They all looked like they’d been through hell. The Charger had an iron girder sticking out of its abdomen, the Snapper’s arms hung limply as its severed tail thrashed angrily, and the Berserker finally looked to be coming down from its adrenaline rush as it staggered forward.

The four Kaiju waited for the other to make the first move as the building groaned behind them. Not taking their attention off of each other for an instant Ryker tensed as all three of the Kaiju rushed him at once. No longer trying to attack him separately as they charged him. Ryker’s focus narrowed as he shifted on his feet with his tail lashing behind him in agitation, ready for anything these Kaiju could throw at him.

What he hadn’t accounted for was the collapsing building falling the wrong way.

Despite the taking out some its central supporting pillars the building began to tilt as its remaining supports kept the building from collapsing in on itself but failed to hold up the unsupported side as they broke apart and gave out one by one. The reverberations though the ground were powerful to make even Ryker and the other Kaiju stumble as the second floor of the building crashed down into the first. Surviving long enough for the top of the office building to fall down and outwards like a felled tree cut down by a lumber jack.

Ryker backed up as far as he could. Coming right to the chain link fence that circled the edge of the construction site as the land fell away to the suburb far below, but it wasn’t far enough. The building crashed down and sent out a literal wave of dust and rubble that slammed into Ryker as the force of the building’s collapse threw him through the chain link fence and off the edge of the cliff the construction site was built on.

Ryker and the rubble were airborne for a full second before he impacted with the sloped incline of the mountain. Falling down it in an uncontrolled tumble as he rolled and tried to slow his rapid descent by catching something with his claws. But Ryker had too much mass to stop on a dime as a small tree splintered to pieces as Ryker slammed into it. He tried digging his claws into the dirt and that slowed him just enough to see the shape of the Charger falling towards him as the Kaiju slammed into him as he fell. His rattled senses barely making out the crashing and tumbling forms of the other Kaiju as they fell to the valley below.

It seemed to take a small eternity to finally hit the bottom of the mountain but Ryker finally stopped rolling and slid to a stop in some grass. The coolness of the morning dew on his burned face almost pleasant as he lay stunned.

Ryker groaned in pain as he recovered from the fall and got his bearings. Pushing his claws into the grass to lift himself up, trying to locate the other Kaiju as he leaned on his other senses to make sense of his surroundings. Even as weary and wounded as he was he had to-

No. Ryker thought as ice cold fear nearly stopped his heart. His blinded eyes had kept him from immediately recognizing his surroundings but he knew exactly where he was now. The suburbs that were below the construction site. The fall from the construction site had initially rattled his senses but now he could easily hear the frantic clamoring of people waking up behind thin house walls and even thinner windows to see what was going on outside. The sounds around him bouncing between houses and parked cars, illuminating the suburb in his mind’s eye as he frantically tried to think of a solution that would prevent the people still in their homes from being put in harm’s way.

We’re too close! There’s too many people here! I have to draw them away before-

A scream tore through the suburb to his right as a woman in pajamas who had gone outside to check what was going on fell back against her front door before the sight of Ryker looming above her on her lawn. Ryker took an unconscious step away from the terrified woman as his back leg accidentally collided with a parked car hard enough to trigger the car alarm. The sound eclipsing the woman’s continued screaming as his head whipped from side to side. The sight of more people coming out of their homes to gawk at Ryker sending a cold shiver of dread through him as he caught sight of where the other Kaiju had landed. At eleven feet tall Ryker was able to look over the roofs of the suburb to spot the others as they reacted to the sight of humans, knowing with a terrible certainty what each monster would be thinking at that very moment.

Food.

In an instant Ryker was sprinting across the street, straight for the row of homes that separated his street from the one the Berserker had landed on. The people in front of him screaming and fleeing back inside their homes as Ryker raced through the narrow space between each house. Tearing through fences as he cut across a small backyard and into another Ryker leapt onto the house in front of him, his claws and weight tearing furrows into the roof as he jumped for the Kaiju Berserker already moving towards the nearest group of people with their phones out to film.

He slammed into the Kaiju in a flying tackle that slammed them both into a house with enough force to break through the outer wall and expose the interior living room as Ryker sensed the movement of people less than a dozen feet away inside the house screaming in terror as he wrangled the Kaiju, its blood burning him as he tried to keep it from escaping his grip and going on a killing spree. Behind him he felt more than heard the Charger catch sight of and move towards him as he desperately fought to pull the Berserker back towards the middle of the street. The Snapper mounted up on a rooftop and growled at Ryker before something caught its eye and it ducked its head through the roof’s skylight to try to get at the people within.

All around Ryker the world was turning to chaos and screaming. So much screaming. The sound of it all hauntingly familiar as Ryker was transported back to his early days in the war. For a moment he could see it all play out. How people would try to run an escape these Kaiju on foot. Only to be chased down one by one as they failed to get away. They would die because of him. For being too weak to kill these monsters before they took more lives.

The roar tore itself from Ryker’s throat as the hate that drove him denied his weakness. Giving his wounded and poisoned body a ferocious strength as he drew on his anger. Nearby windows shattered as people fell to the ground clutching their ears as his roar echoed through the entire suburb. A single thought dominating his entire being. No one else would die today. Not one more.

Whatever the cost.

Ryker bit deep into the Berserker’s neck. His teeth punching through its protective scales and sending a shower of acidic blood into his mouth that scalded his mouth as it flowed down his neck in a scorching river. The Berserker thrashed in his grip as he pumped venom into its wound and drove his right claw into it over and over into its side like his knife like clawed fingers were prison shivs.

Still roaring as he bit into the Berserker's torn open neck wound he punched his claws into its side, heedless of the acidic blood spattering his arm as he picked up the Kaiju by its wound and slammed it into the asphalt with enough force to crack the road. Only giving it a split second of peace before he fell upon it with a vengeance, savaging it with a flurry of blows before gripping one of its legs, fully extending it before slamming a hammer blow on its knee to break the leg and bend it backwards as the Kaiju wailed in pain.

Knowing the Kaiju would be unable to move from its spot on the ground Ryker immediately dashed towards the Charger coming at him from the other street. The Charger dipped its head to plow through a house, sending pieces of it flying like it was made of cardboard even as it limped with the remains of the iron girder in its side. Ryker threw himself forwards to meet it, stomping down the street and in between houses like a charging bull sending people running, running from him, as his mouth opened in a seething roar even as he bled from acid burns in his throat. He met the Charger in the backyards of multiple houses as the force of their collision shook the houses down to their foundations as people stumbled and fell trying to get away from them. Despite the Charger’s bulk and more evolved body Ryker didn’t move an inch as his body absorbed the kinetic energy of the blow.

As the Charger tried and failed to move Ryker his claws immediately flashed out and gouged out one of the Kaiju’s eyes making it roar in pain as Ryker’s mind raced to picture his surroundings without his eyes. Behind him he could hear the sobbing of children in one home, screaming from the remains of the house the Charger had broken, and the panicked cries of a couple in another. They all bled together in his mind in a terrible mosaic of fear as he singled out one house that didn’t have any people in it.

Still reeling over the loss of its eye the Charger was taken completely by surprise as Ryker took the Charger’s arm with one claw and leapt up. One leg wrapping over the Kaiju’s head as he executed a flying armbar and pinned the Charger’s arm against his chest as his back hit the ground and crushed more backyard fencing under his bulk. The Charger roaring in confusion and pain as it fell prey to Ryker’s submission hold and fell to the ground, falling into the back end of the empty house with a crash, destroying the home’s kitchen as Ryker’s legs wrapped around its neck. Arching his back on the ground Ryker immediately put pressure on the arm with enough force to make the Charger cry out in pain as he dislocated its arm. Feeling the joint pop out of its socket as he held it.

With its arm disabled Ryker wrestled with the Charger fighting to escape Ryker’s hold as they tore apart the back yards in this part of the suburb until Ryker was able to transition from his armbar to a triangle choke. Locking his legs around the Kaiju’s neck as he cut off its air supply Ryker squeezed. Feeling the bones in the Kaiju’s neck grind together even as it flailed to break the choke hold.

He saw its one good eye roll around in its socket as Ryker squeezed the life out it. The eye bulging in its socket as Ryker increased his pressure on the Kaiju’s neck until he felt the monster’s neck give with a crack that left the monster slumped on the ground.

Ryker rose from the wreckage of the empty house immediately, not satisfied at all with his kill as he zeroed in on the Snapper and its thrashing tail as it still dripped blood from the end Ryker had bitten off. The Kaiju had stopped trying to terrorize the people around it as it saw what Ryker had done it its brethren. The monster letting out a squawk of fear as it turned and fled from Ryker.

Like a beast on the hunt Ryker didn’t spare a second thought before he bolted after the Kaiju. Ripping through people’s back yards as he ran into the street. Sending cars with people trying to escape the suburb turned battlefield swerving to avoid him as he raced down the road. His Fast Twitch muscle fibers making him far faster than the other Kaiju as he avoided fleeing civilians running down the road before jumping up to land on a house. Charging after the fleeing Kaiju by jumping from rooftop to rooftop so he could sprint full tilt after the Snapper without worrying about running over civilians.

The Snapper turned and tried to make for the nearby forest by cutting across a small park in the middle of the suburb but Ryker was already upon it. Jumping up on top of a two story house Ryker leapt and came down directly on the fleeing Kaiju claws first. His hind claws piercing the beast’s enhanced scales as he drove it into the dirt. Nearby, trying to cut through the park on foot were at least a dozen or so people scattered around. Far to close to the thrashing Kaiju and Ryker.

Hold still you fucker! Ryker roared as he held the Kaiju down. Grabbing its tail and an arm as it flailed and nearly hit a cowering bystander who’d fallen to the ground.

The Snapper cried out as he bit down on the back of its neck, through its tough scales to pump venom into the beast.

Stop moving! Stop moving! Ryker commanded as he wrestled the Kaiju. Rather than let go for a better lock on it, Ryker held down the Kaiju as it keened while he bit deeper. Knowing it was the last Kaiju he had to deal with Ryker continued to pump venom into the beast, not stopping until his fangs ran dry. His stores of venom completely depleted as he felt something shift within him at his continued biting.

The Kaiju finally stilled, though not from death as it let out a weak pain filled cry. It’s movements finally stilling as it seemed to freeze painfully.

Releasing his hold on the Kaiju’s neck Ryker let the paralyzed beast fall to the ground as Ryker stood to his full height. Even knowing he’d unintentionally unlocked a modifier for his venom glands, something that would give him an edge in every future fight to come Ryker felt numb. His weariness bone deep as he breathed in ragged breaths.

Slowly he turned and took everything in around him. The cries of terrified people as they ran for the exit to the suburb. The screeching of tires as people gunned their car’s engines to get away. Ryker was almost grateful the acidic blood had blinded him. He didn’t have to look at the damage that had been caused because of his fight. The blend of senses he was currently “seeing” through providing a kind of buffer as he couldn’t make out exact details in people’s homes and faces. But he could hear everything around him all too clearly.

“Leave it Martha we have to go!”

“Daddy what’s happening?”

“Oh God what is that thing?”

“Our house! Roy! Roy what do we do?”

“It’s right over there! Don’t stop!”

“Where are the police?”

“Run! Just run!”

“Monsters!”

“Demons! God save us all its a demon!”

It’s safe now. Ryker called out weakly. His soft cry doing nothing to stop the people running as he looked around. Everyone was running away.

Away from him.

I-I’m not… Ryker started but stopped as he looked down at his feet.

Not five feet away from him was a woman laying on the ground sobbing quietly. Curled into a ball in the grass as she cowered and shivered uncontrollably before Ryker. A part of him wanted to try and comfort the woman, to prove that he wasn’t the monster she thought he was but… he was wasn’t he?

Even if every action he took was to defend humanity there was no denying his form and even his nature. He was still himself on the inside and would never hurt anyone if he could help it but he couldn’t forget the way he’d fought earlier. The way part of him had reveled in the Kaiju’s slaughter. How the taste of their blood called to him even now.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he felt right at home in a monster’s body. Taking to the savagery and violence of it like he’d been born to it. He’d failed humanity once as a human. Let the world fall to flaming ash and ruin. He wouldn’t fail again. Even if it meant he couldn't reveal his true nature for fear of jump starting the Children of Gaia and the military hunting him down. Even if it meant he'd have to spend the rest of his life being treated as a monster.

If the world needed a monster to save them… so be it.

He’d be that monster.

Reaching down to pick up the bleeding and paralyzed Kaiju Ryker gave the sobbing woman one last look as he dragged the body towards where he’d left the broken Berserker and Charger Kaiju. Not even bothering to kill the beaten Kaiju he was carrying as his venom slowly did its work and extended the beast’s suffering. It was only a matter of time before it died.

I don't think I can spare the time or the effort to drag these things into the forest to eat in peace. But this suburb should be deep enough in the mountains that the police should have some trouble arriving quickly. I should have enough time to eat before they arrive. But even if they get here before I’m done, I should be able to tank their small arms fire till I finish eating. Ryker thought tiredly as he left the park and made his way down the suburb streets towards the other Kaiju as people ran and fearfully watched him from their homes.

He tried not to focus on them as he passed, keeping his head down facing the street as he moved. He couldn’t imagine what these people might be thinking right now. One moment they were living their lives and the next he had come barreling into their homes and killing monsters in their backyards and doorsteps.

I’m sorry I caused this much damage to your homes. Ryker thought painfully as he went. I tried to end this as quickly as I could before it got too out of hand. Though I’m sure you won’t see it that way.

As Ryker turned a corner he saw that the Berserker had tried dragging itself down the street to get away from Ryker with its broken leg. Ryker stalked towards it as he dropped the Kaiju he was carrying to stand above it. The previously ferocious monster now mewling weakly as Ryker stood over it, his own form bloody, burned, and blinded but not beaten.

Even without his eyes he glared down at the Kaiju at his feet. This entire fight should have begun and ended as far away from people as possible but because of it and the other two Kaiju, as well as Ryker’s own foolhardy plan to drop a building on them the fight had been brought down into this suburb to ruin people’s lives. No one had died as far as Ryker could tell, which was a small miracle as far as Ryker was concerned. He didn’t smell any recently dead humans and he didn’t sense any human blood on the Kaiju’s mouth or claws but that was little comfort knowing he’d likely be the cause of hundreds of nightmares in the very people he was trying to protect. He could almost taste the fear in the air as people abandoned the suburb.

Ryker’s maw parted as he let out a mix between a tired sigh and pained groan as he worked his burnt tongue over his equally aching fangs and gums from biting into the Berserker’s acidic blood. Knowing all too well that he had an audience watching his every move and that he couldn't afford to ignore a chance to get stronger even if it meant terrifying innocent people. Ryker pushed down any thoughts of what else people might think of him as he looked down at the Kaiju.

Maybe its good that they're afraid of me. These people will take the Kaiju threat seriously and take the proper precautions. That same fear will keep them safe and far away from other Kaiju as well as keep them from forming any misguided sympathies towards them.

Shaking his head at the cold pragmatic logic he was using to make himself feel better Ryker knelt down next to the Berserker. But before he started eating there was one last thing he wanted to do to the Berserker. Its acidic blood had caused a great deal of damage to Ryker, and while that gene mod might have been one Ryker wanted to avoid in his own blood he could feel the beginnings of an itch in his scales at the constant damage they’d undergone.

The telltale sign of his own genome telling him he was on the verge of improving them if he just gave them one more acidic push.

Now… this next part is going to hurt you a lot more than its going to hurt me. Ryker thought viscously as he bared his teeth and gripped the green and red Kaiju by the throat.