It had been hours since Ryker drove into the forest to find the last remaining hatchling. The slowly approaching light of dawn just beginning to brighten the horizon and mark the passing of Ryker’s eventful first day as a Kaiju. The forest fire that had sprung up during his battle with the other remaining hatchlings had long since been outpaced and left behind by Ryker. With the heat of the blaze struggling to burn as it met the more robust and vibrant greenery of the deeper parts of the wood. He predicted it would likely only need a limited amount of intervention by firefighters to keep it from blowing out of control. That was all well and good but it was a small positive against the raging frustration that made him grind his teeth together as he slowed and came to a terrible realization.
He had lost the trail of the Hatchling he’d been pursuing.
Without an outlet for his anger Ryker slashed at the closest tree with his claws. Tearing long gouges into the bark as he paced and seethed. Only holding himself back from roaring outright in case by some miracle he was somewhere near enough to the hatchling that he might spook it. Not that he believed he really was but Ryker had long since believed it was better not to try fate if you could help it.
Now what? Ryker fumed as he paced back and forth. Digging up furrows in the dirt with his hind claws as he went. I left behind the other hatchling corpses in the fire before I could eat them. Damnit! I might have been able to unlock a new ability if I’d just…
Ryker didn’t have to finish his thought. He was well aware of his anger issues concerning Kaiju and how he could make mistakes in the field if they were involved. But it was one thing to be aware of an issue you’re dealing with and another thing entirely to not let it affect your judgement. Which was exactly what had happened to Ryker when he’d gone running after a Kaiju he couldn’t hope to find.
Stupid. He glowered. Resting a claw against an oak as he sighed. He brought up his other claw to massage his temples but cursed as he accidently poked himself with his own claws again. Taking a few calming breaths instead of lashing out at a problem he had no hope of fixing, Ryker looked around him. He was halfway up the side of a smooth rise in the earth that led to the top of a mountain. Well, mountain was too big a word for it but it still rose into the air like one. Just one that gently tapered towards the top on one side instead of being an insurmountable rock. **
Finding that Kaiju had been his most immediate goal after coming out the other end of Beck’s time travel machine. It may not have been a complex idea but having that focus on a relatively simple objective grounded him amidst the almost impossible task he’d been given. Now without that immediate objective in sight Ryker was starting to feel overwhelmed again. He was good at what he did, he knew that much. He was a natural born warrior in his Mech and within the body of the monster he now was. But that expertise didn’t translate to big plans and far reaching decisions. He couldn’t plan ahead and anticipate the outcomes of his actions a month down the line. It was why he always lost to Beck when playing chess. He was the far reaching thinker. Ryker was just the talented grunt who went in and solved problems with violence.
It also didn't help that he had spent most of his career in the Military getting told what to do by higher ups. There was a part of Ryker that was almost anticipating some kind of order to come out of nowhere and give him the peace of mind of having a solid idea of what to do. But that would definitely not be happening anytime soon. He’d have to figure it out all on his own.
So what do I focus on? What do I do? Ryker thought to himself as he leaned against a tree, thumping his head against the bark as if he could shake out the ideas.
I’m definitely one of the first few Kaiju to hatch from eggs. If there are more around here then I could go searching for them. Ryker mused before grimacing at the idea. While it sounds nice on paper there’s no guarantee I’d be able to reliably find eggs in the first place. And even if I do find eggs to break, I can’t get to every egg cluster on the planet before they start hatching. Hmm… Maybe I should just exclusively hunt other Kaiju then? Again, that also sounds nice but just like the eggs I don’t have a reliable way to track them. Even if they do start causing a ruckus somewhere nearby it’s not like I can search up where they’re at and what’s happening on the internet. I’d be clueless until I stumble into them or they stumble into me.
Reaching up with one claw Ryker grabbed onto one of the lower hanging branches of the tree next to him. Tapping out a frustrated rhythm on the branch with one claw as he unknowingly bent it. Should I be doing more to warn the world somehow? How would I even do that? Just roll into town and scare people into taking action? Pretend to be a threat so people take the idea of Kaiju seriously? The thought was so comical that even picturing it in his own head it seemed absurd. The idea of “rampaging” through a suburban neighborhood, roaring menacingly with arms outstretched like an old horror movie monster, slowly chasing people just fast enough they took him seriously and called the police on him. No, that was just stupid. It wasn’t like his scales or body in general were bullet proof after all. All it would take would be a well placed shot to his head from a cop, soldier, or even just a random citizen with a gun and it would be lights out for Ryker and all of humanity.
Ryker continued pondering as he made his way up to the top of the gentle rise. Just to get a lay of the land before figuring out what to do first.
But that was when he saw it.
Is that? Ryker began before his jaw fell open. Oh… Oh my God…
It was at the same time both the most ordinary and most extraordinary thing Ryker had seen in decades. Off in the distance, at least two to three miles south of him was a town. An honest to God town full of people. It was a quaint looking thing from this height and distance. The tallest building in the town didn’t seem to go above three floors. There were a small number of streets and side streets lit by street lamps. Illuminating the town in a picturesque glow in the pre dawn light.
I’d almost forgotten what it looked like. Ryker thought wondrously. The wet streaks of tears falling from his eyes as he beheld something he’d thought he’d never see again. The world as it should have been. He’d only been fifteen or sixteen when the first Kaiju broke into the world and changed it forever. Ever since then small towns, suburbs, and everything else in between were abandoned and evacuated so people could move to more heavily guarded cities. The idea that people could live in small isolated towns at all had faded into the back of Ryker’s mind. To the point that even his own childhood memories seemed false and unreal.
There’s no anti-air batteries. Ryker continued astonished. No barricades on the main roads or reinforced QuickCast concrete walls. Not even any auto turrets mounted on the buildings or barbed wire lining the streets. It’s… It’s beautiful.
Ryker could almost see the town come to life in his mind’s eye. How the people would walk down the sidewalks and wave to their neighbors. Meet with friends in the park as they drove to one of the small stores to shop. Head to the restaurant for dinner as they bid farewell and drove back home. It was utterly ordinary. Unremarkable. And it was for precisely that reason it melted Ryker’s heart to the core.
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This is what he’d wanted. What he’d always wanted after it was over. After the killing and the violence. The senseless death and destruction. To live the life he’d lost when Kaiju destroyed the world, his family, and his entire future. Ryker lost himself in the sight of the town he didn’t even know the name of as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. He watched silently as the reds of the sun’s glow painted the town in glimmering reds and oranges that were a thousand times softer than the colors he’d seen in the forest fires last night.
He couldn’t say how long he watched it but as the first signs of wakefulness stirred in the town and its people below. Ryker had a single piercing thought.
They aren’t ready.
And how could they be? They had no idea what was changing in the world around them. No way of knowing how they’d be able to defend themselves against freshly spawned Kaiju. Internally Ryker’s own heart hurt at the thought of so many people being so vulnerable as he looked over the town again. The lack of all the defensive structures he’d found so wonderous before now filling him with alarm. He even took an involuntary step forwards as if he’d be able to do something about it.
Once again Ryker cursed that damnable Kaiju that ruined Beck’s experiment. What could he do? It may not have been in imminent danger yet but the threat of hungry hatchlings making their way into town was not one to take lightly. Especially since other groups of eggs wouldn’t have someone like him in the middle of it killing Kaiju before they became a threat. Ryker tried and failed to come up with any kind of plan or way of warning the town before hand that didn’t put himself at risk or in danger. He was just as much a monster as the other Kaiju being born into the world. It would be suicide to try and go down there and warn people. The only feasible thing he could accomplish that might make any difference at all would be to…
Grow stronger. Ryker thought with conviction. The idea resonating in his mind like never before.
When he had eaten the hatchlings that had given him his first big boosts in strength, sensory ability, and endurance he’d only had the other hatchlings in mind. Too caught up in the new experiences and sensations his monstrous body felt to think further on it. But wasn’t growing stronger the perfect solution to his problem of warning and protecting people? In a way it was the answer to almost every question Ryker had about accomplishing his goal of preventing the apocalypse.
How would he help the world defeat Spore Tyrant when it inevitably appeared? He would simply grow strong enough to beat it. How would he help the world defeat Storm Breaker when they appeared? Grow strong enough to defeat it. How would he compensate for not being able to warn people about future threats to the world? Grow strong enough that it wouldn’t matter. How would he protect people from the threats of any other Kaiju? He’d grow strong enough to defeat them. All of them.
That didn’t just need to be a goal of his, Ryker realized. As much as it pained him to not hunt down the escaped hatchling and search out for more threats to the world. He needed to make growing stronger his number one priority. His body was still young and it would need a large amount of nutrition to be able grow any larger and unlock the next tier of DNA abilities. Like, a really large amount of nutrition.
With fresh eyes Ryker scanned the town again finding what he as looking for after only a couple seconds of searching.
Yeah, that’s a restaurant there. And over there is definitely a supermarket of some kind. Ryker thought to himself with a growing sense of certainty. If he wanted to grow as fast and strong as possible he couldn’t just rely on eating the remains of other Kaiju he’d slain. He actively needed to start hunting for fuel for his body just like other hatchlings. He still wouldn’t risk himself going out into the open. But whose to say he couldn’t try hunting for wild buck or other animals in the wilds surrounding the town while he waited for the night to return? Under the cover of darkness he’d be able to move around a lot easier through the town and get to the places that would store all kinds of meats, vegetables, and every other kind of organic substance he could consume to grow stronger. At least while he was still only seven feet tall. He’d still be able to fit inside most buildings at least in the near future.
What will happen once I’m bigger? Ryker mused for the first time. Stage One Kaiju ranged in height from five feet to when they were born to twenty feet tall. But that was for normal Kaiju wasn’t it? If he was going to unlock every ability available to him in Stage One then wouldn’t he be a bit taller than twenty feet? Twenty five maybe? Granted that was still a ways away but he’d have to start thinking about how he’d navigate buildings and structures as he grew. There’d come a time when he wouldn’t be able to fit into any buildings anymore and he’d probably have to plow through a wall to get inside to help people or kill smaller Kaiju.
The current Armor the military would be fielding before the Kaiju attacked in force would be the generic fifteen foot tall multi tread tanks that replaced the older models of tanks that needed multiple people to operate. It wouldn’t be until the threat ramped up more substantially that the Military would be forced to change its approach to combatting the monsters. They had worked well against the smaller Kaiju in Stage One but once they started getting dwarfed by the monsters they were trying to kill, they started having problems.
Growing large enough to be the biggest threat on the block would be paramount to maintaining the strength advantage over other Kaiju. In the short term that might just mean eating enough to grow an extra foot taller or so.
If he cleaned out an entire town’s supply of foods though… Well within reason of course. Ryker assured himself. I’m not about to send the whole town into a panic by eating all the food. Just… most of it.
That would be the key to protecting the most people possible. Which would be priority number two. He was still the same man who had sworn his oaths to protect humanity. Being in a new body and timeline didn’t change that in the slightest. Stepping down towards the town Ryker wobbled a bit on his feet as he realized for the first time how tired he’d been. Damn. I guess I still need to worry about getting sleep huh? Ryker thought a tad bit embarrassed. He’d basically been going nonstop ever since he’d first woken up in his new body. Moving with more certainty he scanned the surroundings for any kind of natural nook or shelter he could stay in to rest for a few hours.
I’ll catch some Zs for a bit. Probably wake up a few hours before nightfall. I can spend a few hours hunting for game and then enter the town when its nice and dark.
After half an hour of searching Ryker finally found a cave that could accommodate his large frame and stepped inside. Making himself as comfortable as he could as he figured out the best way to lie down. After some trial and error as he tried laying on his back he settled on laying down on his side curled in on himself with his head resting on the backs of his claws like a cat next to his tail.
The cave was only tolerable thanks to Ryker’s physical resistance and new changes. With a sigh he settled in to sleep as he closed his eyes.
I wonder… I wonder what I’m doing right now. Ryker thought curiously. He hadn’t taken the time to think about it too much but what was the past version of himself doing? If the experiment failed and his consciousness got sent into the body of a newly hatched Kaiju instead of his younger self like Beck had planned then didn’t that mean that there was another version of himself running around in the world right now? The younger version of himself?
For a moment Ryker worried he might have felt some kind of resentment or envy towards his past self but it was almost the opposite. How could he blame himself, a past version of himself for something that they’d had no control over? In a way it was almost comforting thinking about what his past self could be doing at the moment.
He’d probably be waking up pretty soon to get ready for school if its a weekday. Ryker mused. Mom will be there helping make his lunch against his will. Forcing him to take fruits and vegetables he never wanted in the first place. After a moment of reminiscing Ryker let his thoughts wander more about his past self. If Ryker’s actions could change the future what would that mean for his teenage self? Would he be able to grow up without all the horrors Ryker had experienced growing up? Would he be able to grow up with his family without having them taken away too soon? If all those things did happen… would that make his younger self a different version of himself or a better one?
I hope you become a better man than me Ray. Ryker thought gently. As sleep drew itself over him. Find a girl, settle down, raise some kids of your own. Live the life I never got a chance to.