KILL ALL KAIJU

Ryker was a man accustomed to hard work and training. Whether it be putting hours into the simulators or diving deep into the specs of new weapons for his mech he was more than wiling to do whatever it took to give himself an edge in combat. Even if he was a Kaiju now, that drive for self improvement and mastery hadn’t gone away. In the midst of his newly unlocked epigenetic modifier that granted him a a sorely needed speed and agility boost, he’d nearly lost himself in feeling out his newfound range of motion. How to work in his existing techniques he’d previously adapted to close quarters mech combat to his somewhat alien physique. But at one point, there was a change that had made Ryker stop cold. A simple question really.

He’d been able to unlock his most recent modifier in roughly an hour of repeated sprinting. So how much… How many more could I unlock… right now? Ryker thought. The idea of getting upgrades to all the abilities he’d acquired so far. Not just in some indeterminate future but now? Right now? Well that was just too tempting an idea to ignore.

To say that Ryker got carried away would have been an understatement.

Okay! Ryker thought stubbornly. Even as his monstrous body swayed from side to side as most of his upper torso was stinging with aches and pains. Just one more time! This is the one, then we’ll get it! Stomping around in a circle and hyping himself up for what he was going to do next. Ryker took a deep breath in. Nostrils flaring as he glared out at the reason for his suffering. Hind claws digging furrows into the dirt Ryker didn’t give himself any time to second guess or take a break. With a burst of speed thanks to the recent Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber modifier he’d acquired Ryker tore forward through the clearing. Running at a full tilt that caused the pebbles and lower branches of the trees around him to quake with his passing. Shutting his eyes he charged forward.

Right into the boulder.

Despite being in the body of a monstrous freak of nature. Ryker was still no match for the unyielding weight of a hundred tons of stone. Ryker slammed into the boulder and felt the shock of the impact ripple through his entire frame as he hit with enough force to literally bounce off the boulder. Dazed as he was Ryker didn’t even try to keep upright as he tipped over and crashed to the ground. Sending one more quake through the clearing that had become his impromptu training ground before the land stilled around him as he groaned in pain. There on the ground, making no move at all to get up from his position. Ryker held his breath and waited. Hoping more than a little desperately that this could be the final time he’d have to run into the boulder before he unlocked the modifier to the first rung of the Kaiju genome’s Musculoskeletal segment. The Shock Absorbent Muscular Tissue modifier that his DNA stubbornly refused to grant him after all his efforts.

It had only taken a brief recollection of his talk with Beck so long ago to bring to mind exactly what his options were for modifying his body’s muscle tissues. The two options he’d had left to choose from after attaining the first modifier were Shock Absorbent Muscle Tissue and Lactic Acid Resistant Muscle Tissue. It had actually taken Ryker a long moment to think on his options before deciding what he’d wanted in the end. Lactic Acid was the chemical byproduct of muscles that was responsible for soreness and fatigue once enough of the chemical built up. Choosing the modifier would allow Ryker to move and fight for a much longer period of time before needing to rest again. Combined with his recently acquired upgrade to his Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers it would undoubtedly be a potent and lethal edge in combat.

But he couldn’t afford to charge into battle as recklessly as he’d done before. He was alone in this fight. There wouldn’t be any possibility of backup. Even if the military mobilized to fight the same Kaiju he was fighting they would target him just as readily as any other. Should he die before even getting the chance to evolve his body to Stage Two and beyond the world he’d been charged with saving would continue on its course, the timeline practically unchanged. Lethality was important, incredibly important for Ryker’s purposes. But it would all be for naught if he couldn’t survive long enough to kill the monsters to come. The ones responsible for making the surface of the planet entirely uninhabitable to humanity.

Which was why Ryker smiled in relief as he felt a change in his body as he lay sprawled on the grass. Muscles rippled across his entire frame as he rode out the change, relaxing and contracting in coordinated spasms as his DNA reacted to his concentrated efforts. Grimacing only slightly as the change swept through his bruised muscles Ryker lifted a scaled arm above his head. Watching the change in real time as muscles moved through his arm as he felt his body alter itself, until the muscles beneath his scales felt stronger. Not in the sense that they’d grown in strength, but rather that they’d grown in sturdiness as they acquired their new shock absorbing property.

Well… That was terribly unpleasant. Ryker thought with a sigh. Glancing back at the scuff marks he’d left in the boulder as he cut his break short and forced himself to stand. Wincing in discomfort at the soreness of his still damaged muscles from running into a boulder over and over again. The idea of running into the boulder one last time to test his new modifier was entertained ever so briefly by his mind before being ruthlessly smothered and cast into the trash with all the other bad ideas Ryker had but never acted upon.

Yeah, screw that. I’ll hold off on testing this till later. I feel like I hurt my… everything. Ryker groaned. Resting a claw on his neck to work out a crick he’d developed during his repeated attempts to unlock the modifier. Alright. What’s next? Ryker thought. Immediately thinking on what DNA ability he should focus on next. He had no modifiers for his second or third Musculoskeletal upgrades that would affect his bones and scales, but despite how appealing it would be to acquire those modifiers to augment his physical form, he was a bit too beat up to think about abusing his body again. He didn’t even want to think about the crazy stunts he’d have to pull to to activate modifiers that affected his bones.

Well the other modifiers for the other gene segments can’t be that hard to unlock can they? Ryker thought hopefully. He had a theory he needed to test when it came to his Neurosensory ability modifiers.

With the epigenetic nature of the DNA modifiers, they would only activate in one form or another after a Kaiju performed the necessary behaviors and actions to unlock it. Normal Kaiju would stumble into most if not all ability modifiers just going about their monstrous business. But with Ryker’s human intellect he was willing to bet he could leverage his superior brain power and focus to, if all went according to plan, effectively speed run his way to gain all the Neurosensory modifiers for his abilities.

The radio sensing modifier he’d unlocked had almost been by complete accident. Where all he had to do was single out a sensation or feeling long enough to activate it. Since Ryker had obtained that modifier inadvertently repeating the process was just a matter of willpower. Closing his eyes Ryker brought forward his mental image of the Neurosensory segment of his genome. The DNA helix was hued a soft blue with two of the first rungs glowing brighter to signify their active status. The left side of Neural Amplification glimmered with its single active modifier.

I should start with the Enhanced Sensory Receptors first. Ryker thought. Focusing his mind on the first rung of the helix and singling out the left side. Feeling out the two modifiers and their functions so he could decide on what would serve him best.

The two choices for the first modifier were split between enhancing his sight or his sense of smell. Deciding almost immediately that being able to see better was the better option Ryker opened his eyes and, for lack of a better way to explain it, just stared at a nearby tree really hard. Trying to make out the number of leaves on its branches as he glared at it unblinking. It felt stupid in the moment, very stupid actually but this was what he had to do right? After thirty minutes of constant focus Ryker began to feel an itch in his eyes that told him he was on the right track. It was faint, but was still a telltale sign of his DNA responding to his actions. He’d stared and stared until his eyes grew sore from the strain and the itching grew until…

Ryker went blind.

With a lizard like squawk of surprise Ryker spent a solid minute of stumbling backwards into trees and groaning in pain with his claws over his eyes. Keeping his cool despite the discomfort Ryker forced his eyes to take in light the same way they had before. Okay… deep breaths now. Ryker thought grumpily as he finally took his claws away from his eyes, blinking rapidly. Grateful to see the world look normal again. Night Vision. Alright, now that’s gonna come in handy. Ryker mused. It was no doubt an excellent addition to Ryker’s utility but unlocking it during the day was also very unfortunate timing.

In a matter of moments Ryker was back to business and already focused on unlocking the next modifier for the opposite end of his Enhanced Sensory Receptors. Feeling between the remaining modifiers, Ryker felt the first one as a kind of touch based tremor sense. A useful modifier to be sure but not exactly what Ryker was hoping for. The other modifier took a moment to feel out properly before Ryker got a grip on what it did. It felt like-

A compass! Ryker thought excitedly, immediately dismissing the tremor sensing modifier. It wasn’t truly a compass per se. Just the kind of natural ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic north that migratory birds possessed. But any kind of navigational instrument was one Ryker would gladly accept. Being unable to call up his precise location and coordinates like he could previously in his mech was one thing Ryker very much missed. The Biological Compass wasn’t anything like a GPS but it was a start.

Unlocking it took a bit of trial and error. At first Ryker just faced north and waited. When that hadn’t worked he tried some other things he was glad no one was able to see before settling on trying to sense true north as he closed his eyes and turned in a circle. Letting his mind hone in on the slightest pressures on his awareness that was the Earth’s magnetic field over the next thirty minutes. For the umpteenth time in as many days Ryker felt a surge of gratitude towards Riley again, the pilot who’d taught him the very techniques he was using. Ryker focused, narrowing down his awareness to the barely perceptible push of magnetic north until the itch of the modifier unlocking left him standing directly north. Leaving him feeling like he had a beacon in his mind that constantly indicated true north no matter how much he moved his head.

There we go! Ryker thought, Grinning with a wickedly sharp smile as the man turned Kaiju congratulated himself on his successes. Careful to not accidently shift his eyes to night vision again and blind himself unnecessarily. Not bad. Not bad at all. Ryker hummed. Now all the only modifier I have left to unlock for this segment is for Neural Amplification. Let’s see what we got…

The two options remaining for the other half of the rung took a bit to determine. They were both primarily mental modifiers of course but what they did felt like the polar opposite of each other. The first felt like it walled off his senses from each other. Like it would help him focus on individual senses without the others bleeding in and interrupting his focus. The modifier was somewhat useful he supposed. The other felt like it… tied his senses together? Melded them together? It felt weird. Some kind of self induced Synesthesia perhaps? Combining all my senses together into one big super sense? Ryker thought puzzled. What purpose did that serve? He knew what Synesthesia was, it was a unique mental phenomenon that some people could develop through natural or chemical means. It softened the barriers between the senses in the mind so they bled into each other. People with the ability reported being able to taste colors they saw or see sounds they heard.

What the heck does that even look like in a Kaiju? Ryker thought perplexed. Thrown for a loop by the modifier. Though now that he thought more about it. Hadn’t he basically done the same thing to an extent when he was a pilot?

Way back when, before Beck had invented the H.A.L.O. system that drastically improved a pilot’s ability to connect to their machines the militaries of the world had relied on the simpler and more universal connector. The Neuro Jack. The same kind that had dominated the gaming space for years. It basically allowed a pilot to better move and operate their mech as a whole, augmenting their senses as they operated the physical controls. But the level of benefit people got from the connection varied from person to person. For some it was merely a convenient way to keep ammo counts within their field of view. For Ryker though it had been an invaluable aid when fighting. He’d funneled every piece of data into his awareness. Ammo counts, positioning data, radar, and enemy analysis statistics. He’d take in so much at times that even after some missions had ended he’d still see numbers and targeting reticles flickering through his field of view.

Yeah, I guess I did do something similar back then. Ryker mused. Synesthesia didn’t feel like an urgent upgrade but if it was a part of his DNA it had to be essential in some way right? Sure, why the hell not. I’ve been able to get the other Neurosensory modifiers pretty quickly. I’ll knock this out real quick.

Taking a moment to center himself again Ryker closed his eyes. Dismissing even the satisfaction of unlocking so many modifiers at once. He reached out to his expanded senses. The rustling whisper of the branches in his ears as they swayed in the wind and the smells of the verdant forest all around him. For a time Ryker tried to brute force the modifier to fall into place. Showing teeth in a silent snarl as tried to make scent and sound overlap and run into each other. When that hadn’t worked Ryker tried to relax his senses. To take his hands off the wheel and just let them exist together in his mind.

Slowly, painfully slowly. Ryker worked his senses closer together. Not with the directness of a man trying to force a change but as if gravity were slowly drawing them together. That’s it. Just fall into place now. You want to be together don’t you? Just mix together. Ryker thought distractedly as he tried to coax his senses together. Even as he felt the tingle of his DNA reacting to his thoughts Ryker kept up the mental effort. Picturing all five of his senses flowing towards a central point in his mind.

Then, almost in the same manner a light switch was flicked on. Everything clicked.

Ryker opened his eyes and blinked rapidly at the new colors invading his view. Shocked at how suddenly his entire sense of perception had altered. He turned in a slow circle mouth parted slightly as he beheld the world his cross wired senses showed him.

At best Ryker had expected the modifier to be a kind of organized chaos. In the event he was blinded and lost his sense of sight in combat he hoped it could at least serve as an aid, helping him rely on senses other than sight to maneuver. At worst he could just disable the modifier. One of the reasons he had so readily pursued it was because he could intrinsically sense the Self Induced Synesthesia could be turned off. With that safeguard Ryker had been more than ready to disable it and never turn it on again. What he hadn’t expected though, was how immediately useful it felt.

Rather than the disjointed mishmash of senses he’d expected he instantly felt how his senses fit together and overlapped in very precise ways. The trees all around him were awash in a soft light green hue as he breathed in their scent. The shades of green shifting slightly from tree to tree depending on its species. The sounds of the forest rippled across his scales as he heard and felt the scurrying of small animals through the brush. Their small bodies gleaming through the forest’s greenery as their outlines shown red to him.

Woah… Ryker gawked. Even as he stared he flicked his tongue out to taste the air, sensing the old scent trails that crisscrossed the clearing like the notes of an alien song. Now this is just freaky.

Even as a mech pilot the information his brain processed was concrete and fixed. Ammo counts were ammo counts after all, but this new Synesthesia blended everything together in Ryker’s mind in a way he had no real way to prepare for. It was useful. He could tell that at least, but getting used to how he could sense the position of animals by the taste of their sounds and the colors of their scent was completely new. It was like living all your life looking at a picture you thought you understood until all of a sudden you found out you were only scratching the surface of it.

With a strange feeling of reluctance Ryker flicked the Synesthesia off. Making the world more muted and bland in a way he couldn’t quite put words to, even if it did feel more familiar. That… Is definitely something I’m going to have to practice with and work on later. Ryker thought. Coming out of his temporary daze. The alien mix of sensations wasn’t anything like the sensory inputs and HUDs he’d had as a pilot but if he could make it work he would. He was starting to miss not having any kind of additional information being fed to his brain while he fought.

Damn. I think I actually miss not having an Integrated Intelligence pestering me every five seconds. Ryker chuckled, even as the glean of his fangs made the gesture look more devilish rather than simple amusement.

Integrated Intelligences or Double Eyes as the techs and pilots called them were exactly what they sounded like. Low grade Artificial Intelligences built into all of the military’s heavy weaponry. They parsed the most relevant tactical data in any given combat situation and funneled the results to their pilots. Ryker had made it a point to lower his Double Eye’s interference and processing level to the lowest setting at all times. Feeding the majority of his mech’s relevant data directly to his brain. It was a decision he’d been constantly called out for and even been threatened with disciplinary action at one point. But his results in combat had always stayed the hand of his commanding officers.

It wasn’t like Double Eyes were useless, he readily admitted they were. It was just that for Ryker’s purposes they always got in the way. It was so much harder to focus in a fight when the only thing the Integrated Intelligence had to say was [Warning! Damage Critical!] or [Disengage! Disengage! Ammunition depleted!]. It got boring really fast.

This may not be anything like an Integrated Intelligence but It would be nice if it could be a stand in for my usual Heads Up Display. Ryker thought approvingly. I wonder if I’ll be able to tweak it a bit more after I get more Neurosensory Upgrades and modifiers. I can already imagine how useful that might be.

Smiling with the thought of further increasing his monstrous body’s capabilities Ryker focused on the last gene segment. The Cardiopulmonary segment that didn’t have a single modifier to its name. He felt a need to focus on his Venom Gland modifiers first but without any immediate targets Ryker put the ability on hold. He supposed he could just try biting trees and injecting them with venom but he felt that might not be as effective as biting living breathing Kaiju.

So that just leaves the last one then. Ryker thought as he focused on his Hemodynamic Augmentation, the upgrade that altered his blood to better flow through his body and carry vital oxygen to his cells.

Feeling out the available modifier options on one side of the rung Ryker could instantly feel how the modifiers were minute in scope but would impact his body in big ways. So the options are between Increased Red Blood Cell Counts or Increased White Blood Cell Counts. Definitely a clear winner there. Ryker thought after a moment of thought. Choosing the White Blood Cell modifier would definitely help him withstand biological attacks from other Kaiju but considering how much oxygen his growing body would burn he needed to make sure that he didn’t slow down as he grew larger.

Alright so… Ryker paused. His enthusiasm waning as he thought. How exactly am I supposed to increase my Red Blood Cell Count? Is that something I can actually force with standard meditation. Ryker thought for a moment as he held a claw up to his face. A claw tapping against his hardened scales absentmindedly. Red Blood Cells carry oxygen right? Should I just focus on my breathing? Couldn’t hurt.

Calming his mind down, Ryker heaved a slow breath inward feeling his lungs fill to capacity before slowly exhaling. He kept up the breathing as the minutes passed by, then with each inhale he willed his body to draw more oxygen out of the air. To carry more of it from his lungs to the rest of his body. Ryker was so focused on his breathing that when his DNA reacted and he gained the modifier he was almost disappointed he could stop.

Smiling wide at the speed of his progress so far and the strange new sensation that felt like his every breath carried more air somehow, Ryker shifted his attention to the last available modifier options for his Hemodynamic augmentation. Feeling them out in a fraction of the time it had first taken him to bring up the mental image. The first option was definitely blood related, but felt a bit more focused on something in his blood rather than his blood as a whole. It took a second to puzzle out but when he got it Ryker knew he wanted it. Hypercoagulating Platelets. To accelerate blood clotting for open wounds. Huh, this modifier might explain how those Kaiju I fought back in the day could keep trucking for so long before going down.

It may not have been a huge boost to his survivability, but Ryker was definitely erring on the side of caution when it came to this gene modifier. Unless the other one was something amazing like-

Acidic Blood! Ryker thought with a feral grin as he focused on the other modifier. Oh damn it would feel so good to give those Kaiju a taste of their own medicine! Acidic blood was such a bitch to deal with when I was still piloting. I could pay them back for every melted Armor, for every person that…

The grin at the idea of using acidic blood against other Kaiju faded almost immediately as Ryker remembered what the volatile ability was capable of. He’d fought other Kaiju with acidic blood before. And while the threat to his mech had been great the real danger was when the giant monsters bled onto their surroundings. One massive splatter of their blood down a city block ate through buildings, cars, and trucks with a disturbing level of ease. And the ability only improved in strength depending on the stage of the Kaiju bleeding. Ryker had too many memories of what the ability could do to unprotected civilians on the ground as he fought in vain to protect them. He’d watched helplessly as Kaiju breathed their last and their blood poured out like a burning tide down crowded city streets.

The image of Beck’s final moments flashed through his mind painfully as Ryker reeled away from the Acidic Blood modifier like it had actually burned him. The idea that he could be wounded himself and inadvertently cause that same level of damage with his own blood sent a cold shiver through Ryker.

Damnit. Ryker thought wearily. Feeling an exhaustion that was more than physical. Just… Damnit all. The entire time Ryker had continued to grow his abilities and evolve he’d been relentlessly pushing himself forward without allowing him to think about the future. He’d just latched onto the nebulous idea of growing stronger and ran with it. Ignoring the implications of that as he grew larger and more menacing. Hell, even he had to admit that his relentless pursuit of unlocking gene modifiers had been partly due to his need to distract himself from his situation.

There was a part of Ryker’s mind that still hated what he’d become, that still reeled from the fact he’d become the same monsters he’d sworn to destroy. He’d seen countless Kaiju take life after life like human beings were nothing more than insects to be crushed and swept away. Somewhere in the back of Ryker’s brain was the lingering fear that despite how much he fought to protect humanity he would fail. That no matter the caution and care he put into saving lives his body would betray him. Even if his mind was his own and retained who he was, for all intents and purposes he was monster now. The same as the ones that took everything from him. What if there was some internal instinct that forced him to harm others? Some hard wired reflex to kill humans that took over when he least expected it?

He held up a claw and stared at it as his mind ran rampant with thoughts of his own monstrous form inadvertently harming people. It was easy enough to avoid now that he was still Stage One and people were only half his size but what about when he was Stage Two and he towered over them? Or Stage Three when human beings were small enough they might pass beneath his notice? Even with his expanded senses he didn’t have the same level of detail his mech’s suite of sensors provided, he was bound to make a mistake that cost someone their life at some point. And it was naïve to believe that towns and major population centers would be able to evacuate completely before they were attacked by Kaiju and he rushed in to intervene. There would be no K-Bunkers in major cities, not this early in the timeline. They hadn’t even been built yet.

Breathe Ryker. Just breathe. Ryker thought forcefully as he pulled himself out of his spiraling thoughts and put his claws over his eyes. You’ve spent you’re whole life training to move through cities and towns without leaving so much as a scrape on cars or fast food signs. Get a hold of yourself. Ryker thought. Taking in a shaky breath as he centered himself. As experienced as he was there was still so much of his training that just didn’t work with his Kaiju body. He couldn’t radio ahead to warn of incoming Kaiju or to clear the way for him and other mechs coming through. He didn’t have the onboard speaker system to call out instructions to civilians in need of aid. He wasn’t even sure if he could reliably move civilians out of harms way with his claws as he grew larger.

Then there was the issue Ryker had been avoiding all this time. His plan.

Or rather, his lack of one.

He’d rightly established his priorities early on of course. To focus on growing his strength to fight Kaiju and his commitment to protecting as many people as possible despite his circumstances. That may have been good enough for Ryker in the moment but he knew that trying to rely solely on his old instincts to prevent the apocalypse would be disastrous. He was no planner. Not even a great thinker. He relied on his instincts in the heat of battle and didn’t think about anything else. He’d always left the thinking to Riley and Central Command. Asking him to come up with a plan to save the planet and as many lives as possible felt like a recipe for disaster. Taking on a hundred Stage Two Kaiju felt easier to Ryker than trying to make a plan capable of saving the future.

The weight of that pressure fell on Ryker’s shoulders like a physical weight as he tried to think of the best course of action. Making the man turned monster feel vulnerable in a way he’d rarely ever felt before. Deciding on a course of action, even if it was a good one, would mean not acting in other ways. If he focused solely on killing Kaiju on the East Coast of the United States that would leave the West Coast vulnerable to attack. And what about countries outside the U.S.? Canada and Mexico would be easy enough to get to with effort but what about the rest of the world? Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and Australia would suffer disaster after disaster while he was landlocked to America.

I… Ryker thought with an intense pang of guilt. I won’t be able to save everyone. As much as I want to. As much as I feel like I need to. I can’t. I physically can’t… And if I try that will just mean more lives will be lost. A focused effort will produce more results than a widespread approach.

Wood splintered and cracked as one of Ryker’s claws dug deep into the thick branch of a tree as he bared his teeth in a silent snarl. The thought was ruthlessly logical, to the point that accepting it almost felt like a violation. A betrayal against his humanity and everything he’d ever fought for. It was the kind of idea he railed against constantly as a pilot because it ran completely opposite to his beliefs. Save everyone. No exceptions.

I need to make sure that my actions make a difference. So the world has a fighting chance at the very least. Ryker thought after a long suffering moment. Not truly accepting his decision even as he thought on the best course of action moving forwards. If he wanted to make the greatest difference possible he couldn’t just sit back and accumulate strength to fight higher Stage Kaiju in the future. He needed to bring the fight to them as quickly as possible, before they grew too powerful for him and the world to handle.

Ryker shut his eyes and thought of the countless number of Kaiju he’d fought over the years, their names and abilities coming to his mind easier than those of old friends. Left unchecked, any one of them could grow in strength enough to pose a threat to any nation. But even among the powerful Kaiju there were some that were clear standouts. The few that had stood above all the rest and rose to the heights of their devastating power the fastest.

There were five Kaiju more responsible than any other for destroying the planet.

Spore Tyrant was one of them. Though its origins were a complete mystery to Ryker. The best guess Beck had was that it originated somewhere in the heartland of central China’s unexplored wilderness. With the charged political tensions between the Untied States and the Russo-Asian Coalition it had been allowed to proliferate across the country as the Coalition refused any form of cooperation from its economic rivals as it tried to slay the Kaiju themselves. It was a combination of saving face and geopolitical maneuvering that had prevented Spore Tyrant from being killed before it grew out of control in the end. That fact burned all the more in Ryker’s mind as he remembered Riley’s desperate sacrifice to stop the Kaiju. A sacrifice that only halted its advance by a few weeks as it regenerated completely.

As much as Ryker would love to sink his teeth into Spore Tyrant and tear the monster limb from limb he was on the wrong side of the planet to consider doing so. Dropping everything to hunt down Spore Tyrant would be fruitless at best and suicidal at worst. The Russo-Asian Coalition may have been behind in terms of technological prowess compared to the U.S. but what they lacked in tech they made up for tenfold with a willingness to crater any perceived threats with overwhelming force.

Then there was Glacier Fang. A Kaiju that brought everything within a mile of it to sub zero temperatures just by existing. Ryker knew it originated in Antarctica, the Kaiju had left the frozen wilds of Antarctica as a Stage Two and froze the ocean solid enough to walk on it as it made its way towards the southern tip of South America in search of more food to hunt. That had been ugly. Millions of people had fled north from the destruction Glacier Fang caused south of the equator. The militaries of the South American countries put up a valiant fight but their equipment suffered greatly from the cold it gave off. Freezing the joints and vulnerable electronics of their mechs until Glacier Fang pounced on them. In the end the Kaiju had brought the whole of South America into an ice age of its own making that had taken the lives of hundreds of millions.

Aside from wanting to take down the Kaiju before it took so many lives, Ryker knew that there were vital resources in South America that would be inaccessible if Glacier Fang froze the earth there. Raw minerals that could be turned into weapons and Armor, oil that could prevent America's upcoming gasoline shortages, and the Panama canal that was vital to trade across the globe. Killing Glacier Fang was thankfully within Ryker’s ability. Not at the moment of course but once he evolved to Stage Two and was large enough to cover more ground with each of his steps reaching South America in time to kill the panther-like Kaiju would only be a matter of time. Shelving that thought Ryker focused on the other Kaiju that had spelled humanity’s end in his future past. Magma Gore.

Magma Gore was the epitome of brute force. Originating somewhere within Sub-Saharan Africa. The Kaiju literally erupted onto the world stage as it tore a path through country after country. Spewing magma from its back and decimating everything in its way. It had been ignored as the other countries of the world fought their own battles, but by the time anyone thought to destroy the Kaiju it was too late. Having ripped open Mount Kilimanjaro it reactivated the dormant volcano to feed on the earth’s magma, causing one of the largest volcanic eruptions in living memory. The ash from the eruption had choked the skies of the entire southern hemisphere. Plunging almost half the world into darkness.

The lava spewing gorilla-like Kaiju had to be high on Ryker’s list of targets, even if it was separated from him by an entire ocean. The damage Magma Gore had caused to the world’s ecosystems with Kilimanjaro’s eruption was nigh irreparable. The lack of sunlight had destroyed millions of acres of vital crops and farmland, sending the world spiraling towards anarchy as food shortages and famines ripped society apart.

Then in the final months of Earth’s fight against Kaiju, when all the world was stretched too thin to do anything about it. Red Tide had appeared. A Leviathan that was nearly half a mile long. Part shark, part crab, and part squid. It was an abomination that had been lurking in the ocean’s depths for literal decades. Content to strike out and flood coastal cities, devouring the nuclear reactors that powered them before sinking beneath the waves. When it had annihilated Sydney and flooded Australia, finally feeling unchallenged enough to bring itself out of the depths, there wasn’t anyone left to fight it.

Red Tide might have been an afterthought but Ryker knew that the beast must have been responsible for the losses of thousands of transport ships at sea. Growing fat on the oil they ran on and the resources it plundered from them. Losing transport ships might not have seemed to be a great loss in the grand scheme of things but Red Tide’s attacks had destroyed priceless equipment that could have saved millions. Industrial 3D Carbonite printers for accelerating Armor production across the globe, Conversion Kits for other militaries to switch their mech divisions’ power sources from the outdated power cells to more efficient fusion cells, and millions of dollars worth of vital food and medical supplies. With all that put together Red Tide had to die before it destroyed the world’s trade routes. Killing the Kaiju would undoubtedly be a challenge, taking it on in its natural habitat wasn’t an option. He’d have to find a way to lure it onto land, or fight it when it tried to flood other coastal cities like Miami and Tokyo.

Then there was the one that had escaped Ryker. The one instrumental in crippling America’s fighting strength as they wasted countless recourses trying to kill it.

Storm Breaker. Ryker thought coldly.

Originating somewhere within the cold of Alaska or the Canadian Yukon, Storm Breaker had remained hidden for far too long. Being born in one of the least populated areas in all of North America gave the kaiju plenty of time to hunt and feed almost unchallenged. When it grew wings and could fly, it continued to hide itself within layers of cloud cover. Only attacking once it knew it could make its kills swiftly. Once it evolved and gained enough weather related mutations it could manufacture its own storm clouds to move about undetected it became a threat that couldn’t be ignored. When the military had tried to kill it the Kaiju devastated any kill squads sent after it, the electrical abilities it developed acting as both signal jammer for any radio and missile guidance systems and EMP that fried electronics beyond repair. Putting the monster on a warpath that destroyed Toronto and Ontario before the Kaiju moved south to strike out at the United States. Breaking apart the storm it flew in as it drowned the world below in a rain of lightning and thunder.

Eventually the Kaiju had formed its own hurricane that followed it wherever it flew. Razing anything in its path with hurricane force winds and constant lightning strikes. After failing to kill the Kaiju the decision was made to use an unguided nuclear warhead to end the threat once and for all. That choice, more than any other was what cemented Storm Breaker’s supremacy. Kaiju weren’t like normal beasts, once it had evolved to Stage Two it fed on the very radiation that was supposed to kill it. Expediting the speed of its growth until it evolved to Stage Three.

The aftermath of that had been ugly. Storm Breaker’s hurricane spread the nuclear fallout across a far enough range to irradiate a good chunk of Canada and the northern states like Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota. The only thing that saved them was that Storm Breaker had left the United States and crossed the Atlantic to make landfall in Europe.

Okay… Ryker thought deeply. Thinking through his options and deciding on the best course of action. When it comes down to it, Storm Breaker should be my first priority. The damage and chaos it caused had basically kept the United States from fighting at full strength for decades until we lost and went underground. How much would that change if Storm Breaker died and America could bring all its resources to bear? That change alone could be enough on its own to give humanity a fighting chance even if I die and the other Kaiju remain at large.

Ryker smiled at the thought. He may not have been a great tactician or planner but once he had a target all the complexities of the situation fell away. To give the world a chance at surviving, kill Storm Breaker. One of the most powerful Kaiju to ever live. The Living Tempest, or as the crazy Kaiju worshipers had called it, the Thunder God.

Piece of cake.

Turning his head, guided by the feel of his own internal compass Ryker stared north. He was in Tennessee at the moment, hundreds of miles from where Storm Breaker was. He’d have to travel through Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin to get into Canada. Get to Storm Breaker before it grew too powerful for him to defeat and before the United States resorted to the nuclear option. All without getting killed by his own country’s military or any newly emerging Kaiju along the way.

Not exactly my idea of a fun road trip but I’ll take what I can get. Ryker thought wryly. Not wasting a single moment as he started to move north, his steps quick despite his large size. His recently gained Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers already proving their worth.

Struck with a thought, Ryker tuned his mind through the various radio waves crowding the air and landed on a station playing one of the classics that his Dad had loved to play on vinyl. The song that got Whitesnake onto the number one spot on the Billboards of 1987.

Here I go again on my own. Ryker hummed. The green of the wilderness spreading out before him like a verdant ocean as he bobbed his reptilian head in time with the beat. Setting off on a journey to kill one of the most powerful Kaiju to ever live.