KILL ALL KAIJU Chapter 28 : The Hunger Within and Beneath

Lights flickered above the shelves as they shone down on the inside of the warehouse. Workers moved between aisles with the unhurried pace of people waiting for the end of their shift. Wandering mostly around the break room as the ti slowly ticked down to the precise mont they could clock out. The scene of people joking with each other as they readied for ho was a comfortably normal one. Both unremarkable and special because it didn’t have to be special to be aningful. The calm and quiet laughter of friends sharing old jokes was the sa as it had always been, but unlike every night before now. This night was anything but unremarkable. Completely at odds with the scene only aisles away from them, a monster laid in their midst. One that could have ended them all and torn their quiet night apart if it had been like every other mber of its kind spawning across the Earth over the past few days.

This creature was not only unique from its kin, this was a beast of its own making. Guided by a mind capable of ruling the monster it had beco. And it was there, hidden deep behind rows upon rows of shelves, that it underwent its greatest transformation yet.

The muffled crackle and pop of bones shifting continued inside Ryker’s chest as the changes brought on by the Capstone Evolution radiated out from his core and into his arms, claws, and fingers. Restructuring the very makeup of the keratin in his claws so they wouldn’t shatter from the pure kinetic force of the ultrasonic vibrations that would soon be channeled through them in the battles to co. New muscles squird underneath the Kaiju’s scales, pushing upwards in angry clumps of bulging subdermal tissue. Each fiber writhing with impatience as they waited for the mont the slower growths of bone could be properly connected to.

All of it went unnoticed to the humans working around the warehouse. Shock absorbing muscular tissues within the Kaiju’s body dutifully smothered the chilling cracks of reinforced bone and ribs that could have given away its position. After five long minutes of constant and unending changes, the Capstone Evolution finally finished growing into place as it settled inside its monster. The surrounding air was hot with the heat wafting off the Kaiju, raising the surrounding temperature enough to force the building’s air conditioning system to power on despite the cool night air outside. The transformation had been terrifyingly quick for the sheer amount of changes that had taken place. Downright unnatural by every asure known to man, but not to the monster. To Ryker, the change felt like it took an eternity compared to the speed at which his previous abilities had grown in. As the process completed, Ryker almost sagged in its aftermath. Still crouched on all fours he let out a long hissing sigh that left steam misting in front of his face as he breathed in deep. Taking his first full breath of air now that his muscles weren’t squeezing his lungs as they strained to connect and tighten around his ribs.

Ryker had braced himself for the worst when the changes first started. Thinking that he’d have to endure sothing truly painful due to the all encompassing nature of the Capstone itself. Just like he’d had to brace himself against any pangs of hunger he’d felt for humans recently. But pain hadn’t been an issue at all. Despite the horrific depths of the changes his body had undergone Ryker felt none of it. He felt no worry or doubt either. Not even the hint of concern he’d had for the first monts of the extended transformation to end quickly. All of it had fallen away during the change as he’d lost himself in it.

Because from the mont he’d begun changing Ryker hadn’t wanted it to end.

From the mont it began the montary sense of primal satisfaction he’d reveled in hadn’t lessened overti, it had grown stronger. The entire ti Ryker was changing he’d felt… good. More than good even now that it was over. Like every part of his Kaiju biology was singing his praises. Rewarding his efforts with a wave of Endorphins, Dopamine, and other pleasure chemicals. Forcing Ryker into a drug like high so potent that it left him dizzy with euphoria for his increase in raw power.

Unsteadily, Ryker rose from his feral crouch on the ground. Swooning as he stood on two legs with a mix between a drunken sway and a serpent’s grace. Leaving behind deep gouges in the concrete where his claws had dug in far deeper than they should have. Ryker regained his balance as he raised himself to his full height, looming large in the empty aisle even as he continued to shift back and forth on his feet. His head lolled on his neck as he swayed from side to side, eyes half lidded and unfocused. The Kaiju practically swimming in all the neurochemicals flooding his brain as a result of reaching the end of a gene segnt.

Unguided steps moved Ryker precariously close to one side, leaving him leaning from one side of the aisle to the other as his tail lazily tried to correct his balance. But Ryker didn’t fall into the shelves on either side of him or even tap them with a stray swipe of his tail or arm. Unsteady as he was, it wasn’t nearly enough to topple his newly altered body. He felt balanced. Complete even. As if his body had grown in the final piece of himself he didn’t even realize he was aching for.

As his head swung around Ryker’s unhurried gaze found his own face looking back at him from the reflective glass of a wine cooler, one that was small enough from him to use as a handheld mirror if he’d wanted to. Entranced, Ryker looked over the changes the Capstone had made to his body as he ran his claws over himself with wide eyes. His fangs parted in an exuberant smile as he let out a small trill tracing over his altered form. There was no thought to how Ryker should have restrained his open admiration for himself, or how he should have rejected the primal sense of pride he felt just looking at his own reflection. There wasn’t enough room in his head to think of anything else except the present mont as he reveled in the changes he’d intimately felt and could now finally see for himself.

The muscles that only suggested his agility before had been reshaped by the Capstone, all of them now stretching tighter across his fra. Even relaxed they stood out as being thicker and more refined than before underneath Ryker’s scales. It was less of the brutish bulking-up of muscle most other Kaiju gained, but rather a shift towards the kind of lean whip-like power that was equal parts strength and agility. Each working in service of the other rather than the more common practice among his kind to sacrifice one to strengthen the other. All of it gave his body a look of constant tension that seed coiled and ready to strike even as he held still. The slight tightening under his scales seed to add new contours that caught in the warehouse light as Ryker ran his claws over them, hinting at the raw power packed beneath that he could feel in every flexing fiber.

His body held itself differently now as well, lessening the more raptor-like posture he’d had since birth to adopt a more upright stance that was equal parts feral and poised. Putting him sowhere between the look of most Stage One Kaiju and the human he’d once been. Even his shoulders and back appeared more pronounced as his reflection turned around and admired itself, as if the spine itself had realigned to better support the muscles and flexibility required for more rapid movent while standing on two legs. There were even slight ridges of bone along his spine now, beginning from the nape of his neck down along his back until they petered out along the base of his tail. They were all small things, tiny even. With the largest of them only being a few inches tall at the small of his back. None of the ridges were enough to drastically change his profile, but they accentuated the newfound strength and balance Ryker felt in every part of his body and hinted at what could be.

Stepping back to see more of himself in the reflection Ryker sighed as he settled into his body post-Capstone and the ease at which it moved. There was a harmony to his form that he loved to see and loved even more to feel. It was like every tendon under his scales was a bowstring pulled taut, ready to explode with force at any mont. In himself he could see all the abilities he’d acquired, all the modifiers, all the power that made him strong.

Strong… Ryker thought blissfully.

That one word was all he had room in his head to think. He was strong now. Being strong was good. Was right. It was what he needed. What he’d always, always, always wanted.

With an act that was more instinct than will, Ryker tensed sothing in his core. Compressing his diaphragm and flexing all the new muscles in his chest, each of the new fibers flexing and relaxing in rapid fire bursts as they built up a thrum inside his ribs. Growing into a cascade as parts of him that had just finished growing were used intentionally for the first ti. It made Ryker smile wide with unrestrained glee as his bones humd in his chest. Almost seeming to sing for him as they rose in pitch until the song reached just the right note that let them flow down his arms with enough force to make his claws sing too.

With childlike wonder Ryker turned his new Vibroblade Claws over and over as they buzzed to life. Completely captivated by the way the speed of their vibrations seed to make them shiver in place even as they held still. How they made the air around them shimr ever so slightly with a warping effect that was felt more than seen. They were perfect, and to the Kaiju that ant they made him perfect too.

Closing his eyes Ryker listened to the constant hum they made, content to trace the air in front of him with his claws like a conductor would direct a symphony. It was like the sweetest lody he’d ever heard and he craned his head to better let it ring in his ears. Not worrying for a mont that soone might hear the noise it made as the ultrasonic sound carried through the shelves towards the humans gathered by the ti clock welcoming the next shift. The only thing that kept Ryker from imdiate discovery was that the sound his claws emitted was at a high enough frequency that it was nearly inaudible to the human ear. Out of all the workers readying for ho only a few of the most perceptive winced in discomfort as they looked around for the noise they felt more than heard. Asking the others around them if they heard the sa thing.

The fear of being discovered was so far removed from Ryker’s thoughts that it was almost forgotten. He couldn’t think of anything else. Not of the Kaiju he needed to kill, not how he needed to stay hidden, and least of all… how Beck had been right to be afraid of what a Capstone Evolution could do.

Ryker spun slowly in a lazy circle, arms outstretched in unrestrained happiness as the Kaiju casually reached out to both shelves on either side of him. Savoring the sensation of his claws slicing through everything he could touch. Like hot knives through butter the Vibroblade Claws effortlessly dipped through plastic thick and thin, cutting deep into the pallets on either side of him as he dragged his claws through just to feel the pleasure of lesser things parting around his claws.

I’m… strong… Ryker thought with simple joy. Carving through plastic and tal alike as he tried to hum along to the tune of his claws. The Kaiju tracing smooth and jagged lines into every pallet he could reach with abandon. A task made easier than ever now that he’d grown an extra two feet as a result of gaining the Capstone ability instead of one. A detail that Ryker only belatedly noticed as he sliced through so pallets on a higher shelf he would have had trouble reaching only minutes ago. The monster pulling back in mild confusion as he looked around, the world looking slightly different at sixteen feet above the ground instead of fourteen.

I’m big… The Kaiju thought suddenly. The surprise was enough to leave the monster giggling with glee as he continued to make cuts so clean it took a mont for the pet food inside the pallets to spill out onto the floor as he moved down the aisle.

Finally stopping as he slashed through the last pallets at the end of the aisle Ryker brought his claws up before his face with wide eyes. Marveling at the changes he could see and feel inside his claws and the bones underneath his scales. He wanted more. More and more and more. To feel juicy at and the warmth of organs carved away from flesh with only the lightest twitches of his fingers. To watch his enemies fall to pieces with every slash of his claws. Ryker wanted more, but paused instead. The monster stilled for a mont as he quirked his head to the side. As if the Kaiju had caught a stray sound far in the distance. Not just any sound but the beginnings of a beautiful lody.

I’m strong but… I can get even stronger. Ryker realized. Shifting his focus away from the waterfalls of kibble spilling out of the pallets he’d cut open to the srizing thought in his mind. Calling to him like a siren’s song. It grew closer to Ryker, becoming more clear in his muddled thoughts as he froze before it. Utterly enraptured by the splendor of an instinct so pure it practically seed to speak to him. Whispering ever so sweetly that promised sothing even sweeter.

Find… Safe… Dark...

The instruction ca without words. A whisper of the mind that ca in impulses of need and want, gliding through his thoughts like the softest of silks. Each thought was born from a ringing instinct that chid inside him like bells. Each one a note to a song only he could hear. One that he’d only just heard and had always known.

Hide… Sleep… Change…

Without aning to, Ryker took another step forwards. Already more than willing to give himself over to the call to evolve to Stage Two despite what that would an for the future. Already he was thinking of places he could burrow into that would hide him well enough for his Evolution to begin without any interruption. Ryker was more than eager for the change now, as the ghost of a feeling told him what his own evolution to Stage Two would grant him if he gave in at this very mont. Just the thought of it alone twisted his face into a wide grin. A hideous smile that was all fangs and feral ecstasy as his instincts whispered the final note of the song. A promise of a pleasure so pure it joined with the song and beca all.

Evolve.

It was the highest truth. The purpose of life itself. The power to change the beginning and the end.

He wanted to roar just for the joy of what he was going to take from it. So the entire world would hear that it was his alone to take had he not been breathing so quickly with his need to evolve it nearly left him breathless.

So a low growl grew in the Kaiju’s chest instead. A deep droning sound that rose up from the depths of his being before his smiling face twisted it into a dark and bloodthirsty growl. One that slowly rose in volu as he imagined what it would feel like to crush human prey under his every step. To stand tall over the broken forms of his enemies as they cowered beneath his shadow and he lood over them, drenched in their own still spurting lifeblood. Blood that would rush to spill out of their bodies with every slash of his singing claws parting their flesh from the bone.

As the first cries of alarm rang through the surprised warehouse workers the sound changed as Ryker lost himself in his Capstone driven euphoria. With lips peeled back kinetic vibrations built inside his chest, growing more and more until Ryker could feel the high frequency shiver of violence in his teeth. The overlapping vibrations transford the sound of his already terrifying growl into sothing infernal that bounced off the walls and made every pane of glass tremble in their fras. The sound of it modulating so unnaturally it froze every person in the warehouse who’d turned towards the noise they thought they heard as shivers raced across their skin. The hair on the back of their necks standing straight up as long buried human instincts warned them they were in the presence of a predator.

Ryker started moving forward, seconds away from tearing through the every aisle and wall of the warehouse and rushing to the first dark place he could find so he could begin the process of cocooning to begin evolving to Stage Two. When a sudden flicker of doubt made the monster stop.

Wait… Ryker paused. Cutting off his growl abruptly, his chest clenching with the sudden tightness of the dissipating vibrations as sothing within himself broke through the entrancing lody of the song. He wanted to shake away the distraction. To ignore it and let himself drift away again so he could be lulled back into the beauty of the song, but as the seconds wore on and the rapturous feeling of reaching the Capstone slowly ebbed, Ryker’s pure bliss was replaced by a frowning confusion.

Wait. I’m… I’m forgetting sothing. Ryker thought as he stopped moving forward. Adding another note of discord in the instinct’s harmony as he tried to think of sothing else.

I… I am strong. Ryker thought ponderously for a long second before it ca to him. But not… but not strong enough. Ryker realized with a start as he nodded slowly. The lody was right and good in so many ways it couldn’t be wrong. But it was missing sothing wasn’t it?

There was… there’s still more. Ryker rembered. The details fuzzy as he recalled the other abilities he’d yet to gain or master. He could still feel them, the abilities that he could still gain that were part of other gene segnts but only distantly. Like they were being obscured by the song. Those abilities were all gene locked right now, but they would still open for him if he just ate more food. And then there were the modifiers for each of them, so many he hadn’t even acquired yet for the abilities he still had. Did he really want to leave those behind and start evolving?

The pleasure of reaching the Capstone was still there but it battled a growing sense of disquiet in Ryker as he looked himself over and really began to see himself. The perfect picture of his form starting to crack as Ryker placed his disbelieving claws across his body. He saw the red on his chest from the Adrenal Trigger he’d never attempted to master, the long Whip Tail that waved worriedly behind him without any changes to its form. Once again Ryker held out his Vibroblade claws. Frowning as he realized they could still beco even better as his thoughts ca faster and faster. Struggling against their earlier sluggishness to warn him of... of what?

I-I want… No, no. I… I need to be strong. I need to be strong enough… to save Mom and Dad. Ryker thought with a growing heat in his chest as rapid blinks kept sothing wet from clouding his vision. To them and all my friends from the monsters that killed them. The sa ones that killed everyone before they killed the world.

The tempo of the song seed to change in Ryker’s mind as that thought touched sothing in his core. Upsetting the bliss it was trying to lull him into as it was disrupted by his own growing unease. That heat grew within Ryker as a once familiar anger rose to the surface. But it was slow. Dulled as it pushed through the fog of Ryker’s thoughts. But even dulled, that anger, that lifeti of emotion was more than enough to push back against the song.

The confused frown that had begun to form on Ryker’s scaled face gave way to horror as he looked at his claws. The beauty he’d seen in them before slowly slipping away as he realized the truth that was so much more raw and painful than the false promise of the song.

I’m not strong enough to save them! The thought ringing through Ryker’s mind like a struck bell.

All at once, sothing snapped in the song as it viscerally recoiled from Ryker’s awareness. As if it could recognize his own rejection of it. The euphoria that had stupefied Ryker so completely was pulled away in such a violent instant it nearly threw him off balance. Only his body’s newfound grace keeping him from folding to the floor as he stumbled and completely ca back to himself.

Wh-what? Ryker thought with sudden awareness, too stunned to even react to what he’d just experienced. What was that? Looking down at his Vibroblade claws in shock, Ryker roughly shook his head. As though he could rid himself of the lingering mories of that insane high he’d been stuck in that had led him to look at them with so much twisted happiness. So in love with himself and his own power he’d nearly lost himself in the idea of evolving to Stage Two before he was even close to ready.

I was- Oh God. Was I actually going to…?

He was. Ryker could feel the truth of it with a chilling certainty. That despite everything he knew about what had to be done, he’d nearly made a mistake terrible enough to damn himself and the entire world to ruin. That twisted instinct, that… that utter bliss he’d felt after reaching his Capstone. Ryker’s teeth bared as he rembered the feeling, even as he found himself longing to feel it again. Whatever it was, that one feeling overriding his brain had been tempting enough it had almost pushed him to forget every single reason he had to remain in Stage One. What would have happened if he’d gone through with evolving with only the abilities he currently had? With so many epigenetic modifiers left unacquired? No matter how strong a Kaiju he beca in Stage Two, he would have essentially crippled his foundations and any hope of killing the Big Five. Let alone Storm Breaker before he crippled the United States. Even with everything he rembered about how to fight against them, it wouldn’t be enough if he couldn’t survive a direct confrontation long enough to take advantage of it.

Holy shit, does this confirm the Filter Theory? Ryker thought stunned. Sohow despite being trapped into a Kaiju’s body, without even eting Beck in this tiline. He might just have found evidence to support one of his friend's earliest rejected theories.

Had he just experienced the reason why Kaiju so often evolved the mont they were able to? He could almost sympathize with the monsters for not being able to resist the temptation of their own instincts. Stupid monsters or not, that feeling he’d felt had been almost-

“Did you find it?” A voice called out as Ryker’s head swiveled to the source of the sound. A few workers steadily coming closer to his position.

“Better question, we even know what the fuck that was?”

“Shit man I don’t know. But it had to have co from a busted forklift or sothing right? That didn’t sound like an animal.”

“Didn’t sound like a machine either.” A voice tried to whisper loudly. “Guys, why don’t we call soone? I don’t-”

Damnit. Ryker swore pensively as he gritted his teeth and a claw futilely clutched his throat. Like he could take back the growling whine he’d made earlier and stuff it back inside his chest. He hadn’t even been growling that long but apparently everyone in the building had heard it. How loud had that thing been for the sound to carry like that?

Just my luck for that shit to bounce off the walls and bring everyone looking for . Ryker thought quickly as he backpedaled into the aisle he was in. Stepping over small piles of kibble that had spilled out from the pallets he’d cut open in his drunken high earlier. He loped forward at speed, only slowing down to not shake the surrounding shelves as he adjusted to his increased weight and larger footfalls. The Kaiju moving as quickly as he could down the aisle and away from the approaching humans. Ryker’s steps still pounded down onto the concrete floor, but the level of impact his stomping should have had on the ground and surrounding shelves seed disproportionately small compared to his ever increasing size and weight. Maybe even smaller than it had been before.

I’ll figure that out later. Gotta find a way out of here before they start making calls. Not a chance in hell I’m causing another panic in the middle of a city or throwing another police car if I can help it. Ryker thought while furiously berating himself for alerting the workers and nearly succumbing to his temporary madness earlier as he quickly worked up a plan of action.

Get outside without being seen. Get clear of town and back into the forest. Then check the police scanners for any nearby Kaiju activity or signs on the radio. I’ll find my way forward from- urk!

Ryker’s pace faltered before he could leave through the other end of the aisle. Stopping completely even with the risk of the human workers stumbling upon the impossible to miss form of the sixteen foot tall monster trying to hide between the shelves.

What- urgh! What is this!? Ryker thought with gritted teeth as he wrapped his arms around his middle section. Clutching at the steadily gnawing void that seed to have opened itself up within Ryker’s stomach.

The song, that seductive instinct that had tried to coax Ryker into a stupor so he could evolve too early had returned. Coming back with a vengeance as it lost any semblance of the smooth and simple purity it had earlier. It was anything but a whisper now, it was an all consuming roar. Growing in volu so loudly that Ryker wasn’t sure if he should cover his ears or grasp at the pain in his middle. He was still thinking about escaping unnoticed when the song he rejected just a mont ago crashed into him like a point blank shot from an artillery shell. It tore through his core with a hurt that was so much worse than simple pain.

Because it was hunger.

Ryker’s maw parted as if to scream but no sound left his mouth as the breath refused to leave his chest. The hunger was stronger than it had ever been before, even when he’d had the taste of human blood and flesh on his tongue. It was pure. Paralyzing. So sharp and raw that it beca an empty agony savaging at his entrails. The brief mont of fullness he’d felt as a result of reaching his Capstone evaporated in an instant as the reward his body granted him for reaching the peak of a Gene Segnt was ripped away. As if sothing inside him was trying to force him into evolving right now. Knowing it could no longer tempt him with a song, it didn’t even try.

Everything fell away in an instant. As all else was replaced by the thunder of his own instinct’s ferocious call.

FIND. SAFE. DARK.

High frequency vibrations reverberated through his claws as Ryker’s instincts reacted to the pain he felt that he couldn’t protect himself against. Saliva dripped down from his open jaws as he trembled at the sheer weight of his need to feed. To make the hunger stop at all costs.

Blood splattered across the concrete as Ryker’s own claws pierced his scales. His grip tightening across his sides as he tried to hold onto anything that could keep him from losing himself to the rciless command screaming in his mind.

HIDE. SLEEP. CHANGE.

Riley’s thod felt impossible to bring to mind. Not when the hunger was so painful it scattered all thought. The only words he could hear was the constant drone of that horrible call repeating itself over and over. Like so broken record incapable of correcting itself as the noise of it scratched its way through his ears to get inside his brain.

FIND. SAFE. DARK. HIDE. SLEEP. CHANGE.

It would end the mont he gave into it. Ryker could sense that truth even as its wrath tried to destroy him from the inside out. Even as the baser parts of himself tried to convince him that he must evolve now. Into whatever kind of Stage Two he’d beco with his existing abilities. Buckling under the strain of the call Ryker held himself back, even as every other part of him wanted to give in if it ant stopping the pain. To kill and eat every living thing he could find to appease the crippling hunger chanting inside himself that he had to-

FINDSAFEDARKHIDESLEEPCHANGE.

He had to do sothing. Fill his mouth with enough fresh blood and at he’d choke on the gore as he ran to whatever place he could find that would sate the instinct’s endless want. He had to obey. To allow himself to change into what the roar demanded he beco as it pounded its need into his head. The core of it finally reaching Ryker as a single terrible purpose.

It was only a single word. Its very aning a monolith that stretched beyond the bounds of human understanding. An ever shifting truth that folded and folded and folded and folded upon itself as the sound of its existence filled the empty spaces behind his eyes. Imprinting itself over all his senses in patterns that slipped through the gaps between thoughts. Weaving itself through the foundations of his mind as it tried and failed to expand itself to comprehend. Identity nearly buckling under the weight of his own primal horror as unconscious instinct touched upon the infinite. It was entropy made flesh and law. A hunger older than light. That spoke and whispered and scread a single word.

EVOLVE.

And there was nothing Ryker could do except recoil from the echo of the end.

Voices continued to call to each other in the air but Ryker couldn’t make out the words. Only that the human noises he heard were so much less than the word/truth/command in his mind and the hollow void in his core pushing him to give in and evolve. Ryker’s head jerked to the side as he shivered violently, looking through the shelves around him with wild unseeing eyes as he sensed them through the warp of all his senses mixing together to better see the prey he wanted to feast on.

Even as reason buckled under ntal assault and his will strained itself to the limits, Ryker’s own instincts kicked in, those of the man and not the monster. Unconsciously reacting to the threat to the people in the building with him. The threat he now was.

Without hesitation, Ryker’s tail slamd into the supports of the shelf between him and the approaching people. The tal buckling instantly under the force of the blow as the entire shelf shuddered before it ca crashing down. The few supports Ryker had accidentally severed with razor fine cuts earlier in his drunken high finally coming apart as the collapsing shelf gave them a reason to fall apart.

Human voices cried out in alarm as the shelf ca down several rows away from them and threw up an obscuring cloud of dust and debris large enough to fill the air and obscure Ryker, the Kaiju already moving before the last of the shelf tumbled down as he fled to the back of the warehouse. Trying to put as much distance between himself and the people he wanted to eat just to try and take the edge off the gnawing chasm inside himself and the thing in his mind that would destroy him the mont he could understand it. Straining not to give any attention to the tainted whispers of thoughts that touched upon sothing so utterly wrong they could only unravel in in jumbled strings of words and horror.

Teeth! Nothing but teeth! Aching, hating, gnawing, screaming-

Sowhere along the way, the Kaiju stumbled as he ran in halting and stuttering steps. Crashing to the ground himself like the shelf he’d just brought down as Ryker pulled himself forward on all fours to the far wall of the warehouse. So part of Ryker, either the need of the FINDSAFEDARKHIDESLEEPCHANGE or an idea of his own making, let him flash out a claw along the wall in a long tearing motion that tore a long gash through the wall and the building’s electrical panel like it was made of tissue paper. Drowning the building in darkness as Ryker crawled along the ground like a wounded animal.

A Beast! Hunting All! A gaping maw at the end of space and ti-

He kept going until he’d put as much distance as he could from the humans in the building, until he could go no longer and curled in on himself. Shivering violently as if he could hide himself away from the hungering pain in his core and the hungering call to evolve in his mind. Blood slowly dripping and pooling on the ground from the places his own claws had cut into him, where so of them still pierced him. The pain of those wounds almost a salve for his crippled psyche to help him endure the dissonant cacophony of a wailing mind too close to breaking.

Always chewing! Ripping into the at of weeping worlds, biting into bleeding stars. Tearing the black from their event horizons like skin off the bone-

Pain beca his only tether to the world. Giving Ryker sothing to focus on that wasn’t the hunger that was on the verge of becoming everything. And that made it good. Sothing to hold onto, nurture, and protect. The pain of his wounds was a tiny reprieve from the void that was trying to eat him alive but they were enough. Ryker sheltered in the tiny window of clarity that pain granted him as his claws dug even deeper into his own scales as he hugged his arms tight around himself. Hiding from the overwhelming call to evolve as his grip tightened on his body like he was holding onto a lifeline that could slip away at any mont.

One by one they kept him from falling into the fugue that would force him to evolve in the small shadowed corner of the warehouse. The normal sensations that contrasted so starkly against the call. The coolness of the hard concrete floor he was lying on, the warmth of blood flowing between his fingers, and the snipping of his own muscles severed by the trembling of high frequency claws.

All of it kept Ryker from the brink as he slowly found himself again through the pain. Found the warmth of that hating fire inside himself that pushed back the creeping dark. The guiding light that had pushed him for an entire lifeti to fight for all humanity in an unwinnable war.

mories trickled back in through flashes of distant emotion and familiar fury. The taste of hot recycled air filling his lungs as he fought against wave after wave of roaring monsters gave way to a cheer from friends as he passed his final exam to beco a pilot. One mont he was holding down the trigger on a flathrower to burn away a fungus covered Kaiju obscured by a cloud of spores, the next he was gripping the handle of a mug as he raised a glass to the n and won around him at the bar. Every face somber and unsmiling as they drank and rembered the lost. The many, many lost. Then he was in the depths of a ruinous blizzard, servos groaning in protest as he trudged through the frozen remains of a favela. Holding a hand to his ch’s side as he nursed a weeping wound leaking out a mix of antifreeze and hydraulic fluid. His head on a swivel to salute and watch the empty coffins of people he’d barely known be carried by as he turned to watch for the white shadow hunting him through the falling snow.

The mont stretched on. Seconds stretched beyond reason as the pain of his wounds and mories slowly lifted Ryker out of the fugue his body nearly drowned him in. The pain wracked hunger receded within himself like the ebbing tide, flowing back out into the depths until at last it drew back far enough to leave Ryker gasping alone on the shore. He lay shivering on the cold floor, finally having enough room in his head to think straight. To process the horror he’d just gone through.

That’s… Oh God, that’s the Filter. Ryker thought slowly. Too worn out from enduring the call and its hunger pangs to even add any curses or emotion to his thoughts at the monuntal discovery. You were right Beck. There was sothing preventing Kaiju from gaining multiple Capstones. It wasn’t a matter of resources or conditional evolution. It’s why almost no Kaiju can hold itself back from evolving after its first Capstone. Why there’s so few to ever gain two before Stage Two. Why there’s only ever been five in the entire world to gain all three before evolving at the height of their potential. That hunger… does every Kaiju go through that if they try to resist? God, I almost feel sorry for them. I don’t… I don’t want to go through that again. Ryker thought with a small spike of dread at what he’d left unsaid.

He would have to suffer that pain again if he wanted to gain all three of the Capstones. And it was likely the feeling would get worse the closer he got. Why else would there be such a great number of Kaiju who only evolve with a single Capstone? It explained the impossibly steep drop off in numbers for Kaiju who evolved with more than one Capstone. All the other’s couldn’t bear to resist the sickeningly sweet song of their own instincts lulling them into growing stronger. Even if they did resist it, they wouldn’t be able to disobey the pain of that-

Ryker shuddered under the mory of it and shook his head sharply. As if to force any thoughts on what had happened to disperse. As though even rembering it would invite the… thing back into his head.

Ryker sharply huffed out a breath as he crushed the fear of feeling that hunger again as he shivered in the dark. Wincing at the pain in his side and shoulder as he tenderly pulled his claws from the places they’d cut into him. The wounds were deep, and Ryker had to press his palms against his wounds to keep his blood from spurting out again.

Gotta stop the bleeding. Ryker thought clinically as he rose to a knee, he was almost glad for the distraction as he looked around to find anything that he could bandage himself with. The pallets around weren’t filled with any kinds of paper towels he could use as makeshift bandages but-

“Mikey! You see anyone get caught under that!”

“No! But I’m telling you man I saw sothing move towards the back man!”

Damnit. Ryker thought as he focused on the beam of light waving its way towards his direction. With a flicker of thought the simple night vision Ryker possessed was joined by a bevy of sensory inputs as his Synesthesia painted a clearer picture of his situation.

From the back of the warehouse Ryker could make out the forms of multiple workers combing the building with their phones used as impromptu flashlights. The majority of them were arguing loudly, trying to assign bla for whoever could have caused the shelf to collapse, the sa one Ryker had brought down.

Others were trying to find their way towards the electrical panel while a few more were curious enough to try and see what they caught a glimpse of moving towards the back. Maybe it was a blessing none of them had assud Ryker’s unnatural growl was sothing a natural creature could make. If they had thought it had co from a wild animal they might have rushed out the building in a panic and called the police already.

A beam of light drew closer as it neared the back of the warehouse and Ryker moved as quickly as he dared to hide behind a tall stack of pallets at the end of one of the still standing aisles.

Gotta get out of here before they see and panic. Ryker thought tersely. Avoiding discovery was the easiest way to ensure he stayed off the military’s radar while they hunted down other Stage Ones. But the idea of sneaking his way back out of the warehouse was t with an imdiate pushback as Ryker grimaced sourly.

Shit, I can’t just leave after finding all that food up for grabs. That’s the most amount of edible protein I’ve managed to get in one spot without being seen. What are the odds I’ll be able to find another on my way north that’s not swarming with people or security?

Ryker thought quickly as he watched the workers moving around. Wincing again as he shifted his body and aggravated his annoyingly deep claw wounds. Putting together a plan as he watched the humans stumble their way through the very darkness Ryker could see through clear as day.

Nodding to himself, Ryker leaned a head out from behind the stack of pallets to watch the humans move about. Their movents overly cautious and nervous. Making Ryker shut his eyes tight as the mix of human sweat and fear scent enticed Ryker. Forcing him to pull apart his senses before those tempting slls could beco even more tempting sounds that shifted across his skin in ripples of taste and color. Blinking his eyes open again Ryker refocused on the world around him as the environnt beca asurably lesser.

First things first. The Kaiju thought clinically as he carefully pushed away thoughts of human flavored food. Sneak around the people to avoid detection. Stop the bleeding from my cuts with sothing. Then I’ll get over to the dog food section without causing a pan-

“Holy fucking shit!”

“What is it Mikey?”

“Sothing fucking died over here guys! Lord Almighty there’s… there’s blood everywhere!”

Ryker sighed as he heard the man frantically cry out with the exact sa kind of panic he’d wanted to prevent in the first place. The Kaiju resisted the urge to throw his arms up in silent consternation as the man continued to freak out rely thirty feet away from him. Why can’t I just have one thing go right for once?

“Seriously Mikey stop squealing! Did a squirrel get in here again? I know how you are with-”

“Like hell this is from a fucking squirrel! There’s puddles of this shit over here! Gallons! See!”

Less than thirty feet away from the panicking man with the waving light Ryker edged around the pallet as he crouched. Tensing as he held himself as low to the ground as the bright light that could have illuminated him focused on the sars of blood he’d left across the floor where Ryker had rode out his agonizing hunger pangs.

Pausing for a beat Ryker took in the small forms of the workers, now even smaller to him than they were re minutes ago before and quietly moved away. Hugging the wall as much as he could to reduce his outline in the dark. Making his way down the outside of the aisles so he could cut straight towards the shelf of pet food he’d collapsed.

Damn. There I go again thinking I’m human. Ryker thought with a wan smile as he kept pressure on the wounds and closed his eyes. He could hear the workers making their way through the warehouse to figure out what went wrong with the lights. Dipping into his Synesthesia just enough to get a snapshot of the surroundings before splitting his senses apart to keep from tempting himself, he got most every warehouse worker's location. A brief picture of their forms lighting up inside his mind through the characteristic glow of their scents, the taste of them on the air, and the sounds they made. They were moving around the torn down shelves Ryker had collapsed and were nearing the power box Ryker had slashed through so Ryker didn’t have much ti to do what he had planned.

Every ti Ryker had delved into his geno he’d felt like he was growing closer to picturing it more quickly. The first few tis had taken so very uncharacteristic concentration on his part to picture his gene segnts. Along with so very deliberate actions to trigger the modifiers he felt inside himself. This ti was the quickest so far, partly because Ryker knew exactly what he was looking for.

Focusing in on the Cardiopulmonary gene segnt Ryker felt out the bottom rung of the segnt for its first ability. The Hemodynamic Augntation that allowed his blood to take in more oxygen and fuel his every movent. It was as basic as could be for an ability, but it made sense why it existed. Kaiju grew big, and Ryker would keep breathing in oxygen as he grew in size. There was a brief question in Ryker's mind if that modifier was the difference between slow moving Kaiju and Kaiju who were capable of drawing in enough oxygen to fuel faster movents but he cast that thought aside since he was still bleeding.

The modifier Ryker was looking for was the one that he hadn’t yet taken but also just so happened to be the one he’d been looking forward to most early on. The hyper-coagulating platelets modifier for his blood. The first ti he’d seen it he’d been put off by the acidic blood modifier that it was paired with. The mories of what that one modifier was capable of still made Ryker shiver at tis. But the other reason he’d held off on taking it since then was because in order to trigger the modifier, he’d have to bleed first.

He’d been too distracted by the fight in the suburb to take advantage of his gore wound at the ti to force it. Plus in the monts of peace afterward, he’d been too focused on working his newly grown tail into his combat style and testing other modifiers to try getting it. Not to ntion after breaking a finger to gain his ranged Bone Needles, the idea of hurting himself imdiately after for another ability was not a very attractive one.

Now though since he was already bleeding the modifier just needed an extra ntal push to activate.

Scaled brow furrowing as he knelt on the ground, Ryker focused on his wounds and the idea of the bleeding slowing down and stopping all together. The modifier nudged in his mind and Ryker focused harder. Forcing a change early that would have likely taken another Kaiju many wounds over multiple intense battles to trigger naturally.

Ryker felt the pain of his wounds and the blood streaming from them. The pain was unpleasant, even knowing that pain had helped him center himself in the midst of that… compulsion. Ryker focused himself on the blood coating his claws and scaled palms. How he wanted it to stop, to slow and finally cease bleeding. The modifier was a stubborn thing, barely budging in response to Ryker’s ntal nudging but that only encouraged him to push harder and find the right way to ntally push his body to gain the ability he wanted.

The paralytic aspect of his venom was a result of desperately trying to keep a Kaiju from moving. His Bone Needles were a result of him trying to imagine himself striking hard and fast the sa way Spike Jackal did. What emotion or need was the spark his body needed to heal better? Pain? Fear?

No. Ryker sensed intuitively, unable to understand how he knew that as he let his mind drift over the ability in his DNA. Fear was close though. Fear is what activates the Acidic Blood modifier. Ryker thought distractedly. Fear of pain.

That fear trigger for Acidic Blood seed so completely opposed to the horrific levels of damage the modifier could inflict that it nearly made the Kaiju slip from his concentration. But Ryker took it in stride. His own monstrous nature accepting the information that his human mind struggled to reconcile with the horror it was capable of. Fear was wrong, but still very close. The right ntal trigger was…

Failure. To… die fighting without killing my enemies. Ryker bowed his head as he nodded to himself. Teeth parting in a wan smile as he felt the right ntal trigger for the modifier. I’m surprised I didn’t unlock this the mont I hatched.

He should have gotten this modifier sooner if that were the case, but Ryker felt his mind snag on his human mories as he let their sting pull the modifier to activate. The monster’s teeth parting to let out a long breath as his eyes glazed over. Seeing the forms of monsters standing above him from a future now long past. He rembered the failures, the losses, and worse but each mory was tinged with his inhuman instincts bleeding into them. The monster and the man blurring together for a mont to gain more power.

Too wounded to make the kill. Ryker rembered as he forced damaged chanical limbs to lift him from the earth as tal hands pulled his ch away from the fight. His eyes burning as he stared helplessly at the two headed Kaiju above him roaring from its perch on shattered buildings as thunder, as the sky itself seed to answer its call.

Too weak to sink my teeth into their neck. Ryker thought as he looked upon the Kaiju that would soon be called Storm Breaker. To spill their blood instead of mine. Too weak to bite and feel its heart-blood pump its last onto my tongue. To taste the marrow from crunching bones between my jaws. I failed.

Like a switch being flipped the modifier leapt at the distress in Ryker’s mind and that change rang through his body as it went to work.

Curiously, with his night vision painting the sight in drab color Ryker watched with mild amazent as the blood flowing from his wounds began to rapidly oxidize and harden as he put pressure on his self inflicted cuts. The red blood streaming from his body slowly ebbing as larger and larger chunks of blood platelets plugged the flow. It wasn’t an imdiate process but it was visible enough to Ryker to watch it happen in real ti. The feeling of his wounds clotting was relieving in a general sense but disturbing in the way he could now feel his body scabbing over his wounds. Part of Ryker wanted to watch the whole process happen from beginning to end to asure how fast it was but he still pressed for ti. And he was also still covered in lots of his own blood from bleeding on himself and laying in a puddle of it on the floor.

Without any regard for his human side’s sense of pride or normalcy, Ryker cleaned his wounds as best he could with licks alone. The motion eerily catlike as the Kaiju lapped up the wet, still warm blood that left his body before it could have been affected by the modifier he just gained.

Ryker was almost tempted to lick the pool of blood he’d left on the ground clean before he started all of a sudden at the ss before him.

Well… I didn’t an to but I think I made a set from a slasher movie, Ryker thought in embarrassnt as he saw the streaks of blood on the ground where he’d curled in on himself before.

The darkness of the warehouse was lifted only in the small cones of light cast from the workers’ phones being used as makeshift flashlights. Even without the light pointing straight to them, Ryker was intimately aware of the humans approaching his position. The growing fear scent in the air tempting Ryker as he crouched low, resembling a predator stalking its prey more than a conflicted monster trying to hide.

There’s almost no room for to move around them. Ryker thought pensively as he held back his instinct to dig his claws into the concrete for more traction. Turning his head from side to side, looking for any way around, Ryker ca to the conclusion that there was no way around the humans except to skirt around them.

Taking a careful step back from the roving beams of lights to hide behind a high stack of pallets, Ryker paused a mont after his back foot ca down. Looking down at his own foot in surprise, he stared at it with more than a little incredulity.

Wait. Ryker thought suddenly as he tested his step again. That doesn’t feel like it used to…

From the mont he’d been reborn, Ryker had been forced to accept a number of changes. One of the most annoying of those was just how much noise he made as a Kaiju. Just walking around was enough to send large vibrations through the ground like- well like a giant monster was moving around. To compensate, Ryker had been forced to move with even more caution, sneaking around more than he’d ever had to before in his entire previous life.

It had almost beco sothing so constant that Ryker had stopped penalizing himself for it. But now?

The Capstone. Ryker realized with a start. Connecting the dots now that he wasn’t drunk on his own power or crippled by hunger pangs. Beck said that the Capstone enhanced the abilities that ca before, but does that an it enhances those ability’s modifiers as well?

Daring to risk a light stomp on the ground with his back foot, Ryker braced himself for the noise such an action would make and was pleasantly surprised when the noise he expected to hear was almost completely absent. Even the vibration he expected to send through the ground was muted to almost nothing.

Shock Absorbing Muscle Fibers. I’ll be damned. Ryker thought approvingly. They’re keeping the vibrations of my movents from shaking the ground like they should. I always thought those stories of Kaiju sneaking up on people were exaggerated, but this tracks. Sounds are just vibrations right?

Looking at the humans unknowingly impeding Ryker’s escape, the Kaiju felt a knot of worry loosen in his chest. It wouldn’t be the end of him if he was seen by any of these people, but being seen and being forced to break down a wall to escape would paint a very large target on him, one he wanted to avoid as long as possible. If he attracted the military’s attention now, they would absolutely start focusing on him instead of the Kaiju that were the true threats to humanity.

With a careful step, flaring the new ability in his chest, Ryker let that humming song of his bones lightly ripple into his arms and legs. Not with enough force to make his claws vibrate with cutting force. Just enough to match the sounds he made. The soft scratch of scales sliding over concrete as he shifted his stance. The steady in and out of his breath as he tried to keep it a soundless breeze instead of a bellows.

Glacier Fang had been terrifying not only because of its incredible power, but simply because the thing moved with a downright disturbing level of quiet for a beast of its size. The reason behind how it was able to hunt chs so easily under the cover of its subzero blizzards had been explained to Ryker once, a throwaway detail not even worth asking Beck about after he’d heard it. After all, what use was there in knowing the chanics behind how a Kaiju could create counter-vibrations to silence the sounds of its movents when your main concern was surviving it?

Those counter-vibrations… Ryker thought as he focused on the humming rumble in his chest. Trying to alter the pitch and tone of the new ability without the help of his instincts guiding him. He was already quiet before with his epigenetic modifier eating the shock of vibrations and sounds, if he could just cancel out the rest of the noise he made himself, he could make it around all the humans in the warehouse.

As quietly as he could, he lightly stomped onto the ground, trying to match the vibrations he was producing in his chest to the sound he’d just made. He was almost there, he could feel it. He thumped the ground again, then again, then several more tis. Modulating the pitch of the vibrations in his bones as he searched for just the right-

“Let’s check over here yeah? Didn’t you leave that shitty forklift on this side?”

“No, I didn’t. Just go check it yourself Nate.”

Ryker looked up to the figures of n moving towards his position and kept testing the vibrations with steady but impatient steps. Glacier Fang had been able to do this early on, but there was a good chance that it wasn’t a Stage 2 ability that made that monster so quiet. If he didn’t get real quiet really fast, then there was no way he was going to get out of this building without having to cause a panic as he fled the city.

“I’m not walking into the dark alone like this you bastard. This is basic horror movie shit moron. The dude who goes off alone always dies first.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want to hold your hand? Sing a little song with you while we skip into the dark?”

“Ah shut up. You too scared to walk into the dark and die with , pussy? Because you’re a pussy if you don’t die with .”

Ryker stopped trying to take steps and crouched lower as the workers walked into the aisle he was in, still arguing. With his increased size, he had to almost hold himself flush with the floor itself to make sure no part of him stuck up above the pallets he was hiding behind. With his heart hamring at the thought of being found out, he kept his focus on his back foot as it ran back and forth across the concrete. The vibrations in his chest continued to dampen from the constant buzzing force they wanted to sink into his claws to low, short notes that could flare up to accompany each of his steps. For a long mont, Ryker thought he’d made a mistake focusing on this instead of trying to make a dash for the exit when all of a sudden, it snapped in place like a key clicking into a lock. He found the right sound.

He had seconds before the n rounded the corner.

Flicking his tail from the spot where it had stretched back to place itself behind a stray bottle of water, Ryker sent the plastic bottle left behind by its owner arcing across the air to hit the shelves opposite him. Making the n turn their gazes imdiately to the sound instead of the spot right behind them where Ryker watched them with bated breath.

“F-fuck! What was that?” One of the n asked, stock frozen five feet from a Kaiju staring at his back.

“Hell if I know man.” The man beside him said, completely unaware as a monster slowly moved behind him. With preternatural grace, Ryker slipped silently behind the workers one careful movent at a ti. Sneaking back from them on all fours as he spiked the right vibration to cancel out the sound he made on concrete, one limb at a ti.

As Ryker flowed across the ground his eyes found more moving groups of workers in yellow vests as he stood back up.

They were even smaller now. All of them. Ryker bent low and felt an involuntary shiver of desire as he absently licked his lips. Tasting the tang of sweat and fear in the air each of the little people he was creeping around like a ghost. Both longing for and denying himself the temptation of tasting more of that sweat stained skin on his tongue as he stalked forward. Each step he made, every flowing motion of grace was one that yearned for violence. When he neared a person standing alone and unaware, he’d silently slide a foot forward across the ground. Talons like butcher knives delicately raised to not scrape along the concrete as muscles clenched and unclenched from the tension of being so near prey. The curve of his neck flexed with every intake of bated breath that drunk the man in. Only breaking in its rhythm to bulge slightly as the monster that Ryker was sated itself on swallowed saliva instead of human at. From the subtle but eager twitch of his clawed fingers, to the taught coils of power in his thighs that wanted to explode with a leap on top of the morsel before him. From his vantage staring down on the man from the top of the stack of pallets, his clawed talons pressed softly against the plastic before piercing the plastic and cardboard underneath. Sinking in and out with a hunting cat’s playful anticipation.

In and out… in and out… in and out.

The Kaiju watched the scene in total silence. Imagining all too easily what it would feel like to have one of these clueless workers below under those very talons, alive and breathing under his toes. Squirming as he pressed down. Letting his talons sink in and squeeze.

His long tail flexed in the air behind him from acting as a counterbalance to his every minor motion, but there was also an energy to it that gave away Ryker’s primal excitent at being surrounded by so much prey.

People. Ryker calmly reminded himself reflexively as he watched the n and won move away to search a different part of the warehouse.

They’re people. The man turned monster thought, looking after them all with an animal intensity as he slowly left his perch. One clawed hand ca down onto the floor after another as he stalked across the floor like a panther through tall grass. Eyes never leaving the retreating forms of those workers as he bent his head over the small table. Casually licking the supervisor’s clipboard with one long caress of his tongue that caught every speck of blood on the plastic fra and tal clip.

I like people. Ryker thought with a genuine smile as he savored the tiny amount of humanity he knew he could safely allow himself. That smile wilted slightly as he forced himself to turn and look towards the remains of the aisle he destroyed.

Bad Kaiju. Ryker thought with a asure of mild recrimination towards himself. People are friends. Not food… Even if they sll just like food. Now go eat your kibble.

Finally having made his way over to the wreckage of the shelf he’d brought down. It was a ss of broken shelf fras and spilled pallets. Making Ryker feel a pang of apology go out to the workers for causing what might take days or weeks to repair. But the feeling wasn’t as strong or guilty as it might have been a day ago. The hunger still echoing through his body and the mory of that… call he’d heard reminding him that it had either been this or slaughtering the workers to feed the void in his core.

Ryker shook his head sadly, wishing silently things wouldn’t go horribly wrong for once before moving quickly around the wreck to find sothing he could eat. Ryker stepped carefully towards it with unnaturally silent steps, not wanting to test just yet how well his new sound dampening trick would work if he walked over bent and twisted tal.

Gotta make this quick. Ryker thought tensely as he prowled over to the first thing he could find. It might have been a pallet of dog food monts ago but now it was a mostly torn open heap hidden under a layer of goods Ryker swiftly brushed aside. The plastic of the pallet had been torn open after he brought the shelf down, and the bags of pet food inside were ripped and torn to a lesser extent as well but Ryker didn’t care. He grabbed the first bag he could reach and shoved it into his mouth. Not even pausing to register the taste as it was clearly not PupChow! quality. It might have been cat food, or sothing else entirely but Ryker didn’t care.

At sixteen feet tall after gaining his new ability, he pald bags of pet food that he would have had to grip with both hands only an hour ago. As he chewed chanically, letting the shivering vibration of his Musculoskeletal Capstone into his teeth to slice through the processed food even faster, he kept his head on a swivel as he scanned his surroundings. Night vision piercing through the dark as he opened more inhuman senses to scan the sounds that passed through the air.

The crackle of radio waves buzzed in Ryker’s ears as he focused on tuning to a single frequency rather than let the flood of electromagnetic signals overwhelm him. The process was tricky at tis since he was working by feel, but sounds ca in all the sa.

Bzzt.

“-other news the suburb of Centennial Pines has been commandeered by governnt officials and hoowners have been barred entry back into their hos. While confirmation of the attack by strange creatures earlier this morning has taken the world by storm, the video of the attack has been quickly called into question as an elaborate hoax staged to lower the prices of nearby plots of land that-”

Bzzt.

“-alking about this video that’s going viral. Now I’m no expert mind you, but I know what special effects look like Bobby. I’m old enough to rember when those used to be part of the movie instead of the entire film. Effects, actors, and all. But that dino thing just looked too real-”

Co on, co on now… Ryker thought as he poured over the strongest signals in the air and worked his way down. Everyone was talking about the video of him in the suburb but he couldn’t find anyone chatting about Kaiju in the area. On the one hand it was good that he managed to slip by unnoticed, the longer he wasn’t being shot at the more he could hunt for food. But if no one was talking about Kaiju did that an that the area was clear of them? Or did it an that people were willingly ignoring any other sightings and disappearances just to focus on the video of him?

I can rely on the big networks for big news and info but I shouldn’t rely on them for everything. Might be sothing on the lower bands and channels. Ryker thought as he shoved one last bag into his mouth and barely chewed enough to swallow the thing whole. The protein and nutrients disappearing into him as he already felt it and the rest of what he’d eaten getting torn down and repurposed as fuel.

Ryker shifted back from the remains of the pallet he’d gorged on. The last half of the pallet’s bags of pet food were torn to shreds. Spilling out their contents in a way that would make it impossible to pick up anything without spilling more. With barely a grimace, Ryker ducked his head down and bit into the ss like an animal. Giving his surroundings one last look before he went to work crunching through torn bags and pet food alike. Shifting his senses together into the fluid mass of sensations that made up his Synesthesia so he could watch for any approaching workers without using his eyes. Searching for anyone nearby as he listened to the telltale scent of human sweat working through his ears and rippling across his scales in tempting swirls. All the while flicking from channel to channel with growing impatience.

There has to be more here. Ryker frustratingly thought as he tried to ignore the strangely pleasant taste of bright blues and greens sparking across his tongue, sohow knowing that the pet food was supposed to be fish flavored as he continued his search across the airwaves.

Bzzt.

“I dunno Roxy. It feels like a pretty shitty thing to do. Even if he is your husband, you gotta be more-”

Bzzt.

“-ight now for one ti only you can get-”

Bzzt.

“Hmm? Yeah, yeah we’re pretty much done here over. Got the underachievers all booked, got that one guy down from the wall, that was a new one. The super friends will be sharing a room in the ER with all those bruises and fractures they got. I’m letting CSI take the spike he was impaled on, see what he can make of the thing. Got our victim loaded up into the ambulance first thing. Might need to get his head checked though. He was talking about a monster or… sothing saving him. You get anything on that end? I’d like to say he’s just drunk out of his mind but those guys looked like they got hit by a steamroller. A temperantal steamroller… with daddy issues. Ove-”

Bzzt.

I don’t have daddy issues. I just have a lot on my plate at the mont. Ryker snappily thought in response to the police officer’s comnt as he silently grumbled into his al. Mouthfuls of pet food disappearing at speed as Ryker fed his monstrous appetite. Clearing the remains of the pallet and flicking out his tongue over the flecks of pet food on his face, Ryker sharply turned his head towards the sounds of people arguing on the other side of the collapsed shelves he was scrounging through for food. A keening sense of frustration welled up in Ryker as he looked around for more easily accessible food to eat.

That pallet alone put a good chunk of the way towards getting the Synaptic Defrag. That’s good since I’ll need to rember that map I looked at in the rest stop, but… damn. Ryker cursed silently as he pressed a claw to his middle. Feeling the stored potential there from what he’d eaten. Or more accurately, the smaller amount of potential compared to the last pallet he’d eaten. If the amount of food from both pallets were the sa then he didn’t like what that ant for him.

I’m getting less out of the food I eat now. That’s going to be a problem. Ryker thought grimly. When I was smaller I had to eat less to unlock abilities. Now I’m what? Sixteen feet tall? That’s a lot of Kaiju to fill up with processed food alone.

The clamor of human words carried sowhat over the wreckage Ryker caused and part of him honed in on the sound like a shark scenting blood in the water. Nostrils flaring as he drunk in the sll of those steadily approaching people. He slowly lifted a foot to take a step forward. To stalk forwards like his instincts called him to but Ryker forcefully pulled his leg back as he crouched down. Reducing his massive profile as much as he could as he carefully padded back. Putting so space and darkness between himself and the easy way out before him.

I need to eat as much as I can before I’m found out.

Fortunately for Ryker, soone seed to have collapsed the shelves.

In a matter of monts, Ryker found his way to another bountiful supply of protein wrapped in logos and pictures of the pets they were supposed to be for and tuned his focus inward. Visualizing the gene segnts that were the foundation of what every Kaiju’s power was built from before they evolved.

The Musculoskeletal segnt shone the brightest in his mind, from top to bottom it was lit by the five abilities he’d gained from it. A good number of smaller lights, his ability modifiers shone in pairs of ones and twos for his abilities but definitely not for all. Ryker passed over the modifiers quickly. Despite feeling tempted to delve into each to see how he could increase his power further, Ryker couldn’t afford to take his ti while the workers were still wandering the warehouse.

The other gene segnts felt lacking in comparison to the Musculoskeletal’s completeness, even without him focusing on them. The primal satisfaction of feeling a gene segnt be completed still thrumd in his core. Beyond knowing what it ant for humanity, for changing the future. That Capstone Ability just felt so… good. Like an echo of his earlier euphoria that had nearly made him begin the process of evolving into Stage 2.

It’s going to take ti to get the rest of the modifiers, but those can wait. Food cos first. Ryker thought as he dipped his head down to quietly shovel another bag of pet food into his maw. Besides, I can’t gain modifiers for abilities I haven’t unlocked yet.

Bit by bit, Ryker felt himself growing closer to that Synaptic Defrag. If he kept at it he could probably unlock it here and now if he was fast enough. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little nervous at the idea of the ability altering his mind and mories. But it was the cheapest of the abilities he had yet to unlock, and would undoubtedly be the most helpful for him rembering the land’s topography to quickly make his way north. The Cardiopulmonary Divergence Point was waiting for him to unlock it, but Ryker’s feelings had soured on that entire gene segnt after that episode with the Adrenal Trigger. Putting more energy into that gene segnt felt like affirming the murderous feelings he’d had when the Adrenal Trigger was active. He’d gain the ability in ti, but it felt prudent to focus on the gene segnt that governed his mind for now, maybe he’d focus on it exclusively until he gained the Capstone?

Tch- Damn it. Ryker thought sourly as he felt and heard the mishmash of sensations that ca from approaching humans, the Kaiju practically shoveling the loose kibble that had spilled out of the bags into his mouth like he was an excavator. The Synaptic Defrag felt close. Three quarters of the way there, maybe more.

“Did you say you saw sothing over here man? I don’t see anything except the big fucking ss on the ground.”

At the worker’s words, Ryker took that as his signal to pull back, moving away from the ss he’d made with silent steps. He wanted to feel like he was missing out on more food to get the Defrag right then and there, but in reality, knocking down the shelf had allowed him to eat more of everything available even more quickly than if he’d had to silently pull down pallets one by one to eat.

Not the best outco I’ll admit, but I made the most of it. Ryker thought approvingly as he turned his attention towards making his exit. Stalking down the path towards the loading bay doors, Ryker prowled forward until-

“-etter be getting overti for this, I’ll say that much. ”

Shit. Ryker thought tensely as he slipped behind a still standing shelf. There was a man walking down the line of doors until he stopped right next to the sa one he’d used to slip into the building. Like he was intentionally blocking Ryker’s escape while chatting on the phone, an almost bored expression on his face.

“Yeah, honestly I don’t know how it happened, and frankly I don’t care enough to know.”

A small voice rattled the phone in his hands, like the person on the other line was shouting as the man sighed wearily. Staring off into space with a “here we go again” expression on his face.

“Because you’re the one who cheaped out on these shelves you broke bastard. How am I supposed to prevent these things from falling down when you literally told how you got them and to not worry about their quality. It’s kinda amazing they held out this long now that I think about it.”

More chatter ca out of the phone now, louder this ti.

Damnit all. I’ll have to find a way around. Ryker thought frustratedly as he backed up the aisle.

“Because you aren’t just a clown, you’re the entire circus Jerry. I told you not to take that promotion. But you did, red button nose and all. You wearing a wig and makeup to go with that suit you’ve got now?”

At the edge of his perception Ryker could almost feel the phone practically vibrating with violent intent.

“Because you’re not going to fire you dumbass. I know the magic words that’ll get you off my back. Wanna know what they are Jerry? OSHA. Violations. Yeah, yeah, I thought so. Now, do you want to say that even slower so your smooth brain understands it better or do you wanna talk about solutions to thi-”

I should be able to open the doors from the inside, that’ll be my ticket out of here. Ryker thought as he took a calming breath in, he could still make it out of here without anyone seeing him. The Kaiju crouched down next to the wall of the warehouse as he left the aisle. Human sized doors and equipnt making Ryker feel even more out of place as his head swiveled from side to side. Senses marking each of the humans searching around the back end of the warehouse one by one. Even through the mix of scents and light colored sounds he could tell they were all steadily spreading out now. With more than a few moving back towards his location.

Knowing he didn’t have much ti, with his focus squarely on the people unknowingly approaching him, Ryker slowly moved towards the wall of bay doors that would be his exit.

Right as soone ca out of the bathroom right next to his front leg.

The door swung open wide and Ryker barely managed to lift his leg high enough so the door banged against the wall instead of his scales. Gritting his teeth in a silent snarl of frustration, Ryker held his breath as he braced against the wall, resisting the urge to bite the man making his life so much more difficult than it had to be as he slowly walked out of the bathroom right underneath a man eating monster. Completely unaware of the Kaiju pressing himself flat against the wall behind him, the man calmly ssed with his pants in the dark until he found the zipper.

For fuck’s sake! Seriously?! Ryker silently hissed as the man who was ruining his chances of escaping by remaining exactly where he was, lazily checked his phone. Less than ten feet from Ryker as the Kaiju lowered his leg behind the closing door. The monster planting its weight on his leading foot again as he carefully sidled away from the man. Putting as much distance between him and the worker as he could before soone else-

“-I an, is that really a solution Jerry? Doesn’t really sound like sothing that’ll pass muster, if you know what I-”

Ryker felt a thrill of panic go through his fra, wanting more than anything to snap up his problems between his jaws and finally be done with them. But cooler heads prevailed, even if said “cooler head” was uncomfortably eager at the prospect of eating his small two legged problems.

Pinned between a man just leaving the bathroom, a man on the phone, and a number of warehouse workers returning to report on the ss he had made, Ryker did the only thing he could think of doing.

He went into the breakroom.

Sixteen feet of hulking green scales and violence crouched down low and roughly pushed open the double doors that led into the small breakroom with his head. Getting it inside, he worked an arm in and found himself pressing against both sides of the door fra with his considerable bulk. Unable to work in his other arm, Ryker spread his claws and clamd down on the countertop next to one wall and dug in. Palming half the cabinet as he used it to pull himself in far enough to work in his other arm, narrowly missing the lunch table with it as he put his clawed fingers through the nearest wall to finish pulling in his torso.

He heard a commotion behind him and just managed to pull his tail into the room with him and use it to push his body further in. Cracking the concrete above the doorfra as he used it for leverage. Ryker pulling in his legs one by one. Hugging each against his chest as he gave the double doors enough room to swing closed.

Ryker waited with bated breath for a mont, hearing a rush of footsteps as soone moved outside the door to the break room… and right past before soone started shouting.

“Ron! Ron what the hell are you doing over here? Why aren’t you out helping the others figure out what went wrong with the shelves?”

“Sorry boss. Just ah, had to visit the porcelain throne for a spell.”

“The fucking what?”

“The library slash, laboratory slash, mobile phone sanctuary.”

“You… are you high?”

“High on life? Yessir.”

“You were hiding out in the bathroom so you didn’t have to work, weren’t you.”

“? No, no of course not.”

“Then tell why the fuck you spent so long in there, you’ve been in there since those shelves fell I bet.”

“Well you know how the saying goes. Boss makes a dollar, I make a di. That’s why I shit on company ti-”

“Get the fuck back to work Ron.”

“On it boss. Can I hit the break room for a- Okay okay, I’m going! No need to glare.”

Ryker waited for soone to test the double doors to the breakroom as he held his breath. Bracing both his tail and one clawed foot against both doors as he laid on his side in the cramped space. The breakroom might have easily fit twenty or so people but the wide space barely managed to fit one increasingly frustrated Kaiju as his head bumped a few ceiling tiles out of place so they could fall onto his face.

Relaxing slightly now that no one was going to test the doors anyti soon, Ryker let his head fall against the floor tiles as he stared at the aggressively normal sight of a wall of ancient posters and diagrams on safety hazards. Blowing out a huff of air through his nose that sent pieces of ceiling tile and dust flying off his face. He was getting tired of having to squeeze into smaller and smaller buildings. He was almost looking forward to the day he’d be big enough that he’d literally be unable to fit inside buildings anymore and could just reach an arm inside to get what he’d needed. He’d done that a few tis in his ch to grab important equipnt, supplies, and the occasional survivor too afraid to leave their shelter for anything.

Well… I suppose things could be worse. The Kaiju thought with a bemused sigh. I got my first Capstone ability, unlocked a modifier for Coagulating Platelets, nearly got enough to eat to snag that Synaptic Defrag to rember things better. Almost makes it worth it to be stuck hiding in a run down warehouse breakroom. Almost.

Shifting in the tight space Ryker tried to make himself more comfortable by stretching himself out more, pressing his tail securely against both doors to prevent anyone from coming in and freaking out. It took more than a few tries and curses for him to move his legs and arms so that they’d have so wiggle room without having to bump the tables he’d already pushed against the wall. Ryker’s head ca close to a solitary vending machine and perked up.

Hey, maybe I can get sothing out of this after all. Ryker smiled. Eagerly twisting his arm above his head to look inside. Failing, and then grabbing the machine with that sa arm to turn its contents towards him. The Kaiju wincing at the sharp sound of the thing scratching against the floor before looking inside.

Maybe I can get that ability right… oh. Ryker paused, feeling more than a little pity for the worker’s having such a small, poor selection of snacks. Ugh, were those salt and vinegar flavored chips?

With a silent pang of apology for the people who worked here and had nothing else to eat than what awful goods were offered, Ryker carefully put the vending machine back. He could tear it apart and eat the few chips and snack bars inside sure, but that just felt like kicking these innocent workers while they were down. Especially since he was the one responsible for wrecking part of their warehouse. Even if it was to prevent himself from rushing at them to sate that God-awful hunger, he did feel kinda bad about it.

I gotta get out of here. Ryker grumbled. Frustration literally rumbling in his chest as he flexed his claws. Not enough to make them hum with cutting force, but enough to work so life into his cramped muscles. Placing a hand against the wall in front of him Ryker paused as a clawed finger sunk into the stone. An idea slowly coming to him as he stared at the wall in front of him.

Wasn’t this the wall facing the outside? Ryker let his mind work backwards to confirm and grinned as he let his claws hum once more with channeled vibrations.

Man, I always wanted to do sothing like this. Ryker bead as he put a finger on one end of the wall and started cutting his way through. Feeling the end of it pierce the concrete with ease before imdiately feeling the end of his claw break through the other side, out into the open air.

It’s not gonna be a perfect circle like it usually is in the movies but as long as I can slip outside without anyone the wiser, I’ll take it.

Ryker was halfway through cutting his way out of a tight situation when he felt more than heard soone trying to open the breakroom doors. The one way doors staying firmly still as the inhuman strength in his tail easily kept any one from entering.

“Hey, who the hell locked the break room? I can’t get it open.” Soone outside the door said.

Almost there. Ryker thought as he was halfway through cutting a hole in the wall. Don’t mind , just escaping before you all panic and sic a bunch of soldiers on my scaly ass.

The hole he was cutting through the wall was coming along surprisingly quickly, although now that he thought about it, it made sense that a random warehouse wouldn’t be able to hold up to a Kaiju’s Vibroblade claws, not much these days would until they’ll start integrating genuine Carbonite alloys into infrastructure and chs.

Just a bit… more. Ryker thought as he readjusted his arm and torso so he could more neatly carve a way out for himself. If he did it right he could pull the piece out of the wall cleanly, without having the thing fall out the other side and notify half the town with it slamming into the dirt.

Ryker was nearly through making a neat enough hole in the wall when the thrum of vibrations cut off abruptly to his claws. Leaving his finger half stuck in the wall as he paused and sniffed the air.

Is that coffee? Ryker asked nobody with sudden interest.

Apparently, in his rush to hide and escape the warehouse he hadn’t noticed the sll of soone leaving a half pot of the good stuff on the counter. He couldn’t see it since the countertop was behind him, but he could just barely catch it out of the corner of his eye if he twisted his head as far as it would go.

Yup, that’s coffee. Mocha too. Ryker confird as he turned his head back towards his escape route. His finger was still in the wall and Ryker knew he had a job to do. It was only just a little bit more until he would be able to get it open. The people inside the warehouse already were onto him, and his only saving grace was that they didn’t expect a sixteen foot tall monster hogging the break room. He had every reason to continue carving his way out.

But his finger… was still in the wall.

No ultrasonic vibrations, no terrifying cutting power, nothing. Nada…

Well this was just getting ridiculous. This was just plain childish for a forr professional like him. Was he really the kind of guy-turned-Kaiju to jeopardize his chances of survival all for a little taste of-

Ryker imdiately spasd in determined jerks that yanked his finger out of the wall and helped him get his arm in place for him to start turning around. His knee took out a few more ceiling tiles before he straightened his leg enough for it to turn with him as he reoriented. Working his shoulders one by one as they scraped lines across the tile floor as he shifted closer to that precious cuppa. He had to pin both his arms against his sides for a mont, but he managed to rotate in the confined space. His tail doing an admirable job of holding the doors closed as insistent knocks and curses reverberated through to Ryker.

The Kaiju’s face was pressed half against the tile floor and the cabinet but he was right underneath where the coffee maker sat above him like a delicious promise. The Kaiju froze for half a second as his face pressed hard enough against the counter to crack the wood and make the coffee maker shift slightly from its position. Relieved he hadn’t committed an unforgivable act, Ryker carefully, very carefully pulled one arm through where it had been stuck against the ceiling to reach for the holy grai- erm, coffee pot.

Every ounce of skill honed over thousands of hours piloting state of the art machinery brought itself to bear as Ryker gingerly pinched the handle of the glass pot and gently maneuvered it off the coffee maker’s hot plate. The Kaiju moving as carefully as a surgeon would wield his instrunts. He held the pot over his head and prepared to pour its contents out onto his open maw. A sha he didn’t have any crear but-

Ryker’s eyes flicked to the breakroom fridge, then back to the coffee pot.

Barely hesitating for what might be his only cup of coffee ever in his new body, Ryker shifted enough to use the knee and shin of one leg to hold the door closed as he worked his tail away from the door, scraping it along most of the wall, before finally getting the tip of it to appear over one shoulder and next to the fridge after knocking over several chairs. He would have preferred to use his other arm but he was laying on it and didn’t want to risk losing his precarious grip on the coffee pot.

The fridge popped open with a flick of his tail and the crear sat alone on its own shelf.

After a tense few seconds of trying to work his tail around the plastic bottle of crear Ryker gave up and accepted that his tail was simply too big to hold it. Even the thinnest end of it. So he smacked the crear across the floor where it promptly bounced off his head. Gingerly biting down on it with razor sharp teeth to work it bit by bit into his mouth as he poured out the coffee.

Worth it. Ryker thought without any sha as he eagerly chewed on the plastic bottle to mix the crear with the coffee.

In all honesty it wasn’t really worth it. The coffee had been left out for too long, the plastic was ruining the texture of the crear, and he was behaving like a drug addict in need of a fix. But considering he very well might literally never be able to taste coffee again, he wanted to make sure he had sothing fresh the Synaptic Defrag could file away that wasn’t a part of his past life.

Several monts later, as an empty coffee pot rested on the countertop amid a whirlwind of destruction, part of the breakroom wall gave way as Ryker smoothly pushed it out of place, digging his fingers into the concrete to use as handholds as he gently lowered it to the ground and pulled his body out into the open air.

The cool night air was a shock to Ryker’s senses as it traveled across his scales, the Kaiju having to rush as he pulled his tail away from where it held the doors shut and dashed over to the nearest stand of trees and bushes. He managed to slip into the manicured foliage just as he heard very loud and angry voices arise from the place he had just been. Not wanting to stick around and be discovered, Ryker made his way carefully through the trees until he was staring out at a city still deep in its own night.

Sneaking out of the city without causing any more panic would be a hassle but he’d finally gotten his first Capstone Ability. That would be a ga changer in terms of his lethality as a Kaiju. More than that, he’d gotten a new modifier and eaten enough to make the Synaptic Defrag a sure thing if he could get his claws on another Kaiju or find another food supply.

So why did he still feel so uneasy?

Ryker rubbed a claw over one of the rapidly healing wounds in his side as he thought back to the very reason he’d been wounded. That call to evolve and the agonizing hunger. Those had affected him on a level he’d been completely unprepared for. It was one thing to prepare for the post Capstone euphoria that would push him to evolve in an effort to grow stronger, but the pain that ca with resisting that… he’d have to endure that again. If he ever wanted to stand a chance of fighting Kaiju like Storm Breaker on an equal playing field he’d have to feel that pain again not just once but twice. Could he really face that again? What if it got worse the more Capstones you had?

Ryker’s clawed hands curled into fists and clenched hard. The monster stared out at nothing as he let himself breathe in slow, deep bellowing breaths.

I’ll need to practice more with this ability. Ryker thought steadily as he nodded to himself. Refusing to look at the way his hands shook from being balled into fists so tightly. How they continued to tremble even after he unclenched them and tried to relax them.

Must be a trick to it. I’m doing sothing wrong, getting the wrong kind of vibrations. Ryker lied. Reaching out a claw to grasp a thick tree branch that wouldn’t imdiately snap as he allowed himself to put so of his weight on it. Feeling the rough bark of the tree under his palm fail to make any mark on his scales, it made him think of what it would feel like to hold it with a human hand. Even if it scraped it up and left a mark or bruise. Ryker had hated his body with everything he had when he’d first woken up like this, he’d had to let go of so of that just so he wouldn’t spiral into feeding his new instincts. But now, he just wished he was human again. Weak enough to rely on machines, chs, and other people to be his strength and share in his burdens.

For a small mont hidden between the swaying trees, Ryker allowed himself a mont to wish he wasn’t strong enough to face the world alone.

Then it was over.

I’ll need to do everything I can to fortify my mind to prepare for the next ti I hit the Filter after gaining my next Capstone. That ans the Neurosensory Segnt. I’ll hold off on getting the Capstone until I’ve got every single modifier I can get my hands on. Maybe even change up what ability I take when I hit the Divergence Point if it gives a better chance of passing through the Filter. Ryker thought as he reoriented on the world outside his small stand of covering trees.

The night seed to drape a calm over the city and for once the sight of buildings, cars, and the occasional pedestrian felt right. It would have been more comforting to know there were Auto Turrets on every other rooftop, thick walls designed to box attacking Kaiju into kill zones, and more. But seeing the world during a more innocent ti made it crystal clear to Ryker why he was here. Why he was putting himself through so much to protect it all.

I want it to stay like this. Ryker thought with a small genuine smile.

After everything is over, I want to see cities and people living their lives without being afraid of monsters. That’s the kind of world I want him to grow up in. Ryker thought as he pictured the younger version of himself that was out there sowhere. Playing video gas, going to school, getting his driver’s license, and every other boring thing in life that seed so beautiful after all the horrors he’d seen.

With his every step dampening the sound of the shadows around him, Ryker slipped out of the trees and into the dark of the night as he made his way out of the city. The burden of all he had to do made lighter as he took in the normalcy all around him.