They found Will outside of his apartment lending a hand to a family of the first. He boosted a young girl into the back of one of the evacuation trucks where her parents clutched to her. Always the gentleman, Will handed the young girl her stuffed animal, and Andrea had to laugh at the irony. It was a tiny Tornaq bear. Nothing like a Kaiju doll to comfort a kid during an attack.
Gerry brought the car to a screeching halt at the curb as a giant shadow fell over the street.
“Oh, shi—” was all he got out before a great, scaly leg and clawed foot blotted out the light.
Will looked up and bolted the instant he saw the creature. Andrea gasped, but Will was fast for a big guy. The massive limb crashed down just yards from where Will had stood, the weight crushing the front end of the evacuation truck as though it were a tin can. The survivors spilled from the covered bed of the truck screaming. They hit the ground running and scattered. Andrea let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, but her relief at the people’s escape was short lived as the rotten stench of the creature assailed her. Gerry choked beside her, both muttering the creature’s name through the murk of its stink.
Grimmgarl had come to Nawlins, and she wasn’t there for Mardi Gras.
The beast’s tail slammed into a nearby bank building, the glass and steel exploding as though it were confetti, the illuminated sign sparking as it crashed onto the roof. The remnants of the building screamed as it collapsed, and Andrea saw a figure fall beneath the rubble, but the creature wasn’t done. Another building fell to her wrath as Andrea stared at the wanton destruction. It was a strange experience viewing the wreckage from this angle, her normal seat eye-to-eye with the creatures she faced down. She didn’t like the feeling.
Her attention was drawn back to Will as he ran toward the fallen building.
“What the hell is he doing?” Gerry asked.
Andrea sighed. She knew exactly what he was doing. “Damn it,” she muttered and leapt out of the car. “We need to help him before he gets his compassionate ass squished.”
She bolted over to where Will was struggling with the wreckage, hauling big chunks off the pile and tossing them aside. Will grunted with every stone, sweat beading across his forehead, but he was chucking them aside like nothing. Desperation had lent him strength.
Andrea reached him just as the tech uncovered the man buried in the debris. Both stopped cold as the familiar colors of purple and gold stared out at them, apparent despite the coating of gray dust. Gerry stumbled over to them right then, his foot bumping into the top of a half-buried yellow motorcycle helmet with a red stripe down the center.
“Colonel?” Will asked, spurred back into action to remove the last of the stone and steel refuse that held the man down.
The man sat up and reached over to retrieve his helmet. His smile broke through the dirt spattered across his face. “This is just embarrassing,” he said with a laugh as he climbed to his feet with Will’s help. “Hope you’re having a better day than me, Will.” He glanced over at the other two. “Gerry. Andrea.”
Andrea grinned at Colonel Ausum, but the stakes of what was happening wiped it from her face a moment later. No KRASER, the Colonel was on his own against the Kaiju, and it didn’t look like he was winning. “You okay?”
Ausum nodded. “Grimmgarl just caught me clearing people out of the bank. Hadn’t realized she was so close.” He shrugged. “Guess the stench should have warned me.”
Gerry grunted, waving at the air. “Definitely.”
Ausum’s own grin faded as he cast a glance at each of the group, one after the other, confusion registering on his expression. “Why are you here without KRASER?”
“Long story, but that’s where we’re headed now,” Andrea answered. “Can you keep the big girl busy for a bit?”
“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Ausum winked at her. “You folks do what you need to, but I certainly wouldn’t mind if you hurried.”
The group nodded as one, and the Colonel waved, slipped his helmet on, and chased after the beast. Andrea watched him for a second before corralling Will and Gerry.
“We need to go,” she said. “We’ve a robot to steal.”
~
Colonel Ausum clenched his teeth as he ran after Grimmgarl. His ribs ached and every step was perilous on the asphalt that shook beneath the creature’s fury, but he did never wavered. As the Kaiju’s tail appeared out of the dust cloud before him, Ausum skidded to a stop. He raised his hands raised into the air, drawing a slow, cleansing breath, before slowly lowering them back to his chest. “Hen…” His hands snapped outward, and then retreated until his arms lay across his chest, the ritual of transformation completed. “…shin!”
A familiar sense of vertigo filled his head as the world around him shrank away, his body glowing bright gold. The wash of his power erupted from him in a surge. He knew Grimmgarl would sense his change, but there was nothing he could do about it. The giant alligator spun about just as Ausum had predicted, but it was too late for the beast. He had assumed his henshined state, the glow replaced by the massive armor and spandex outfit that formed at his metamorphosis. Thunder rumbled in the wake of the Colonel’s power, both combatants staring across the city expanse at one another.
“For justice,” Ausum shouted as he felt his strength swell to full, his limbs channeling his energies in preparation of battle.
Grimmgarl snarled at the Colonel’s battle cry, charging at him with jaws wide open. Ausum sidestepped Grimmgarl, delivering a blow to the base of her neck. She staggered but didn’t fall, her tail slamming into Ausum’s helmet. The Colonel stumbled into a nearby building. The creak of breaking glass rang in his ears as he righted himself. Grimmgarl shook her head in annoyance and swiped at Ausum. Blood welled as the beast ripped the armor piece off and claws sank into flesh.
Ausum’s growled and reached for his wound out of instinct. Crimson welled between his fingers. Grimmgarl took advantage of his hesitation. The sharpened point of her snout slammed into the same shoulder, razored teeth slashing through skin and muscle as she opened her mouth, poised to bite down. Ausum knew time had turned against him. He summoned his energy and willed it into his fist as he drove and uppercut into Grimmgarl’s jaw. The beast’s mouth clacked shut as its head snapped upward. Her rancid breath steamed the colonel’s helmet as she roared and toppled backward. She crashed into the asphalt, kicking up shards of blackened wreckage and sending a tremor through the earth.
Ausum, eager to remain on the offensive, delivered a brutal axe kick to Grimmgarl’s midsection. The creature howled, but the Colonel pounced, desperate to keep her on her back. He rained down blow after blow, the creature squirming beneath him but doing little to ward off his attack.
Was it over already?
The Colonel eased back and glanced at the slit of the Kaiju’s reddened eye. It loosed a wet, phlegmy snort, dark blood and fetid spit streaming down its maw as it labored to draw breath. Then its eye snapped open, a snarl rippling across its mouth.
Ausum went to strike her again, but Grimmgarl had lured him in. Her tail smashed into the back of his helmet. Brilliant dots of white exploded in his vision, and the Colonel felt his legs give way. He fell as Grimmgarl rose up beneath him. The ground caught him with a shuddering thud.
~
Andrea slipped into the hangar where KRASER was stored, Gerry and Will at her back. As casual as they tried to appear, there was no mistaking the sense of criminality about their presence there. They’d fooled the gate guards into letting them onto the complex, their credentials still in place due to bureaucratic slothfulness, but none of them believed they’d be able to commandeer the mech so easily.
And as if to quash what little hope they’d had, Andrea spied the two soldiers camped outside the stairwell that led into KRASER’s cabin. The hangar empty of everything but the mech and its accoutrements, the guards spied them the moment they walked through the door.
“Hold it right there,” the first of the m
en called out, raising his rifle their direction.
Andrea kept walking, Gerry at her side, but she could hear Will muttering at her back.
“Came all this way just to get shot. Wonderful.”
“I said stop!” the soldier repeated as they drew closer, the second man joining the first and bringing his rifle to bear. “You know you’re not supposed to be here.”
“You don’t know—”
Andrea waved Gerry to silence before he could finish his statement. She slipped on her sad face and inched closer to the men. “You know what’s going on out there, right?”
The soldier shrugged. “Not my place to worry about it, ma’am. My job is here.”
Andrea sighed. “Maybe, but what’s happening is going to kill us all. You know damn well that General Jansen’s weapons are unproven.”
“Yeah, and Ausum is getting his ass kicked out there if you believe the radio,” Gerry added.
The first soldier drew a deep breath at hearing that, but the second stepped up.
“This robot is government property, so just turn around and walk away. We can’t let you take it no matter what’s going on.”
“Tell that to the people of New Orleans whose families are being killed while you sit here impeding our way.” Gerry snarled, poking a finger into the man’s chest.
The soldier batted it away. “Now, listen here, you robot jockey—”
Andrea stepped between them. “This is getting us nowhere. We’ll leave.” She turned and looked to Gerry, mouthing her thoughts to him as soon as she was sure the soldiers couldn’t see her face.
Do what you do best.
“Yeah, that’s what—” the officer started.
Andrea took a step to the side, Gerry’s fist flying past just inches from her cheek.
The solider crumpled as the punch landed flush on his jaw. He hadn’t seen it coming. The second man shouted and pivoted to line up a shot at Gerry, but Andrea elbowed him flush between his eyes. He grunted, blinking to clear the tears that spewed forth. Gerry tackled the soldier and drove him to the hangar floor as he ended the fight with a quick flurry of punches. Gerry crawled off the soldier and shaking his hand out.
“See? Violence does solve some things.”
Andrea just shook her head and charged up the stairs. They were running out of time. Security might be low for now with everyone’s attention on the Kaiju, but people would notice the unconscious men lying in the middle of the hangar soon enough. She planned to be long gone by the time they did.
KRASER’s cockpit was littered with levers and lights, three specially prepared seats welcoming the crew as they scrambled inside. Gerry took the center station and flipped switchers on his console, prepping the robot.
Lights slowly flickered to life as Andrea ran through the startup checklist as Gerry ran diagnostics on his side. She sealed the cabin and let out a quiet sigh. The Army would need a dozen tanks to peel the team out of KRASER now that the giant seals clanked shut. A few more buttons pushed and she heard the familiar hum of the robot’s systems coming online.
“Weapons free, all systems go.”
Gerry pointed at the hangar doors, still locked down. “What do we do about that?”
“No time to be gentle,” she said with a laugh.
Gerry grinned and together, the two set the robot in motion. KRASER brushed aside the boarding ramp and the robot charged toward the doors.
“You’re not going to…” Will’s question dropped away. “Oh, never mind. Of course you are.”
KRASER crashed into the hangar doors with a resounding boom. The doors gave way without resistance, both crumpling under the robot’s force and falling away.
“We’re free,” Gerry shouted while Will shook his head, adjusting his headphones.
KRASER built up speed as the team piloted it across the nearly empty tarmac. The few soldiers still around to witness the robot’s breakout stared with wide-eyed awe at its passing. Andrea grinned at them, though she knew they couldn’t see her. This was what KRASER was built for, and everyone would see it in action one last time.
~
Colonel Ausum cursed as he slammed into the asphalt. The beast had tricked him, and he’d fallen for it like a novice. His ears rang inside the helmet, stars dotting his eyes, but he wasn’t about to let Grimmgarl get the better of him. He drew on his power as the alligator rolled to its feet and rose up over him. It planned to rip Ausum apart, but the Colonel had other plans.
He grunted as Grimmgarl hurtled toward him, the Shin Bakutetsu welling up at his fingertips. Glimmer of light shone about his palms as the power burst loose. It caught Grimmgarl in the chest. Flashes of light rippled across the Kaiju’s flesh as it was flung backward from the blow as though it had collided with a bullet train the size of King Kong. The creature fell into the nearby cluster of buildings, taking a huge swath of them with her. Ausum hoped no one was still inside, but he didn’t have time for concern. If he didn’t stop Grimmgarl now, a couple casualties wouldn’t matter—the entire city would follow.
His ki stores dry, Ausum had burnt out his most effective weapon. Given enough time he would recover and might be able to land another blast somewhere more effective, but until then, the fight would be hand against claw. The Colonel sighed. That particular thought didn’t exactly fill him with joy.
Grimmgarl roared as she thrashed and got back to her feet. There was still plenty of fight left in her. She reared back, keeping her distance as if she knew Ausum was exhausted. When she opened her mouth, purple slivers of energy flew from that gaping chasm. Ausum went to sidestep but was too slow. Spears the color of plums pierced his chest, ripping through the armored spandex outfit and impaling him as if he’d fallen on a cactus. He reached to yank the points out only to have them explode, their tips shredding flesh and muscle from the inside. Ausum screamed as the agony overwhelmed him, his legs giving way and dropping him to his knees. Blood spilled down his chest and shrouded his purple in rivers of red. He looked up at Grimmgarl and imagined he saw the beast grin. They both knew today would not belong to him.
And then Grimmgarl disappeared, a trail of toppling ruins swallowing her up.
The Colonel’s eyes snapped to the purple and gold shape that crept through the dust of battle on the heels of the beast. Emotion welled in his throat at the sight.
“Now a good time, Colonel?” Andrea’s voice spilled from the giant robot. He could hear her smile behind the words.
Still catching his breath, Ausum gave KRASER a thumbs up. “Don’t let her off the hook,” he said, his voice barely carrying across the space between them.
KRASER just nodded and yanked its tomahawks from the sheaths at its back, stomping off after the Kaiju.
~
Andrea triggered the tomahawks’ special properties as she chased after Grimmgarl. The right glowed with searing heat while the left shimmered with energy. She charged in with the robot, lunging at Grimmgarl. The creature’s head snapped their direction, eyes training on KRASER as it came through the dust.
The beast snapped at the robot and jumped away from the axes, but Andrea had caught her unprepared. Grimmgarl howled as KRASER sliced deeply into her backside with the heated axe, rotten flesh sizzling beneath the blow and cauterizing the wound as it cut.
“Sure am glad to be in here,” Gerry called across the comms as the external sensors warned of the rank air outside the robot.
Andrea chuckled under her breath, but she knew better than to lose focus. Grimmgarl wasn’t some bully picking on kids in the playground. She was a full blown Kaiju with the potential to wreak unlimited destruction. Her undead body had been raised and empowered by dark voodoo, born and raised again to be a killer of mankind. Andrea knew the alligator wasn’t going down with a single blow, so she stayed on the offensive. Gerry stayed in sync with her as the two brought the robot about to continue their assault.
“Ready the big guns,” Andrea shouted as she closed on the Kaiju. Gerry grunted an affirmative.
/> Axes cut through the air and whatever blackened flesh they could reach. Grimmgarl growled and snapped at the robot, red eyes gleaming with fury, but Andrea kept the beast at bay, raining down one cleaving blow after another. Blood smoked off the blades, wafts of it steaming across the viewport. Andrea glanced to the screens to gauge her next blow when a particularly thick drift obscured her sight.
That drift helped Grimmgarl manage to parry one of the axes. Its forepaw crashed into KRASER’s wrist and stopped the arm cold in mid-swing. Servos groaned as the arm fought the sudden stop, but the creature offered no respite. It swung its head about and slammed dead into the chest of the robot. Steel groaned as KRASER’s torso armor buckled. An earthquake shook the cabin before the stabilizers kicked in and steadied it. The robot staggered back.
“Status?” Andrea shouted as she clutched to her controls.
“Structural integrity took a hit,” Gerry called out. “But all weapons are still go.”
“I’m alright, just waiting for my heart to come back down my throat,” Will added.
Andrea ignored the tech and throttled the robot back to keep it standing as Gerry did the same on his end. Grimmgarl loosed a triumphant bellow as it closed on them once more.
At the behest of Andrea, KRASER sheathed its tomahawks, and then stretched its empty hands towards Grimmgarl. Both began to spin in place, blurs of gold. Grimmgarl slowed, gaze locked on the whirling appendages. It eyes went wide then, almost recognizing what the team intended.
Gerry didn’t let her slip away. He slammed a flashing pair of buttons and screamed, “ROCKET! PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!”
KRASER’s forearms shot off at the elbow, spouting fire from the end. Like rockets, the fists spinning and gathering momentum, the arms careened toward Grimmgarl. The beats twisted away but there was no escape, the thrusters too quick to avoid.
The first slammed into her exposed side. There was a thunderous crack as bones gave way beneath the blow. Grimmgarl stumbled just as the second fist clipped its skull. The creature’s eyes rolled back and it fell. The building at her back gave way beneath her bulk and the force of the blows driving her backward, steel and glass welcoming her into the fold as both went down in a heap together.
Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters Page 11