Portals of Infinity: Kaiju

by John Van Stry

  "Going into the stadium in the middle of the day is going to raise attention, with these bags; they'll just figure we've got a reason to be there," Evean replied.

  "What's in the bags?" I asked.

  "One camo jumpsuit, one black jumpsuit. Weapons harness, knives, swords, backpack, rations, canteens, miscellaneous survival gear. The jumpsuits are fitted to your champion form, unless your form stands out here, then it's based on this form."

  "How do you know our sizes?"

  "I paid attention when we went clothes shopping the other day. Now, let's go. Will, be a dear and grab Teshes's bag please?"

  I nodded and did as directed and we marched out of the hotel and down the road to the stadium. Evean had gotten us a place that was rather close.

  When we got to the stadium, Evean led us around to a door far down the east side from the main entrance. It was early still, not yet nine a.m., and there really wasn't anyone around.

  "Okay, stay in line, and don't stop." Evean said, and pounded on the door.

  It opened and Teshes was inside, she beckoned us to follow as she led us down a corridor and into the bowels of the stadium.

  It was almost a bit of a maze down here, with the way the corridors were laid out, we had to take a circuitous path to get to where we wanted to go. The room with the portal actually had a barred door over it; Evean pulled out a set of bolt cutters from her bag and made fast work of the lock on it.

  "The door is alarmed," Suzona pointed out the micro-switch when Evean opened it and we all went through.

  "I guess somebody has an idea what's in there then," Evean said and walking up to the portal, she put her hand on it.

  "Feels okay to me. Let's go!" and she stepped through.

  We each followed in succession; I paused just long enough to get a feel for it too, before I stepped through.

  I moved away from the portal quickly, to clear a space for the person behind me. We were in the middle of what I guess was once a city. The ruins were rather extensive and I don't think there was a single wall or structure that was higher than a couple of feet.

  The ground was either dirt or broken concrete, and there were weeds and other grasses and such growing randomly through the cracks. I didn't see all that many trees, though there were a few in the area, mostly small ones.

  The sky was still blue, the sun still yellow. It was cool out, and I could smell the ocean faintly. I noticed then that there were craters scattered around us, some of them quite deep. Apparently this city had been destroyed by some sort of bombardment.

  I took a moment then to look around at everyone. Gregory and Suzona looked the same, as they were in their champion forms. The rest of us were more or less the same size we had been before, as our clothing still fit, however we all looked the same now; which was I guess Japanese as the others hadn't changed very much.

  "Okay, everyone get your gear in order, and then let's see if we can figure out where to go next." Evean said, stripping down and pulling a jumpsuit out of her bag.

  I set mine down and opening it I went through the contents. There was a backpack, as she had said, two jumpsuits, an equipment belt, a couple of regular knives, a bow, arrows, two swords the size of what I normally used, which would have surprised me, if it wasn't for the fact that I was starting to realize just how smart Evean really was.

  There were canteens, freeze-dried and dehydrated foodstuffs, and a harness for the gear, athletic shoes, and a pair of shorts.

  "What's with the shorts?" I asked.

  "I figured those of us from Saladin might prefer our Champion forms," Evean said and I looked up as I noticed her voice sounded more like what I was used to. She was in her champion form alright, and Gregory, Joseph, and even Suzona were staring at her with their mouths open.

  The rest of us all knew what she looked like, well maybe Shin didn't, I revised noticing his staring as well.

  "Good point," I said and stripping down myself I shifted as well. I put the shoes and the jumpsuits in the backpack, along with the food and other gear and after donning the gear I'd chosen to wear, I put it on my back.

  Joseph's pack I noticed was rather strangely shaped, but that made sense when after stripping naked he became a large wolf.

  "So now what?" I asked looking at everyone.

  "What's that?" Jane said and we all turned to look at what she was pointing at. Off on the horizon we could all see what looked like the top of a white tower.

  I turned and scanned the rest of the horizon, as did Evean and a couple of the others.

  "Well, as there's nothing else, I guess that's our destination," Evean said and we all started off in that direction.

  "So, you're the 'God Slayer', huh?"

  I looked over and down at Teshes who was walking along side of me now. She was attractive, but then she was a champion, so you'd expect her to be. Loomis was close enough that I think he was paying attention, while Shin was deeply involved in the study of Evean's butt and tail as she led us.

  "Yeah, that's me," I sighed.

  "Why do they call you that?" Suzona asked.

  "Because they know I hate it," I grumbled.

  "Why would anyone hate being called that?" Suzona asked surprised.

  "Because some of us don't like being reminded of what we're capable of doing when we're really pissed off."

  Suzona turned to Teshes, "So, what did he do, to earn such a title?"

  Teshes laughed, "I'd think that would be rather obvious."

  "Still, I would hear of it," Suzona asked, "It's not like he talks of it," she said nodded at me.

  Teshes looked at me, questioningly.

  I shrugged, "Go ahead, I don't care. I'm kind of curious as to how much the story has grown by this point."

  So for the next hour, Teshes entertained Suzona, and apparently everyone else, with a rather interesting recounting of what I did to the Mulanders so many years ago. I was surprised it even mentioned how I went against my god in the destruction of the Mulanders. Then again, Fel had made it clear I was taking the blame for it, so I guess he made sure, somehow, that that particular detail was included in the telling.

  There were some exaggerations, but not as many as I would have thought. Mainly it went on about how many I slew in combat, and while I knew that I had killed a lot, I don't know if I had killed that many.

  When it came to what I did to the people of the Mulander city, it wasn't exactly kind to me, but I couldn't really complain about that, I had done it, and I wasn't exactly proud of it.

  "How much of that is true?" Gregory asked looking at me a bit differently than before.

  "Too much," I sighed.

  "You'd think there would be a song of such a great conquest!" Suzona said. It figured that she would think it was a great deed.

  "There is!" Jane said from in front of me where she was walking.

  "You're kidding," I almost groaned.

  "Yup, Felecia has made it clear that she doesn't want anyone singing it around you however. She's afraid you might break their instrument over their head, and well, you know how much those things cost!"

  "I'd think you would want everyone to hear it," Gregory said. "To warn them to stay away."

  "It is pretty inspiring," Jane added.

  I just threw my hands up in the air while shaking my head.

  "But if he was the one pushing it you'd all say he was a braggart," Jane continued. "Heroes are better when they have a certain amount of humility, otherwise they become insufferable jerks and we just can't wait to see them fall."

  "Amen to that," Joseph agreed.

  The sun was nearing the horizon, and we still hadn't made the tower, which had now been revealed to be a lot taller than any of us had suspected. Having to skirt a number of bays and inlets along the way hadn't helped. Apparently the tower was either on, or close to, the coast.

  "How far away do you think that is?" I asked Evean.

  "Hard to say, without knowing just how big it is. But I'd rather arrive after the su
n has set. Less chance of being seen."

  "Seen by what?" I asked. So far we hadn't see a single person, and nothing bigger than a fox.

  "Somebody had to build it," She said.

  "Doesn't mean that they're still alive," I said. "I wonder how long ago this place was bombed."

  "Why?"

  "Well, our man came here sometime after the war, so probably nineteen forty-six or so. That's what, forty-five years ago? If this happened between then and now, then there is no guarantee that this 'Okishijen Desootoria' weapon even exists anymore."

  Evean nodded. "True, but I think whatever happened here, happened around the same time as the last war."

  "I just wish we could get there faster. Plus the lack of anybody around worries me. There aren't that many craters around here and there's no sign of ruins either."

  "I'm still wondering why they had a lock on the gate to the room with the portal," Evean admitted.

  "Wouldn't you?" Shin, who I think had finally gotten over drooling over Evean's body, put in.

  We all had to agree with Shin on that.

  We continued walking as the sun set, the tower lighting up as night fell.

  "Well, looks like somebody lives there," Teshes said.

  "Think this is where we will find the weapon?" Jane asked.

  Evean shook her head, "Anything built that big would have been knocked down."

  "Not if they had the weapon," Jane pointed out. "They could kill it before it came near."

  "She has a point," I said to Evean.

  "I guess we'll see when we get there then."

  It was late at night when the base of the tower finally came into view, and it was fairly big. There was a large wall surrounding the tower, with several buildings arrayed around it. There was also a port just outside the main wall, with a second, lower wall, surrounding it. But there were no ships in it that any of us could see.

  The tower itself was an interesting building. The base of it was huge, and all of it appeared to be made out of white concrete. It was twice as high as it was wide, but without anything to judge the size, I had no idea how high it was. There were ranks of windows, or at least I think they were windows, spaced evenly along it.

  Coming out of the base was a second tower, it was half as wide as the base and that segment appeared to be twice as tall. There was a geodesic design of what looked like girders on the outside of it, and it was lit up with floodlights, making it gleam the same shade of white as the base.

  Coming out of that was a third section, which was more than twice as tall as the entire structure below, and half as wide as the middle section. It appeared to be made of glass and was lit from the inside, or at least appeared to be. There also appeared to be some sort of structure on the very top of the tower, but what it was I could not tell from here.

  "Damn, that's huge," Joseph commented.

  "I think I see people around the base of it," Suzona said. She had a pair of binoculars out and was looking at the building. We were all lying down looking over the top of a small hill, staying in cover. We were probably a mile away.

  "So, now what?" Joseph asked as I got out my own binoculars and tried to see what was on the top of the tower.

  "That depends on what we can see of the people by the tower. We probably don't want to show up wearing our champion forms," Evean said.

  "Do we want to approach now? Or wait until after sunrise?" I asked.

  "Wait until a couple of hours after sunrise," Evean replied.

  We all agreed and headed back a good twenty-minute walk away from the rise we'd been looking over things from. There were a few crumbling buildings in the area, but we decided to camp out around some trees a bit higher up and out of the line of sight of the tower.

  Evean came over to me as she was setting up the watch rotations, Suzona and I would be first, then Joseph and Jane.

  "You want me to sit watch with Suzona?" I asked surprised.

  Evean smiled, we were all still in our champion forms and her smile was devastating in it of course, "She practically begged me to let her have a shot at you."

  "Seriously?" I was rather surprised.

  "Unlike you and me, Suzona never had to deal with rejection growing up. She's always been beautiful, smart, and talented. You've definitely cut her down a few notches and she's rather remorseful right now."

  "I'd have thought you'd be rather happy with that," I pointed out.

  "Back on Earth I was, but Roden reminded me last night that I was being petty and causing an ally to suffer."

  That surprised me, "Really?"

  "I'm only supposed to make our enemies suffer, William," she smirked.

  "So make nice with Suzona," I nodded. "I'll try."

  "Oh, I think you can do more than just try," Evean winked, and then went off to talk to Joseph.

  I walked the perimeter of our makeshift camp, getting an idea of where everyone was. We had a good spot with good coverage and decent visibility. Suzona caught up with me while she was doing the same.

  "Do you hate me, William?" She asked in that sexy voice of hers, looking down demurely.

  I sighed, either she was playing it to the hilt, or she was a little upset. I guess I'd find out eventually.

  "No, I don't hate you, Suzona."

  "Then why have you been so mean to me?"

  "Because you've been deserving it lately," I told her and smiled down at her when her head came up and she glared at me. In my champion form I was a good head taller than her.

  "Don't go denying it, either," I continued. "On your home world, I have no doubt that you're the most beautiful and desirable woman that there is, because you've been that pretty much everywhere we've gone. But I'm a champion, Suzona, just like you. I get beautiful and desirable all day long. And those women will do anything I ask them to do.

  "Now, do I expect that kind of behavior out of you? Or any of the other female champions here? No, of course not! Because we're all equals here. Evean is a friend of mine, one that I owe a debt of gratitude to."

  Suzona surprised me by giving a sigh and nodding as she looked down again.

  "She is so incredibly lovely in her champion form; I can see where that would sway a man, William."

  I put a finger under he chin and raised her head back up to look into her eyes.

  "Yes, she's hot. So are you. I didn't sleep with her because of that, if it was just looks, I would have taken the time to be with you again. I don't owe you anything, Suzona, and you don't owe me. If you want to be friends, then lets be friends. After that, if you want to sleep together or have sex, sure."

  "I would like that, William." Suzona said and smiled.

  "Being friends, or having sex?" I teased.

  "Both," She said and winked back at me.

  "Well, we have some time to kill," I said as we found a spot to settle down during our watch, "tell me about yourself."

  "I was the youngest of my parent's children," Suzona began softly. "My father was the King of course."

  I looked at her a bit surprised, "I didn't know that."

  She shrugged and continued, "I had three older brothers, Andreath, Seathius, and Grethian. I also had one older sister, borne between Seath and Greth, her name was Ryzona.

  "Growing up I idolized my two oldest brothers. Andre would be King one day, following after my father, who was like a god to me. I so rarely got to see my father, if he was not at war; he was busy with the affairs of the kingdom. My father was not exactly what you would call a 'just' man. He was quick to anger and would hold onto a grudge like a starving dog with a bone.

  "I did not realize that then, however. As I was only a child."

  "As I grew older, I became what I have heard called a 'Tomboy.' I spent as much time with Andre and Seath as I could, I learned to shoot from them; I learned to fight with hands and feet, and then knives. As I grew older I watched them and learned how to lead men.

  "This of course drove my mother mad, as while some knowledge of fighting was consider
ed good for a woman, being able to beat most men in a test of arms was not. Considering that I was the most beautiful woman in our lands, that made matters even worse."

  "Howso?" I asked. I didn't doubt her words about her beauty; Suzona was very much the kind of woman you often thought only existed in comic books and high fashion magazines.

  "Because after my father married off my sister, for a political alliance, he found himself unable to marry me off."

  "I'd think a strong man would want a strong woman."

  "Then you would think wrong," Suzona sighed. "When I was fifteen, I snuck off with my brothers Seath and Greth. It was to be Greth's first foray into combat, a raid in force on one of our neighbor's borders. Such things were common of course. We're a contentious lot, we fight often amongst ourselves. Usually it is a battle without deaths, what you would call 'counting coup' I believe."

  "Something bad happened, didn't it?"

  "Yes, we were beset by the king of the land and his army, we were beat down, and we were captured, most of the raiding party was killed during the battle, only my brother Seath, I, and two others survived. The king was rather happy with his victory, and had us all dragged to his tent, bound.

  "He then tried to rape me. In front of my brother, the two others, and all of his captains."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Eh, it is of no matter anymore, because not only did he fail, but I killed him. It was quite gruesome and rather bloody. I managed to free my brother and the other two and in the confusion we escaped. However the story of what I did, well, it did not set well with the other rulers and even my father was quite incensed.

  "So he threw me out and disowned me."

  "What did you do?" I asked rather shocked.

  "I gelded him."

  "Oh!"

  "With my teeth!" she laughed and smiled at me.

  "And that killed him?"

  "No, but it distracted him and his men enough that I could grab his sword and split his belly open, gutting him rather efficiently."

  "I could see where most men would be afraid to have you in their beds after that," I laughed.

  "Exactly. So cast out I had no place to go, other than the church. The high priest took a fancy to me; he wasn't afraid of me and started to send me on quests with the knights of the church, while seducing me whenever I was staying at the temple."