Kaiju- Battlefield Surgeon

by Matt Dinniman

  “Over and under,” I cried.

  Clara nodded, slinging her Uzi. She soared away, higher into the air. She was incredibly fast, sailing over the thrown spears and darts.

  “Okay Banksy,” I said, pulling myself tightly against him like a jockey. “Let’s do it. Like we practiced.”

  Banksy reared up, diving straight through the concrete. We burrowed.

  The ground here had a distinctively different feel than the last ground we’d burrowed through. We traveled much longer than before, but I could feel the speed, Banksy moving just as quickly underground as he did on the surface. We emerged into a pile of rubble, rocks smashing me in the face the moment we were above ground. I felt my nose crack as I struggled to remain in the saddle.

  But we were past the demons. We had done it. A wall of rubble separated us from the demons and their boss, the demon on the horse. They seemed to keep their distance from the kaiju. We’d beat the gauntlet. Notifications poured by.

  “Uh oh,” Banksy said. I looked up in time to see the monstrous tentacle crashing down toward us.

  Chapter 36

  The tentacle swerved at the last moment, crashing into the rubble a block east. A tidal wave of shrapnel blasted into my side. Banksy cried in pain. I went flying, ejected from the saddle. I crashed hard into the ground, spinning to a stop in a deep puddle. I immediately healed myself. I sprang to my feet and rushed back to Banksy, who had stopped dead, covered in white filth and red blood. He breathed heavily as the rain washed over him.

  Banksy has low health.

  “Father, I am in pain,” he said.

  “Clara!” I cried, searching the sky.

  Then I saw her, angling through the rain. Her wings glowed blue, and she streaked like a meteor toward us.

  The Shrill swatted at her, and she dipped out of the way. She hit the ground between Banksy and me, bouncing twice. Her body smoldered as if she’d been pulled from a fire.

  “That goddamned demon followed me into the sky. His horse galloped right up into the air. I cast my Holy Flare on him and downed a health potion. The lightning strike barely scratched him. He just kept coming, shooting fireballs at me.” She raised her hand, healing Banksy as we crouched behind a pile of rocks. She collapsed next to me. “I was only saved because the demon didn’t want to ride into tentacle range.”

  The shrill roared, and we covered our ears.

  “Well this is just great,” Clara continued, peering over the rock. The rain was coming in sheets. “How are we going to get inside of him?”

  Winky suddenly appeared, blinking into existence next to Clara’s head. The bat did not appear to enjoy flying in the rain.

  “The glazers are cautiously moving forward,” Clara said. “It looks like they’re about to push an attack on the Shrill.”

  “We need to go up there,” I said. “I think he aborted an attack on me when he saw I was a worm surgeon. He was about to swat Banksy and me into dust and pulled off at the last moment.”

  “You sure he just didn’t miss? He was aiming right at me.”

  No, I wasn’t sure. But I had a hunch. “I think we’ll be safe if you stick next to me,” I said.

  “How about you test this theory by going up there yourself and…”

  Clara cut off as the rain abruptly stopped pounding into us. We both looked up to see the tentacle hovering directly over our heads. This was a different limb than the giant appendages that ringed the lower half of the monstrosity. This was thinner, only about twice as thick as Banksy. Several blinking eyes of different shapes and colors dotted the bottom of the arm. A dripping, fanged mouth stopped directly over us as we stared stupidly up at the flesh. The mouth was wide enough to swallow me whole.

  “Worm surgeon,” the mouth hissed. “Heal me. Come. Give me your succor.” The tentacle pulled away. The rain resumed its assault.

  “Well that was unexpected,” Clara said.

  “Come on,” I said. I jumped onto the back of Banksy. “Clara, don’t fly. Walk along next to me.”

  “Okay,” she said. To her bat, she said, “Winky, go hunting. Go someplace dry. I will summon you when we’re free.” She reached out and patted its head. “I expect you to be level 11 by the time I get back.” The bat shrieked then popped away.

  We pulled up over the rocks. As we crested the small hill of rubble, a different sort of screech echoed. A wall of glazers pushed toward us, about 200 meters away. King Vinea was amongst them, holding back.

  “We gotta hurry,” I said. We rushed toward the bulk of the Shrill, running between two tentacles that were each at least three stories tall. I caught sight of one of the thinner arms, and I realized it wasn’t a tentacle at all, but a tongue from one of the many mouths. The main tentacles did not have mouths or eyes, but the extra-long tongues, all almost as long as the much-bigger tentacles, were all covered with mouths, eyes, hooks, and random horns.

  The original plan was for Banksy to burrow into the side of the monster, and I’d heal the wound behind us. But we didn’t have to worry. A double garage-sized maw gaped at our approach, saliva dripping in great globs. We rushed right into the mouth, as if it was the opening of a great cave.

  Entering the Shrill – Mouth Number 422

  Warning: The Shrill is in dire health!

  This is your associated guardian!

  Your familiar has a new available regeneration location.

  A new menu is available: Home Base.

  Deep Dive activating! World Map is not available during a deep dive! Gross Anatomy map activating! Surgery menu activating! Frame Vision now available!

  Performing scan…

  The Gross Anatomy map that appeared in my vision was significantly more detailed than the normal version. I realized I was seeing a level four rendering of the map, the top level. It was probably something all players received when they were inside their own kaiju.

  I gaped at the structure of the former demon.

  I wasn’t any sort of expert on anatomy or zoology, but I knew the internal map of Bast had been distinctly lion-like, just on a much larger scale. And Moritasgus was equally badger-like in his innards.

  The Shrill was a different story. He looked as if someone had just thrown a pile of random organs in a sack and sealed it shut. There were at least three hearts, ten kidneys, a single lung for about half the mouths and a stomach for the other half. The map of the guardian’s intestines looked more like a diagram of the Tokyo subway system. I spun the map in awe.

  The kaiju didn’t appear to have bones at all. Just high-tension tendons and muscles. It wasn’t quite like the invertebrates I remembered from school, but the hydrostatic skeletons of creatures like octopuses were much closer than whatever this was.

  Its perfectly round brain was smack in the middle of its bulk, with nerve bundles shooting off in every direction. The brain was huge, about the size of the old Epcot Center in Disneyworld, but small compared to the rest of the monster’s bulk. Dozens of thick nerve bundles were scattered around its body, and I wondered if they worked as secondary brains.

  Two quest markers appeared in the jumbled mess. It turns out I didn’t need that tracking spell in here after all. The first marker indicated the location of Bernadette, my long-lost aunt and the missing quantum mechanic. The second marker, located at the tip of one of the several mammoth tentacles, marked the location of the kaiju’s testicles, where I would be able to fertilize Lamashtu’s egg.

  The scan finished, populating my map with areas that needed attention.

  The Shrill was very sick. Dozens of crucial action items appeared. Eight of them were the same level-10 train parasites that plagued Bast. Almost the entirety of the kaiju’s massive intestinal system was infested with a level seven “ancylostomiasis” infection, which I suspected was a parasite similar to the heartworms.

  My good aunt Bernadette appeared to be smack in the middle of that infection.

  Multiple other parasitic infestations appeared on the skin. The map showed the outlines of
the botfly-like invaders. The larvae resided in pustules and were each the size of baby elephants.

  In addition to the parasites, multiple other, more mundane issues plagued the kaiju. There appeared to be several hernia-like muscle blooms that needed to be repaired. Numerous cancerous cells appeared throughout the body. Exterior boils needed to be lanced. Cataracts plagued the kaiju’s thousand eyes. I had to administer all six vaccines, but I couldn’t do half of them until he was healed of the pre-existing infection.

  All told, the Shrill’s current strength was at 30% and his health was at a paltry 25%.

  I needed to heal all of it. I needed to get my home base set up, and I needed to figure out how to control this damn thing. I didn’t know if I’d have to give up my access to Moritasgus in order to do so, but I hoped not.

  My home base also appeared on the map, a small blip in the center of the chaos. Unlike the previous two kaiju, this one appeared to be located outside the intestinal tract. It was attached to a muscle underneath the center brain. Its location read Visit location to activate home base.

  The world rumbled as the maw closed. Darkness enveloped us, and my Frame Vision activated. Clara clutched onto my arm.

  “I added a skill that lets me see in the dark,” she said, “but it doesn’t work that great. I need to get a bionic upgrade if I want to level it more.”

  “We need to get you one of those miner hats,” I said, looking about. This mouth didn’t have any tongue or teeth, but it was surrounded by small, saliva-creating glands. I was already up to my ankles in kaiju spit. So far, the Shrill didn’t smell nearly as bad as the previous two guardians had, but we hadn’t gone too far inside yet, either.

  The ribbed floor of the mouth rumbled again. The Shrill hadn’t moved from his spot since we’d first found him, though we could feel the vibrations of the tentacles smashing at the invading army outside. We walked to the back of the mouth, which led to a horizontal, esophagus-like tube as wide as a sewer tunnel. We’d have to travel single file. It led to a small stomach, but I could see on my map that a thick, red artery ran alongside the tunnel, and I could access it at the lip of the stomach.

  “Do you have the BloodBorne talent?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “But Banksy doesn’t.”

  “Shit,” I said, looking down at my worm. I could probably ride on his back and burrow my way toward any part of the body I wanted, but I imagined that wouldn’t be too healthy for the Shrill. Alternatively, Clara and I could travel on our own and have Banksy meet us.

  “Banksy,” I said. “If we go ahead of you, do you think you’ll be able to track me down?”

  “Of course,” Banksy said. “I can find you as long as you’re not too far away. During deep dive, I will always be able to home in on you.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Clara and I are going to first try to figure out how to activate my home base. Meet us there and try not to get eaten. But if you do die, I can now pick this mouth here as your regeneration spot.”

  I pulled up my familiar menu, and I switched Banksy’s respawn to mouth number 422. Each time we visited a new location within the guardian, it would get added to the list of possible regen locations for my pet. It was one of the special abilities of his particular species of worm. He didn’t need a brand to get a regen spot within my associated guardian as long as he’d visited it once before.

  Clara and I both chose a BloodBorne drop-off location just outside the exterior of my home base, and away we went, me going first.

  Entering Stem Region Three

  Warning… Diagnosis is recommended.

  The ride took a good twenty seconds to complete, about as twice as long as it had taken the last time. I vomited out of the cell onto a long, wide tendon, as hard as steel. The tendon was as wide as a city street, but it was curved, and I’d slip on the slick surface if I wasn’t careful. If the Shrill decided now was a good time to start moving around, I’d be screwed. The outline of the brain spread directly above me.

  I noticed the monster just as I clicked Diagnosis.

  Scanning…

  Level 8 Toxocarasaurus

  Warning: Your Antiparasitic talent is not adequate for this infection.

  Recommended Treatment:

  Antiparasitic followed by Detoxification and Cleanse. Vaccines recommended.

  Warning: due to the strength of the infection you must be in direct contact with the nematode when you administer the antiparasitic.

  A long, beaked worm curled around the tendon. It wasn’t quite as big as the train parasites, but it looked much more menacing. The thing had to be fifty feet long and had an enormous frill around its horned skull, making it look like a giant snake with the head of a triceratops. It was curled so thoroughly around the tendon, I thought at first it was a part of the long tube. I jumped back with a surprised yelp. The monster faced away from me, but I had stepped directly on the thin tip of its tail.

  It howled at the intrusion and climbed into the air, rising like a monstrous cobra. It twisted to face me, the tip of its head brushing against the underside of the sac that protected the brain.

  A glowing red tag blazed over its head.

  Clara emerged out of the artery, coming to stand uncertainly behind me.

  “That was pretty awesome,” she began. “It was like riding… Holy fuck!” We both jumped back as the head struck. The tendon bobbed.

  My gun had recharged, and I brought it to bear, firing directly into the thing’s screaming jaws. The pulse bounced right off its head. The reflected shot severed through a thin cable of a vein, and blood sprayed into the room.

  “We need to cast an antiparasitic,” Clara cried, buzzing awkwardly into the air. The pulsating sac over the brain was a mere foot over her head. Just past the worm was the hexagonal outline of the home base. We needed to somehow get past the thing.

  “Mine is only level five,” I cried. I pulled up the surgical talent menu. “Scratch that, level six.” I’d managed to go up a level. I’d been so overwhelmed with announcements when I entered the Shrill, I hadn’t even noticed.

  I used my grappling hook to grasp a hanging vein, and I swung myself off the tendon just as the lumbering worm snapped again. I dropped down, landing further back on the tendon while the dino-worm followed Clara’s clunky movements through the air. The tendon curved upward toward the opposite end of the brain like a suspension bridge cable. Beyond that was a wall of muscle.

  “We’ll do it together,” Clara called. “I’m level five. Maybe if we cast at the same time, it’ll be enough.”

  The spraying blood stopped to a trickle as the cells clogged the hole. Every visible surface dripped with blood.

  “Okay,” I yelled back. I shot out my grappling hook, ready to swing forward like Tarzan. “On three, we grab the tail and cast. Ready? One, two…”

  “Wait,” she yelled, dodging a bite. “One, two, three, go or one, two, and go on three?”

  “The first one!” I yelled back. “Christ, it’s always the first one. One, two, three, now!”

  I leaped forward, swinging. I landed on the tendon, and my feet went flying under me, slipping on the blood. In a panic, I grasped directly onto the spongy length of the tail with my right hand. I dangled in mid-air. My surgery menu popped up, and I clicked Antiparasitic just as Clara landed on the worm.

  Half my soul power seeped out of me. The monster glowed, screaming in rage. On my map, a circle pulsed, a couple hundred feet in diameter and centered on our position. Literally thousands of red dots suddenly appeared on the map.

  The monster unfurled off the tendon and fell with me still clutching onto its tail. I shot my left hand and grasped onto the white meat of a tendon covering a muscle. I retracted, and I rose as the worm fell. It didn’t go far, falling a good twenty feet to land on some unknown organ thing that pulsated below us. The whole worm flashed red. We’d hurt it. But we certainly hadn’t killed it.

  I lowered myself back onto the main tendon, more gently this time. I fired my
gun once more, aiming at the monster’s mouth. It still did nothing. The parasite screamed up at us and started to rise again.

  At the same time, all the blinking red dots on the map converged on our location. Parasites ranging in size from a foot long to bigger than this dinosaur thing started coming out of every direction toward us.

  They all blinked red. The smaller ones began to curl up and die as they approached. I felt the blips of their soul power as they died. But many of the others just looked pissed off.

  “Screw this,” I said. I pointed at the hexagonal polyp. “To the base,” I cried out.

  I didn’t have to ask Clara twice. Swarms of monsters would be on us in seconds. Most were worm-shaped. But not all of them. Some were spider-like. A few were distinctively human-shaped as well, but with exaggerated features, like a realistically rendered version of a child’s drawing.

  Clara flew to the bottom of the hexagon. A round portal door appeared, similar to the one within Moritasgus’s lungs. She struggled to turn it. “It won’t let me open it,” she cried. “It says I don’t have permission.”

  “It has to be me,” I called. I could barely reach the portal from the tendon without having to use my grappling hook. I grasped and twisted. The door opened outward. I pulled myself up as all the creatures closed in.

  Entering The Shrill – Player Base

  Activating… Base has been claimed by Player Duke. This area now has restricted access.

  You own this player base.

  Additional text appeared, explaining how bases work. I dismissed it, reaching down to grab Clara’s hand.

  “No, no, no,” she cried. “Duke, they’re on me. They’re burrowing into me. Pull me up. Pull me up.”

  I tried to pull her in, but I was physically stopped.

  Other players may not access this area. You may edit the parameters in the permissions tab of the Home Base menu.

  “Shit,” I cried. “I have to…”