Chapter Five: The Piranhasaurus
Dr. October grabbed a loose piece of steel from the ground and held it to the stump of his left arm. It glowed green and changed shape, attaching itself to the stump, extending up around the doctor's shoulder, and forming a hand. The glow faded and Dr. October let out a gasping breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Despite the cold, he was sweating.
"Dr. O, look," Dot said.
Dr. October looked at Dot's left arm. Blood didn't drip or flow from the wound, but a liquid similar in color to Dr. October's magical effects did.
"Does this mean..." she started.
"The magic is in you. The Vortex Spell," the doctor said. "You are a Vortex Pistol. The barrel on your wrist was just an extension."
Dot grimaced, looked at the laughing piranhasaurus and stood up. "I got this," she said.
"Dot, wait!" Dr. October said.
Before he could grab her, she ran at the piranhasaurus, dripping liquid magic as she went. The creature saw her and said, "Come to me, my little morsel! Give me your magic to make me stronger!"
It opened its mouth and Dot ran right down its throat. Cazguro clamped its jaws around her and chewed.
"No!" Dr. October screamed.
Cazguro swallowed, licked its lips and said, "Tasty. Now for dessert."
It took a deep breath and started to expand, breaking the steel wrappings bit by bit. Cazguro stood once its legs were free. "Soon you will be mine," it said. "Soon, I will rule this..."
Dr. October looked up. Cazguro had a confused look on its face, head tilted to the side as if listening to a far off sound. "No..." it said, then again louder, "No!"
As the doctor looked on, Cazguro began to deflate like a balloon, eaten away from the inside out. Growing bolder, the doctor approached the monster.
"Your plan to consume magic to grow stronger may have been a good idea," Dr. October said. "But Dorothy Morgan was no mere magic user. She became a creature of magic earlier today."
"You lie," Cazguro croaked.
"Specifically, she bonded with a spell designed to send you and your kind back to where you came from."
"No!" the creature bellowed. "It can't be!"
"But it is. You just consumed possibly the only thing that could send you back. And since she is now a part of YOU, you won't be able to come back across to this realm."
"Deceiver! I'll slay you for this!"
"It was your own greed that brought this on, Cazguro. Deal with it."
The creature screamed a final shriek and collapsed in on itself. The steel girders that had encased the monster collapsed with a tremendous crash. Dr. October stared for a moment at the spot the monster once occupied, then dropped to his knees and cried.
Three days after the Piranhasaurus appeared and was sent back, Dr. October told Dot's ex-husband the news of her demise. It was met with indifference, but gave Dr. October the closure he felt he needed.
He grew accustomed to his new metal arm and discovered unique magic abilities he hadn't had before. He gained more control over his Breacher site and discovered he could use a simple weather satellite's images to spot any more Breachers in real time.
While Dot's sacrifice stung, he understood there could have been no other way to stop Cazguro. He vowed that no others would perish while assisting him.
He would need to forge new weapons now that his only two Vortex Pistols were lost to him. Dot's sacrifice gave him an idea for new, better weapons to use in his race to close the breach before the Astrokraken could come across this Halloween. Less than eight months remained, and he had a lot of work to do.
End