Emergence: Kaiju Invasion

[Zarm]

"Mike," Ransikoff offered softly into the silence, keenly aware of how tentative the man's patience was, "I already theorized... I think they have a very short time projecting onto our material plane. Wherever they are, it's like... like what projects them has a very short battery life. They need to recharge. If they could show up constantly, they would. But their contact with us is tenuous. They're passing on what they can, when they can."

He met the gunner's livid stare as calmly as he could; collecting himself after the unexpected barrage of questions.

"They don't have all the answers; they're discovering like we are. And this plan... this plan is the Earth's. It raised the kaiju. And some of them are bad eggs, certainly. I doubt there's a place for the Ghagon in saving us, for instance."

He held up a hand to forestall Robbins' retort, and to the man's credit, he held his peace.

"You see the collateral damage that the protectors do; the death toll around the world. But when the Destroyer comes, these deaths, this destruction, will be nothing. He will annihilate this world, and we can't stop him. We can't kill even the simplest kaiju. But they can. Ragnarok is dead because they can kill each-other. That's why we need them; not because they're desirable to live with, but because what's coming will kill the entire planet. And he's a level beyond. It will take the combined effort of all the world's kaiju to stop him. Or her. Even if we could figure out how to kill kaiju at this power level, we'd only be exterminating our only line of defense just in time for something we'd be completely helpless against to arrive and wipe us out. What these kaiju are doing to our world, our people, is not good. But what the Destroyer will do to us if unopposed is far, far worse."

[Andrew the Gojifan]

Gabriel Muntenescu was surprisingly alright. No, not unharmed, but not severely wounded, which was surprising. While sketching on his notebook he had half listened to what Ransikoff was rambling about. Clearly the kaiju were not mindless things. He shook his head and focused once more on his sketching. It was a mess. A simplistic sketch of a bison dominated the page with some scientific nomenclature below:
Genus: Bison
Species:Marianaensis Latifrons Hanaizumiensis?
While the amount of strikes on the species was justified, the indecisive naming of the subspecies could only be a result of pettiness
Subspecies: Giganticus Latifrons Marianaensis

Gabriel let the naming of the bison slide in favor of being generally weary. A scream caught his attention, it sounded like Akihiko.
Akihiko winced as Blade`s grip on his bandaged fingers tightened:
"What?! What did I do!? What did I do to you?!"

[Zarm]

"To me?" Blade growled. "Nothin'. To the expedition...?"

He spat in the dirt at Akihiko's feet.

"Stole, for starters. Hand's proof enough of that. But unless you're dumber than you look, I think we both figured out you did more than that."

[Andrew the Gojifan]

"Stole?! I didn't stiel!" Yelled Akihiko, his panic muffling his english into gibberish
Blade tightens his grip on Akihiko's fingers causing a scream.
"Oh, and i'm meant to believe that?! You really are stupid."

By this point Gabriel realised that Akihiko hadn't tripped. He got up and headed towards the scene, only to witness Blade Harrison squeezing a struggling Akihiko's fingers:
"Oi, what on Earth is going on here? I thought we were here to make the discovery of the century, not to kill eachother and viciously attack our expedition's wounded members!
"Oh, if only you knew what this brat did!"
"What would that be? He didn't steal and Bioterror has nothing to do with him!"
"Either you two are the stupidest people on the planet or you are behind all this!"
"Oh, you catch on quickly! I can see why they hired you. To get started, I was the one that stole from the camp's Marianasium supply. I got addicted, I'll admit that, but Bioterror seems to have taken care of that. Speaking of it, that thing was my fault too! I forgot to turn the Ambrosia dispenser off when we evacuated! What a silly mistake, why did you think I turned back in the midst of the stampede? Or did you not see that?"
Blade let go of Akihiko, who was looking at Gabriel horrified. Preparing for the worst, the scientist slid his hand into his backpack.

[Zarm]

Blade stopped dead in his tracks. It was like he'd figured- the idiot had left the tap open, the stuff had poured out by mistake, created the kaiju.

Only he'd got the wrong idiot. That kinda killed the momentum of his 'wrath-of-god, shock-and-awe, scare-'em-straight' plan.

But, wait... Blade was no scientist, but-

"Addicted, and stupid!" he snapped, careful to keep his voice low; this wasn't for the rest of the camp.

Yet.

"Good for you at the stampede, kid," he sneered sarcastically, "But that's not the first time you pulled something that boneheaded! That gunk's all around in nature, and you don't see giant plantlife springing up all over the island! Which says to me, 'multiple doses.'"

He got right up into the kid's face- and only then noticed the hand behind his back. In an instant, his training took over- muscles tensing in preparation to snap the kid's neck any one of a dozen different ways; mind calculating another dozen ways to take his attacker down with him if he was too slow to take him out first.

Civilian.

Right. Civilian. He kept having to adjust his expectations when dealing with these guys. Whatever the gesture might have meant among his usual sort of company, this was a wet-behind-the-ears scientist. He wasn't gonna be armed.

His body was not so compliant that it would stand down from readiness at the mere presence of reason- but he managed to keep himself from lashing out and breaking the kid's nose in a preemptive strike. So that was progress to be proud of.

"You left the tap open more than once on your 'midnight snacker' routine!" He had no idea if that was actually true- in fact, it sounded less plausible the longer he talked- but he decided to press home his advantage while the kid's expression still bore a grimace of mild terror. "Which means there's one more kaiju in the world, thanks to you."

He got nose to nose with Muntenescu, his voice a primal growl straight from the pits of hell.

"You have any idea what someone like Robbins, or Mahmoud, or any of these other guys that have lost family to the monsters would do to you if they found out you made one? Made one while stealing their stuff from behind their backs?"

He couldn't tell if Muntenescu gave a nervous gulp, but he hoped so.

"Might be even worse than what I'd do to you. Mood the world's in now, you might even be tried and executed for war crimes. Millions upon millions dead, nothing anyone can do- and suddenly one scapegoat; one man in the entire world that can actually be blamed for making kaiju happen. Doesn't matter if it's just one; way people are feeling right now ain't exactly rational."

He had the satisfaction of seeing Muntenescu pale... though he also saw that reached-back arm tighten, and had to fight down another instinctive urge to deliver a throat-punch to head off incoming attack.

"So here's what you're gonna do, kid. First, lose the attitude. 'Tough' ain't a good fit on you. Second, you toe the line. Kick the klepto, pitch in for more than your fair share pitching camp and keeping everyone alive. Be on your best behavior. Because you step out of line once- even once- and I'll go whisper your secret in the ear of the five guys in this camp likeliest to kill you on the spot, and deal with the court martial later. You got me?"

He took a step back, sizing up the kid- wondering just how the little shrimp was gonna respond. It was hard to get a reading on how nervous the kid was with Yasoshima hyperventilating close to passing out behind them.

[Andrew the Gojifan]

The pale Gabriel cracked a smile
"Great that no conflict is needed."
Blade frowned, it's almost as if the kid is trying to be annoying.
"And even better, I have a plan to take out that oversized plant. It's no kaiju, otherwise it's weakness wouldn't be so obvious. Think of it's big Marianasium "belly" as a barrel of life juices. If we can make something that can punch a hole in the barrel, that thing is as good as dead.

The whole of the camp screams as they are ingulfed by a shadow. Gabriel and Blade look behind them. The full 345 feet of Epizona stand before them. She lowers her head.

The strange creatures gawk at her. They are very small but their thoughts are as complex as hers. Strange how a marvel of nature can have such a small vessel. Clearly they have resentment towards kaiju. And then she senses something. From the visuallised thoughts of the creature she can tell that one of them fed essence to a flower, resulting in that thing. Deducing the meaning of words she beams out her thought.
Plant not kaiju
She can tell that they understood something
She senses something, a crude imitation of beaming one's thought
Giant Marianasium Plant?
Marianasium must be what they call essence.
Yes.
"Oh my God!"
First contact had been made.

[JAGzilla]

The silence from the jungle stretched on for interminable seconds, as Ransikoff made his case. Mike listened with one ear, not truly taking it in at first. He felt himself deflate a bit as the Attuned failed to reveal themselves, and he realized with some surprise how very, very badly he'd been hoping to meet them. For all the derision he'd just shown them (and their spokesman), for as appallingly distasteful as he found their 'plan'... it would've been something to go by. An explanation given from a nonhuman source, closer to the heart of this terrible situation than any human was, might have a ring of authenticity that he could latch on to. As it was, believing without seeing was hard to do when he didn't care for what they had to say.

For now, Ransikoff was all he had. "...far, far worse," the scientist concluded.

Mike sighed. "If it's real, sir," he said. "If it's real. Until we get some kind of proof, I still say we should focus on the threat we can actually see. The threat that'll wipe us out in a few months if it keeps up like it's been. Maybe that's short-sighted, but we literally do not have time for long-term thinking right now. We can't stake the fate of the planet on what, I'm sorry, could just be a figment of your imagination. The kaiju are real, and dangerous. Period."

It was at that point that he became aware that the ground was shaking. Somewhere behind him, one of the scientists screamed. A soldier swore.

Mike tightened his grip on his minigun, bringing it up into a firing position. Before he could even begin to look for the source of the commotion, it dramatically, horrifyingly, appeared on its own.

With shocking swiftness and silence for something so ungodly big, the storklike form of the kaiju Epizona rose up out of the jungle, blotting out half the stars as it loomed over the miniscule humans at its feet. It fixed them with its piercing gaze, and Mike realized dimly that this was where he was going to die. instinctive terror vied with the understanding that at least his suffering would be over, and he'd be with Annabelle again. White-hot hatred rose up within him at the thought of her death, and he resolved to do everything he could to take some small piece of revenge, and take this monster down with him.

"Speak of the devil," he growled, bracing himself. He inhaled- "LIGHT IT UP!" he roared raggedly, the words tearing at his throat. He swung his weapon upward, taking aim at the kaiju's hideous face-

"NO!" screamed another voice, which he recognized as belonging to Corporal White. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

Mike had absolutely zero intention of obeying, his finger tightening on the trigger, but at the same instant, something else burst into his line of sight. Ransikoff. The shorter man dove between Mike and his target, the weapon poised to blow his head to confetti. Somehow, Mike stopped himself short.

"Is that what you think of me now?" the Czech demanded. "Mike, I am scared out of my mind here, and if you could kill this thing right now, I would help you pull the trigger. But we've seen our guns don't work- and this thing is way too close to make it mad without being able to finish it off, and I don't want to die."

Mike resisted the surprisingly strong impulse to fire anyway. They were all about to be slaughtered regardless, so to hell with restraint, and if this idiot wanted to protect murderous demons, he deserved what he'd get. But...

With effort, he tore his eyes off the kaiju, meeting Ransikoff's glare. He was taken aback by the determination he saw there. However deranged he sounded most of the time, the man could be serious when he wanted to. He meant what he was saying, all of it... and he was fully commited to standing his ground now.

A few very long seconds dragged by as the unwanted truth of Ransikoff's words penetrated the fog of Mike's anger, as did Captain McDonnel's from what felt like a lifetime ago. "In charge." He was going to get them all killed.

"Plus," Ransikoff continued in an offhand sort of way, "this one's from space, so it doesn't count."

Before Mike could even begin to process that statement, he became aware that White was still talking, his voice loud but calm, though the effort to maintain it was readily apparent.

"...shoot, I repeat, nobody. Shoot. It hasn't attacked yet, and maybe we can keep it that way. Don't run, either; if it's a predator, that might trigger some kind of chase response. Anybody know what the hell a heron eats? Fish, right?"

"A-and... anything e-e-else that can fit in its mouth..." Dr. Nihn's voice squeaked.

"Didn't honestly want to know that, Doc, thanks," White replied.

Mike took a deep breath, steeling himself. He glared at Ransikoff. "I don't know what the space part even means, but you're right," he hissed. "About this. The other conversation's not over. Now keep your mouth shut, and get behind me." The professor hesitated a moment, but seemed to decide that Mike could be trusted now. He did as he was told.

"White's right," he spoke up to the group at large, looking back up to the kaiju and starting to actually take in the details of its appearance as he backed slowly away, minugun still trained and ready. "If it makes a hostile move, we shoot for those wounds. Maybe that'll sting enough that we'll get time to make a run for it. For now, nobody panics."

"Yes, sir," White replied, relief clear in his voice that he and Mike were now on the same page. "Now, we're gonna treat it like a bear and back off slowly. Don't look away, don't yell, don't run. Don't freaking shoot. We stay calm until we get under cover and out of sight, then we get the hell out of here."

A few affirmatives sounded from the group; Mike could hear rapid-fire Spanish from somewhere to the right as Garcia rattled off what sounded like similar orders to his own unit. They began to carry out the plan, making their way toward thick tree cover with agonizing slowness, pounding hearts and short, fearful breaths audible all around. All the while, the gargantuan bird watched them, a disturbing intelligence shining in its beady, black eyes. He felt as if he were under a massive, evil microscope, being carefully analyzed by some cruel god. What was it doing? It had to attack, that was what these things did. What was it waiting for? God, but it was huge. It could kill them all in seconds. He kept his eyes on that wickedly sharp beak, long as an Underground train. When would it lunge, and why did it not just get it over-

With whiplash-inducing abruptness, the situation changed, and it was all he could do not to panic and open fire. In some impossible-to-describe way, as if an artillery shell were going off in his head, Mike felt Epizona's mind touch his own. Horror surged through him. It was in his head, its filthy alien mind trying to corrupt his own... he reacted instinctively, trying to push it out. But the power he felt there was monumental, incredible age and experience pouring from it. There was willpower beyond comprehension; he felt immediately that this animal had endured some appalling catastrophe, but refused to break. It had spent millennia traversing the universe in order to pursue... revenge? But not against humanity. Against... something. It had endured... loss. Terrible, heartbreaking loss.

With a fresh kind of horror, Mike realized that this monster's emotional state was very like his own.

But there was no time to think about this. The creature's thoughts shifted; he got the sense that it was responding to what someone else was thinking about. Was it in all their heads simultaneously? An image appeared, the writhing, vicious form of Bioterror. At the same time, other kaiju appeared: the roaring, blood-crazed dinosaur Thanatos, and the dull, inert jellyfish Ragnarok. A sense of negativity, of disconnect, accompanied the images, and Mike found himself understanding: Epizona was implying that Bioterror was not a kaiju like the others, but something altogether different and wrong.

In his state of stunned disbelief, struggling to come to grips with being in mental communication with an alien lifeform, with finding something wholly unexpected in its thoughts, Mike felt himself replying. He focused his thoughts toward the bird: What about you? Are you like the rest of the kaiju? What do you want with us?

[Zarm]

Blade was trying. He really was. He hadn't killed Muntenescu. Twice.

And then a giant freakin' space bird showed up, and Robbins gave him permission to fire. And then White yelled not to, as over a decade's muscle-memory poured every impulse in his body into the most familiar and well-practiced action it knew- squeezing a trigger.

If Blade hadn't been proud of himself for sparing Muntenescu, he actually considered himself one of the finest human beings alive for the level of conscious restraint it took to wrestle that impulse under control, the hammer less than a hair's breadth from snapping back into the firing pin.

Actually easing off the trigger- that was beyond the level of self-control he could muster. He just stood there, his arm shaking, staring that... that creature full in its house-sized face, the muscles in his arm so taut that it felt like they would snap under their own pressure.

When everyone else began to move back, he held his ground. Not out of bravery, or even bravado- he simply couldn't move.

No one else could turn away from it. Their backing up would have been comical, in other circumstance- not looking where they were going, they split and diverged in a hundred different directions, fanning out like a shockwave from the epicenter of the bird, and not managing even a remotely-uniform retreat.

He saw Robbins double over, looking stricken, and turn about, clutching at his head- when he straightened, his back was to the sphere, and he was still backing up. The way he stared at the bird, as if he could understand it- as if something was passing between them...

Concerned, Blade opened his mouth to speak, found his vocal cords paralyzed, his mouth parched, as the gargantuan form loomed over everything-

At the same moment, he heard cries breaking out, scattered, across the group- first Muntenescu, then Robbins, three of the Egyptians, then Reed, rippling through the group like arcing lightning, with no rhyme or reason-

And then it was in his head, and he bellowed, a roar of pain and fear and violation. He was a terrified, fleeing fugitive in his own mind, trying to escape the overbearing, ubiquitous presence-

Blade was trying. He really was. But this was too much.

In blind panic and indescribable turmoil, screaming to the skies in pain and confusion, his senses closed to the world... his finger tightened on the trigger. Shots rang out as he emptied his clip into the distant face of the kaiju.

[JAGzilla]

Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

"Crap, uh... target is confirmed to be accelerating, sir. He's changed course by fifteen degrees, now on a heading for... let me double-check here... yes. Target now approaching the city of Tacoma, should arrive within two minutes at current speed. He's leaving the AWACS in the dust, now."

Colonel Tobias Moore exhaled, folding his arms behind his back. "So we can officially declare Titan Protocol, then. No reason to doubt he's heading straight for the other two."

On the command center's main screen, infrared footage from high above showed a winged blob, bright orange and red against the dark blues of the earth below, making its way past Mount Rainier. The AWACS pilot radioed that he was about to lose visual contact as Sangrazotz outran his plane. Seconds later, the image vanished, replaced by a satellite map of Tacoma with Tekuta and Ignus Lung's locations marked.

Moore couldn't exactly call himself surprised by this turn of events. Kaiju had been coming together all over the world over the last few hours, and everyone at the S.T.U. had expected something similar to unfold here ever since Sangrazotz had begun his trek up the West Coast. There were too many kaiju in his path for that direction to be coincidence. The question was, of course, why?

Had had to admit that he was very curious to see what exactly would transpire, here. A fair bit of critical information had come to light recently, as the fighter pilots from the Texas and Arizona engagements had returned to base (not all at the same time, and one had been so disoriented that he'd wound up landing at a civilian airport two hundred miles out of his way) and gradually recovered enough to be debriefed on what they'd experienced. From what intelligence could piece together from the reports, Sangrazotz employed some sort of psychological weapon, emitted or focused by its immense red eyes, that had a profound effect on the mind of anyone who made eye contact with the creature. The handful of pilots who'd been lucky enough to avoid looking the enemy in the eye reported that they'd felt nothing out of the ordinary.

For those less fortunate, the effects seemed to have varied. All of the men agreed that the monster's mind was incredibly powerful. "I felt like a bug hitting a windshield," one airman had explained. "All my focus and willpower just stopped, like what I wanted didn't matter at all anymore. That thing wanted me to calm down and leave it alone, so that's what I did. Just like that. My will, my mission, none of that mattered compared to what Sangrazotz wanted. I just went blank until he was gone."

Another pilot had been shown highly immersive visions of his family, his home, things that made him feel very relaxed and at peace. "I thought I was home," he said. "I literally did not remember that I was in a moving airplane until I crashed into Mercer's jet. The jolt woke me up, I guess. I'm damn lucky I was able to snap out of it fast enough to eject. I wish I knew what he was feeling when he went down. If he was in a peaceful trance like I'd been, I hope he felt like that until the end. I hope he didn't suffer, you know?"

Whatever exact effect the creature's power had, Moore had to assume it would impact other kaiju, as well. For what purpose, he'd have to wait and see. He wished he didn't have to watch uselessly from nearly three thousand miles away, but there was nothing for it. His job, for now, was to observe.

A sigh from a work station beside him got Moore's attention, bringing him back to the present. "Problem, Lincoln?" he asked.

"Oh, no, sir, sorry," the young technician stammered, embarrassed. She hesitated a moment. "It's just... my cousin used to live in Tacoma, said it's a nice city. I was planning on visiting someday, but... I guess I waited too long, huh? Looks like it's about to become the next New Delhi."

"I wouldn't write the city off just yet," Moore replied. "Don't forget, everyone was saying the same thing about Anchorage a few hours ago. Two of these kaiju linked up peacefully, hardly damaged anything. Who's to say the same thing won't happen here?"

"Yes, sir," Lincoln replied, but he could tell she was less than optimistic. "Let's hope you're right."
..........................................................................

Tacoma, Washington

Sangrazotz descended, gliding over mountains and hills, toward a large cluster of the odd stone boxes that now seemed nearly as common as trees. He'd seen many thousands of them on his travels so far. But they were an irrelevent feature of the landscape, and not at all what he was interested in. His instincts had led him well: on the coast, a few miles ahead, a large, luminous shape hovered amid the unnatural lights that dotted the ground around it. As he approached, more details resolved themselves: a long, serpentine body with four limbs, studded with spikes and horns.

The dragon. Ignus Lung. A clumsy, bumbling imbecile, as Sangrazotz recalled; it had been rather a long time since they'd met. Indeed, Lung seemed blissfully ignorant of a predator's approach, and Sangrazotz wasn't even bothering to be overly stealthy; the glowing brute was preoccupied, totally absorbed in examining some object or other on the ground. He could be effortlessly taken by surprise, find himself lost in the mesmerizing sea of Sangrazotz's gaze before he even realized he was under attack. An easy meal.

But something nagged at the back of his mind, warning bells telling him that this was not a hunt to take lightly. Instinctively, he dropped lower, shedding his speed and coming to a nearly silent landing on a hilltop overlooking a massive, egglike structure. Hordes of some sort of tiny creatures scattered at his feet, squeaking in fright; he paid them no mind. He crouched low, eyed Lung a moment longer, ensuring that the dragon remained oblivious, and then turned away to scan the predawn gloom for anything else that could be taken as... a threat.

There it was, right at the water's edge. His keen vision should've picked it up sooner, but the strangeness of the landscape helped to camouflage it just long enough. Suspended in a stand of weird, multicolored trees, was the unmistakable form of Tekuta. Ever the annoying bodyguard, and now it protected Lung. Unless... something was off here. He had the unfamiliar sense of being stalked himself... as though the other two kaiju were actively on offense.

A high, piercing screech rolled across the valley. A warning. Tekuta had spotted him. It was a trap, then, using the highly visible dragon as bait. Clever. Ignus' head swung toward Sangrazotz's perch, and his eyes held no trace of surprise. This was an ambush.

Sangrazotz reacted quickly. He was here for a meal, and wouldn't be so easily dissuaded. He couldn't take them both at once, so he'd divide and conquer. First, a rebuke: Tekuta was more than likely the brains of this operation, and his obnoxious insistence on interfering with other people's breakfast plans would not go unpunished.

The red-eyed demon leaped from his perch, flapping hard and accelerating past the speed of sound in an instant. He streaked low over the box forest, blasted over Tekuta's position before the land-bound kaiju could react. A tremendous shockwave followed in his wake, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. Dozens of large, brightly-colored crates stacked neatly on the shoreline were picked up and hurled into the ape-crab's face, and the straining trees it clung to severely buffeted.

Sangrazotz didn't pause to see whether his target had fallen. He banked left sharply, hurtling over the bay and sending a plume of water arcing through the air behind him. He circled back toward the valley, watching for the dragon he knew must now be after him. Chase me, Ignus Lung, he urged silently. Leave your ally behind...

[Zarm]

'We have no desire to-' Tekuta began... and then cut off abruptly as several tons of steel slammed him in the face. In the impromptu pelting, he lost both his grip, and his train of thought.

Well- talking things through was clearly not going to be an option. Why were the self-same predators that could lie in ambush for a meal for hours, even days, so impatient in all other matters?

His strange perches creaked and groaned precipitously, bending toward the water. Releasing all but a single claw-hold, Tekuta used his long arms to swing himself onto the shore- and by then, Sangrazotz was already far out of his range.

This was weakness; the reason he'd needed Ignus Lung as insurance. Tekuta had nothing on either kaiju in speed, and Sangrazotz knew it. Unless Ignus Lung herded him in close, Tekuta would have no part in this battle until Sangrazotz wished it. He was used to the wizard's tricks, and could defend himself well enough if the predator went for his mind... but he doubted Ignus was as well-defended. And if Ignus allowed Sangrazotz to separate them, Tekuta could do little to protect them.

Come, Ignus, Tekuta urged silently. Remember our plan. Keep him close.

For better or ill, all of what would result this day depended on the fiery dragon. Tekuta only hoped that he hadn't overextended himself trying to serve as protector of all... and instead of averting danger for many, wasn't instead plunging one of his closest friends straight into it.

[Billzilla1974]

Ignus Lung was in the air the moment he saw Tekuta go down, realizing Sangrazotz's superior speed compared to his friend, heading in his foe's direction at the speed Mach 2. The crimson-golden dragon was seemingly heading after Sangrazotz, Ignoring the chaotic symphony of hundreds of glass windows shattering as he flew past dozens of buildings.

"Closer...Almost..." He thought, as the city limits came into view.

Finally, as he neared the limits of city, Ignus Lung focused his vision on the outline of Sangrazotz's body and for the first time since his emergence, unleashed his signature weapon. In a fluid motion quicker than human eyes could discern, the monster of myth took a deep breath, launched beam of white-ish-orange flame for a second, before suddenly turned his body upside-down to fly back at top speed towards Tekuta. An inevitable side affect of this sharp movement was a sonic boom being created by his tail, one the monster of myth hoped would at least bother his adversary.

Ignus Lung had no intention of leaving his ally, to the contrary, he knew that when danger truly came, there was strength in numbers. Ironically, Tekuta's comparative slowness might've aided his cause. If Ignus had traveled at his top speed, he wouldn't have had time to grow use to the more careful ways of his ape-crab ally, and would likely have charged straight at Sangrazotz with no real strategy. Having become so use to heeding Tekuta's advice, the great serpentine beast slowed to a hovering stop 30 meters away from the waterfront of Tacoma.

Turning his skinny reptilian frame, Ignus Lung looked in the direction of Sangrazotz. He hadn't seen whether his flame hit its mark or not, and even if it didn't, a direct hit wasn't the reddish-golden monster's goal. The monster of myth bared his every tooth, and gave a low, hissing, crocodilian-like growl, talking to his foe was out of the question.

Ignus Lung saw Sangrazotz's flyby at Tekuta as a taunt, a way to mock his ally, and the 400 foot long titan felt it was best to respond in kind.

The levitating kaiju gave a momentary glance at 'brother in arms' as he prepared himself as best he could for Sangrazotz's counterattack.

[JAGzilla]

A wave of heat rolled through the air above Sangrazotz's head, nearly singing his fur. An instant later, a tremendous explosion of sound filled the air around him, momentarily deafening him and striking with such force that he wobbled in the air, losing altitude and feeling a bone-rattling jolt as his right wing tore through a towering box made of white stone, strange markings reading WELLS FARGO emblazoned across the top corner.

He flapped hard, rising back into the air and ascertaining that his wing was still perfectly functional. He dodged and weaved a bit in case of a second attack, then risked a glance behind him... he was safe. Ignus Lung had given up the chase, returning to his ally's side.

The red-eyed kaiju came to a stop, turning around to hover in place a mile or so out from his would-be prey. Between them, the top third of the damaged white tower broke away from its base, toppling to the ground with much noise and mess that might have been impressive to someone else. Sangrazotz ignored it, observed the other kaiju silently, assessing the situation. Lung was fast, more so than expected; he probably could have caught up, had he wanted to, and breaking off while his quarry was off-balance was obviously a questionable idea. So either he was even less intelligent than Sangrazotz had initially taken him for, or catching up hadn't been his objective. The speed with which he'd returned to Tekuta implied the latter: he knew better than to allow himself to be led astray.

Very well. There were other ways to carry out his plan, and all this high-speed pursuit business was really not his preferred method of doing things, anyhow. With a few slow, elegant flaps, he drifted back toward the duo and descended, settling gracefully down upon the smoking stump of the shattered tower. It creaked and shifted in protest, bits of debris tumbling to earth, but seemed as though it would bear his weight for now. He folded his wings lightly, keeping them poised in case they were needed suddenly. And then... he began his attack in earnest.

The rising, billowing clouds of smoke and dust largely obscured his white body from his adversaries, but he knew his brilliant crimson eyes would be clearly visible, probably standing out like beacons in the near-darkness. He hunched forward just a bit, focusing his sight on the reptilian eyes of Ignus Lung. The familiar low, ominous hum of his building power began, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. He focused carefully, gazing deep into the dragon's eyes and beyond, into his very soul.

Lung stiffened, his attention clearly acquired.

That's it... the predator hissed silently, his mind now partially linked with Lung's. The message would get through. He poured his will into the connection, feeling it slip into the dragon's clouded mind and supplant his own desires. Do not look away... do not resist... You do not want to fight me. You are mine, now, and you will obey. Leave the crab; he does not matter to you. You will come to me...

[Zarm]

Tekuta's mandibles dropped open. This had not been a part of the plan. Ignus Lung had returned, but he remained over the water.

Tekuta should have considered that angle. He should have planned for the environment...

It left him only one option.

His claws shut up to one of the few remaining strange trees, bent and warped over the edge of the water. Hoping against all hope that it would hold long enough, Tekuta swung himself back over the water, reaching out with his other claw, bracing himself-

The other pincer clamped around Ignus Lung's tail. Tekuta shrieked at decearing Heat radiating through his claw, through its roots and down into the arm- but he was already yanking, tugging his motionless ally, swinging them back toward the shore.

The metal tree gave way, turning their arc into an ungraceful tumble. A good third of Ignus' body, including his head, was plunging straight for the water- and Tekuta contorted his body underneath the falling shape, embracing the full fiery form as he shoved it, hard, onto the shore.

He hit the water himself, on his back, the water putting out the flames that had errupted across the fur of both arms, but only further abrading the scorched hand-paws on his underside.

Tekuta didn't know if the hard landing had already snapped the dragon from his reverie or not. And Sangrazotz would doubtless be moving in. As he fell through a roiling curtain of bubbles, tumbling, trying to fight through the tremendous pain, Tekuta knew that the plan could still be salvaged- so long as he reached his ally first.

Righting himself, he kicked with powerful strokes through the water, back to the surface. It would only be a handful of seconds before he was back at his ally's side. And if he was the second to get there-

Well, he just had to hope thar something that had scorched his own body so badly from a few brief contacts would not be very easy to eat in a short amount of time.

[MinorBone Good]

Antsiranana, Madagascar, four hours and a half ago

Tilipazus slowly moved forward on the sandy beach, enjoying the few times where there were no kaiju around. She let out a calmed sigh to herself. This place is perfect for her to stay. Great weather, nice view. The only thing that seemed out of place was the strange, multicolored rocks that stuck up from the ground. There was one thing that this place needed, along with herself.. A protector. There is no way that this place will stay this empty for long. Soon there will be kaiju crawling all over this place and she'll just be another meal to them. She had to act fast if she wanted protection.

She slowly stretched out her limbs to prepare her for swimming, the tip of her tail accidentally crashing into the surprisingly fragile rock. Shrugging it off, she continued on her path to the ocean. She quickly took one large step into the water, and clumsily fell into the ocean, landing on her side. Several of her fruits popped off due to the unexpected movement, making them flow back to the surface. Tilipazus groaned as she slowly stood back up. Her eyes slowly swiveled back to take notice of the steep drop, shaking her head in disappoint of herself. Her skin took on the color of the water she was in, camouflaging her. The giant chameleon then started to make her way into the ocean to find herself a bodyguard.

Fifteen minutes later, she was deep into the ocean, pondering how long it would take her to find an ally. Sometimes it would take her a day or two to find willing kaiju, but she almost always stayed away from the ocean.. Many kaiju were quickly eaten within seconds. Some she even witnessed herself. But she was desperate. Her eyes scanned below her again, making sure that there wasn't any creature coming for her. Tilipazus sighed in content. Soon she'll get to land and be safe. At least, that's what she thought before a grey, pointy nose of a goblin shark reared it's ugly head suddenly appeared to the left of her. She cried out in shock, moving away from Vrithigee before stopping in her tracks.

The two stood still for several moments, before Tilipazus tilted her head. Is this being friendly? It probably would have attacked by now.. She scraped off some of her purple fruit using her tail and tossed it in the ocean towards Vrithigee. She called out to him.

"Food for friend?"

[Zarm]

Vrithigee would have sighed, if such a sound were in his capabilities.

It made sounds. They all made sounds. It was the only way they knew to communicate. Not like he spoke, in the joining. Not like true speech.

It was offering him something. A gift. It didn't understand.

This was the most terrifying part. The greatest risk; chancing the deepest hurt.

He reached past the little nodule, the proffered limb. For the other. The it-in-potenia. The thing that could be understood, could understand- could change from alien 'it' to be known; that could become his bridge from the strangeness of the outsideness to the joyous contentedness of fulfilment.

It would accept him, and the wondrous would begin... or turn away, as so many had, and remain an 'it.'

Slowly, tentatively, his tentacles extended, flesh parting to expose branching, questing nerves beneath as they moved to touch the skin of the other...

[MinorBone Good]

Tilipazus looked on in worry as Vrithigee's arms slipped pass through her offerings. She spoke again, hoping to generate a response.

"Food for friend?"

The new creature didn't respond, instead, it's six arms starting to stretch out towards her. Starting to panic, unbeknownst to her, some of the fruit on her body began to turn black. Slowly starting to wrinkle and look more like a raisin. She stayed completely still however, mostly from fear, but a bit of interest as well. Perhaps it was tired and needed to rest on her? Or just showing gratitude for the gift?

Whatever the case, Tilipazus held onto those happy thoughts the best she could, letting the cold tentacles wrap around her blue skin..

[Zarm]

Elation. Hope.

Contact.

Vrithigee felt a shudder run through him as two nervous systems made the first connect- the first stage to joining. Two bodies, one shared mind.

It stiffened, shuddering, the nodules dotting its body beginning to darken and shrivel in spots-

And Vrithigee knew it as her.

At this stage, the two psyches barely brushed- whispers of concepts. Not even enough to share a sense of identity; only the merest of concepts, of meager thought pictures.

Still, it had been long- almost longer than memory reached- since a joining had reached this stage...

Strength, Vrithigee projected, never knowing how much was truly communicated. I will add to your strength. You will fulfill me.

The pictures he received in return were timid, uncertain- confused. The nodules continued to darken.

He sensed a search, a desire-

Protection. Companionship. A shivering fear; the tonic to assuage it.

Protection Vrithigee urged, wishing he could explain more fully. The nerves burrowed slowly into her skin, seeking out their counterparts; if she did not pull away, in a moment, he wouldn't need to. In a moment, she would know. He offered himself as protector- but if they were one, she would need no protector. They would be their own protector. And he would no longer be alone.

Protection. Companionship, he promised- and waited in hopeful trepidation. The second stage began- but until it was finished, she could tear free at any time. The choice remained fully in her paws...

[MinorBone Good]

She began to tremble as Vrithigee's tentacles began to wrap around her body.

Still no talk...

She began to worry more and more. Starting to abandon hope, she decided it would be best to run.

Then she heard him.

Puzzled, she stayed quiet. Not quite understanding this situation.

The new voice started to communicate with her, telling her things she exactly wanted to hear..

Protection and companionship. The message that was repeated. Actually being able to fend off predators on her own? She never even considered that a possibility..

But not on her own. No. She needed him.. And he needed her.

A new thought formed in Tilipazus's head.

Acceptance.

[Dawsbfiremind]

On a planet on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy

The priest pulled the tiny trigger on the golden rod he held, causing a small stream of flame to erupt from its end. After looking at it for a moment, he held the flame to the incense sticks, coaxing their sweet smell to be released in the smoke that floated through the orange light coming from the being before him.

His duty finished, he placed the golden rod on the table on which the incense sat and retreated for the sanctum’s entrance.

“Priest.”

The priest stopped. He could understand the word uttered by the being, and he knew he should listen well to what he had to say. “I am here.”

“I am disturbed.”

The priest dropped to one knee. “How have I offended you? Please tell me.”

“What disturbs me is not your fault,” the being said. “It simply seems that my lens has cleared. I am seeing a truly perplexing path.”

The priest almost looked up. “What do the visions show?”

The being paused, during which the priest glanced upwards, glimpsing the lower edges of his tusks curling upwards around his elephantine trunk.

“A woman in blue and gold armor,” the being said. “and she leads the peoples of the planets into battle against an ancestor of hers.”

The priest frowned. “Why does this disturb you, esteemed Ganesh?”

“The road to this event disturbs me,” Ganesh muttered. “It is littered with corpses of planets and humans and beings such as us, even my own corpse.”

“That is not possible,” the priest said. “None could kill you.”

“Many could, dear priest,” Ganesh said. “The key to these event lie with the people of Earth and their conflict with the hyperfaunal beings they now call kaiju.”

The priest rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know much about where this is all going, much less how it began.”

Ganesh looked above him, the bright warmth in his chest growing more intense as he focused his lens. “She does.”


The Cloud

In the murky depths of the cloud hovered a ring-shaped structure, a single, massive spire floating in its center. Around the structure floated five planet-sized lights, each a different color.

A figure fell between the lights, hurtling towards the front entrance to the massive spire, a silver concave disk in one hand.

The figure squeezed the disk, causing it to glow and prompting silvery metal to cover their body like a cocoon.

Then they struck the front entrance of the spire, the metal absorbing all of the shock before disappearing back into the disk.

The figure looked up, seeing the familiar three sisters before them.

“Wha”

“t obj”

“item have brou”

“come with to”

“now?”

The figure blinked, deciphering the triplet’s speech several seconds after they finished their nearly incoherent sentence, smiling as they held out the silver disk. “A lens, from the collection of Baren.”

One of the triplets cocked her head in a rhythmic manner not unlike a clock’s second hand, not stopping until her chin was parallel to her shoulder. “From immmaterriiiiiial?”

Another triplet extended one hand to the spire’s doors, which began to open. “She is interested.”

“Very interested,” the third triplet agreed, nodding vigorously.

The figure with the disk looked past them at the being standing in the doorway. Upon making eye contact, they knelt, holding out the disk. “Lady Nu Wa, one of your lenses, I presume?”

A smile inadvertently twitched into existence on Nu Wa’s face.

[Billzilla1974]

Ignus Lung came to realize he had made a great mistake in looking at Sangrazotz directly, the moment he stared at the red-eyed fiend, his body went rigid like stone and he couldn't control body. The dragon felt his will-power suddenly vanish behind a curtain of darkness, as his foe spoke directly to his very being now, telling him to abandon Tekuta and to obey him.

However, the flaming reptile felt the mental connection between him and Sangrazotz get interrupted, followed by the oddly faint sensation of his tail being grabbed. When Ignus heard Tekuta's Screech, he attempted to turn his neck to see what was wrong, but his nerves and muscles were still too numb to move. The next thing the great serpent knew was the pain of landing fairly hard onto the shoreline, scattering sand and debris onto nearby buildings. The pain from the impact itself was minor in comparison to the throbbing headache leftover from Sangrazotz's attempt at controlling him, which made Ignus Lung dizzy.

Fortunately for the monster of myth, his limbs and body were no longer rigid, although he remained close to the ground on all-fours to prevent himself from falling over from dizziness. Turning his neck and head to the water, Ignus could see the churning, steaming water revealing Tekuta's location. Although he wasn't able to see what injured his ally, the billowing steam and bubbling water, gave him a good picture what happened.

Suddenly realizing that Sangrazotz was probably not going to let him or Tekuta recover, the crimson scaled beast tensed his legs, prepped his jaw, and closed his eyes.
Ignus Lung tried to rely on his other senses, out of both a desire to prevent himself from looking into his adversary's dangerous eyes, and recognizing that his vision was too blurred from dizziness to do much good at the moment.

Although he had the speed to match, and likely out speed Sangrazotz in flight, the mountain of scales and horns wasn't too keen on getting so up close and personal with the eyes of doom, not without his friend at his side.

Ignus Lung tensed up, rock-shattering claws and tungsten-crushing teeth at the ready, silently waiting for a non-visual sign of his enemy's approach, and hoping Tekuta would surface as soon as possible.