Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Landon Soto

It started as just another streak of light in the sky. A random meteor that left a pretty display which anyone nearby looked up at in awe, then went back to whatever they were previously doing. Then it landed, probably sending some animals fleeing from the loud noise and fire. Nothing this world hadn’t seen before countless times.

Until something crawled out, a living being that hurled through the cosmos inside a rocky shell until it crashed into the pale, blue dot circling around a star.

On most worlds, it would have been a terrifying creature, a massive beast. It had spread pale, gossamer wings and clacked together myriad sharpened limbs, taking flight into the night sky. But here on this planet, while it was bigger than most lifeforms, it was not the top of the heap by any means.

Earth bore myriad ecosystems composed of colossi that were only outsized by the mountains. Fueled by the natural radiation emanating from the world, titans were born and became parts of the cycle of life. Some flew through the heavens while others burrowed through the ground, some killed other titans to feast while others just shoveled entire forests into their maw for sustenance. Other worlds in the universe had been destabilized by the presence of one or a few such creatures, but the Earth’s many colossi managed to balance each other out just like the ecosystems of smaller animals.

So when the traveler from the stars emerged, she had soon found herself chased by myriad winged titans, who had fought in and commanded these skies for millions of years. They soon brought her down, sending the insectoid spiraling down and crashing into the earth in some remote region, leaving her alone due to the inedible nature of the alien. It would have just been another weird, inconsequential occurrence, probably something for the volcanic pteranodons and Varadagis to regale their young with through tales.

Until the world of monsters met its own monster.

The alien re-emerged, without wings but far larger. Now even the grandest titans of the world paled in comparison to the entity. She towered above them, weighed far more than even the alpha titans. The one born of another world shambled across the world, eliminating anything that drew anywhere near to her.

Clouds of death emanated from her breast, legions of her brood that could bring a titan down by latching onto them like leeches and hacking away at the flesh en masse. Bolts of hellacious plasma erupted from her horn, tearing through the thickest armor like it was wood. And numerous blades upon her body lashed out, shredding opposition and leaving them broken, blood-soaked carcasses.

The bodies of the slain were never feasted upon, the swarms instead eating the very rocks and sand they trod upon, the matriarch seemingly not even needing to eat. Upon the mountains they would cultivate colossal, otherworldly flowers. Anything that came within miles of them was hunted down and slaughtered. After a time, the plants would detonate with a mighty blast, which would echo across the countryside as the mountain, and whatever else was in the immediate area, became a scorched crater.

Legion would just move on from there, to the next place she could begin this horrid process.

***

A herd of titans were gathered together, all nestled within a massive canyon that was able to accommodate their numbers. It was difficult to get in or out of the chasm, making it a very safe place for their young. The adults had little to worry about regarding the treacherous nature of the place, the males could all fly and the females could all burrow.

The MUTOs all had skin of black and grey, the only noteworthy variation in color being their red eyes. They resembled gigantic insects, bearing multiple thin legs that ended in sharp points. These were the traits that all of the parasitic colossi shared. Roughly half of them towered over the other half, being built with rippling, intimidating musculature that could easily carry their scythe-like limbs through the body of another titan. The other half, while much smaller and less bulky, had sizable wings that could allow them to soar through the air with nearly unmatched grace and agility. Females and males, respectively.

As the two types of adult MUTOs watched over the numerous smaller members of their species, younglings of various ages walking about and playing with each other, one female in particular stayed by the side, away from the rest of the pack. She was even bulkier than a typical MUTO, and armor plating coated her back. Scars were all over her form, some older than most members of this pack.

The Queen MUTO looked up to the skies, sensing what was approaching before any others did.

Two males came flying in, both badly injured and barely remaining airborne. They had the body of a titan in their clutches, a juvenile member of their rival species, but it bore injuries that the four males who had gone out that morning could not have possibly inflicted.

They landed, one falling to the ground fully and struggling to breathe. The flimsy meal flopped out of their grip, barely enough to feed themselves much less the whole pack. Panicked cries echoed throughout the canyon, only growing in fervor when the men recounted what had happened.

They had encountered the ivory nightmare on a routine hunt. Legion had killed one of them almost immediately with a glancing blow from her beam. The other, a victim of the soldier swarm.

Legion was close to their herd! They knew she could burrow, the screams of perishing titans echoing across the landscape had informed them of this much, she could get into their domain! The children would be powerless, even the adults would not fare much better. Perhaps if they all attacked at once they could win, but how much damage would she do before then, how many would die if she came across their abode?

The Queen MUTO listened to the cacophony, silent as usual. She silenced them with a shout, all eyes falling to her. She turned to the side, walking deeper into the canyon. Breathing in, the veteran of countless battles let loose a deep, rumbling call towards the very center of their domain.

She acted as the pack’s leader, but she was not their true ruler.

A mound of earth collapsed before erupting upwards in a geyser. A massive arm coated in orange, spiky armor, ending in a fist that had crushed the bones of a thousand colossi, came up, before being joined by another. They pulled up a body that made even the Queen MUTO look diminutive, coated in similar armor to the arms and bearing muscle that put even the mightiest members of the Godzilla species to shame.

MUTO Prime’s glowing eyes looked over her brood. Some of them could not help but shrink back at the gaze. She marched forward, a baritone growl emerging from her throat which asked why she had been awakened. The Queen stepped forward, replying with the information that a creature beyond any on Earth was drawing far too close to their domain for comfort.

The earthquake beetle scoffed at the idea of a being beyond any on Earth, not with her existence. But, if it had her children so terrified, then she knew it must be dealt with for their safety.

One of the younglings stepped forward, clearly terrified of the threat of Legion. They let loose a small, high-pitched call, questioning if their first progenitor could overcome this menace. MUTO Prime got closer to her spawn, letting out a much more subdued, calm growl. She would ensure they would not die by the claws of whatever aberration this was, none of the herd would have to die.

A colossal hand, one bigger than the child’s skull and that had crushed the throats of beasts that could tear down mountains, came down gently and patted them for a moment. The child’s cooing brought some warmth into the ancient behemoth’s heart, before she stepped back and looked over the pack once again.

She looked past them, seeing the two males at death’s door. It had already harmed some of them? A chirp from one of the injured revealed it had actually killed two of them.

Few sounds in creation were more dread-inducing than the rage-filled bellow that rolled out of the titan matriarch’s mouth. Death would be brutal for this interloper, an example to all the creatures of the world and beyond what happened to those that harmed her herd.

The MUTOs parted like a river to let their ruler step towards the wall of the cavern. As she passed between them, she looked to the MUTO Queen, her second in command of the pack.

They exchanged a nod, needing no words to communicate. The Queen was to watch the herd while Prime was gone, and if she perished in this battle, the rugged warrior was to take over as full-fledged leader. It was a duty the relatively smaller female accepted with little fanfare, but unending pride.

And with that, MUTO Prime departed, to face the spaceborne nightmare.

Emerging from the soil and placing her feet on solid ground, the colossus began running. Her mighty weight shook the earth beneath, but she did not mind this. Subtlety was not her method, stealth was the tool of smaller beings. One of her size and might neither could accomplish it or would need it.

After a quick stop to kill and feast upon a relatively small titan to replenish her radiation reserves, one strike snapping its neck, she went back to her running.

She watched so many smaller creatures flee from her presence, many already moving with all they had before she even saw them, the quakes from the insectoid’s march scaring them off. Trees fell over as they were uprooted, minute cracks in the ground forming. Even many other titans kept a wide distance, crouching low or hiding behind hills as the armored monstrosity charged. She still noticed them all, cowering like scared babes as their parents fought off predators. It always felt good to awaken from hibernation to see that the world still feared her, even with the presence of a new fear to behold.

MUTO Prime remembered a few millennia ago, when a golden dragon came down from the skies, destroying all in his sight. He had either let loose fireballs or bolts of yellow energy on all opposition, she did not remember nor did she really care. She had not even seen the wretched thing, a member of the MUTOs’ rival species had driven the entity off, and then suddenly the Godzillas were the heroes of the world. And in turn, the MUTOs were villains, to be shunned and reviled by all titans. How idiotic.

Nature was nature. She would not act like some hero if the golden wretch had wandered over to her domain and been crushed by her might, nor would any of her descendants. That which interfered with territory and one’s bloodline was to be destroyed. That was what this dragon had done to the Godzilla that defeated him to provoke it, nothing more.

Not that MUTO Prime cared about the world reviling her and her spawn. If any of these weaklings wished to attack her, she would show them true might, and so would her pack if they fell under assault.

Her musings stopped when she cleared a hill at the edge of an arid clearing to find her target, and all her bravado faded as reality set in. Corpses of titans littered the ground before her, mangled and burnt like an army had fallen upon them. The earthquake beetle still stepped forward, getting a clearer look at the menace at the center of it all.

She towered above even the titan matriarch. White armor coated the invader, though it was currently stained with red in many places, particularly the points of the two massive legs protruding from her back. Enough bladed limbs covered the alien to make even a MUTO look cuddly in comparison. A sizable horn protruding out the invader’s head was pulled from the chest of a Rodan, leaving the creature to drop to the ground, geysering blood from its twitching chest.

Legion seemed unfazed at the lava dripping from her horn as she turned to face MUTO Prime. Piercing blue eyes met the red of the insectoid mammal.

They carried hatred, but not the kind the earthen beast was used to seeing towards other living things. Legion did not look at MUTO Prime like one does a predator, prey, an enemy, or anything alive. She looked at her, at all the various titans now backing away, like one looks at stains. Something devoid of worth, something that must be cleansed as quickly as possible.

MUTO Prime growled, fingers digging into the ground. How dare she be looked down on as such? She was the most feared being on this planet, the apex of the most powerful species in the world! Legion was the stain, and a blemish such as this could only be removed by being broken and scattered to the winds.

The gathered titans, once slowly trying to gain some distance, all turned and ran like their lives depended on it when the black colossus bolted forward. This would not be a mere fight between animals, this would be two disastrous forces colliding. Not even the titans wished to face this.

Legion merely dug her legs in, letting loose a hollow, echoing screech as her newest foe approached.

MUTO Prime swung a punch as soon as the distance closed, bashing her foe’s head aside. The alien groaned, before lunging forward, slamming her bulk against the earthen beast. Legion’s sledge arms shot forth, striking the armored carapace of the backpedaling behemoth. Sparks flew at the impact, the blades attempting to break through.

The alien marched forth, bashing into her foe. MUTO Prime’s feet dug trenches into the ground as she was forced back, the numerous limbs to the sides of her foe’s skull flexing and scratching against her arms as she held the flailing head of the invader. The earthen beast’s own secondary limbs scraped against the ivory armor, failing to break through.

Legion’s sledge arms kept thrusting forward, crashing against her foe’s chest. Armor began to crack and split, drawing a spiteful growl from MUTO Prime. The black behemoth crouched down, rearing her arms back before shoving hard, sending the spaceborne menace backpedaling.

A low, rumbling growl escaped the alien queen. Soil beside her was disturbed for a moment before it shot upwards. Two lengthy legs shot out towards MUTO Prime, tipped with hellacious spears. Thinking quickly, the earthquake beetle swiftly put her armored arms up to block them. Large gashes were carved in the orange chitin as the scythe legs slashed across them.

Swiftly, before Legion could pull them back to their typical place, MUTO Prime grasped the limbs, squeezing hard. She began to pull back, trying to rip them off, but they held firm despite her thrashing. Opening her jaws, the earthen beast bit down on one. Between her teeth and the pressure applied by her grip, the limb began to crack, prompting a panicked shriek from Legion.

The planet raider lunged forth, using her horned head like a dagger. MUTO Prime barely avoided being impaled through the face, instead getting a shower of sparks to erupt from her shoulder as the blade dragged across it. Releasing the limbs, the ebony beast swung a punch across Legion’s skull, forcing her back a step as the other fist broke one of the frail limbs on the sides of the frill. Clenching her fists, the insectoid mammal swung them both towards the sides of her foe’s head, intent on crushing the skull.

Legion ducked beneath the strike, a mighty clashing sound ringing above her head, before stepping forward. She thrust her horn up, catching MUTO Prime by the chin with it and nearly sending her falling to her feet as she recoiled. The scythe legs shot forward once more, imbedding themselves into the hide of the parasite matriarch. Legion made an approximation of a snarl, what did it take to make this one bleed? The other denizens of this world burst with blood from any attack she connected, but this one’s armor held firm still.

MUTO Prime slammed the appendages to the earth, keeping one down as she madly beat the one already cracking. The damage intensified with each strike, pressurized gas leaking out.

The alien let out a strange growl, before her chest began to flash sporadically with red lights. From it came forth a black cloud, which buzzed horridly as thousands of wings beat rapidly. Legion waved her head through the air as she commanded her brood to attack.

Bladed limbs prepared to strike as they neared the earthquake beetle, who staggered back at the sight of countless insectoid aliens flying towards her. Legion’s scythe legs retracted back to her as she awaited seeing this irritating foe writhe and scream. MUTO Prime swung a bulky limb through the cloud, sending a rain of broken silicon flying out of the side. But still they continued, undeterred by the reduction of numbers. Sparks began flying off her arms as they latched on, slashing away madly.

The slayer of titans staggered back, howling with fear as she swatted at herself. The tiny creatures crawled all over her, working their way into the cracks in her armor she had gained during the battle with their mother. Pain shot through her as their assault started to hurt her flesh beneath the armor. She was so distracted by trying to destroy them, her thick fingers clawing into the wounds in her chest and crushing scores of the soldiers, that she failed to notice Legion herself barreling forward until the planetary parasite’s bulk crashed into MUTO Prime, sending her to the dirt. The alien cried out in sadistic joy as she raised herself into the air, slamming her forelimbs onto the downed colossus. She cared not for her own children that were also smashed apart, the screams of agony leaving the carbon-based parasite’s mouth were music to her auditory receptors.

Pain fueled wrath, which fueled churning radioactive materials inside MUTO Prime’s gut as she breathed deeply. She would not die like this, ripped apart by miniscule creatures beneath the heel of another being.

The ancient colossus turned her head towards Legion, eyes shimmering brightly as she opened her maw. From the depths of her throat came a booming, rolling roar that warped the air. Legion screamed, her cries drowned out by the all-encompassing noise, as she tried to activate her shield. The secondary limbs around her head sparked with electricity, but they soon burst apart, sending shrapnel tumbling to the ground. Cracks formed along her armor all throughout her front, sending her half-stumbling and half-being pushed back.

MUTO Prime stood up, feeling millions of shards of silicon fall off her form. Her radiation-amplified roar had shattered all of the Soldier Legions. Drops of thick, viscous ichor fell from breaks in her armor as well, painting the piles of silicon crimson. Legion took a shaky step forward, cracks in her legs making her wary to move. Finally her opponent bled, but it was too little too late. It only made her more outraged at this point. She would not be satisfied until this one was lying dead and broken.

The horn protruding from Legion’s head split open down the middle, revealing a membrane which sparked with energy. The horn at the top of the alien queen’s body pulsed with the same blue glow, which coursed down into the light on Legion’s head. The planet raider did not see as most beings did, relying upon electromagnetic signals to determine where things were. So, charging this attack did hamper her vision somewhat, but she cared not.

A near-miss was still devastating.

A colossal stream of azure plasma shot forth, causing MUTO Prime to flinch back. It tore into the ground just before her, detonating powerfully. The explosion’s heat and force assailed her, causing her to backpedal with a cry of pain. Legion unleashed another Microwave Shell, like a hurled javelin. It grazed the side of one of the black behemoth’s arms, shearing away armor and flesh. She screamed at the burning pain which shot through her, a glowing hole now embedded in her arm which dripped molten flesh.

MUTO Prime’s mind raced, her other arm rising into the air. This had to be stopped now! Slamming her fist into the dirt, the ground shuddered at the strike. The rumbling crawled through the earth, reaching her beam-spraying opponent. Legion stumbled, a bolt of plasma striking nothing but a distant hill.

The earthquake beetle charged forward, shoving the pain coursing through her body down as she focused on closing the distance. Legion ceased firing her beam, focusing on her rushing foe. MUTO Prime leapt into the air, crashing both fists against the ground on landing. Another localized quake, drawing a spiteful groan out of Legion. Charging up the Microwave Shell once more, she held it until the shaking subsided enough for her liking. She let it loose, then subsided the energy to see what had happened.

The results pleased her.

MUTO Prime had stopped charging, now clutching her torso. Legion’s electromagnetic senses revealed that her foe was missing one of the secondary limbs upon her torso, as well as a significant chunk of biomass with it. The parasitic matriarch breathed harshly, shuddering. Looking down, she saw the gaping chasm in her gut. Nothing vital had been struck by the attack, but the sheer damage inflicted was making it hard to keep going.

Images of her children being blasted apart by the plasma streams flashed through her mind. Hacked up by the sharpened limbs of the alien. Swarmed and dismantled by the horde.

Legion’s opened horn began glowing once again.

MUTO Prime’s eyes shined as well.

If she had to die to stop this thing from going near her brood, she’d do it.

The Microwave Shell shot forth, just as the insectoid-mammal’s sonic roar erupted. There was a massive explosion of rolling noise and flying sparks as they collided, disrupting each other into a violent reaction. Walls of dust rose up…

…And were parted as MUTO Prime and Legion slammed bodily into each other in the center of it. The two growled and snarled as they shoved, swinging strikes madly. Punches from the earthen kaiju tore away large chunks of armor as the spaceborne menace’s sledge arms released more fountains of blood with precise strikes.

Legion’s scythe legs rushed forward, lacerating MUTO Prime once again. This time, one of her secondary legs lashed out, burying itself into the cracks upon the bladed appendage. The planet raider cried out in shock, which only grew louder and mixed with pain when one of the black behemoth’s beefy hands ripped off the tip of the trapped scythe leg.

The mammalian insectoid thrust it into the crimson chest of her foe, rupturing the egg sac. As Legion’s horn sliced open a blood-spewing wound into MUTO Prime’s face, the progenitor of the parasite species bashed the severed point of the alien’s own leg deeper into her chest, shredding through incomplete Soldier Legions.

A few titans watched this from a distance, jaws wide as they took in the events before them. They had never seen such a display of brutality, even as creatures who lived in a kill or be killed world.

The alien opened her head once more, in preparation to unleash a point-blank bolt of plasma and end this now, only for MUTO Prime to immediately grasp both halves and slam them together. She held it, thrashing back and forth much to the alien’s undying wrath.

More ichor geysered out of the earthquake beetle as the planetary parasite wailed on her, but she just grit her teeth to the point they started to crack. Damage to the horn already caused by her previous sonic roar grew and intensified, and with one last roar of equal parts anguish and fury, MUTO Prime ripped Legion’s horn clean off.

Eyes of frigid blue became burning red.

The earthquake beetle tossed it aside, before lifting a fist to crush the exposed organ. A crimson glow shined through Legion’s energy conductor, harsh in its luminance, before lines of the same color, each tipped with a white dot, ripped out. They pierced through her foe’s elbow, coming out the other side. Legion retracted them just as quickly, leaving MUTO Prime’s arm to drop like a stone to the earth. Smoke poured from the holes, burnt muscle.

She could not even fully comprehend what had just happened, staring at her limp arm like it was something incomprehensible.

Reality tore into her as the Red Rod whips returned, lashing across MUTO Prime’s body and ripping open blackened chasms. She stumbled back, roaring in agony. Legion shot them straight forward again, going clean through the black colossus’ body. Organs sizzled and popped, several collapsing as she retracted the whips once more.

A wheezed, throat-tearing scream left the parasite’s jaws as she lunged forward, swinging her one good arm with all the strength she had left. It smashed into one of Legion’s front legs, nearly shattering it. The alien fell over, crying out as she deployed the whips once more.

She took satisfaction in seeing them pierce the skull of her foe, snuffing out the life of the most feared being Earth had ever birthed.

The final scream echoed across the plains, reaching the domain of the MUTO herd. Panic erupted from the ebony giants, only for it to be quickly silenced by the queen’s roar.

Did they not trust their progenitor? If she had died, there was no way she had left the threat in any state to destroy them.

This calmed down the fear, which gave way to mourning. The sorrowful cries of the MUTO horde echoed for miles around, a song that shook the heavens. The queen was silent.

She was not indifferent to her mother’s passing. It was just that a long, trial-filled life had drilled into her mind that displaying weakness of any kind would get one killed. It would not have done so here, but vulnerability was hard to reveal at any point after a life like that. Instead, she would honor her mother the best way she could. By leading the pack she had cultivated and getting them through this dark, painful world.

***

Legion watched them approach from all sides like vultures. She could barely move, much less fight back, and the titans who had run away at the start of the actually difficult battle were now back to steal MUTO Prime’s kill.

The alien detested them even more than she had the beast which lay before her. But she had no intention of dying pathetically.

A member of the MUTOs rival species marched forward, arms wide and chest puffed out. He grinned, flexing mighty claws as jagged back spines began to glow azure.

Red Rod whips lashed forth, ripping into his gills. They exited out the back of his throat. With wide eyes, he dropped to the unforgiving dirt, dead. The crashing of his body was like a starting bell, and with that, over a dozen titans of varying shapes and sizes charged forth. Legion shrieked at them all, daring them to join the dead.

Winner: Legion

Recently I had a chance to interview J.D. Lees, one of the biggest voices in the fan community. Lees is best known for creating the massive G-Con/G-Fest–a yearly convention celebrating Godzilla and tokusatsu–as well as the longest running fanzine of all time, G-Fan (note that I have written a few small articles for that publication, too–including a column called Kaiju Comics Corner… shameless plug). Lees has a long history with the convention circuit, with bringing Japanese celebrities to the USA, with helping to organize theatrical showings of giant monster films, even with putting together tours for fans around Japan. In this interview, we cover all of these topics and more, including his work on The Official Godzilla Compendium book with author Mark Cerasini, his time living in Japan, and his upcoming plans. Please take a read, and I hope you enjoy what you see. (more…)

Part of the third series of Godzilla hot sauces from Jade City Foods comes this entry themed around Megalon. This one is billed as a hot sauce for those enthusiasts looking for something very hot, going as far as to describe the heat level as being “painful”. Is it being sensationalist, or does it merit that warning? Also… a peach hot sauce makes one wonder, will this be overly sweet?

To my surprise I found this to be the most enjoyable of the hot sauces, for my particular heat tolerance, but read on to learn why. (more…)

Interview with the Senior Vice President of Legendary Comics, Robert Napton. In this interview, conducted shortly after SDCC, we cover the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong vs. Justice League comic book series from DC Comics and Monsterverse Comics from Legendary Comics. Total running time: 36 minutes, 50 seconds. This interview does end abruptly and was edited for flow. Conducted Wednesday July 26th, 2023.

(more…)

As first reported by Deadline, Apple has ordered a brand new live action TV show around Monarch, Titans and Godzilla for their Apple TV+ service. Working with Legendary, Toho and Safehouse Pictures, which has a first look deal with Legendary, the series will expand on the MonsterVerse which first started with Godzilla (2014). (more…)

Announced way back on Godzilla Day 2022, Toho is preparing a new Japanese Godzilla movie. The production is slated for a release on November 3rd, 2023, in Japan and December 1st, 2023, in the United States. Known as Godzilla Minus One, the movie is being directed by Takashi Yamazaki, director of Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), Yokaipedia (2022) and other films. (more…)

Author: Joshua Strittmatter | Banner: Matthew Williams

[Continued from Match 114]

A vivid glow of velvet pierced its target with a gaze most befitting its nature.

The Cyborg Monster knew not how long it had been since he had last seen action, nor how long the war had raged without him since his humiliating defeat. His body was not the same as it had been the last time he was alive, and he didn’t need to look in a mirror to know it. He felt it in his very being alone; alas, he had already seen the changes made to his form upon his reawakening. His once shining blue flesh was now a slim green with golden scales, his “wings” having changed color just the same. His scythes were thicker, his body bulkier, his tail thicker and stronger. How his alien allies had changed him and how long it had taken didn’t matter to the cyborg dinosaur, for all he deemed important brewed in his mind alone. And what lay in his mind brewed and boiled until by the time he reawoke, the space monster stood on the edge of a boiling tipping point.

From the moment the azure flames of his reptilian enemy had roasted his head until it was charred black, Gigan had been plunged not into a peaceful darkness or even a spiritual plane. Instead, he entered a Hell more tortuous than any kingdom of fire and brimstone. The Cyberclaw Terror had been plunged into a world of unrelenting nightmares, repetitive and savage in their coming. Again and again, they persisted in a vicious eternity that Gigan couldn’t keep up with—and not once did they compose of anything different. One by one, replay after replay, they were all the same.

Memories of his last moments in the battle. Memories of his defeat at the hands of that cybernetic iguana. Seemingly forever replaying in his consciousness like a broken film reel; mocking him, tormenting him, humiliating him with ceaseless abandon. Beyond count, and beyond stopping, for he was just a decapitated head left to burn on the ground while he watched his headless body topple in defeat. Forever it felt like Gigan was doomed to relive his last moments in life… not knowing what was truly happening to him in the land of the living. Not even remotely aware of the second chance the Space Hunter Nebula M were giving him.

One that he could now see was staring him right in the face.

The municipality of Vågan, Norway burned. Twin pairs of emerald-tinted eyes gazed coldly upon the destruction with emotionless indifference, having still not noticed the revived horror regarding them with a seething gaze. One was a beastly mutation, a towering deep-dweller of hybridized features between crustaceans and cephalopods. Twin giant arms carried a shelled, legless body armed with tentacles, its mouth composed of four flaps of flesh like a flower. In his right mind, Crustaceous Rex would’ve taken no interest in the conquest he partook in; alas, the deep-sea mutant wasn’t in his right mind. Reduced to nothing more than a puppet to follow the Leviathan aliens’ every whim, the squid eater did whatever he was told without question. But his like was barely even an afterthought in Gigan’s mind.

It was the second monster that held the cyborg dinosaur’s attention.

Not a minute had ever gone by since that dreaded day, that Cyber Godzilla wasn’t on the forefront of Gigan’s embittered thoughts. From the second the alien had awoken from his death-induced nightmare coma, he had cried out in the hangar that held him as he shook with rage. The moment he returned to the land of the living, the desire to butcher the cybernetic iguana fueled him like the molten core of a sun. So much that he could never stand being confined to his masters’ grounds, a matter of which had even put a few of the space cockroaches in danger. He had wanted out. Gigan didn’t know how long he had been made to wait, so much had it felt like eternity. For all he knew, he might not have even been waiting for a few days. He may have only been back for a few hours before now. Before his masters at last set him loose like the rageful dog he was, finally deploying him to go release his mounting boiling point and exact his bloody revenge.

So immersed in their own mind-controlled mission were the Leviathan puppets, that it seemed they still failed to grasp the alien’s presence. Gigan couldn’t decide whether or not he wanted to take his old killer by complete surprise, or announce his presence to the wretch. To inform him of the savage karma that was coming his way. Either option was incredibly tempting, but not enough to stall the living weapon for long. Eventually, his thoughts came back into focus as a decision was made.

The tiny aperture above his eye flashing, Gigan chuckled internally as he fired. A thin violet laser hewed through the air, piercing into Cyber Godzilla’s side with flawless precision. An explosion crackled off the impact as the reptile recoiled with a wailing shriek, causing both mutations to turn to their attacker at last. Two pairs of featureless eyes met Gigan’s glowing, red visor, the space monster holding out a scythed arm as if pointing accusingly at his old rival. A warped snarl droned from the jaws of Cyber Godzilla, followed by a loud bugle from Crustaceous Rex, but nothing to truly indicate to Gigan that the iguana cyborg recognized him.

This enraged the space monster. He wanted his former killer to KNOW the magnitude of the mistake he had made.

Unbeknownst to the alien cyclops, however, there was someone aware of his presence. Watching him from places his lone eye could not see, very surprised indeed to see him alive…

*****

Site Omega; South Pacific.

An insectoid body floated above the ground like a ghost, cold green eyes gazing upon the viewscreen before their owner.

Despite his lack of facial expression, the commander of the Leviathan aliens cocked his head in interest upon seeing an old enemy on the viewscreen in front of him. He would not deny that this was quite the surprise indeed, and one that needed dealing with if his race was to achieve victory. Beside him, his brother and second-in-command tilted his head upwards, his own blank expression concealing his own surprise.

“Gigan lives?” he asked. “And it seems those insects gave him an upgrade…”

But his elder sibling remained calm. “So, the cockroach people salvaged a broken toy and gave him a makeover…” he mused. Then he raised his hand, his eyes turning red as he gave his kaiju soldiers a telepathic order.

“Godzilla… C-Rex… destroy him.”

*****

World Children’s Land; Japan.

Within the head of the replicant ‘Godzilla Tower,’ the chairman of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens sat patiently as he and his fellows watched the action unfold on a viewscreen of their very own.

“So they still have their old toy, do they?” he muttered before raising a hand.

“Gigan… get it.”

*****

The cyborg dinosaur heard the order loud and clear, but he didn’t attack the Leviathan duo because he was following it. No, he was going to tear the fools before him apart because he wanted to. Because this was far more personal than following simple orders. Gigan had been looking forward to this moment since he first awoke from his nightmarish afterlife, obsessing over it in a manner that nearly drove him berserk. And now that moment was here at last.

Whatever orders his masters would give him were meaningless as Gigan shrieked a war cry and broke into a maddened charge.

Cyber Godzilla stood motionless as his old rival began closing the distance, the ports on his spines glowing to life. Recognition flooding Gigan’s mind, the one-eyed cyborg waited until the exact moment the iguana fired his plasma rockets before sidestepping; the spheres of energy soaring harmlessly past him and detonating in the distance. Chirping, Gigan continued his charge with rage focused on both foes. Much as he wanted to solely single out Cyber Godzilla, the space monster knew he wouldn’t dare. He had no idea what this other beast was capable of, and if he played into his vengeance too rashly, it could easily end up being his undoing—and the thought of yet another defeat at the hands of this wretch boiled his circuits.

No, he would play it smart.

Surprisingly, Crustaceous Rex broke into a charge of his own. Gigan readied his scythes as the superpredator neared, screeching at the beast to come get some. However, C-Rex stopped mid-charge and shot four tentacles forth, going low and wrapping them around Gigan’s heels. The space dinosaur screeched as the crustacean-cephalopod yanked his legs out from under him, sending him toppling to the shallow water. That’s when a second array of plasma rockets detonated across his emerald hide, earning a shriek of rage from the cyclopean cyborg. From afar, Cyber Godzilla regarded his old enemy with a synthetic roar before firing a third duo of plasma missiles. The projectiles exploded against Gigan’s chest and stomach, eliciting a cry of wrath as he began to struggle to his feet. But before he could rise, 46,000 metric tons of deep-sea monster landed upon him as C-Rex pounced.

A bugling roar echoed from the petaled maw of the shelled cephalopod as he assailed Gigan, whacking and stamping upon him with his massive arms while slapping him with his tentacles. The space dinosaur wailed furiously as he swung his scythe, but missed before C-Rex’s foot stomped upon his head once more. His vision half-dark and half-underwater, Gigan growled in irritation. This was gonna be a dirty fight from minute one; as such, he accepted it.

Three could play that game.

Holding completely still, the cyclopean superweapon waited as the crustacean-cephalopod continued attacking, waiting for the perfect opening. The moment two tentacles came within reach, the avian cyborg made his move. Suddenly springing to life, Gigan swung his right scythe and cut the offending tentacles clean in half. As C-Rex recoiled with a wail of agony, Gigan sprang to his feet like a ninja and swung his other scythe, cutting a deep gash below the predator’s neck. A second later, a storm of blue flames washed over Gigan. The Nebulan weapon cringed, but spun around and held his scythes up, blocking Cyber Godzilla’s atomic ray entirely. Seeing its futility, the cybernetic Zilla ceased fire and held back.

Knocking C-Rex away with a savage kick, Gigan locked his vengeful gaze upon his old killer. The Nebulan superweapon clanged his scythes together, screeching a challenge at the possessed lizard. Cyber Godzilla stood stagnant, silent as ever in reply—a choice that earned him a Laser Knife in his direction. The cybernetic lizard sidestepped the beam at the last second, but was far from out of the woods; Gigan was charging at his top speed, scythes glinting in preparation for their lethal purpose. The moment his adversary was close, Cyber Godzilla hissed and leaped clear over his head, missing a swinging scythe by a few inches. But as he hit the ground, Gigan twisted around with fluid agility and fired another Laser Knife. His quick reflexes serving him well, Cyber Godzilla ducked as the beam passed narrowly between his dorsal spines, before an atomic ray catapulted from his maw. The cerulean flames seared against Gigan’s stomach, making the alien recoil before his enemy ran forward and bashed into him with his skull.

Digging his cloven feet into the ground, the space cyborg was able to prevent himself from falling over. The timing couldn’t be better; Cyber Godzilla was running at him again, jaws agape for his throat. The space Kaiju reacted accordingly and swiped, cutting deeply into the iguana’s neck and sending it reeling. Wishing he could smirk, Gigan wasted no time and barreled forth; the sound of his stomach saw revving up being music to his ears. Body slamming the resurrected reptile with all the force he could muster, his Universal Cutter found itself embedded within his foe’s mechanized chest. It was only in there for a second, and already the damage was ghastly to behold; a massive gash was quickly forming, and Gigan had no intention of stopping. Sparks flew, metal tore and wires ripped as the space dinosaur held his old enemy with his scythed arms, chuckling at his adversary’s suffering…

WHAM!

An armored body slammed into the space monster from the side, knocking him off balance with a shriek. A bugling roar informed him of his attacker’s identity, making him chirp in irritation. Crustaceous Rex growled as he took his place beside the cybernetic Zilla, eyes blazing red from his masters’ telepathic orders. The space cyborg was not down for long, springing back to his feet in short succession and facing his dual foes. C-Rex bellowed a mindless cry, pawing the shallow water he stood in. Cyber Godzilla made no noise, only fired twin shots of his plasma rockets at Gigan. The alien held his scythed arms up, the missiles detonating harmlessly off their surface, but obscuring him in a cloud of smoke.

Gigan twitched, an idea suddenly entering his mind. Using the smoke to his advantage, the spatial dinosaur began to back away, treading slowly with soft footsteps to avoid detection. His body tensed, reflexes more than ready to snap at the slightest sign of an attack. Sure enough, a second burst of plasma rockets burst through the smoke cloud. His reflexes proving their worth, Gigan sidestepped before firing his Laser Knife into the smoke cloud and swept it along—and was rewarded by the sound of an explosion, followed by two screeches of pain. A chuckle left Gigan’s beak as he enacted the next stage of his plan; charging forward, the alien kicked off the ground to take flight in a straight line. Bursting through the smoke, the space beast revved up his Universal Cutter as he flew right over the bewildered Leviathan duo.

His saw gashed both Kaiju in one fell swoop; sparks flew as metal and machinery tore open along Cyber Godzilla’s head and neck, making the iguana reel with a bellowing hiss. C-Rex, on the other hand, fared much worse; yet another bloody trench tore across the back of his neck down to the edge of his left shoulder, sending blood fountaining from the injury and a tortured roar from his maw. Gigan chirped as he whirled around in midair, the aperture above his eye sparking as he fired off his Laser Knife at the cybernetic lizard. Cyber Godzilla wailed in pain once more as the beam tore into his side, before breaking into a run to avoid getting blasted to shreds. Clanging his scythes together, Gigan dove after the resurrected Zilla with buzzsaw a-revving. Chasing the retreating iguana like a cat and a mouse, the spatial dinosaur steered and swerved as he chased his former killer, giggling with psychotic glee at just how far the tables had turned. But no matter how fast he flew, Cyber Godzilla ran faster and with more energy to spare.

Reflexes as honed as they were when he was ‘alive,’ Cyber Godzilla hissed as he ducked and swerved under every attack Gigan sent his way. Every Laser Knife he avoided, every divebomb of a buzzsaw he punished. And while the cyborg iguana was bound to a state of mindless patience, the space dinosaur had a free mind all his own—and was getting restlessly frustrated at his foe’s antics. Shrieks of rage echoed from Gigan’s beak as he flew in lower, hounding Cyber Godzilla’s tail as if he were a living heat-seeking missile…

…and noticed too late a long, yellow arm swinging towards him.

C-Rex’s hand collided with his face, knocking the avian cyborg off balance and sending him crashing into the shallow water. Gigan howled with fury, kicking up waves of frigid water in his thrashing as he began to clamber back to his feet. In his blunder, a volley of plasma rockets detonated off his head and side, fazing him long enough for their shooter to launch a surprise attack. Charging at his top speed, Cyber Godzilla tackled the avian cyborg back off his feet, quickly setting to claw and bite into him with animalistic fury. Sparks erupted as claws and teeth raked against tough green ‘skin,’ loud screeches leaving Gigan’s jaws as he struggled to fight back. Amidst the feral melee, a loud revving suddenly caught Cyber Godzilla’s attention—and the iguana jumped reflexively away, the only thing that saved his kneecap from being sliced open by Gigan’s Universal Cutter.

Landing on his feet, the resurrected reptile let loose a combination of his heat ray and plasma rockets. Torched by explosions and atomic flames, Gigan screeched as he finally stood back up with a small jump. Bringing his scythes in front of his face, the alien blocked his enemy’s assault as he prepared to return fire—only to switch targets when he saw C-Rex charging at him from the side. Unfortunately, the crustacean-cephalopod sidestepped the Laser Knife that came his way, before resuming his charge. With only a narrow window to act, Gigan swung around to swing his scythes at the attacking sea beast, doing his best to ignore the plasma rockets that bombarded his back a second time.

C-Rex avoided the first swing, then lunged with mouth agape. Quickly, Gigan held up his left scythe, and the predator’s mouth clamped down on his arm. Wishing he could smirk, the cyborg lashed out with his right arm, only for C-Rex’s two remaining tentacles to wrap around the limb and stall it. Echoing a bugling roar, the ocean predator reared an arm and began to swing it—until Gigan blasted it with his Laser Knife, seriously wounding it in one fell shot. The crab-octopus’ cry of pain was music to Gigan’s ears, and he chuckled at his pain.

His dark humor would cost him dearly.

Another atomic ray struck the avian cyborg from the side, earning a chirp of wrath—but it was just a distraction for the real trouble at hand. His flower-like mouth wide open, Crustaceous Rex vomited a concentrated stream of thick, inky tar upon the space monster at close range. The thick substance coating his torso and limbs, Gigan screeched in shock as he staggered away from his foe. He pulled and tugged with all his might, but the black substance was like superglue on steroids. His limbs were stuck together, his Universal Cutter entirely covered by the horrid super-ink. In the blink of an eye, the cyborg monster was all but immobilized—and his enemies weren’t bent on giving him a moment to recuperate.

Instantly, C-Rex pounced with predatory fury. Gigan was slammed to the ground by the oceanic super mutant, quickly joined by a certain cybernetic iguana that the space monster hated more than anything. That mechanical, synthesized bellow that mocked Gigan’s afterlife resounded in the air as Cyber Godzilla landed upon the entrapped alien; attacking the alien with the same animalistic savagery as before. C-Rex roared as he joined the fray, beating into the Nebulan champion with his feet and remaining tentacles. Gigan’s screeches were of nothing but fury as the Leviathan duo ganged up on him, wailing upon him while he was down and all but helpless. He tugged again and again against his organic binds; but his hardest efforts were all for naught, for the tar that bound him would hardly budge.

The aperture above Gigan’s eye flashed as he prepared to let loose, but a smack to the face from C-Rex sent the Laser Knife hurtling harmlessly into the sky. The cyclopean cyborg howled with rage at the superpredator, only for four plasma rockets to detonate on his head and side at close range. As Gigan recoiled, something immensely hot suddenly engulfed his head with endless wrath. A memory flashed before Gigan’s very eye, repetitive and alarming to behold. The exact same one he had seen in his nightmares, over and over in that same malevolent mantra that now threatened to become reality once more. Cyber Godzilla was blasting his head with his atomic fire, ceaselessly discharging until it would be charred black like last time…

A tidal wave of sheer desperation completely overtook the Nebulan cyborg. Doing his best to focus on his foe through the haze of superheated flames, Gigan turned his head in Cyber Godzilla’s direction. Not wasting half a second, the cyberclaw terror fired his Laser Knife into the reptile’s chest. The beam tearing into his wounded mechanisms, Cyber Godzilla screeched and recoiled away with panicked abandon; lucky to have avoided getting his vitals destroyed. A second later, and C-Rex’s left foot smashed back into Gigan’s head, pinning it to the ground.

But the cybernetic space dinosaur was not out of tricks yet.

Straining his neck muscles, Gigan aimed his head to face down. Then, without warning, a concentrated blast of flames erupted out of the cyborg’s jaws! The flames engulfed the tar coating his torso, an occurrence that made C-Rex jolt in surprise. But that wasn’t the end of it; under the five-thousand degree temperatures of the fire, the tar on Gigan’s body began to melt away. By the time the deep sea predator realized what his enemy was doing, it was too late; his right arm snapping free of his burning bonds, Gigan loosed a muffled shriek as he drove it into C-Rex’s offending arm as hard as he could. Metal forged from another planet pierced through the bony limb like a metal pike, sending C-Rex reeling with a squeal of agony. The tar all but melted, Gigan’s Universal Cutter revved to life and sliced away what little remained on his stomach as he began to clamber back to his feet, firing a second burst of his heat ray that scorched C-Rex. The tortured superpredator dropped and began to roll in the cold water they fought upon, doing his best to douse the flames—but Gigan’s attention was no longer on him.

Blood-red wrath burned in a singular eye that focused entirely on the wounded Cyber Godzilla. A warning roar echoed from the cybernetic Zilla, but the space dinosaur was not having it. Revving up his Universal Cutter, Gigan contracted his legs before taking flight. After gaining altitude, he descended at full speed towards his old killer; fully intent on exacting his long-famished revenge once and for all. The Leviathan biomech screeched and broke into another full-powered sprint, but once more the emerald extraterrestrial matched his speed. Gigan screeched sadistically as he hounded his killer-turned-prey, pursuing him with the grace of a serial killer with the demeanor of a demon. Laser Knives pierced the earth around Cyber Godzilla as he banked this way and that, unable to find an opening to turn the tables on his old enemy. At this, Gigan giggled as he began to close in. His revenge was that close, and oh did it feel so sweet!

A thin, yellow beam struck Gigan in his left shoulder, one not unlike his own Laser Knife. The jade cyborg was sent spinning out of control, crashing to the ground with an enraged shriek.

What now?!

The Nebulan champion wailed with rage as he thrashed amidst the rocky shores, clambering back to his feet as fast as he could. He was so close! He was that close to slicing that lizard’s head open like an old melon, scattering the sweet fruits of vengeance all around his feet to hue the water velvet! Something just had to intervene at the very last moment, didn’t it?! His fury so bright it shone from his eye, Gigan pawed the ground with a cloven foot upon finding his feet once more, turning about to screech furiously at whomever had been so foolish to dare deny him his revenge… but what he saw next rendered him silent as a graveyard. His attacker landed seventy meters before him like a ghost, silent and stealthy in its landing as it stared back at him with a singular red eye.

…himself?

Another Gigan stood before him, chirping a cry exactly like his own. It looked almost identical to his like, with a few minor differences; it was taller, the head slightly smaller, the Universal Cutter and “wings” were red, and sported a chunkier body with shorter legs. The second Gigan regarded the Nebulan cyborg with another chirp; shedding sparks as it scratched its straighter hammer claws together, something that nearly made Gigan grit his teeth. The mercenary of the Space Hunter Nebula M clanged his own scythes together and chirped back, telling his doppelganger to get out of his way. This battle was his, and his alone!

Before the bulkier alien could respond, a bellowing roar echoed from behind as a wounded, but still living Crustaceous Rex pounced upon the newcomer. His wounds sent jolts of agony through his body, but the superpredator was forced to ignore it as he went on for one last attack. His adversary knocked to the ground, C-Rex lunged with maw agape for the newcomer’s head.

SHINK!

Barely a second later, and a hammer claw protruded out the top of the predator’s head like a pike.

With one fluid motion, the second Gigan retracted its scythe out of the animal’s skull. Crustaceous Rex, once the feared apex predator of the world’s oceans, staggered away for a moment on legs that were already losing their strength. Only for a moment did the heart that didn’t know it was dead meat continue to power the ailing colossus, the beast swaying like a tree without a sound… and the next it gave out, when he finally collapsed under the weight he could no longer sustain. The earth trembled as if in sorrow when the expired sea creature fell upon it, never to move again as his killer turned his back on him.

The bulkier Gigan giggled and tapped his scythes together, transparent liquid gleaming upon the metal claws. The original space cyborg merely fired his Laser Knife upon his ‘relative,’ relishing in his screech of pain as he recoiled. His power established, the Nebulan champion clanged his hammer claws and screeched a warning at the newcomer:

“My rivalry, my battle!”

Alas, the chunkier doppelganger didn’t seem to give a damn about the message. The second Gigan stood silent for a moment, locking eye-to-eye with the champion of the Space Hunter Nebula M. However, before either one could make another move, a powerful body abruptly tackled the original Gigan from behind. His wrath climbing to new heights, the space dinosaur thrashed with an enraged cry, not even needing to see his oppressor to know who it was. Standing atop the Nebulan mercenary, Cyber Godzilla hissed and unleashed a volley of plasma rockets at the newcomer. With agility every bit as impressive as the original, the second Gigan sidestepped the projectiles—only for another Laser Knife to strike him in the stomach. As the second Gigan recoiled and collapsed to one knee, the original chortled in satisfaction. His chortles turned to a screech of anger when radioactive flames consumed his neck, his attacker not willing to let him get off so easily.

But the chaos halted when yet another yellow beam struck Cyber Godzilla in the back.

The cybernetic iguana screeched and leaped off his old quarry, dashing away as the beam returned once more, trailing after him before coming to an abrupt stop. Climbing back to his feet as fast as he could, Gigan looked up to see the cause of the disturbance—and received quite a nasty shock.

Not one, nor even two, but four other Gigans like the second one were lowering to the ground.

The original Gigan took flight towards the squad of chunkier doppelgangers, eager to prove himself the superior fighter. He was not in the mood to deal with such foes, for he wanted Cyber Godzilla’s blood staining his scythes more than anything. But from what it looked like, so long as these fellow ‘Gigan Soldiers’ were here, his vengeance would be constantly delayed at best and outright robbed at worst. If he wanted Cyber Godzilla’s life extinguished at his hand, he would need to get these fools out of the way first. It was the only option present, and he needed to make do with what life gave him.

The Gigan Soldiers had barely touched the ground before their relative had closed the distance. Their reflexes proved to be just as quick as his own, for when Gigan swung his scythes for a killer blow against one, the Soldier snapped its own up to block them. Gigan thanked the universe that he lacked the ability to smirk, for it would’ve given away his true plan before he could execute it; swinging his scythes apart, the Nebulan champion swung the Soldier’s arms open to expose his torso. His aperture flashing, Gigan fired his Laser Knife directly into the Soldier’s face, and the results were exactly what he craved: the Soldier’s head nearly split open, a large hole bored straight through its skull. His eye going dark, the Gigan Soldier fell unmistakably dead from the sky… before a yellow Laser Knife struck Gigan’s side, followed by another Gigan Soldier flying right past him with a revving buzzsaw. The crimson blades slashed against Gigan’s emerald hide, nearly knocking him right out of the sky, but he barely managed to steady himself and fly away.

Two of the Gigan Soldiers pursued him, their own buzzsaws revving to life. Twisting around, Gigan held his scythes up just in time as both Soldiers rushed him, their hammer claws coming down upon his own with a metallic CLANG! Sparks danced off the impact, the Soldiers shrieking into Gigan’s face as they neared. Gigan wailed back in defiance, his head aperture sparking in preparation to fire his Laser Knife. But the Gigan Soldiers were quick on the draw, and fired their own respective beams at close range—and at such close range, the laws of physics only allowed one outcome.

BOOM!

Gigan was thrown out of the fiery rupture that ensued, smoke trailing from his body. The other two Gigans were flung in different directions, all three of them crashing upon the Earth below. The wound was painful, but not enough to keep Gigan from returning back to his feet. But to his interest, the two Gigan Soldiers fared much worse than him; one of them had a limply-hanging arm and lost stomach scales, while the other’s right arm had been blown right off and its face severely disfigured. It seemed these creatures were less resilient to damage than their Nebulan relative—something he took notice of. The space dinosaur fired his Laser Knife at the more wounded of the two, striking it just below the lower jaw. Sure enough, the doppelganger’s skull tore asunder in a small fireball, its headless owner collapsing to the ground.

It was a deadly trade-off, sacrificing defense in favor of more attack. Gigan chirped, realizing this was something he could capitalize on.

And from the shrieks of agony he heard behind him, apparently so could his nemesis.

Burnt and battered, the first Gigan Soldier to appear sprawled under Cyber Godzilla’s feet as he fired at a second one with his plasma rockets. The extraterrestrial wasn’t always as lucky to avoid every strike, and recoiled with screeches when hit. When he returned fire, the resurrected Zilla leaped off his quarry and broke into a run once more, doing his best to dodge every beam that came his way. But just the same, he wasn’t always as successful as he wished to be; as long as he managed to keep away, it was only a matter of time before a lucky Laser Knife hit him, sending him skidding to his stomach. The Gigan Soldier chittered with laughter before diving towards the cybernetic lizard, its red buzzsaw thirsty for his blood. But like the alien, Cyber Godzilla was quick on his own draw; thus, he proved it when he fired his plasma rockets at the last moment, the projectiles scoring a lucky shot and striking the Soldier in the face up close. The iguana dove away as the Soldier crashed to the ground, his crimson visor cracked open like a window. Twisting like a serval mid-jump, the cybernetic Zilla landed on his feet and bent low. Jaws snapping open, he let loose his atomic ray upon the wounded Soldier.

The roar of the radioactive flames and the Soldier’s scream of pain masked the thrum of nearing footfalls, failing to alert Cyber Godzilla to the first Gigan Soldier that was now charging from behind. The alien’s hammer claws were reared and poised to strike, sure to bring forth a fatal stab when it hit…

…unless an outside source intervened first.

The original Gigan crashed into his chunkier lookalike from its left, Universal Cutter revving as he gashed open its side just next to its own buzzsaw. The Soldier screeched in pain as it staggered from the blow, turning its head to fire its yellow beam. His reflexes coming to his aid, the Nebulan mercenary ducked below the thin streak of energy as he barreled forth, hammer claws gleaming. Acting quickly, the Gigan Soldier raised a hammer claw as Gigan’s own came down against it—and acted just as fast when the original Gigan swung his other arm, blocking the second scythe mere inches from his face. So Gigan activated his buzzsaw and pressed forward—only for his lookalike to come to the same conclusion and do the same. The two Universal Cutters clashed, birthing a persistent shower of sparks as the two Gigans found themselves locked in a stalemate.

Until the Nebulan space dinosaur pulled off another trick his foe lacked.

Opening his beak, Gigan spat forth his Five-Thousand Degree Heat Ray into his enemy’s face. The Gigan Soldier shrieked as the intense flames burned and blistered his skull, his foe refusing to relent as he kept firing. Seeing no other option, the Soldier finally swung his arms wide open and backed away, ending the standoff. But the moment Gigan cut off his heat ray, he traded it by running forward, taking flight with buzzsaw revving past the fellow alien’s shoulder. A burst of sparks, alien flesh and machinery erupted forth as the Gigan Soldier staggered with a yowl of anguish, his right arm falling severed to the ground. The original Gigan ascended in altitude, scanning the battlefield from a greater distance to look over the results.

Of the five total Gigan Soldiers that had shown up, three were now dead; Cyber Godzilla stood before the burning corpse of the one he had attacked, while Gigan himself had felled the other two. Better still, the remaining two were badly injured and didn’t look like they’d be able to fight for much longer. At this, Gigan mentally smirked as he brandished his hammer claws, fully intent on bringing this skirmish to an end once and for all…

BOOM!

A volley of plasma rockets struck the space dinosaur, toppling him from the air with a loud cry. Cyber Godzilla’s mechanized bellow mocked the alien as he fell, the iguana running forward and pouncing upon him the moment he hit the ground—but unlike many times before, this time Gigan landed on his feet. At first he was taken off guard as the lizard went into a melee frenzy, biting and clawing at his head and torso. However, it didn’t take long before he found the strength to retaliate; slamming his hammer claws against the reptile’s head, and forcing him to retreat with a hiss. The retreat was short lived, however, and the cybernetic Zilla rushed back into the fray; bending low and whipping his lower body forward with all his might, hitting Gigan’s legs with a tail smack. The champion of the Space Hunter Nebula M was brought to his knees, before an atomic ray lashed out of the lizard’s maw. But alas, the iguana underestimated his foe’s tendency to think fast; the Nebulan cyborg held up his hammer claws to block the attack, before a Laser Knife beamed from Gigan’s tiny aperture, piercing right through the cerulean flames. It would’ve blown right through Cyber Godzilla’s throat had he not slammed his jaws shut, but a good chunk of his chin was blown off by the beam as a result.

At once, both monsters let loose their secondary ranged weapons. Plasma rockets erupted from the ports on Cyber Godzilla’s dorsal scutes; at the same time, five thousand degree flames flowed out of Gigan’s gaping beak. The resurrected iguana roared as the fires blistered his body, badly damaging more of his mechanisms. Just the same, Gigan recoiled with a shriek of pain as the projectiles bombarded him. But as if things weren’t chaotic enough, twin yellow Laser Knives swept across both cyborgs from the sides, eliciting screeches of anger as they stood back to their feet. From not far away, the remaining Gigan Soldiers chittered their respective sounds as they brandished their own hammer claws, seemingly unafraid of combat even with their terrible wounds.

Cyber Godzilla roared at the rotund doppelgangers of his old enemy, spines flashing before he let loose more plasma missiles at the duo. But in his distraction, he failed to perceive a purple Laser Knife suddenly lance into his right elbow. Fire blossomed, the resurrected Zilla recoiled with a mechanized screech, as his mechanical right arm fell to the ground with a THUD!

The original Gigan screeched with glee before turning back to his fellow doppelgangers, firing his Laser Knife at the most wounded of the two. In the nick of time, the Gigan Soldier let loose its own beam, and the two rays locked together in a power struggle. Both aliens poured what energy they had into the struggle, digging their feet into the ground as they tried their best to outdo the other. Amidst the struggle, the second Gigan Soldier saw an opportunity and took it. Taking aim, he blasted the Nebulan champion with his own beam from afar, hoping to give his brother some extra backup to win the beam struggle. However, all three monsters noticed a fourth party adding his own input into the battle too late; Cyber Godzilla didn’t spare a second and fired his plasma rockets directly into the center of the beam war, before abruptly twisting on his heels and leaping away just as fast. Gigan’s inability to move his eye masked his seething gaze following the loathsome lizard.

The explosion blew all three Gigans off their feet, the flames not actually consuming them—but the resulting debris sure as hell did. The Nebulan mercenary shrieked his hatred at the unseen Cyber Godzilla as he slammed into the ground, his cries soon joined by his doppelganger adversaries. The force of the impact had knocked the wind out of the Cyborg Monster, the debris clouding him adding to his discomfort while he dry-heaved for air. The one upside was that the dust and smoke masked him from all unfriendly eyes, which gave him enough time to utilize a new technique. A new upgrade his masters had given him in his time spent in deathly limbo. Letting himself lie still, Gigan let his body go dark. The glow of his singular eye faded, the cyborg’s body falling limp as a wet rag in its wake. To any who may see it, one might assume Gigan was dead—but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Within the alien’s internal systems, he was rebooting. Reconstituting and regaining energy, resetting himself to previous levels while he still had time and cover to spare.

Gigan had never gotten a chance to use the Ninja Art of Revival Technique until now, so it was a first try. But it proved to be working exactly as intended nonetheless. As he lay in his torpid state, the space dinosaur could just barely feel the soft thrum of distant footfalls. He had more than one reason to believe it was his loathsome rival, his former killer. The alien was close to finishing his ‘reboot,’ but part of him had no intention of fully awakening just yet. He looked dead to the naked eye, a corpse left to decay. Would his former killer fall for such an illusion? Would his doppelgangers? Could he use this opportunity to spring a trap?

The footsteps were suddenly much closer now, somewhat surprising the rebooting cyborg. Was that foul iguana scouring the results of his handiwork? Was he patrolling the outskirts of the blast? Trying to make out whether all his foes were dead?

The dust was getting clearer. His cover was lessening by the second. The footsteps were even closer, fitting the pace of an agile life form. His ‘reboot’ was all but finished.

If he was going to make a decision, he needed to make it soon…

As he pondered, Gigan suddenly heard his nemesis roar loudly, as if under attack. Two familiar screeches joined him, giving the Nebulan champion just enough information to perceive what was going on. It seemed the Gigan Soldiers still lived, and were caught up in making one last attack on his old rival. His single eye lit aglow at last as Gigan silently made his choice. There would be no ambush executed here. If he was gonna launch a surprise attack, he was gonna need to switch tactics. Rolling over onto his stomach as quietly as he could make himself, Gigan slowly pushed onto one knee as he hunched down. When he had both feet connected with the earth, the alien began to crawl backwards into where the dying debris was still somewhat thick.

That was, until he stepped on something that made him stop cold.

Gigan turned around upon feeling something hard and metallic under his cloven foot—and was surprised to see the unmoving, ravaged bodies of not one, but both Gigan Soldiers from before. It seemed that unlike him, they could not withstand the impact of the explosion; their broken forms matted with burns, huge trenches torn into their bodies to expose inner machinery, their visor-like eyes dimmed out forever. At this, Gigan chittered quietly.

It seemed they had more reinforcements up and about.

With this information in mind, Gigan began to hunt. Using every second that the debris still remained he had, the avian cyborg stalked towards the sounds of the battle at hand. The closer he drew, the more he became able to see the conflict itself.

*****

Cyber Godzilla was bellowing furiously as he tail-whipped one Gigan Soldier in the face, sending it reeling before he blasted another with his heat ray. However, a third Gigan Soldier rushed towards him with hammer claws raised. Had he not noticed and ceased fire to bank away at the last second, it was more than likely the cybernetic Zilla would’ve been impaled right then and there. When a duo of xanthic laser beams tried to blast him, the reptile ducked low before returning fire with his plasma rockets at one, and his atomic fire at the other. He was having to play a game of hit and run constantly, but never dared let his enemies hit him back. A process that would’ve normally proved most exhausting, but Cyber Godzilla was no normal creature. His masters’ mind control beat back any fatigue he may have felt had he been of his own free will; even with just one arm, it seemed he was faring well in the grand scheme of things.

The first Gigan Soldier took flight, followed quickly by one of his brethren. However, Cyber Godzilla was not one to let the third get away, and pounced upon the hapless cyborg like a black leopard attacking a monkey. Tackling the alien to the ground, the resurrected lizard bent low and fired two plasma rockets at close range into his prey’s throat. Sparks and smoke vomited forth as the explosive yield tore a gaping wound into existence. Quickly, the Leviathan cyborg lunged down and chomped down upon the alien’s ravaged throat, and with a jerk of his head tore it out. The extraterrestrial’s eye began to dim and flicker, but the lizard had no time to take advantage of it all; the other two Soldiers were closing back in. Snapping his reflexes, the revived reptile jumped away from his quarry as the other two swept past him, narrowly avoiding two revving buzzsaws.

Twisting in midair, one Gigan Soldier took aim and fired its golden beam. But this time, the forces manipulating Cyber Godzilla came up with a plan; turning back around, the lizard cyborg ran back towards the Soldier with a torn throat. At first, the beam followed him; however, upon running over the dying Soldier, the beam stopped cold. But it was no cause for celebration, for the other Gigan Soldier then swooped right in Cyber Godzilla’s path with the grace of a demonic falcon. Once more, the cybernetic iguana ducked low, just narrowly avoiding having his back cut open by a revving Universal Cutter—but did leave himself open to another beam from the first Soldier. Wailing as the beam scorched his back, the lizard darted away before turning about face, locking onto his airborne attackers. The ports on his spines lighting up, Cyber Godzilla fired another volley of his plasma rockets at one of his foes.

As the first Soldier banked away, the second one took the opportunity to dive towards him. However, this did not go unnoticed by the resurrected Zilla; the moment the Soldier descended close enough, Cyber Godzilla sidestepped and whipped his body a full 360 degrees. His tail scored a lucky hit, smacking the Gigan Soldier in the side and bringing his flight to a crashing halt. The iguana didn’t waste a second and went on the attack, chomping down on the alien’s tail before tugging and pulling. From afar, the remaining Gigan Soldier fired his yellow Laser Knife—only for Cyber Godzilla to pull the downed Soldier’s tail into the path of the beam, blowing it off in a small explosion!

As the downed Soldier wailed in agony, the iguana cyborg jumped on top of his body and bellowed a challenge at the airborne alien. The Soldier chirped as he began to descend with blades brandished—before out of nowhere, a violet Laser Knife flew overhead and blasted him right below his throat. His chirp turned to a shriek as he fell from the sky, drowning out the identical war cry of his attacker. Bewildered, Cyber Godzilla quickly turned around…

He only had a moment to register the original Gigan storming right at him, screeching in fury as he ran, before his right hammer claw met Cyber Godzilla’s throat in a spectacular uppercut, slashing it wide open.

An eternity’s worth of built up rage boiled behind that slash. It was bewitching, sweltering, and all too exhilarating all the same. Never in his life had Gigan felt so horribly elated as he did right now, with all that he craved and then some right before him at long last. No more last-minute breakaways, no more inadvertent saviors; Cyber Godzilla’s chances had entirely run out, and now his maker was here for him with no hindrance. The Leviathan lizard jerked straight up from the force of the blow; a spray of gore gushing forth to bathe Gigan’s upper body in a bright red, like a sick vermillion warpaint. Utterly silent in his throes, Cyber Godzilla staggered back—but Gigan was not letting him have a quiet passing. Kicking the downed Gigan Soldier aside, the Nebulan champion made way to clasp his old rival firm by the head and shoulder. Then, revving up his Universal Cutter to full power, he pulled without hesitation.

Cyber Godzilla’s neck was yanked right upon the revving buzzsaw. The whirring blades, famished for the lizard’s flesh for far too long, finally sated their hunger as they tore violently into his neck. Unspeakable sounds echoed from the horrific scene as Gigan pulled harder, his Universal Cutter cutting straight through the iguana’s flesh, muscle and bone like a hundred molten scalpels through butter. Blood and chunks of flesh and machinery sprayed everywhere, some of it bathing Gigan further as he screeched with elation. Cyber Godzilla’s body jerked and flopped like a beached fish, screaming retches gagging from a throat that was rapidly ceasing to exist. Gigan looked like the psychopath he was as he focused on his enemy’s death throes; his greatest desires coming true as, with a loud and repulsive CRUNCH of bone, the iguana’s neck vertebrae burst in half and Gigan’s saw slashed cleanly through.

Severing Cyber Godzilla’s head from his body.

*****

Site Omega; South Pacific.

The commander of the Leviathan Aliens stared in deathly silence as the screen before him turned to nothing but static and gibberish, signaling the ultimate fate of their invasion’s greatest weapon. Beside him, his brother recoiled when the control panel before him malfunctioned in a burst of static electricity, crackling for a moment before going just as quiet. Thus, they were left in that dead silence, an aura that spoke a thousand words just by its mere existence.

That was, until the older of the two broke it with the only word truly fitting the situation.

“…fuck!”

*****

The THUD that echoed across the reaches of Vågan, Norway when Cyber Godzilla’s severed head hit the ground was loud to Gigan’s ears… but it wasn’t enough. Behind the cybernetic dinosaur, the iguana’s decapitated body staggered and wobbled around like a decapitated chicken, writhing and shedding its lifeblood from its crimson stump where his head once rested. But Gigan paid no attention to the useless body. No, he knew exactly what to do next.

Without giving himself a second to recollect the fact his foe was dead, Gigan gaped his beak and unleashed his five-thousand-degree heat ray upon the lizard’s severed skull. His wrath was blinding as he unleashed all of it upon the head, bathing it in the hottest flames his rage could muster. Gigan let the heat ray loose for a furious twelve seconds before he finally ceased, standing tall as he watched the flames continue to consume the skull at his feet even before its jaws twitched its last. Behind the sadistic cyborg, the once-resurrected Zilla’s body finally toppled and crashed to the ground, its impact resonating through Gigan’s mind and body alike as a drum of victory.

Thrusting a scythed arm down, Gigan pointed at the iguana’s burning head and screamed loudly.

That was how it had felt! That was the same feeling inflicted upon him, the one that haunted him for what felt like eternity!

Even in the moment of his foe’s savage demise, Gigan still had leftover reserves of rage to let out. So he did it by screeching like a banshee, spouting whatever verbal obscenities his shrieking language concealed from human knowledge at the corpse of his slain foe. The Nebulan cyborg hoped there truly was an afterlife of some sort, if only to know Cyber Godzilla would henceforth suffer as he did. To know for certain that the iguana was trapped in the exact same eternal limbo that Gigan himself lived through in the moment of his own death. To know that the lizard would forever relive his excruciating death at the buzzsaw of his former victim, trapped forever in a Hell he could never escape. Imprisoned in a nightmare that, unlike Gigan, he would get no second chance to wake up.

That, to Gigan, was a wish come true more than any other life could subsequently offer.

From across, the two Gigan Soldiers shared a glance with one another before looking back at their enraged relative. Screeching one last time at Cyber Godzilla’s burning skull, the champion of the Space Hunter Nebula M finally turned his back on it. His eye gleamed like a ruby of wrath as he gazed upon his chunkier doppelgangers, pawing the ground beneath him with a vicious chirp. The Gigan Soldiers gave no reply, just stood there regarding him with their own crimson stares. The original Gigan lowered his hammer claws as he waited, wondering if his foes were admitting defeat. Perhaps they now understood his power, and by extension their place? Maybe he could let them stand down?

The tiny apertures above the Soldiers’ eyes suddenly blinked yellow, but no Laser Knives came. Instead, both cyborgs chittered and began to step away from one another, making space for their bloodstained lookalike. At this, Gigan chirped in confusion. What was this about? Before he could ponder further, a shadow shot across the ground before he felt the ground tremble with impact, something having just landed behind him. Gigan wished he could roll his eye, holding his scythes back up as he turned about face, expecting yet more Soldiers to join the fray.

Instead, he found the most outrageous thing he had ever looked upon.

Not green, nor gold, but metallic crimson coated the third Gigan that had made landfall, crouching like a vampiric ninja. Ghostly amethyst glowed from the slit of an eye, peering right back at the shining crimson of the Cyberclaw Terror. Ordinary gray flesh stood in place of any Universal Cutter. The ruby goliath stood up from his crouch and to his full height, opening his arms wide. A droning mimic of Gigan’s infamous war cry echoed from the red lookalike’s gaping beak, haunting and commanding an aura of authority at its coming. At the red Gigan’s cry, the pair of Gigan Soldiers bowed lightly; something that did not go unnoticed by the Nebulan mercenary. Gigan knew exactly what that meant. The Soldiers acknowledged the crimson newcomer as their leader, their commander in whatever their plans for the world were.

And he had his sights set on the only foe in the vicinity.

Gigan scratched his hammer claws together, responding to the commander’s ominous sound with his distinctive cry. The meaning was clear as the break of dawn: bring it.

From across the cyclopean space dinosaur, Gigan Rex simply regarded his foe in ghostly silence.

The velvet terror wasted no time in granting his lookalike’s wish. Holding his arms out, the leader of the Gigan Soldiers brandished his glinting hammer claws… but what he did with them took Gigan completely by surprise. In the blink of an eye, the metal of both scythes popped and parted, the appendages elongating rapidly into maroon whips lined with tooth-like metal blades. So startled out of his mind by this sudden transformation, that Gigan was caught entirely off guard when Gigan Rex flung his arms out to send the whirring saber chains forward. The Rex Blades struck Gigan’s bloodstained hide in twin bursts of sparks, cutting deeply through his metallic skin. The Nebulan biomech screeched in pain and stepped back, sparks bursting as one of the Rex Blades hit him a third time in the side.

With the grace of a professional ribbon dancer, Gigan Rex whipped his Rex Blades at Cyber Godzilla’s killer in a repetitive fashion that even Gigan’s amazing reflexes could barely keep up with. Snapping and holding his hammer claws this way and that, Gigan blocked the relentless strikes with all the effort he could muster. Sparks danced to the clanging, harmonious music of metal-toothed whips colliding with metal scythes. It was quite the strain on Gigan’s cat-like reflexes, but the Nebulan cyborg persistently kept up with his defense. However, to say he blocked every strike would be false; every once or twice, the whip-like saber chains slashed into Gigan’s hide, and when they did, the damage was deep.

But in the blink of an eye, Gigan switched from defense to offense. Keeping his head down for a moment to keep his flashing head aperture hidden, the Nebulan champion then snapped his head up and fired his Laser Knife. The violet beam of destruction struck Gigan Rex in the chest, staggering the crimson commander. For the first time in the battle, Gigan Rex screeched in pain!

But Gigan’s celebration was short-lived. The velvet terror recovered fast, facing the Cyberclaw Terror. In a literal blink, the gray flesh on his torso abruptly snapped open, revealing a huge yellow eye that gazed back at Gigan in a most predatory manner that made him jolt in surprise. Before he could comprehend the otherworldly nature of what he was looking at, a yellow laser beam lanced forth from the gleaming eye. The beam pierced the Nebulan champion just above his Universal Cutter, engulfing him in an explosion. Booming his ominous cry, Gigan Rex spread his arms and began to stalk around his debris-concealed opponent in a slow circle; his Rex Blades retracted back into typical hammer claws, his shining violet gaze fixed upon the smoke that was soon to clear.

Injured but still alive, Gigan emerged from the dying smoke with a chitter. Cyber Godzilla’s bloody warpaint had been all but vaporized off his hide; his body matted with burns and lacerations, with a small cauterized hole now carved into his chest. Alas, the emerald warrior was neither down nor out. Scratching his scythes together, Gigan screeched a fearless cry at his ruby-hued relative.

Seeing his foe still alive and full of fighting spirit made Gigan Rex tilt his head, chirping in interest. This one didn’t give up easily, did he?

His aperture flashing, Gigan let loose his Laser Knife. Quickly, Gigan Rex held his hammer claws up, blocking the violet death ray in a haze of sparks and flame. But while keeping up fire, the Nebulan champion spread his arms wide and broke into a run. The vermillion king twitched at this, visibly surprised before Gigan swung his scythes towards his neck…

At the last second, Gigan Rex raised his left arm to black the strike. The crimson commander made way to fire his stomach beam a second time, but Gigan’s own quick reflexes saved him and he sidestepped in the nick of time. Stepping back, Gigan fired his Laser Knife once more—but this time, he wasn’t trying to hit his foe. The beam carved through the ground in front of Gigan Rex, masking his visibility in a burst of flame and smoke. The ruby-hued doppelganger backed off, before bemoaning when Gigan’s Laser Knife pierced through to stab into his stomach. As the crimson commander recoiled, he was taken by surprise when Gigan burst from the smoke, flying in a straight line to tackle him. The ground shook from the impact of their bodies colliding, Gigan’s hammer claws slashing against his lookalike’s vermillion hide. His Universal Cutter whirring hungrily, Gigan chirped malevolently as he plunged it against his enemy’s body. Sparks and shards of metallic flesh began to fly forth as the saw started cutting into Gigan Rex’s form; though despite the damage being done, the General of the Gigan Soldiers was nowhere close to helpless.

The Nebulan mercenary suddenly shrieked when he felt something stab into his right hip. The attacker turned out to be Gigan Rex’s bladed tail; the blade at the end having split in half like a claw. Howling a battle cry, the crimson commander whipped his tail to send Gigan staggering, leaving him unprotected when Gigan Rex’s stomach opened up to fire once more. This time, the Cyberclaw Terror was knocked right off his feet, landing hard on his side with a loud THUD!

A shriek left Gigan’s beak as he started to fight his way standing, only for a second laser from Gigan Rex to knock him back further. Fury snapping across his nerves, the Nebulan champion aimed low and fired his Laser Knife. His velvet lookalike leaped off the ground just in time, prompting Gigan to roll onto his stomach and scramble standing as quickly as he could. And not a moment too soon; the vermillion general’s scythes extended back into their lethal Rex Blades, whipping at the Nebulan cyborg with the same ferocity as prior. Nary did Gigan’s reflexes fail to serve him well, for he blocked the first few strikes with expert swings of his hammer claws. Turning on his heels with impressive grace, the mercenary of the Space Hunter M kept pace with his crimson mirror image; hybridizing a blend of blocking and dodging, making well use of the stamina he currently had.

It looked like a deadly dance-off between the two most lethal fighters in the cosmos. A twirling plethora of movements centered around solid grace, agility, and nigh-perfect timing. Gigan Rex spun with expert fluidity as he whipped his Rex Blades about, fluidity that was matched as the original Gigan punished the strikes of their desired impacts. Sparks decorated the combative dance with every hit, the clanging of metal against metal mixed with Gigan’s mighty shrieks to create an alien music that played like a cosmic opera.

Down the line, Gigan Rex switched tactics. Double whipping his saber chains at his foe, the Nebulan Cyborg seemed too distracted to notice his relative’s stomach opening. However, such a notion proved false when Gigan Rex fired, only for Gigan to block the strike with his hammer claws. The force of the attack did send him skidding back a good fifty meters, dragging twin trenches through the ground with his legs. A cold blanket washed over Gigan’s cloven feet, revealing he had been pushed right back to the edge of the waterfront where the battle began; alas, Gigan thought nothing of it. The cold of space never bothered him, why would a little water be any different?

Gigan Rex fired a second time, and once more Cyber Godzilla’s killer blocked the strike with his scythes. For a moment the crimson cyborg simply levitated in a slow circle, watching his lookalike like a falcon watching a rodent. Rarely had he met a foe that matched him this well in combat, much less one that shared such a resemblance to the like of his kin. Gigan Rex wished he could smile, because he liked this one. He wondered if this creature was one of his long-lost relatives, separated by the chaotic hands of the universe long ago; perhaps it had simply lost its memory? Whatever the case may be, Gigan Rex felt excitement rush through his veins. He couldn’t wait to see what more this new creature was capable of. Alas, he could not go easy on the cyborg; he needed to test it further. Crank the odds up a notch.

From down below, Gigan clanged his scythes together as he waited for his enemy to make his next move. At first, Gigan Rex was silent, floating ominously around the Nebulan mercenary akin to an eldritch ghost. The Cyberclaw Terror decided to remain just as silent in response, simply keeping his ruby gaze locked onto the amethyst stare of his foe. However, the silence was soon broken when the crimson commander boomed his gloomy cry. The aperture above his eye flashed, and Gigan readied his hammer claws for a defensive position…

…but an attack never came.

Perplexed, the warrior of the Space Hunter Nebula M tilted his head. That was, until a trio of xanthic Laser Knives pierced him from behind. The space dinosaur screeched in shock, with only heightened in volume when the three perpetrators swept by him one by one, slashing him with revving Universal Cutters. The two Gigan Soldiers had re-entered the fight, called to aid by their vermillion master—and as if that wasn’t enough, a third had joined their ranks while he hadn’t been paying attention. Now, it was four against one. The original Gigan chirped in frustration at this. Just how many underlings did this guy have?

Gigan Rex chirped again, and at his command the three Soldiers ascended altitude to his level. But what they did next gave cause for immediate alarm; the scales on the Soldiers’ stomachs began to retract, while their Universal Cutters began to extend outwards with a crimson glow. Before Gigan’s very eye, their buzzsaws now had tripled their original diameter—and were revving up faster than ever. The Nebulan champion took an alarmed step back.

Oh, that was not good!

With a chorus of identical war cries, the Gigan Soldiers went on the attack. Gigan’s lightning-fast survival instincts came to the rescue; with a fluid twist, he banked away and kicked off the ground, taking flight just as his enemies pursued him like aerial bloodhounds. The Nebulan mercenary knew he had to make better use of his speed now more than ever, with as few slip ups as possible. He made good on his promise the moment the first Soldier came close, and swatted the underling in the face while sidestepping out of its buzzsaw’s path. As the Soldier recoiled, a second one took its place with the same intentions. Gigan reacted accordingly, firing his Laser Knife right into his enemy’s face. At such close range, the Soldier could’ve never ceased his trajectory and instead came right into the blast. His skull was mangled hideously in the following explosion, and he dropped dead from the sky.

That left only three to deal with.

From a distance, Gigan Rex let loose his stomach-beam, trying to snipe his lookalike out from afar. But he was a glutton for surprises, as the original Gigan blocked the blast with his scythes—and the next, he turned and activated his buzzsaw just in the nick of time, for another Gigan Soldier collided with him stomach-first. Their revving buzzsaws clashed, sending sparks gushing as metal slashed against metal with no clear victor. The Nebulan champion seized this as an opportunity to attack; as the two cyborgs slammed their hammer claws together, seemingly locked in a stalemate, Gigan fired his Laser Knife a second time. However, he aimed at the Soldier’s left arm instead of the head, and in a burst of fire and sparks the arm was severed from its owner’s body. The Soldier shrieked in pain, but rather than attack further it decided to play it smart and retreat. A third Laser Knife lanced from Gigan’s eye, striking the Soldier right in the extended buzzsaw—but from the resultant explosion the Soldier emerged, virtually unharmed.

Gigan took note of this, knowing where and where not to hit them now.

The other Gigan Soldier—the one with a severed tail—shot at him like a bullet, but Gigan banked to the side just in time and blasted the underling in the back, sending it into a painful crash-landing. But the Nebulan warrior wasted no time celebrating, for the circumstances called for nothing but speed and aggression. Picking up speed, the space dinosaur hurled himself towards his number one target: Gigan Rex, who levitated a decent distance away. The crimson commander chirped and unsheathed his Rex Blades once more, twirling and flinging them at Gigan with that same grace that blended beauty and lethality so perfectly. The Cyberclaw Terror blocked the strikes mid-charge, firing off his Laser Knife which his enemy quickly avoided. Changing directions, Gigan chased after his velvet lookalike, who retracted his Rex Blades as the emerald alien zoomed in to meet him in close quarters combat.

And what a combat it turned out to be indeed.

Gigan shrieked fearlessly as he came in swinging—literally. But Gigan Rex held his hammer claws up to block the attack, resulting in the two cyborgs locking scythes. Slashing them apart, both aliens started swinging and blocking alike as they engaged in an aerial hammer claw sword fight. Blade slammed against blade in repeated clangs, each cyborg flying in and out of close range as they traded blows again and again. Not a single dent graced the alien steel of their hammer claws amidst their furious, graceful scythe-fight; no matter the ferocity of their blows. Not one hit succeeded in slicing flesh or machinery, only the razor-sharp metal of blade versus blade with no clear winner. Gracefully, viciously, they both danced across the sky, a skybound sword fight even the most experienced souls could hardly imagine. No beams were utilized, no secondary abilities; nothing but blade and blade alone was deployed in this airborne clash. At one point, the pair of Gigan Soldiers started to move—only for their master’s head aperture to flash, and they backed off; an order to stay put.

This was their battle, and theirs alone.

The metallic melee seemed to go on for hours, such was the thrill of adrenaline and the anticipation of who would finally score the first hit. Sparks burst like fireworks time and again, growing in size as the hits got harder and more ferocious. At one point, both cyborgs flew apart and gained immense distance from one another, only to charge right back in, head-on and at full speed. When their scythes met once more, the CLANG it gave birth to was so loud it shattered any remaining glass and rattled the sturdiest rocks. Despite how easily the thrill of combat fooled the mind into thinking the battle went on for hours, in reality it lasted for ten minutes… but alas, eventually an outcome had to be reached.

But when a blow was finally landed, the results were quite a surprise.

Both cyborgs backed up a ways before charging once again, but this time they each aimed differently. As a result, both of them wailed in pain when they plummeted out of control from the sky, both bearing a gaping laceration from each other’s successful blows. The extraterrestrials landed on their stomachs, kicking up large clouds of dust in their impacts, but were both quick to scramble back to their feet and whip about to face one another from afar.

Gigan wanted to open fire, but decided against it for now, electing instead to save his slowly-recharging reserves for later. However, unbeknownst to the Nebulan warrior, it seemed that later could come sooner than he desired. Gigan Rex’s admiration for the Cyberclaw Terror had reached brand new heights, but he couldn’t let it blind him to the situation at hand; the Nebulan champion was unlikely to share the same perspective. Just because he thought very highly of the original Gigan, didn’t mean he was going to up and let himself lose the battle at hand. So with a commanding chirp, the velvet alien flashed the aperture above his amethyst-hued eye.

At his command, the two Gigan Soldiers flew to his side, touching down upon the earth just as Gigan Rex began to levitate into the air. Gigan brandished his scythes and screeched, pawing the ground with one foot; wholly expected to deal with three opponents at once. But what took place stole any such ideas, for Gigan Rex’s aperture flashed again—and with it, both Gigan Soldiers began to wither. Their very flesh, biological and mechanical alike, broke apart and crumbled away, falling as particles of ash and debris to the earth below. Gigan jolted, startled at what he was seeing. In just the blink of an eye, the very whim of the crimson commander, the Soldiers were taken by the Grim Reaper; but as their Universal Cutters broke apart, they each left behind one last remnant of their existence: their glowing orange cores. Like shining white dwarfs born from the disintegration of great red stars, they pulsed with an otherworldly light as they levitated. At the very moment of being exposed, the cores floated over to Gigan Rex’s side, and at their arrival both they and their new owner began to glow with a brand new intensity. A strange symbol formed around the ruby-hued menace, burning with flames of unbridled power as Rex’s stomach opened up.

And with it, the eye at the center began to light up…

Gigan allowed himself a moment of shock, twinges of fear beginning to contract within his nerves. He knew a horrifying attack awaited him, and he had only a second’s worth to respond in kind. His shock gave way to action, survival instincts erupting into overdrive as he made use of the only decision he had left. His own head aperture flashing to life, Gigan let loose his Laser Knife just when Gigan Rex opened fire with his own attack.

A thick laser erupted from the eye in Gigan Rex’s belly; one that was not xanthic yellow, but red as fire and brimstone. Far more powerful than its golden predecessor, the crimson beam smashed into Gigan’s Laser Knife with uncountable force, producing a shockwave that whipped across the landscape for miles. The Richter Scale columned from the force of the beam war that subsequently took place, resulting in a persistent force that tested Gigan’s stance on his feet. The cyborg of the Space Hunter Nebula M shrieked with relentless fury as he swayed and swung, fighting with all his might to keep standing amidst the ray struggle. However, right from the beginning it was a losing battle; no matter how much energy he put into his struggle, Gigan’s Laser Knife found itself being pushed gradually towards him by his relative’s more powerful attack.

The tremors in the earth were no longer the only forces that caused Gigan to tremble, for an emotion all-too familiar to the cybernetic dinosaur had enshrouded him once more: rage. All that he had suffered, all that time and effort spent, the multiple delays overcome to finally achieve the vengeance that had starved him so—and this was what followed? Brought back from the dead to get a second chance, slain his former killer and exacting a payback that could’ve never been more delectable… only to enter Death’s door in a short amount of time? To meet his demise at the hands of a vile poser who shared his visage? The Nebulan champion wailed in a special kind of anger mixed with the most broiling, putrid fog of despair imaginable. Unbelievable, that this was how he went out! A forever’s worth of torture and humiliation, a hellish rage built up over time he could not remember other than it was far too long, all those upgrades given to him by his masters as they provided him a second chance, the sheer joy he felt as he shredded his former killer’s skull to paste after his burning wait…

…and it had all been for nothing?

The buildup of energy was closing in on the Nebulan cyborg, his vision beginning to fall to its brightness. The violet hue of his Laser Knife was gradually overwhelmed by the engorging crimson of his enemy, lessening further while his rage grew. It felt as if his life was nothing but a comedy for a higher power, a montage for them to laugh it up at his expense. With nothing else left to do, Gigan only put more energy into his losing war—a fruitless, but brave attempt—as he howled with all the rage he had left.

And then all his rage became a blinding white.

*****

Gigan Rex chirped as he powered himself into a flight, but not as a means of going anywhere—rather, to push against the force of the fiery rupture that had engulfed his rival, sending immense shockwaves in all directions that threatened to throw him right out of the air. This had not been the largest nor strongest explosion the crimson commander had ever endured nor seen, but it was stronger than he was comfortable with. It was quite the strain, but eventually he pulled through; successfully holding his position in the sky as the shockwaves died off. Only then did Gigan Rex slowly descend back to the earth in silence like an angel of death, fixing the aftermath of the blast with his violet gaze as the flames eventually succumbed.

And, watching the cloud of smoke and debris that had formed, he waited.

*****

He didn’t know whether to be amazed that he hadn’t been sent to the grave by the blast, or shocked that he hadn’t been in the least bit knocked unconscious.

The haze of searing white almost felt like it lasted forever, yet it only lasted for just a few moments before fire and smoke had clouded his vision. And they too, despite hitting Gigan so hard he had lost his sense of pain, had only lasted for a short period of time before the fire began to starve itself to death. When his vision finally returned, nothing but ash and smoke beheld his exhausted gaze. Enshrouding him like a putrid blanket, staining his body with black powder that built upon his skin like sand. Filling whatever functioned for lungs with smoke, for when his sense of pain finally returned—and return it did indeed, for it was grueling like never before—Gigan realized that his broken jaw was hanging open, possibly only by a thread. Burns and cauterized lateractions matted wherever the ash did not douse him, exposing some internal workings within his cybernetic body. His eye was cracked all over, not completely shattered only by the narrowest of margins; alas, the same could not be said for his beam aperture.

The Nebulan champion tried to get to his feet, only for an explosion of agony to shoot through his kneecap as he collapsed to one knee. Gigan chirped weakly in pain as he fell, realizing his leg was broken in at least four places. His “wings” were fried to splinters of bone, and more than a few of his horns had been broken like twigs. The space dinosaur tried to chirp again, only to cough up sparks and smoke, and realize that the force of the explosion had torn a gash in his throat.

It made him want to retch, for he hoped to all that existed that Cyber Godzilla wasn’t somewhere out there still, laughing at him.

A low thud caused him to tilt his head up slowly, watching as the dust around him slowly faded by the minute… and began to give way to an unmistakable silhouette that loomed in the distance, marching towards him quietly like the Grim Reaper himself. Gigan wanted to shake with fury, stopped only by the excruciating pain that still crawled all throughout his crippled form. Curse him, his velvet lookalike! Curse that foul poser, Gigan Rex!

The ominous shadow of his executioner-to-be strode closer with ghostly grace, the violet glow of his eye piercing through the debris like a dagger through butter. The tremors that rumbled through the earth were the footsteps of Gigan’s doom, as the dying debris failed to conceal the ruby-hued visage of Gigan Rex looming out of the haze. The final footfall was soft, yet it felt like the universe exploding as the crimson commander stood before his defeated lookalike.

For a time, the leader of the Gigan Soldiers was soundless as ever. He made no motion, no movement, not even brandishing any one of his fearsome weapons; he merely stood there, seemingly peering into Gigan’s very heart and soul with his eerie, focused gaze. The burnt, broken ruin that was Gigan stared right back through his cracked eye, waiting for the inevitable swing of a blade or shot of a beam. Even if he could close his eye, he would not; Gigan had already died once, and death would receive no fear from him again. If he was to be sent back to the same repetitive limbo of an afterlife, he would forever relive spitting in the face of death as his enemy made the fatal swing. He would face the door of demise head-on, eye wide open and facing it like a warrior. It was the least he could obtain after spending so much effort, only to end up here.

Gigan Rex chirped, finally breaking the silence.

An insignificant jolt of his crippled physique substituted perfectly for Gigan balking. Had he really heard what his foe had just said? A weak chirp of confusion answering from his broken throat, the Cyberclaw Terror tilted his head up by just an inch. After all that time spent fighting to the death like Roman gladiators, after all of Rex’s underlings that Gigan had battled and slain… and the maroon menace wanted him to join him? Submit to his rule, work for him as one of his soldiers?

At this, Gigan Rex shook his head.

Gigan had proven to be a truly powerful force, in many ways beyond the many Gigan Miles he had engaged. He was cunning, he was fast, he was ruthless, he knew how to play his cards with a sharp mind. He was a true embodiment of being lethal, as their kind were meant to be. Even in the moment of his most blinding rage, when revenge would all but cloud the judgment of even the sharpest individuals, Gigan had proven himself to be far too focused; possibly even for his own good. The Nebulan mercenary was far too formidable, too skillful and capable of a warrior to work for him.

But before Gigan could respond in any way, Gigan Rex touched the underside of his head with his hammer claw, tilting it up to look him right in the eye. The crimson commander echoed a haunting cry, and Gigan froze. All of his burns, his lacerations, his scars and broken body parts that seemed shattered beyond future function… they could all be fixed, just as he had been after he lost his life to his slain rival. All that damage could go away, and a whole new future could await him now that he had finally rejoined his kind. Too much potential, Gigan possessed; far too much to merely work at the forefront of his forces, a grunt amidst their ranks. Another wail sounded from Gigan Rex’s mandibles, and the crippled alien’s crimson eye lit up as a wave of genuine interest crashed into him. Think of all that could be possible if Gigan fought not at the front, but at Rex’s very side in the battles ahead.

Think of all they could achieve, everything they could conquer… when he worked with him.

*****

Site Omega.

The reports from their fellow scouts were confirmed to be true, there was no denying it now. The commander of the Leviathan forces and his brother floated down the biomechanical hallway, their expressionless faces concealing the anxiety running through their minds as they began to put the pieces all together. The outcome of the battle was more dangerously detrimental than they could’ve ever anticipated. They had lost not one, but two of their mightiest weapons, and now there were not one, nor even two, but multiple Gigans out on the loose in the world—including a whole new variant of the cybernetic terror, a vicious leader clad in crimson armor and a gaze as violet as amethyst gems. To make matters worse, the separate sides had—at the very least, anyway—called some kind of truce.

And then they just disappeared. Left to places unknown.

One moment, the Leviathan aliens had crippled their Nebulan rivals with the defeat of their cybernetic champion three weeks ago, and the next they were left at a crossroads. They didn’t know anymore what—or who—they were dealing with. There was no knowledge on where these… new Gigans came from. Whether they were clones of a greater army created by the Space Hunter Nebula M, served as an army for a greater force unknown to the Leviathans, or operated entirely of their own devices, no information whatsoever. It was a surprise attack they could never have foreseen, one that ended up costing the Leviathans the very warrior that had bested Gigan before at Cedar Point.

The two brothers exited the radio dish, floating towards their main base while they contemplated their next move.

“Forgive me for my outburst,” the commander spoke, “I should’ve remained collected.”

“No, it was only logical,” the younger brother responded. “None of us could’ve seen the likes of that coming.”

The pair floated further down in silence for a moment, letting possessed human slaves pass them by with unblinking gazes; eyes green and glowing like their own. But eventually as they reached the main base of operations and rounded into a new room, the second in command turned to his elder sibling.

“The mightiest under our thrall has fallen,” he said. “I mean not to rush you, but where do we turn now? Where do we look?”

In front of the insectoid aliens, screens began to appear around the entire room. Live feeds displaying various locations around the earth, including a spatial view of the very planet itself. Looking upon them, the Leviathan commander began to ponder an answer to his brother’s question. In a way, he already knew the answer: they would need to find a stronger monster. Replace what was lost with what was better and improved, a tactic to match their Nebulan adversaries. But the real question was: what? What creature would be strong enough to replace their cybernetic iguana and the deep-sea hunter, and where would they look for such a beast?

The commander knew this planet was ripe with giants, many of which they had already brought under their control. But some were noticeably stronger than others, and some took more power to seize full control. The commander let his digits drum across the panel in front of him in thought. Nothing about what they had achieved thus far was easy, but now it seemed it was time to start taking some real risks. With an unprecedented third party now creating a war on two fronts—and a formidable one at that—they were going to need to lay bigger cards on the table to compete with such forces.

“We look back to…” the commander thought for a moment, “…what was the phrase humans use? The ‘drawing boards,’ is that it?”

*****

So they searched. Ordered their human puppets to dig up as much information, as many clues and leads that could point them to as many desired targets as possible. Looked over every cliff, forest, mountain, every ocean depth they could muster. It was a tactic that took genuine patience, one that would wear on even the hardest nerves; for the situation at hand was more dangerous and desperate than ever. The Leviathans considered themselves lucky they even had any monsters left to begin with, serving as guard dogs to aid in some protection while they looked to the world for greater assets. Otherwise, they would be left entirely unprotected and vulnerable amidst their search.

When reports of the missions came back, metaphorical eyebrows rose wide.

More than a few intriguing results reached the ears of the Leviathan brothers, but one in particular stood out to their desires; and so it became their target of choice. But they knew not to take it likely; Adonoa Island was said to be a cursed land, with a reputation as a devourer of all who came upon it. Tales of fishermen and commercial ships straying too close to the island, only to never return, were unnervingly common amongst the mainland closest to its vicinity. For it was told that within the depths of the fog-ridden island in the Bering Sea, lurked a great beast. A terrible monster, too terrible for the mind to conceive. A colossal reptilian with a breath of flame blue as the stars, skin rough and craggy as rock, and a back crowned by spikes the shape of maple leaves…

Winner: Gigan (Reiwa)

 

What makes someone a monster? Is it their actions, something intrinsic inside them, or because they break away from social convention? Maybe it’s just because of the false impressions that others take away with them from unfortunate chance encounters? Monster, the latest film from celebrated director Hirokazu Kore’eda (Nobody Knows [2004], Still Walking [2008]) takes these themes and stitches them into a moving, aching, multi-faceted exploration of the dangerous power of broken perceptions, the searing pain of alienation, and the simple and brittle beauty of friendship and family in the midst of tragedy. Monster affected me emotionally more than any other film in 2023 so far, and it is well worth your time if you are willing for those willing to take the emotional ride. (more…)

It’s been awhile since Toho has released a new Godzilla game. While the King of the Monsters has popped up in various collabs of late, and Godzilla Battle Line still sees frequent updates, an outright new game hasn’t come out since 2021. That’s all going to change. Today, Toho has announced a new upcoming video game called Godzilla Voxel Wars. Sold through Steam, the game will be playable across various PCs. (more…)

Author: Tyler Trieschock & Matt Ng | Banner: Tyler Trieschock | Narration: Matthew Reeds

 

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Miracle in the Dark
Chapter 2: Journey to the Past
Chapter 3: The Pilot
Chapter 4: Godzilla’s Final War – Anguirus vs. Mechagodzilla
Chapter 5: The Girl Who Can See Tomorrow
Chapter 6: Anguirus vs. Mechagodzilla – Round 2
Chapter 7: Prophecy
Chapter 8: To Endure
Chapter 9: Where the Past and Present Meet
Chapter 10: Children of Ruin

[Continued From Match 387] (more…)