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)

 

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…)

Author: Harley Jameson | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski | Narration: Alicia Ingram

The sun shone brightly over Monster Island, yet in the earliest of hours a cold mist was still strewn across it. It swirled gently as its King rose, breathing in the deep and rich scent of his home.

As Godzilla rose, he heard the cracks of his bones. The aching tug of his muscles even from such an activity. It had been a long time since the final battle in Mt. Fuji, and despite many more battles across the years Godzilla was certain of one thing: He was dying.

While he didn’t know how exactly, he knew that his end was near. There was no getting around it, even for a creature like him, mutated by the radiation of the atomic bomb, Death would come for him in the end. He breathed in the cold air one more time, seemingly refreshed by its scent. Closing his eyes, he listened to the quiet sounds of his home before any of the other denizens of the island woke up.

His son had long since grown and moved out of the nest. Minilla – no, Godzilla had been doing well for himself, establishing a more peaceful connection with the humans and bridging the gap between his soon-to-be new subjects.

Godzilla walked slowly towards the babbling brook of spring water that had miraculously formed thanks to the constant rainfalls and some help from the humans. He took a few mouthfuls, shuddered a bit as the cold slid into his body, and took off towards the coastline. He was in no hurry today, despite his plans.

He dove into the water once he was waist deep, letting the warmth of the surface mingle into the coldness of the depths as he searched for prey. There, a whale moved too close to the island. He pounced on it in an instant, flash-frying it with a quick jet of his atomic breath. The color had long since faded, leaving it once again as a pearly white mist.

The King floated there, eating down on his food. If things went well today, it would be the last meal of his life. He wanted to savor the taste a bit longer.

Once his meal was finished, Godzilla had moved back onto the shore and shook off the excess water from his body. He could hear the distant sounds of a few other early risers starting their morning routine. High above the skies, he saw Rodan swooping around in the air. Probably in some show of dominance to Varan again. Godzilla snorted a bit. Despite how different they were from the humans, in many ways they were the same.

Taking one last deep breath, Godzilla opened his mouth and roared out across the entire island. Every kaiju immediately woke up upon the sound of his roar that was still asleep. It was a summons for one in particular, but he knew all of them would come.

And like clockwork, they did. One by one, either slithering from the forest or emerging from the ocean waves. Rodan soared overhead before landing next to Mothra, who had finally cocooned into her adult form. The two shared a look, but Mothra chirped softly. Godzilla’s son had arrived, the spitting image of his father. He grunted a little, but when he saw the serious look on his father’s face he quietly realized what was happening. He hung his head sadly, and Godzilla moved over and placed a comforting hand on his son’s head. He rubbed it a bit, before a loud honk made him break away and turn.

There he was, his oldest and closest friend. The irony wasn’t lost on Godzilla as Anguirus approached him lazily. When they had first awoken, they were bitter enemies. In fact, Godzilla had almost killed Anguirus. It had taken them years to finally patch up their differences and become allies. The first ever monster that Godzilla had fought, in his long long life. And now, Anguirus would be his last.

Godzilla grunted at his friend, then gave a low roar. Telling him what he wanted. Anguirus jerked back a bit, giving a small grunt in return. Surely, he wasn’t serious.

Taking a breath, beckoned his friend closer and the two sat down together. They exchanged a few grunts and roars, talking it out. The other residents watched the king and his oldest and dearest friend communicate for one another before Godzilla looked down and gave a low-seated snarl.

The look in his friend’s eyes told Anguirus everything he needed to know. With a deep sigh, Anguirus stepped back a few paces. The two friends gave each other a final nod, before Anguirus tilted his head up and bellowed into the skies above. The challenge was to be accepted.

The two monsters started circling each other slowly. Anguirus’s tail slapped the sand, and he crouched protectively and snarled at Godzilla, a warning. He wouldn’t be holding back on his friend.

Godzilla’s response was a challenging roar and motion with his hands to bring it, his dorsal plates lighting up and firing his white-mist atomic breath at the sands in front of Anguirus.

Anguirus howled defiantly at Godzilla and charged forward, rearing up on his hind legs and slamming them onto his old friend’s shoulders. He shoved against Godzilla, grunting as the King held his ground, grabbing his ankles and shoving back. They grappled with one another, Anguirus trying to reach in and snap at Godzilla’s neck with his teeth, only for Godzilla’s hand to shove against his face and push him away.

Grunting in agitation, Anguirus shoved Godzilla away and whipped around, tripping his friend with his tail and sending Godzilla howling into the sand beneath him. He pounced on him, scratching and biting at the flailing Godzilla, shoving his head ruthlessly against the sand. Anguirus backed off a bit, watching Godzilla rise to his knees only to be knocked over again when Anguirus gored him with his horn, drawing first blood and sending his friend sprawling into the sand.

Blood leaked out of the wound in his side, and Godzilla wheezed painfully. His wounds wouldn’t heal as fast as they used to, and even this much exertion was shockingly taxing on him. It was only hearing Anguirus mocking him with honks that he felt a fire surge inside of him and the strength to rise back to his feet.

Curling his hands into fists, Godzilla roared angrily before stepping closer. Anguirus once again reared up, only this time Godzilla swung low and jammed his fist into Anguirus’s stomach. The mutated dinosaur wheezed painfully, landing harshly on his forelegs only to be kicked in the side of the head by Godzilla.

Stumbling back, Anguirus coughed out when Godzilla kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him skidding across the sands. Godzilla panted out, moving behind Anguirus and grabbing him by the tail with both hands. He gripped it hard, and began to tug on it.

His muscles strained with the effort. He used to be able to do this much easier in his youth as with a herculean screech he lifted up Anguirus by the tail and slammed the flailing kaiju back down onto the sand with a loud thump. Godzilla lifted Anguirus up again, only to drop him suddenly when a sharp crack in his own spine made him cry out in agony. He stumbled back, falling down onto one knee as the pains of his body overwhelmed him.

Anguirus sneezed out the sand from his face and turned, only to pause when he saw his friend’s condition and hesitate. He glanced around at the others who were watching on in silent respect, unsure if he should keep the fight going. He locked eyes with Godzilla’s son and he nodded at him. It would be what his father would want.

Pawing at the ground, Anguirus charged forward with a newfound determination and bowled over the aging Godzilla. He grunted a little, rearing up and slamming his bulk down on his friend’s chest. He snarled, barking in Godzilla’s face. Was this how Godzilla wanted to die? So pathetically?

His answer was a searing, burning pain as Godzilla fired his white mist into Anguirus’s face. He screeched in pain, pawing at the familiar burning sensation.

Godzilla lashed out, slashing Anguirus’s face with his claws and feeling a twinge of guilt as blood sprayed across the sand and quickly scooped some up and hurled it into his friend’s face. Anguirus stumbled back, now bleeding and blind as he shook his head violently.

It took him longer than normal to rise back up to his feet, and even then he felt unsteady. If he was going to die, then he didn’t care if he fought dirty. Godzilla slowly approached the still blind Anguirus, who was trying to rub his eyes and clear them. His dorsal plates flashed and he fired another white mist that washed over Anguirus’s shell. It steamed, and Anguirus jumped back in pain and alarm, but to Godzilla’s dismay it didn’t do anything else than annoy his opponent.

With his vision cleared at last, Anguirus moved forward and threw his weight against his shell, slamming his hips against Godzilla’s knees and forcing the monster king to land right on top of him. He grit his teeth, enduring the weight of his friend as the spikes dug into Godzilla’s body. Godzilla moaned in pain, rolling off of Anguirus with limbs flailing.

Godzilla shuddered, closing his eyes a bit to regain his senses. He knew that age had taken its toll, but he hadn’t expected to be this bad. He wheezed out, struggling to sit up. Had Anguirus been right, was this how he was going to die? He grit his teeth and despite the pain he forced himself up. No, no this wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want to die with this as his last moments.

Yet he knew that maybe there was no other choice. Taking a deep breath, Godzilla channeled as much of his weakened atomic reserves as he could. His dorsal plates flashed white rapidly, before a split second they shone a brilliant blue, and for one final time a proper atomic breath fired out, slamming into Anguirus’s side and sending him toppling over with a howl of agony.

Godzilla gasped out from the exertion, but unwilling to admit defeat he tried to press on and kicked Anguirus completely over onto his shell. The ankylosaur flailed, howling in distress as Godzilla began whaling blow after blow onto his underbelly.

Gradually, however, Godzilla’s attacks were getting weaker. Godzilla slapped pathetically against Anguirus’s stomach, slumped against his friend and eyes closed. That atomic breath might have just been his last trump card and he knew that Anguirus would be fit enough to continue. Indeed, Anguirus slipped out from underneath Godzilla easily and righted himself.

Rising to his knees, Godzilla coughed. He coughed badly, and with a shudder some blood spilled out from his mouth. He was spent, and they both knew it. Leaning back a little, Godzilla closed his eyes. He was content that he had given it his all, weak as it may be.

Anguirus let out a low, mournful note. He didn’t want to kill Godzilla. Decades ago, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But seeing his oldest friend, he couldn’t help but feel… so sad. He blinked, shaking away tears that were threatening to form. The time for mourning would be later.

He ran forward, keeping his eyes closed. He knew he wasn’t going to miss. With a final, despairing cry Anguirus rammed his nasal horn into Godzilla’s chest, piercing his aging heart. Godzilla jerked, letting out a gasp of pain and a muted roar. Silently, Godzilla embraced Anguirus for a moment, grunting his thanks. Then his arms went slack, and Godzilla fell to the side. The King of the Monsters was finally at peace.

Howling in anguish, Anguirus couldn’t contain himself anymore. He flung himself onto the body of his oldest friend, bawling like an infant. He shuddered and shook, weeping for his fallen king. It was only the soft touch of Mothra landing on his shell and her soothing chirps that got him to finally recompose himself and move away. He snuffed, shaking his head. Gently, Mothra’s wing soothed over the top of his head. He was a true friend to him.

As one, Monster Island’s residents called out in remorse and mourning at the loss of their fallen king. Minilla stepped forward and fired his atomic ray at Godzilla’s corpse, setting it alight instantly. The inhabitants of the island stayed there, watching the flames turn Godzilla’s body into ashes. With a soft flap of Mothra’s wings, the ashes were blown into the air. All that was left was the blood in the sand and their memories. Slowly, the monsters dispersed back to their daily routines. Only Anguirus, Mothra, Rodan, and Minilla stayed where Godzilla’s body used to be, before one by one, they began to leave until only Anguirus was left. With a final, soothing roar of goodbye, Anguirus got up and returned to the depths of the forest.

Winner: Anguirus (Universal)

Author: Nickolas A. Brand | Banner: Landon Soto

“Revenge, compassion, pride, and duty. These ingredients are all present in the strongest storms. Revenge against the land which had previously contained the now furious water. Compassion in the form of life-giving rains. Pride in being the strongest force in all of the land. Duty in the yearly advances as dictated by the great fire in the sky. The greatest of all storms will one day wield each of these traits in equal measure. It is this storm which will herald the return of the godslayer to these lands. With fury and might he will defend these lands against all challengers, be they gods, animals, or dark beasts.” – Paleolithic Appalachian Folklore

***

The trees leaned and jerked violently, threatening to topple in the unyielding winds. The great hurricane had made landfall many hours ago, but its power had barely diminished as it pressed inland. As was so often the case with these eastern North American storms, local people were forced to take shelter lest they risk injury and death as ancient trees splintered and collapsed in the squall. This storm was different though, made unique by the waiting trio of towering figures that had arrived just before the winds picked up.

A young man named Kahlo held his little sister’s hand and repeated the story he’d been telling her. “Don’t worry, the guardian of the mountains will appear to make them go away. I’m sure of it!”

Despite his efforts to calm her, the little girl cried even louder in response. Other tribe members occupying the rock shelter shook their heads in frustration. Storms happened every year, and none should cry in fear after their third year. The noise was aggravating, but no one was willing to risk venturing outside and infuriating the three gods that were towering over the mountains to escape it. Especially when the guardian was said to burst from the heart of the mountains themselves in times of need.

“Look over there, that must be him!” The young man pointed to a nearby peak as boulders and uprooted trees began to cascade down the forested slope. The ground heaved and stony cliffs split open in a deafening cacophony. A terrible roar added to the noise within the cave, ushering screams of pain and terror as the sounds threatened to burst eardrums and shake the structure apart.

“It’s him. See sister, I told you! It’s the godslayer coming to save us!” Kahlo was jumping up and down with anticipation, however, his words sounded muffled and distant to his own ears. Despite his role in protecting his sister, the man was still too young to fully appreciate the severity of the situation. Hushed murmurs and conversations eventually broke out as hearing returned in stages. A towering presence rose from the crumbling remains of what the people had for so long called Elkshot Peak. Striking white armor and red flesh were visible, even through the pounding sheets of rain. Large projections from the kaiju’s shoulders and a distinctive three-horned head confirmed Kahlo’s excited words.

“The Godslayer is here. It’s the guardian. It’s Bagan!”

***

Bagan let loose a furious roar that disturbed even the hurricane winds which lashed around the gathered monsters. The oceanic maelstrom may have served to help awaken him from his slumber, but it was the interlopers’ presence that he was here to correct. These forests and these mountains were his territory, even if the beings who had set him to the task of conquering and holding them were long gone. Their arrogance had caused the once called “Guardian of the Mountains” to end their puny species, and these three gathered foes would be no different. It did not matter which manner of beast or being stepped forth into his land. All were slain like the animals they were, and animals was exactly how Bagan saw each of his foes that had gathered waiting for his arrival.

The first was none other than Godzilla. His hulking frame blended into the mountains that stretched out around them, and parts of his body were shrouded as storm clouds were thrown over the rocky peaks in the gale. When Bagan had erupted from the ground, Godzilla’s clawed hands clenched, and his dorsal spines repeatedly crackled with blue light. A deep, threatening growl emanated from the amphibious monster as he bared his teeth in challenge to the demonic dragon before him. His eyes did not leave Bagan’s, nor did they blink. The white kaiju thought this challenger was familiar, but couldn’t place how. Despite this, Godzilla’s body language was as plain as the fact that these lands belonged to Bagan. He was here not to fight, but to kill.

Gamera had also made the journey when he sensed Bagan’s impending awakening. The massive turtle stood motionless as he observed the others. No fire yet crackled within his maw, but his tusks and teeth were threat enough. While he had in the past deigned to ignore the emerging monster’s presence, this time was different. There seemed to be an especially strong darkness surrounding this area and that was a direct threat to the fledgling species that Gamera had since decided to protect. If this creature decided to leave the confines of its supposedly “sacred mountains” and rampage as it had done once in the past? Then the true guardian kaiju may well have nothing to protect anymore.

Gamera could simply not allow that to happen. Whether or not he had help, the massive turtle would be here to give the humans below who mistakenly worshiped Bagan as some sort of deity a fighting chance in this world. The demon’s final opponent was found in the sky, despite the vicious winds raging around them. Grand King Ghidorah’s golden scales were illuminated by occasional bolts of lightning that danced around his three-headed form. Like Gamera, he was here to protect something, and yet, he was here for himself. After his defeat millions of years ago at the wings of that overgrown insect, Ghidorah had waited patiently to recover his power.

In that battle his tail had been cut off, and while the rest of his body was destroyed, his spirit and purpose lived on. He’d regenerated from that lost limb, and for millions of years he’d inhabited this planet rather than destroying other ones. Until the day that Mothra Leo showed himself once more, Grand King Ghidorah would remain, and until that day, this planet was his. These mountains, and these forests were his. No so-called “guardian” would stop him — no demonic power would fall on him. If he had to cooperate with these other, lesser creatures to root out this pretend king, then so be it. Their own time would come soon after.

It was Godzilla who made the first move. With an air of bloodthirstiness the titan had seldom shown before, he rushed forward with a roar that cracked stone. Each footfall crushed hills, and his sweeping tail ruined the forests as he went. Bagan was ready for his opponent and moved with a speed unimaginable for a creature of such bulk. A closed white fist drove itself into Godzilla’s underbelly and stopped the aggressor in his tracks. Before the king of monsters could retaliate, Bagan’s other fist smashed into his shoulder, driving Godzilla to the ground. There was something familiar about this pretender to the title of king, but Bagan’s memory remained clouded. The white dragon’s snarl of laughter was cut short by a plasma fireball exploding against his torso. As the searing flames were quickly extinguished in the driving rain, thick black plumes erupted and intermingled with the storm clouds to obscure the battling kaiju.

Gamera waited for the smoke to clear before deciding on his next course of action. The storm wasn’t helping visibility, and each passing second felt like an eternity after seeing a creature as indomitable as Godzilla so easily floored by their opponent. King Ghidorah, on the other hand, was not waiting to see his opponent and did not care if he injured the others in his quest to purge his planet of his enemy. Yellowed gravity beams streaked through the deep, black smoke banks and shrieks of pain washed over the drenched landscape. Smoke curled and wisped as energy bolts lanced through it, but it continued to obscure what was happening inside. The three-headed dragon delighted in the suffering of his new enemy, but Gamera realized immediately that those were not Bagan’s howls they were hearing.

A giant form broke through the smoke, and Ghidorah didn’t realize what was happening until it was upon him. Godzilla’s airborne body collided with the golden dragon, bringing them both crashing to the ground with bone-shattering force. The three headed dragon snarled in outrage and squirmed beneath the already moving form of his circumstantial ally. Godzilla crawled at first, and then rose. He roared defiantly, signaling that he would not be bested so easily. The message was clear. He would see Bagan dead. No matter the price of that endeavor. Gamera had already taken to the sky and Ghidorah’s wings brought the golden dragon into the air to join the guardian turtle. The combined force of the golden tyrant’s wings and the natural storm winds finally managed to dissipate the smoke, offering a view of the white demon once more.

Bagan stood unharmed, observing the blackened mess of burning and dead trees that surrounded him. His visage contorted in fury as he registered Godzilla’s defiance. There had been others like him before… The atomic saurian charged. Bagan took note of all of the ruined forestland, his forestland, around him. The white demon’s taloned hands rose palm up and a strange, salty smell permeated the air. Godzilla was closing the distance. A lightning bolt came down from the hurricane clouds above, striking Bagan, but causing no harm. Though the ground cracked beneath him from the force of the bolt, the electrical energy it had contained circled around his three horns. More bolts of lightning rained down at increasing speed. The very air around the white kaiju shimmered. Godzilla was mere seconds away, his maw opening to reveal an azure flame-like energy. Gamera could sense that something was amiss, but his growl of warning was cut short when he finally realized what was happening. Silently, the three horned demon brought his arms down and unleashed hell in the Appalachians.

Thousands of white, glowing diamonds descended from the sky as the heavens opened with an outpouring of lightning from above. The Grand King’s energy barrier easily repelled the lightning, but the diamond onslaught was too much to prevent. Gamera retreated into his shell mid-flight, but Bagan’s attack smashed craters into the keratinous armor. Both the behemoth terrapin and the dragon kaiju were brought back to earth, bleeding and frustrated. Godzilla had fared little better, yet was once again the first to his feet. Blood trickled out of massive gouges left from scales and flesh that would no longer adorn his hide, but his eyes had lost none of their resolve. Even as the foreign projectiles lodged in his flesh burned away, he unsteadily lumbered towards Bagan. As his balance returned, the ancient predator broke into a charge. Bagan simply waited for his opponent to repeat his earlier mistake of rushing in, but the King of Monsters hadn’t earned that title through stubbornness alone.

As his feet barrelled through broken earth on his way to the demonic guardian, Godzilla’s dorsal spines pulsed blue. The titan’s entire body flexed with power as his jaws opened to unleash a torrent of blue radioactive energy. The stream washed over Bagan’s torso, burning away armor and flesh alike as the demon shrieked in agony. It had been so long since he’d last felt pain. Though the force of the attack slowed his advance, Godzilla’s feet pushed into the ground and continued bearing him forward. Bagan was blinded as the atomic ray washed over his face. Armor cracked and melted from the heat but somehow the demon remained standing when Godzilla collided with him. Undeterred against a foe even larger than himself, Godzilla exerted his strength and continued to let loose with his breath at point blank range. The azure blaze boiled away Bagan’s eyes before moving to unleash its fury on his already ravaged torso. With the atomic ray still firing, the king of monsters bit down onto Bagan’s left shoulder and shook his head. The blue glow finally dissipated, but the alabaster kaiju was offered no respite.

Within seconds, his assailed limb fell to the ground in a shower of blackened blood. The twin roars of the dueling kaiju shook the landscape. One of triumph, the other of torment.

Gamera and Ghidorah rose in time to see the results of their ally’s assault. The golden king took to the skies once more while the benevolent guardian rushed overland to join the melee. Cinders gave way to a raging blaze inside the turtle kaiju’s mouth as he advanced on his foe. Two plasma fireballs exploded into Bagan’s already healing side. Unfazed, the one-armed menace pulled a fist crackling with electricity backwards before delivering it straight into the side of Godzilla’s head. Though Bagan’s eyes were not fully regenerated, it was hard to miss a target that close. The nuclear behemoth reeled backwards from the impact, shaking away the dizziness. Godzilla hadn’t even cleared his vision when Bagan’s white hot plasma beam leveled him. The attack lasted for seven full, agonizing seconds as the plasma burned away at the grounded saurian’s scales and flesh. When it stopped, the king of the monsters at last lay still. Before Bagan could press the attack, gravity beams from the airborne Ghidorah ripped across his chest. The monster howled in agony as the bolts tore into the still-raw wounds Godzilla had opened. Sensing that his enemy was beginning to falter, the world-eater pressed his advantage and let loose bolt after bolt in order to prevent another diamond storm attack.

Bagan’s recovering vision found the muddied form of Ghidorah in the sky and he began to prepare a plasma beam. Gamera’s fist interrupted the attack and sent sharp teeth flying from the so-called “guardian of the mountain’s” jaws. The demon whirled on his new target. Claw met claw and tooth and tusk countered each other in what quickly became a bloody mess of a brawl. The turtle kaiju was more ferocious than the demon anticipated, though both combatants knew it would take more than tenacity to bring Bagan down. Gamera’s claws raked into his opponents’ torso, stopping as they struck gleaming armor that was beginning to reform. Bagan retaliated with his own claws, his eyes finally healed enough to allow a clear view of his target. The demon’s claws cut through flesh, met the armored shell and kept going with little effort.

Undaunted, the bleeding turtle brought his elbow into Bagan’s torso and drove a spike straight through the monster’s armor plated chest. Bagan lunged forward to bite the upstart kaiju’s throat, but was rewarded with a quick plasma fireball straight to his face. The demon’s eyes closed against the attack and his nostrils were scorched away by the burst of heat. A bludgeoning back-fist slammed against Gamera’s cheek and sent half of a tusk soaring towards the horizon. Before Bagan could capitalize, a gravity beam struck through his muzzle and exploded into the dirt out the other side.

The regeneration of flesh was quick, but bone took longer. The white demon’s still healing arm was a testament to that. The guardian turtle grabbed Bagan by the horns and locked his own jaws down on the area where he’d just seen Ghidorah’s attack pierce, ignoring the stabbing pain in his broken tusk. The sound of crunching bone echoed throughout the mountains. Bagan’s muffled scream followed. Despite the immense pain, the alabaster kaiju had the wherewithal to twist his body as a gravity beam bore down upon him. The attack struck Gamera’s shell, allowing the demonic dragon to shake the turtle off of him. Bagan lashed out with a burst of his own plasma beam. The energy crashed into his opponent’s chest, and had scarcely dissipated when Bagan’s claws carved a bloody gouge through the superheated flesh and shell.

The two traded blows through the onslaught of gravity beams raining down upon them. Although the golden dragon made no special effort to avoid striking Gamera, he managed to bring most of his force to bear on his intended target. With only one working arm, Bagan was infuriatingly unable to get the upper hand in combat. He knew he should be playing with Gamera, yet here he stood being pummeled into a bloody mess by an inferior monster under a rain of dirt flung up from the descending beams of another inferior monster. The pale titan was angry, but the emotion was currently worth its weight — nothing. Gamera unleashed another plasma fireball at point blank range, burning once more into the unarmored flesh of Bagan’s pink, healing neck. A well placed gravity bolt dug deeper into the very same soft tissue, which was struggling to repair itself beneath the onslaught of the unlikely allies.

Seizing the opportunity, Gamera thrust a clawed hand into his opponent’s lacerated throat and squeezed down. Bagan’s windpipe was crushed, and no sound escaped the demon’s mouth as the organ was pulled from his neck unceremoniously. His horned head flailed soundlessly as Gamera unleashed another point blank plasma fireball into his wound. Around them, the wind suddenly abated, as if the storm itself was holding its breath in anticipation. Thick, towering walls of storm clouds could be seen in all directions. The local peoples called this calm area the storm’s eye, because it was from here that the storm watched for the foolish to go outside before suddenly overtaking them. Free from the swirling gusts, the smoke cloud thrown up by the fireball offered a reprieve for which Bagan was ashamed to be grateful for. Shame. That was an emotion the alabaster titan had never felt before. But why should he be ashamed? Because he was failing in his goal of keeping his land free of interlopers?

No.

Because he was going to be killed by inferior creatures. Disgusting, pathetic inferior creatures.

Gamera had retreated from the smoke cloud to assess the condition of his foe. He’d fought with some of the most powerful creatures this world had ever seen, and all too often they had a way of coming back with a vengeance from injuries that should have left them dead.

Without the rain and winds, the dust and dirt hung above the ground like a dark morning fog. High in the sky, Grand King Ghidorah waited eagerly for the mess to dissipate and reveal the lifeless corpse of Bagan. From his vantage point, Ghidorah could see where the storm clouds ended behind him, and where they began miles and miles ahead.

The ancient, astral conqueror thought it fitting that this pretender to his throne would die here, as if trapped in a ring made by the very planet itself. Perhaps the Earth was finally warming to his rule after all?

Gamera’s focus, meanwhile, remained trained on the spot where he’d engaged his adversary in melee. What he saw put the guardian of the fledgling man on the defensive immediately. Thick tendrils of white light sprouted calmly from the smoke like fresh spring sprouts jostling for sunlight.

Two. Four. Then finally six.

Slowly, they shifted back and forth, in and out of the smoke. Had their source not been known, the sight would have been more mystical than menacing, but Bagan’s opponents knew exactly to whom the tendrils belonged. Gamera raised his clawed hands in anticipation, but had no way to react to how quickly the white demon burst from the smoke on tentacle-like wings of light. In mere seconds Bagan covered the nearly mile-long distance and delivered a devastating hammer-fist to the top of the guardian turtle’s head. The stunned, titanic terrapin spun through the air before obliterating a mountainside. Bagan was there immediately. With his good arm the white dragon reached into the literal mountain of rubble and pulled out his opponent by the throat.

To Gamera’s horror, he witnessed an almost completely regenerated windpipe nestled inside a rapidly closing wall of muscle in Bagan’s neck. As the organ completed itself, the demonic dragon gasped in a breath of air. The realization that the creature at least needed to breathe was of little comfort to the guardian turtle. Never before had he clashed with such a seemingly unstoppable foe. The guardian of Earth struggled against his opponent’s newfound strength, and fought the incoming blackness. Life was being choked from Gamera. Fast. Embers ignited in his throat, but the demonic guardian saw them and squeezed even harder, preventing the attack before it began. Somewhere inside that mind of Bagan’s something had snapped. Defending his land was secondary. Painfully obliterating these would-be usurpers was the only thing that mattered.

Grand King Ghidorah watched the assault with surprise. What in the hell was this thing? Were there limits to its power? How could any creature of this universe stand up to the combined might of himself, Godzilla and that damned turtle? The golden king despised the other two, but their strength was worthy of acknowledgment, if not a measure of something approaching respect. Yet here was some dark force that he had assumed was a pretender to his reign over this world… and that pretender was abusing the three most powerful life forms this planet had ever seen at the same time. His three heads hissed back and forth, unsure of what to do next.

Were they afraid?

Certainly not!

Grand King Ghidorah did not know fear!

He knew only destruction and the death of his foes! That newfound resolve turned to gnawing unease when the golden king noticed that the stump that had once been Bagan’s severed left arm was regenerating even as life was being squeezed from his supposed ally. Knowing that time was of the essence, all three heads unleashed a sustained burst of gravity bolts towards their white-winged nemesis. Sensing the incoming attack, Bagan pivoted at the waist and brought the struggling form of Gamera in between him and the blasts. The benevolent guardian tried to scream as the bolts tore into the back of his carapace, but Bagan’s hold was still too tight.

Sadistically, the white kaiju relaxed his grip for a few moments. Green blood shot from his victim’s mouth and spurted onto Bagan’s face and chest. Not wasting time, Ghidorah flew around for a different angle.

Still grasping the limp form of Gamera, the white winged kaiju shot into the air directly at the golden dragon. Taken aback, Ghidorah paused mid-flight and released a barrage of lightning bolts from his wings. Bagan was too fast. A concentrated beam of plasma lanced into the three-headed kaiju’s energy shield. The burning white plasma dispersed across the barrier, blinding the golden king before burning through the shield. A pain unlike any other he had ever felt gripped the golden conqueror as the plasma beam melted briefly into his torso. Ghidorah’s vision returned in time for him to register Bagan upon him in the sky. Using Gamera like a club, the demon slammed his captive’s hard shell against Ghidorah and sent the great golden dragon plummeting to the ground.

***

Consciousness returned slowly to Godzilla. The ancient saurian had yet to experience such a dizzying sensation in his millions of years. Memories spewed forth uncontrolled as his mind raced to piece his situation back together. There were others like him, but no more. He had conquered many challengers.

All of them.

Almost all of them.

He had slept for ages. Then the rage. The hateful, blue-burning, all consuming need for vengeance. Reptilian eyes opened to reveal a cerulean inferno. Dorsal spines first pulsed then remained bathed in a blue glow. As the ancient beast rose, the trees around him withered and burst into flames as the radiation flowing from Godzilla’s body washed over the battlefield. The predator snarled and his keen eyes scanned the landscape for his prey even as the rocks around his feet began to melt from the radioactivity assailing the environment. Ghidorah was laying motionless some distance to his left. Where were the other two? Sensing his quarry, the burning titan looked to the sky. He had just enough time to register the pair before they struck. Bagan grasped the guardian turtle. There were white lights. They were coming straight for him. The atomic king has no time to retaliate before the white demon slammed Gamera down on top of him and transformed what little remained of Elkshot Peak into an impact crater.

***

Rocks fell in the back of the cave, and the ground shook from the force of the impact. Kahlo hugged his sister tightly, until the shaking and rumbling subsided. Then, dragging her by the wrist, he led the girl to the cave’s entrance. “See, the guardian is doing it! He’s fighting all three of those other monsters by himself. His arm is even better now!”

A confident grin settled onto a face which was only recently beginning to bear the hairs of manhood. He took a seat and watched the combat intently, never once registering that the look of fear on his sibling’s face had morphed to one of hopelessness and terror as she watched Bagan descend into the craterous scar his attack had rent into their mountainous homeland.

***

Gamera awoke to an all-encompassing sensation of pain. Every part of his armored body hurt. What started as an opportunity to defeat a terrible darkness had become a desperate bid for survival. The colossal turtle began to crawl towards the rim of the crater, but the earth shook beneath him, and a contorted laugh intermingled with the dull thud of footfalls. Fresh pain registered in Gamera’s tail as his attacker crushed the appendage beneath a clawed foot. Knowing that it was all or nothing, Gamera ignored every cell in his body that was sending pain signals and began to charge a plasma fireball in his maw, keeping his face hidden from the demonic guardian’s view.

Bagan stomped on the downed kaiju’s tail, but was disappointed to not elicit a cry of pain. He stomped harder on Gamera’s carapace, cracking the shell but still not getting that satisfactory squeal of anguish from his opponent. Irritated further, the crimson and white beast delivered a powerful kick to the side of his opponent’s shell, flipping the guardian kaiju over to reveal a roaring inferno within his tusked mouth!

Having charged the plasma fireball to nigh unimaginable power, Gamera unleashed the attack into his assailant. Even had Bagan’s wings been active, the sphere of incendiary plasma would have been too close and too large to avoid. The blast detonated on Bagan as a firestorm of roiling flame fused the dirt to glass beneath him. With the familiar heat of his own flames warming him, the guardian turtle stood. He knew many of his bones were broken.

They had hurt less when he was lying on the ground, but to continue laying still was suicide. Summoning his strength, he bull-rushed the white demon, finding his form in the smoke and biting repeatedly onto his face and nasal horn. His attack had destroyed most of the demon’s armor, and the exposed flesh was bloody, burned, and raw. Despite the injuries, Bagan continued to fight back.

Gamera clamped down hard and tried to crush his enemy’s horn, but he no longer possessed the strength to accomplish this goal. Bagan struggled to force the tenacious behemoth off of him. Gamera kept pushing forward. Kept snapping. Carried on clawing. Continued moving in order to stay alive. Finally, his good tusk found purchase into his opponent’s eye, which elicited a scream of suffering from the sadistic guardian.

Wrath once again overtook the complacence brought on by his earlier domination of his foes. Bagan pushed through the pain all over his face and lashed out with his claws. His talons found purchase on Gamera’s throat, bringing the terrapin to all fours. The demonic guardian
leaned over his benevolent counterpart and contemplated the many ways he could snuff out the turtle’s life. Sharp pain registered in his abdomen and worked its way up to his torso. Still unwilling to go down, Gamera had impaled the distracted titan with one of his elbow blades. Ripping his arm back down at an odd angle, Gamera broke his own elbow spine off when it failed to rip out through Bagan’s regenerating armor plates. Even as the surge of new pain tore through his arm, the warrior turtle slammed a clawed fist into the base of the embedded spine. Bagan grunted in pain as the spike passed through the rest of his armor and into the flesh beneath. Too deep to pull out, the frustrated monster was forced to suffer through the pain caused as his flesh healed around the foreign object, trapping it inside.

A long, deep bellow emanated from behind the brawling kaiju. Bagan knew what was coming even before he registered a flash of blue light. He reached down and seized Gamera as a second flash lit up the crater. The third flash was Godzilla’s attack. The returned monster unleashed his fully charged atomic breath directly at Bagan. The demon whirled, putting his helpless opponent in between himself and the king of monsters. The beam struck Gamera head on, who was too exhausted to struggle against his foe. Every broken bone ached, every skin cell cried out in agony as it was stripped away and the wound cauterized before being opened again under the radioactive assault. Unaware of the situation, or simply not caring, Godzilla continued to spew his azure fury.

Despite knowing his death was imminent, the turtle was at peace. As he came to terms with his demise, he foresaw events that fulfilled him. Gamera’s pain ceased as his mind burned away in the blazing light. His body persisted, however, and served to shield Bagan from the brunt of the atomic kaiju’s assault.

Godzilla finally relented. His ribcage flexed back and forth as he worked to catch his breath after such an exertion. The charred form of his occasional ally sloughed to the ground with a sickening slowness, leaving no obstacle between the two enemies. Godzilla snorted and held Bagan’s gaze. The white demon was struck with a sense of familiarity once more. That’s when it hit him. There had been others of this one’s kind. Much smaller and certainly less powerful, but they had been there when Bagan had first come to this world. Oh, how he had reveled in their destruction. Apparently, he’d missed one. That was just one more mistake that he’d have to fix today. Neither titan moved. The guardian of these lands was content to allow his unique physiology to continue repairing his armor and flesh. It seemed that his simple-minded opponent hadn’t realized that.

There was no warning before the twin gravity beams scored agonizing trenches from the demon’s flesh. Bagan looked up for that three-headed irritant, but his world turned upside down. More pain flooded his senses as he crashed onto his back. How had that overgrown lizard closed the distance so fast? There was no time to ponder this. Not when the beast was already upon him. Bagan struggled to bring his horns to bear against his assailant, but the king of monsters was too close. His thick, powerful arms wrenched glistening pieces of armor away from Bagan’s torso in periodic showers of thickened, black gore. Teeth and claws assailed the tender flesh beneath with a vigor unbecoming of one who had so recently been brought low.

Bagan’s claws reached out for the ancient predator and their wild arcs found purchase in the saurian’s thick hide. The king of monsters howled as blood poured from the wounds in his chest and splashed down into his prey’s mangled flesh. Bagan rolled to escape, but Godzilla was already upon him and flipped the white demon once more onto his back. He attacked his downed opponent again. Bagan was ready though, and managed to meet hands with the enraged titan. Godzilla pushed down with all the strength his body could produce, his unyielding rage amplifying his already terrifying abilities. Bagan pushed back, unwilling to be brought down and made it to one knee. The familiar sting of a gravity beam momentarily stunned him and the demon was forced back to the ground.

***

Grand King Ghidorah watched the fight with frustration from the sky. He didn’t care that the turtle kaiju was gone, though the fool had certainly picked a sorry time to give up and die. Now his other main competition for control of this planet was preventing him from bringing suffering to his newfound nemesis. Just like that damned turtle, there’s no way Ghidorah’s beams would make it through the lizard and into the demon. As he watched his two enemies wrestling on the ground, the astral emperor groaned internally and resigned himself to getting his own teeth dirty. It turned out that you couldn’t rely on even the most formidable of lackeys to do your bidding. Quietly, his wings bore him towards the ruined and burned forest below.

***

Godzilla’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in determination. Bagan had forced his way up so that he was on one knee and one foot. The king of monsters pushed harder still, but made no progress against the might of his opponent. With a great, final heave Bagan was standing once more. Now he was able to show this wretched beast how outclassed he was. Godzilla’s face remained stone-still save for the quivers of exertion as he was forced back step by agonizing step. In order to keep from being leveled, the king of monsters was forced to close his eyes and focus every ounce of his attention on the contest of strength. He had to dig deep and find a way to stop the murderer of his kind. Without warning, his foe’s advance halted. Godzilla’s eyes opened to witness a golden splendor around Bagan. Ghidorah had made his presence known in the thick of the fighting. His middle neck was wrapped around the demon’s throat as his other heads bit down on Bagan’s arms. Taking advantage of the opening, Godzilla untangled his hands from those of his opponent and swiped at a chest that had been almost completely restored.

Bagan thrashed against the hold of the three headed dragon and wrenched his arms forwards to try and free himself. The demon was rewarded with the intense pain of the gravity beams, but spread throughout his body. Electricity arced along Ghidorah’s scales, as he directed this energy into his opponent. He had no way of knowing that this energy caused Bagan far more pain than either Gamera’s plasma fire or Godzilla’s atomic fire, but was proud of his efforts nonetheless. The white demon thrashed in misery as the energy wreaked havoc on his already taxed muscles, forcing convulsions throughout. Godzilla’s claws finally made their way through Bagan’s chest armor. Without the distraction of having to keep the beast grounded, his assault was unforgiving. Flesh and gristle were thrown about. Godzilla’s claws reaped their way deep into the bones of the ribcage. An uncharacteristically sadistic snarl crossed the face of the ancient predator that gave even the vile Grand King Ghidorah a moment’s pause. The golden king wasn’t able to see the radioactive reptile reach inside Bagan’s thoracic cavity and grab his ribs, but he felt each break as the concussive snaps vibrated throughout the God of Darkness’ body.

***

The alabaster demon’s agonized flailing intensified. This was not how this was supposed to go. Bagan had come so close to finally humiliating both of these so-called kings. How was it that their lowly alliance could trump a being such as himself? It wasn’t just unthinkable, it was impossible!

He hadn’t breathed in minutes now. He simply couldn’t with the strangle-hold the golden dragon had gotten around his neck. When the electricity had finally abated, the radioactive one had begun to break bones. Through the hazy, hysteric state induced by a combination of adrenaline, asphyxiation and unending pain, Bagan’s mind managed to formulate a plan. So long as he could survive Godzilla’s assault, and he could, he could avoid the electricity.

***

Ghidorah felt the sick laughter through Bagan’s form and at first mistook the punctuated shakes for convulsions. The white demon’s arms lifted to the sky as if to plead mercy from his attackers. The tyrant king’s satisfaction was lessened as he recognized the hint of a smirk on his enemy’s battered face. Petty as ever, the middle head coiled even tighter and bit down on the side of his foe’s head before delivering another potent dose of electricity. Bagan’s arms lowered, but only slightly.

Godzilla roared out in pain as he grabbed at exposed bone and received a horrid electric surge. He recognized this pain. He’d felt it earlier when the golden one’s careless attacks had struck him. In anger, the king of monsters delivered a brutal swipe. Red blood pooled in elongate gouges carved into the golden scales of Ghidorah’s left neck. Godzilla roared a warning at his temporary ally, and returned to his evisceration of the real enemy. Bagan’s hands were palm up now in a gesture of submission, but the vengeance seeking saurian had already decided this feud only ended when one of them died. Bagan fell to his knees as weakness washed over him from the combined assault.

Both Grand King Ghidorah and Godzilla towered over his kneeling form. In the uncomfortable stillness, Godzilla noticed that the golden dragon had released his grip on their foe. The unlikely duo stared at each other over the slumped form of Bagan. Neither was willing to back down in the face of perceived wronging. Neither realized the importance of Bagan’s arms still being held towards the sky.

Ghidorah’s three heads wailed a counter-warning.

Strike again, and you die like the demon.

The ancient predator shook himself and roared his defiance.

Watch your attacks and I let you live.

Ghidorah took in the moment with disbelief. It was rare, even among entities of his own scale, that the weak tasted a hint of the pain he could inflict and continued to defy him. Sure, this reptilian beast was strong, but he was only able to keep up with their opponent because he had Ghidorah’s help. The Grand King needed no help with this alabaster wretch, of course, but who was he to deny gestures of servitude from those beneath him? A twisted approximation of grins revealed the three headed dragon’s pointed teeth as he feigned the part of a more generous ruler… Very well. I’ll be careful.

Satisfied with the reply, Godzilla’s mind returned to the task at hand. The dull anger brought on by the cosmic dragon’s carelessness was drowned beneath the deep-stabbing fury that motivated this crusade as Godzilla gazed back down at his hated foe. The beast was already healing, albeit slowly, in the time it had taken the twin kings to settle their quarrel. While his chest had little of the armor that had made it nearly impervious early in the fight, Bagan’s muscle had already begun to return in a patchwork of red-weeping fibers. The titan’s body surged with anticipation as he stepped towards his kneeling opponent. It would feel so sweet to tear that healing flesh to ribbons once more. But first, it had to burn.

Upon seeing the first flickers of radioactive fire in his ally’s maw, Grand King Ghidorah’s heads returned to their work of assailing the pretender to the throne of this region. Three sets of jaws punctured through the armor and flesh of Bagan’s upper arms and rostrum. Ivory lightning surged across the white kaiju’s horns as he spasmed in misery, but his squeals weren’t as satisfying as they had been earlier. Bagan almost sounded resolute to the cosmic conqueror. Why was he no longer despairing? The chance to worry about the implications of this development was robbed as Godzilla’s dorsal spines began to light up in sequence. The three-headed dragon used the strength of his jaws and necks to pull Bagan’s arms apart and head back. The demon’s vulnerable torso would be an easy target, and Ghidorah’s own heads would be spared having to deal with attack.

This was to be the end of things then. The golden king would have to decide how it would deal with Godzilla after this was done. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Each head had the thought as one. Each head was too preoccupied with their victory to fight back as Bagan roared to the heavens and brought his arms down. Lightning rushed across his three horns before streaking into the sky with enough brightness to illuminate mountains as far away as Ghidorah could see, causing even Godzilla to hesitate and hold back from his attack. The light coalesced into shapes that brought dread into the heart of the three-headed dragon. All the diamond shaped stars of the night sky rained hellfire onto the ruined ridgeline.

***

Bagan rose to his feet quickly after his gambit. Even his own eyes were having to repair the retinal bleaching his colossal attack had caused. Neither of the fools had been paying attention to him. He’d have been insulted if their arrogance hadn’t given him the opening he needed. As usual, no force in the universe could withstand the full force of a diamond storm. Despite having recovered enough to stand, the white demon’s torso was still ravaged. Bone and muscle had healed, but regenerative cells were hard at work restoring sensitive skin and armor. Now that the battle was over, at least, he’d —

As Bagan’s eyes began to deliver vision once more, he caught that familiar shape standing in front of him. Godzilla not only lived, but remained standing! The beast’s craggy hide was riddled with cauterized pits and exposed flesh from where scales had been ripped off. No creature had ever received Bagan’s full power and remained standing. The demon glanced over his shoulder and confirmed that the golden dragon was down. His ruined scales were a testament to that troublesome energy barrier of his not working at close range. The pretender king had been good at delivering pain, that much was true. But he evidently couldn’t take as much as he could give. That meant that Bagan only had to deal with Godzilla now. Would the brute even care that his allies were gone, or would a personal revenge be more satisfying? Bagan looked back to his remaining enemy, content to let his body repair itself while he contemplated the many ways he could finally finish his extermination of its species.

Godzilla gave the tyrant precious few seconds to work with. Pushing through the pain that rang across so much of his body, the saurian titan willed himself to step forward. The other foot followed, and the pain lessened some. Now that the self-absorbed dragon was out of the picture, he could do this his way. His pace quickened to a run just before Godzilla charged into his foe and delivered a massive claw to the demon’s lower jaw. Bone shattered and black blood intermingled with loose teeth. The white demon tried to retaliate with a hook of his own, but Godzilla deflected the blow and rewarded Bagan’s effort with atomic fire to the face. The demon screamed in pain as the blazing energy struck his face and injured jaw. Reflexively, he lashed out with his claws. Godzilla swayed clear of the attack, but recoiled in surprise when the attack still cut into him.

Bagan wasted no time in taking the upper hand. He seldom used this ability of his, but as much as he hated to admit it, this fight was about survival. Three more times he swiped at the atomic saurian with his claws, and three more times the kaiju avoided the initial attack only to have his scales flensed by an almost imperceptible energy. Not to be dissuaded, Godzilla turned with the force from the final blow and delivered a momentous tail strike to the side of Bagan’s cranium. The demonic kaiju’s form was driven stiffly to the ground and the radioactive titan moved to make his revenge certain.

The white demon’s mind reeled from the force of the tail-strike. He shook his head to clear his blurry vision, and felt a jolt of protest from his still-broken jaw. He should be healing faster, but this battle was dragging on. He’d never needed so long to kill his enemies, though he’d never fought a smattering of, dare he think it, powerful foes like these. The earth shook from approaching footfalls, and reminded the godslayer that he needed to act fast. His sight was still rippling like the surface of a muddy lake, but he squinted hard and forced composure. His missing hearing ensured that he felt Godzilla’s roar of triumph more than heard it, but he could certainly see the pinprick of cerulean light forming above him. This was going to hurt, but he needed to end this now.

Hatred drove the titan as he planted his feet and prepared for one final atomic breath over his adversary’s prone form. His dorsal spines flashed in a frenzy of lights and crackles of energy as he built up the necessary power to put this monster down. The kaiju’s shoulders and head drew back as his body channeled violence and intensity into the strike that would avenge his kind after so many thousands of years. There was nothing graceful about the way his fingers jerked with the barely contained wrath that bordered on madness. The king of the monster’s body had become a vessel of nuclear savagery, and he breathed in one last time before opening his maw to deliver justice.

Bagan’s jaw howled in protest as the force and heat of the energy atomized still healing flesh. His eyes were once again blinded by an overpowering light. These pains were a minor price to pay for the plasma beam he launched as his opponent was making a show of expected victory. The beam lanced forth and struck Godzilla in the face just as he’d been about to release his own beam. The built up radioactive energies gushed forth and carved a canyon into the already scorched earth to Bagan’s left. The demon wasted no time in coming to his feet and getting closer so he could end the fight. As his ability to see returned, his eyes locked with the one-eyed gaze of his foe.

The right side of Godzilla’s face was a mess of vaporized scales and molten bone. Teeth in that half of the saurian’s jaws were variously missing, dripping away, or charred black. An empty orbit that used to support an eye now only gazed hatefully back at Bagan. Despite the shock of such an egregious injury, the king of monsters barely paused. His remaining eye shone with renewed malice and the promise of a painful death for the demon. Onwards he came, clawing and biting wildly so as to take advantage of his foe’s mistake in closing the distance. Having sustained so much damage, however, his stamina was finally nearing its limit. The titan was brought down to his hands and knees after a combination of punches. Bagan delivered a kick to his opponent’s midsection that shattered bone. From Godzilla’s screams, the demon assumed he’d punctured a lung. Not one to repeat the mistakes of others, Bagan wasted little time in preparing a final plasma beam. Even in death, the king of monsters never gave up. His clawed hand reached up to dig into his enemy’s foot even as the white-hot plasma extinguished his reign as apex predator of the Earth.

After waiting some time to ensure his foe wasn’t going to continue to resist death, Bagan surveyed his territory. It lay desolate. Whole ridge-lines had been leveled, Forests burned in flames of blue and red. His land had been ruined. Would his creators be disappointed? It didn’t matter. They had answered for their crimes, while Bagan answered only to himself. A flash of lightning made the demon look back over his shoulder. It was not the golden dragon again, but the return of the storm that had helped rouse him from his slumber. Rain started lazily at first, but picked up until blankets of water could be seen flowing down the hills. Temporary rivers quickly overflowed with debris as the storm raged like it had never even stopped. Bagan turned away and contemplated his situation. He was technically the guardian of these lands, yes. That his guarding of them had ruined them mattered little. They were ruined all the same. It was time for Bagan to find a new territory. Somewhere he could-

That intense, familiar, searing, electrifying pain wracked the white kaiju’s back once more. The shrill cry of Grand King Ghidorah pierced through the roar of the returned hurricane. Bolt after bolt of electricity streamed from the triple heads. His armor still not fully regenerated due to the brawl with Godzilla, Bagan was forced to turn and close the distance. He charged the golden dragon and slashed at his chest. Ghidorah took to the air, but not in time. Red blood gushed from the ripped wing membrane like water rushing past a burst dam. In agony, the astral conqueror crashed to the wet earth. Bagan let loose a plasma beam which sizzled in the rain, but the white ejecta washed harmlessly over the astral tyrant’s energy sphere. Ghidorah retaliated with yet more gravity beams that carved sick trenches through Bagan’s exposed chest and legs. Fighting through the pain, the white demon pushed forwards until he had reached his victim.

The pair of oppressive tyrants grappled for position among the muddied forest and rubble. Bagan ripped with claws and slashed with his horns. Ghidorah bit down with his teeth and delivered lethal doses of electricity. Every time Bagan finally grabbed a hold of one of those noodly throats, Ghidorah’s rain drenched form was able to slip away. In contrast, the guardian of the mountains was unable to wrest himself free of Ghidorah’s grip even though he could heal faster. How could this pretender be keeping up with him still? Surely he had to be as tired if not more so than Bagan? The demon’s mind pieced together the answer to his dismay and the moment of realization cost him dearly. The outer two necks of the golden tyrant found their opportunity, and gnawed their way into Bagan’s unarmored chest.

Ghidorah had coasted through this fight. The understanding struck Bagan as painfully as the pair of rabid maws tearing him apart. Bagan had brawled with Godzilla and Gamera both. What had Ghidorah done? He’d remained away from the action and only attacked when it was convenient. He faked his own demise and left the radioactive titan to die. The three headed kaiju wasn’t a dragon… he was a snake! Enraged, the three-horned demon lashed out at the necks attacking him. That ghostly light of the slasher claws trailed off the tips of his taloned fingers. The left neck of Grand King Ghidorah flailed aimlessly as the severed head took its last bites inside of Bagan’s torso. The astral tyrant screamed in disbelief. Desperately, he tried to create distance between himself and this unyielding demon, but Bagan had grasped the head that remained in his chest cavity and held tight. The dust and mud of the crater floor had become thick and muddy, and even a creature of Ghidorah’s size couldn’t get a good enough footing to gain real leverage. The right head began frantically searching inside Bagan’s chest for anything solid to bite down on. As it locked eyes on the strange, sharp bone it felt the heat and agony of the middle head as it was burned away with a concentrated gout of plasma. This close, Ghidorah’s energy shield was no use. Desperate, the final head of Grand King Ghidorah bit down on the end of Gamera’s still-trapped elbow spine and let loose with all of its electric energy!

***

Bagan reveled in his victory. He was the demon. He was the dragon, and he would not be felled by some cowardly, common snake! Ready to be done with this exhausting ordeal for good, the white demon raised his clawed hand and prepared to remove the final head of this serpent. There was a sound like a distant explosion, though suddenly Bagan couldn’t feel anything. His wounds and fractured jaw were no longer protesting his every movement. Not even the raindrops on his unhealed flesh registered. What was happening? The world began to close in on itself. He remained vaguely aware as the final head of Ghidorah wrested free from his grip. The gore-stained visage had something between its teeth. Bagan’s consciousness was lost to the void before he ever got to make sense of the shattered remains of something in his opponents jaw. The internal damage was simply too great for his body to repair after such an extended ordeal. The demon’s black heart, safe as it had been tucked behind his thick ribcage and lungs, had been torn apart by fragments of the turtle guardian’s elbow-spine as it’s tip had exploded after Ghidorah’s discharge. At last, Bagan’s duty had come to an end.

***

He was stunned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Even as the body of the guardian of the mountains rest unmoving upon the earth, Kahlo refused to accept it. The fact that his sister had been openly cheering for that disgusting three headed beast simply didn’t make sense. Around him, elders sat in silence or sobbed openly for the loss of their beloved guardian. Suddenly irate, the boy lead his sister away from the others, near the mouth of the cave.

“What are you thinking Aska!?” he demanded. “What kind of person cheers against the guardian protecting them!”

The girl looked down sadly before speaking. She didn’t make eye contact with her older sibling. “I had a dream last night that said our real guardian would make sure we were safe. I think he did!”

The young man shook his head. “Are you telling me that three headed… demon was our real guardian? You’re crazy!”

She huffed at him, and sat down against the cave wall with her arms hugging her knees. “No. He wasn’t the guardian, you jerk! The turtle was. Didn’t you see how hard he fought to keep these mountains safe? The others ruined the valleys!”

It was Kahlo’s turn to wear a sulky expression. Now that he thought about it, she was right. Only the giant shelled monster had fought without damaging the land. He took a seat beside his sister and hugged her with one arm.

“Guardian or not, at least we all made it through this mess. If they’d have fought any closer the whole cave would have collapsed.”

A grin returned to Aska’s face as she gratefully accepted the gesture. “Now hurry up and get inside. You’re going to get soaked if you stay that close to the rain.” The girl shook her head with a wide smile. “I can’t! I’m waiting on the guardian! He told me in my dream that I should wait for him here!”

The young man looked at her with concern, but didn’t press the issue. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d ever be able to handle arguing with children, much less his own little sister. The pair watched the water falling from the slope of the rock overhang and Aska fell asleep. Kahlo tried to remember the details of the creatures that had fought so he could tell the best stories among his friends. Only when the little baby turtle poked its tusked head through the incessant rain did the boy finally wake his sister.

***

As his opponent finally crashed to the muddied ground, Ghidorah cackled and spit out the warm, glowing bone unceremoniously. His own maw was riddled with holes and gouges from the exploding bone he’d bit down on. He’d been lucky that only the tip of the spine had burst, or he’d have died alongside Bagan.

It hurt so badly to laugh, but the pain of victory was a sweet sensation. It reminded the tyrant that he was not yet done. Not with other worlds, and not with this one. He beamed with pride to know that two of the planet’s greatest defenders had fallen here today. Even one of its greatest threats had fallen, and he had seen to that himself. Godzilla’s quest for vengeance had cost him in the end. All of Gamera’s care for that savage species of primitives that inhabited this planet hadn’t saved him. Bagan’s prerogative to defend these lands had resulted in his death.

That wouldn’t be the case for the golden dragon of course. He was the rightful ruler of these lands and all other lands on this pathetic rock. He would “protect” them from interlopers until his real foe finally returned. After he slayed that insect he would take further pride in destroying this rock and forgetting its name as he continued across all of space. The universe belonged to Grand King Ghidorah, and oh how great it felt to be the king.

Winner: Grand King Ghidorah

Author: Connor Clennell | Banner: Matt Ng

The world used to be such a beautiful place before SpaceGodzilla returned. The day that cosmic tyrant came back from the depths of space marked the beginning of the end for humanity. No one knew how SpaceGodzilla had survived his apparent destruction over ten years ago. Whether this was the same creature reborn, a new one altogether or some failed experiment from some invading race, it did not matter in the end. SpaceGodzilla had come back, and this time, he wasn’t alone.

It was only a week after he had sent foot on Earth that the meteors had struck. Massive crystalline objects fell from space and targeted the planet’s major cities, wiping them from the face of the Earth. They came so fast, no one was able to escape the blasts. In their wake, fortresses of crystal swiftly grew out of the craters, overtaking the ruined cities in a matter of hours. Together, the united militaries of Earth had launched a counterattack to destroy the fortresses and their obvious creator. But deep down in the people’s hearts, they knew what the outcome would be.

The battle lasted only a day, yet those that witnessed it felt like the two sides had warred for an eternity. In the aftermath, SpaceGodzilla walked away from a mass graveyard bathed in a sea of flames. At this, Earth’s mightiest weapons were sent to dispose of the crystal demon before it was too late. Earth’s greatest fighting machines and mechanical defenders engaged SpaceGodzilla – and failed. When at last Godzilla emerged to do battle with his intergalactic ‘’brother,” humanity cheered for him. Despite his history with them, they knew Godzilla was the only one with the potential to destroy SpaceGodzilla, as he had done all those years ago. The people’s hearts were filled with hope. Hope died along with Godzilla when SpaceGodzilla ripped his genetic donor’s heart out of his chest.

For an entire year, SpaceGodzilla traveled the globe, enforcing his rule as the new King of the Monsters upon human and monster alike. Earth’s remaining defenders attacked in force, hoping to drive SpaceGodzilla off-world and avenge Godzilla’s death. Anguirus, Mothra, King Caesar, Zone Fighter: many tried to overthrow the crystal king. SpaceGodzilla would never admit it, but they fought well. In the end, though, his power was too great for them. If Godzilla could not best him, his allies never stood a chance.

With no way to best him, humanity surrendered, hoping to live and fight another day. They could only watch as SpaceGodzilla spread his power-draining crystals across the planet, terraforming even the very soil beneath their feet. Not even the flora and fauna were safe from the tyrant’s crystalline contamination. At the end of the first year of his rule, over two thirds of the planet had been crystallized and were absorbing cosmic radiation. Most of what little of the planet that had yet to be overtaken was left irradiated from the energy and rendered uninhabitable. If SpaceGodzilla did not finish off humanity, the radiation would.

Most of Earth’s remaining kaiju went into hiding. Those that did not sought SpaceGodzilla out, not to destroy him, but to take his power for themselves. Instead of ruthlessly annihilating them, SpaceGodzilla saw an opportunity. He imbued them with his cosmic power, turning them into his lieutenants, and sent them across the globe to seek out and destroy those that defied his rule. No monster could emerge from hiding or any resistance faction build up its resources without SpaceGodzilla and his lieutenants knowing. Under the galactic reptile’s rule, judgment was swift, and resistance futile.

The remnants of humanity had given up hope long ago and had resigned themselves to their fate as their planet was slowly drained of life. But there were those, few in number, but strong in their beliefs, that believed there were still heroes out there, waiting to emerge from the depths and retake the world from evil…

*****

9 Years Later

Waves lapped at the gleaming shores of Faro Island. Men and women from the nearby village, one of the last strongholds of the human race, scoured the crystalline beach, searching for hide or hair of any meat, fresh or otherwise. Uninfected life was rare after Godzilla’s death, most sea creatures having succumbed to the infection that had ravaged the world. Amidst the partially crystallized huts, the men chipped away at the crystal structures engulfing their homes, slowing down its spread, whilst the women and children tended to the village crops. Crystal spires of all shapes and sizes littered the area, drawing in the power of the very stars themselves. The largest of the structures, reaching kaiju-size in height, served a far greater purpose. They drained the Earth of its Mana, its lifeblood, and disrupted the balance of nature itself in the process.

The mighty gates, once used to hold the great King Kong at bay, hung open. The villagers saw no need to close them. Not after Kong had left to face SpaceGodzilla and never returned. With their god gone, the natives were forced to submit to the will of SpaceGodzilla. Every night, the two lieutenants that made Faro Island their home watched over them, making sure they prayed to their master and made sacrifices in his name. So far, the people had been compliant, but the stronger of the two lieutenants, a creature some claimed to be the spawn of SpaceGodzilla himself, longed for the day they would mess up.

Today, though, the two pawns would know the thrill of battle.

As the search party continued combing the crystallized sands, the water began to drain away from the shore. The group shouted and hollered in surprise as the sea’s edge withdrew farther and farther from the shoreline, exposing ancient sunken boats and ruins and beaching all manner of sea life. All types of fish, sharks and other creatures flopped on the glistening sands, crystals poking out of every part of their body, while crystalline crabs and lobsters scuttled around and latched onto the dying animals, tearing into their flesh with razor-sharp pincers.

The ocean’s surface rose as a massive form emerged. It stood tall over the gathered humans as it rose higher and swam closer to the shore. A flood of seawater crashed down the creature as it reared to its full height, refilling the beach in an instant. But the torrent kept going, crashing onto the beach and surging into the jungle. Natives and animals were caught in the flash flood and washed away as crystal trees and boulders came crashing down all around. The water flooded into the village without warning. By now, though, it had lost its momentum, and came to a stop just within the village limits. The people looked on, their eyes wide with fear as they clutched their crude weapons and held their loved ones close at the sight of the devastation and the towering beast that brought it about.

A massive, four-clawed foot stepped onto the beach, its owner’s bulk cracking the crystal underneath and shattering the land for yards in all directions. Godzilla Junior shook his head free of the remaining seawater as it trickled down his emerald scales. He squinted his eyes as the Sun’s unfiltered light washed over him for the first time in over a year. It took only a moment for his eyes to adjust to its rays and his vision to focus on the landscape before him. The island was graced with the call of a Godzilla for the first time since his father’s death. With a snort of air from his nostrils, Junior made his way inland, towards the village.

The ocean churned again as another, smaller shape began to rise from its depths. A huge, red claw breached its surface, followed by another, before the creature they belonged to crawled out of the waves and onto dry land. Ebirah raised his arms and screeched eagerly. Ahead of him, Junior turned his head and returned the massive shrimp’s call with his own, infantile roar. Before the conquest, the two would have seen each other as bitter enemies. Now, as some of the last monsters on Earth not under SpaceGodzilla’s thrall, their alliance stood strong. For too long they had hid away from the world as Junior’s “uncle” ravaged their home. Now the time had come for them to emerge and take back their world.

The villagers scattered like cockroaches as Junior set foot outside their village. The young Godzillasaurus regarded them for a brief moment, hoping deep in his heart to find the human he knew from birth. But she was not present among the crowd. With a sad moan, Junior turned his gaze to the crystals littering the landscape. The source of the world’s infection, and the source of his “uncle’s” power. Junior and Ebirah knew exactly what to do with them.

Junior brought his foot down, smashing a cluster of crystals under his heel. He advanced onward, crushing more crystals and village huts underfoot as he approached the larger structures. His claws and teeth sunk into the towers, tearing them apart with minor difficulty as he smashed into them. The structures toppled over, shattering on the ground and against the rocks. Behind Junior, Ebirah ravaged the beach, smashing up the crystals lining its borders and hammering his claws against its shimmering surface as he sought to shatter the very ground itself. The sound of his blows echoed across the island, and Junior knew it would not be long before their presence was known.

A heavy thud sounded close by, and the great wall separating the village from the rest of Faro Island creaked and groaned as something large landed atop. A threatening hiss followed that caught Godzilla Junior’s attention, and he turned to glare at the aggressor. A bizarre creature that resembled a cross between an ape and a lizard clung to the top of the wall, his glowing eyes regarding the immature dinosaur before him with hatred. His body was not organic, composed of the same crystals that surrounded him. A mane of crystals coated his back from head to rear, and a smaller cluster protruded from his chin like an unusual beard. A long tail, tipped with a mass of smaller crystals, curled around his legs. The being, known as Krystalak, directed a hiss-like roar at Junior as he clawed the air, to which the young monster responded with his own shrieking cry.

The calls of the two beasts caught Ebirah’s notice. His gaze caught on the duo, distracting him from the massive wave that surged towards him from behind. Another creature burst from the ocean, spraying the landscape with seawater and releasing a trumpeting cry. Ebirah crawled around and was greeted with the form of a monster from before the time of Man. Titanosaurus pounded his fists together, aching for a fight. For a moment, Ebirah thought the red behemoth was like them, another survivor from SpaceGodzilla’s takeover that had emerged to strike back. Titanosaurus proved him wrong by smashing his foot into the lobster’s face.

Junior’s scutes glowed a bright blue as he fired an atomic ray at Krystalak. The beast leapt off its perch as the beam struck, demolishing the top half of the last reminder of Kong’s existence in a single hit. Krystalak flew through the air, his claws raised as he came down on Junior, and was greeted with another atomic blast that struck him in the gut. Through the fire and smoke of the blast the crystal beast descended, slamming his outstretched feet into Junior’s chest and pounding him into the ground. Krystalak’s gleaming eyes flashed with malice as he pinned Junior to the ground and slashed his razor-sharp digits across the infantile monster’s face and chest. Junior cried out as the mineral monstrosity’s claws carved through his flesh and painted the ground red with his blood. Krystalak hissed with laughter, but that hiss turned into one of pain as Junior blasted him point-blank in the face with his atomic ray. The blast threw Krystalak off the son of Godzilla and sent him crashing to the ground, crushing more huts beneath him.

Junior winced in pain as he stood up. Already his regenerative abilities were repairing the damage inflicted by Krystalak’s claws. This ability was a lifesaver, but its properties paled in comparison to Godzilla’s own healing factor. When Krystalak had scrambled to his feet, Junior still bore the scars from his claws. The green reptile’s scutes lit up once more, but before he could fire, Krystalak’s mane flared with light. The beast’s jaws parted, expelling his deadly Prism Beam. The white blast slammed into Junior’s chest and detonated, throwing him back as he fired. Junior’s atomic ray shot harmlessly into the sky as he was thrown across the ground. A group of crystals lay in his path, and he came to a stop as he smashed through the structures.

Krystalak hissed angrily at Junior, unwilling to allow the destruction of his “father’s” creations. His glowing eyes, able to see the electromagnetic spectrum, allowed him to watch as the energy from the ruined crystals drifted through the air and into the nearest living thing: Junior. Krystalak despised having to share the island’s energy with his ally. Having the son of Godzilla steal it right in front of him was unacceptable.

Ebirah cried out as Titanosaurus slammed his foot into the sea monster once more. The aquatic dinosaur cackled joyously as he beat the tar out of the irradiated lobster. As he moved his foot to kick him again, Ebirah raised his claws and caught the blow. His right claw lashed out and clamped around the reptile’s outstretched leg, drawing trickles of blood as he pierced skin. Titanosaurus hollered angrily and painfully and furiously shook his leg to dislodge the crustacean. His struggles only allowed Ebirah’s claw to cut in deeper, driving another pain-filled cry from the ancient predator’s throat. Twisting and pulling his arm, Ebirah pulled Titanosaurus to the ground. As soon as the reptile hit the ground, Ebirah released his grip and scuttled onto the red titan’s back. His weight pressed Titanosaurus against the beach, and the scarlet dinosaur cried out as Ebirah’s claws smashed against his skull over and over.

Titanosaurus’ muscular arms pushed against the beach as he tried to rise with Ebirah clinging to his back. Each time he managed to push his chest off the ground, the jumbo-sized shrimp would smack one of his claws across the back of his skull. As the prehistoric beast attempted to rise once more, Ebirah raised one of his claws to smash it against the reptile’s skull. He was taken aback when Titanosaurus suddenly rolled onto his side and squashed Ebirah under his massive size. The shrimp squirmed and shrieked under the crimson beast, flailing his claws and kicking at the reptile’s sides with his legs. Titanosaurus stood up, leaving Ebirah stuck on his back, unable to move, and grabbed hold of the lobster’s tail. Ebirah’s eyes bulged as he was lifted off the ground and spun once, twice, three times before Titanosaurus released his grip. Ebirah screeched in horror as he flew through the air and crashed hard onto the crystalline shore. He squealed in pain as he felt his spiky exoskeleton crack under the impact.

Spinning around to face the taunting Titanosaurus, Ebirah screeched in fury as he raised and shook his claws at the scarlet beast. Titanosaurus spun around, the fin at the tip of his tail deploying as it swept from side to side. Within seconds, he had produced a miniature hurricane that began to push Ebirah back. Guarding his face with his claws, the mammoth shrimp tried to advance, furiously attempting to get a grip on the beach’s smooth surface. His legs, while strong enough to carry him outside of water, were unable to pierce the crystal’s surface. Titanosaurus cackled as the lobster was blown along the beach and bounced off its reflective surface. He retracted his tail fin and turned to face the dazed shrimp, who kicked his legs lazily as he fought to right himself. Letting loose with a laugh-like roar, Titanosaurus marched towards his helpless foe.

Krystalak’s cry came from the side, and Titanosaurus turned to face his partner as he was sent flying into the crimson reptile. Titanosaurus cried out as the crystals lining Krystalak’s back embedded themselves in his flesh. The two creatures crashed to the ground in a mess of limbs as they tried to escape from one another. With the two lieutenants distracted, Ebirah was able to flip himself back onto his feet as Godzilla Junior’s roar reached his hidden ears. The juvenile dinosaur emerged from the jungle, his hands cut and bleeding from where he had grabbed Krystalak. He glared at the duo along with Ebirah, and the pair let out their own laughter at their predicament.

After a minute of struggling, Titanosaurus dislodged Krystalak and threw the purple and white beast off of him as he climbed to his feet. His eyes fell on the form of Junior, the source of his humiliation. With a warbling cry, he charged as Junior rushed to meet him mid-way. Krystalak stood up as well, clutching his head to clear his mind after the impact. He lowered his arms and was greeted with the sight of Ebirah charging towards him, snapping his claws and screeching intimidatingly. Krystalak, undeterred in the slightest, spread his arms and roared back before dropping onto all fours and rushing towards the mutant crustacean.

Godzilla Junior and Titanosaurus collided like two runaway freight trains. They pushed against each other with their bodies as their fists pounded away at their opponent’s sides. As the struggle went on, it came apparent that Titanosaurus was winning, and he slowly forced Junior away from the beach. Junior’s hand lunged at the aquatic titan, but instead of punching Titanosaurus, he sliced his claws across the scarlet saurian’s chest. A grunt of pain was earned from Titanosaurus as Junior drew blood, followed by a trumpeting cry of rage. He lunged down and clamped his jaws around Junior’s head. The dinosaur’s neck muscles, famous for being some of the strongest in the world, allowed him to lift the infantile Godzilla off the ground and swing him through the air. Titanosaurus swung down, smashing Junior into the crystal earth. Junior shrieked as his bones shuddered and cracked from the impact. His captor lifted him up, then slammed him into the ground again, before tossing the emerald dinosaur away.

Shakily, Junior got to his feet as the ground shook from Titanosaurus’ approach. The red leviathan smashed his fists together and against his chest, cackling as he did. His approach was stopped as Junior unleashed a blast of his atomic ray, striking the aquatic dinosaur in the chest. Titanosaurus let out a warbling cry of pain as the ray detonated against his flesh. Distracted by the pain, and his vision obscured by the fire and smoke produced by the blast, he couldn’t see Junior approach until the smaller reptile had closed the distance and smashed his tail into the side of his neck. Caught off-guard by the blow, Titanosaurus collapsed to the ground, still cackling miserably as he clutched his charcoal black chest. His cries were silenced when Junior kicked the crimson predator in the mouth.

Sparks flew as Krystalak furiously slashed away at Ebirah’s armored claws. The giant shrimp kept his main weapons before him to protect his vulnerable face from the crystalline monster’s fury. Several scratch marks coated his claws, which were beginning to be joined by trails of blue blood as Krystalak’s knife-like claws started to penetrate his shell. Thinking on the draw, Ebirah lunged forward and smashed his left claw across Krystalak’s face. The crystal fiend cried out as he was sent flying by the blow and collided with the earth. He clutched his face, his features contorting into a grimace as he felt the fractures in its surface from the crustacean’s blow.

The sound of scuttling legs from behind informed him Ebirah was on the move. Krystalak stood to his full height, turned around, and lashed his tail out at Ebirah. A large crystal shard detached from the tip and flew through the air. Ebirah screeched in agony as the shard found its mark and stabbed through his shell. With the mutant shrimp distracted, Krystalak jumped at him and landed on the crustacean’s back. He latched his claws into the spaces between armor segments as Ebirah flailed and bucked in an attempt to throw off SpaceGodzilla’s spawn.

Krystalak’s tail swung down like a scorpion’s and stabbed the tip into the base of Ebirah’s tail. The overgrown lobster filled the air with his screech of agony as the sharp cluster penetrated his armor and dug into his flesh. Krystalak pulled his tail tip free of Ebirah with a spray of blood, then drove it again and started repeatedly stabbing the crustacean’s rear. As his tail assaulted Ebirah’s unprotected tail, he hooked his claws into one of the armor segments lining the shrimp’s back, and pulled. Ebirah cried out in fear and pain as the crystalline abomination tried to rip the segment from the shellfish’s body. No matter how hard he thrashed about, Ebirah could not dislodge his vicious passenger. Seeing that his own strategy wasn’t working, he decided to take a page out of Titanosaurus’ book and reared up. Krystalak’s eyes widened as the lobster’s feet left the ground and he pinned the crystal beast against the beach as he landed on his back. The pressure inflicted on Krystalak’s body by the sea monster’s bulk shattered several of his back crystals on impact. Snarling in pain, the living crystal construct planted his feet on Ebirah’s back and kicked the shrimp off of him. He clambered back on to his feet and let out a low, almost silent roar at Ebirah, but was caught unaware by the crustacean as he slammed his tail into the mineral monster’s legs, flooring him in an instant.

Titanosaurus lashed out with his tail and knocked Godzilla Junior back as he rose. The young monster attempted to lunge at the crimson reptile, but Titanosaurus refused to let him get close. His tail fin extended and he spun around as he flapped his tail back and forth, blowing strong winds at Junior to keep the green reptile at bay. Junior roared as he began to slide back under the force of the wind. He dug his feet into the ground, his sharp claws penetrating its crystalline surface, but not even that could hold him in place and he continued sliding back, his toe claws leaving deep trenches in his wake. Titanosaurus couldn’t help but laugh at the young Godzillasaurus’ misfortune. A sudden, agonizing pain shot through his tail and he stopped moving it as he voiced his pain to the entire island. Dark smoke drifted from his torn and burnt tail fin, courtesy of Junior’s atomic ray.

The red leviathan spun around, rage flaring in his eyes. A tingle of fear went down Junior’s spine as with a trumpeting roar, Titanosaurus charged towards him. The aquatic dinosaur came so fast Junior didn’t have time to counter or block his attacker before the long necked reptile smashed his massive foot into the smaller dinosaur’s gut. Junior was launched into the air by the blow and crashed to the shimmering earth with a thud that shook the ground around him. Titanosaurus wasn’t finished yet and ran up to his fallen adversary, driving his foot into Junior’s gut again and sending him rolling across the ground.

Before Junior could stand, Titanosaurus was standing over him and slammed his foot down on the young dinosaur’s side. The first blow cracked Junior’s ribs. The second caused some of them to snap in half and stab into his organs, drawing a shriek of agony from the infantile reptile. A third stomp drove the ribs in deeper, increasing Junior’s suffering. Titanosaurus then turned his attention to the juvenile monster’s head. Over and over his heel smashed and grinded against Junior’s skull, and a pool of broken teeth and blood quickly formed around it. Titanosaurus stopped pounding on him, allowing Junior to weakly look up at the scarlet predator as his head reared down towards his face. Titanosaurus’ jaws parted – and so did Junior’s.

The irradiated Godzillasaurus’ spines flashed with light as he unleashed a stream of blue and while nuclear death into Titanosaurus’ face. The larger dinosaur screamed as the blast practically disintegrated the flesh on his face. Blinded, he staggered back as the beam subsided and he clutched his mutilated features, fighting the urge to vomit as his claws scraped against exposed bone. Junior was able to get to his feet and fired another atomic blast, engulfing the red dinosaur’s right leg in a ball of fire. Titanosaurus was knocked down by the blast and clutched his injured leg as he wailed in agony. Confident that the leviathan was unable to continue fighting, Junior made his way back to the beach to assist his ally.

Ebirah and Krystalak pushed against each other, the jumbo shrimp’s claws firmly grasping his crystalline foe’s forearms as he attempted to force the purple and white beast off his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Krystalak’s mane glow. Knowing what was about to follow, he released the beast’s arms and crawled backwards, but he wasn’t fast enough. Krystalak’s white-hot beam struck the beach in front of the lobster and blasted it apart, the ensuing explosion knocking Ebirah back with a shrill cry. Krystalak looked at the sea monster and laughed, considering him a joke not to be taken seriously. He was proven wrong and taken aback when Ebirah uprooted a large crystal from the jungle’s edge and tossed it at the purple-white monster. It smashed into Krystalak’s face, further damaging its already fractured armor, and knocked the spawn of SpaceGodzilla off his feet.

Krystalak shook his head to clear it from the impact. The crystalline monstrosity stood up and barred his dagger-like teeth at the shellfish sea monster. He picked up the still intact crystal and threw it at Ebirah, only for the overgrown lobster to raise his right claw and bat it back at him. Krystalak sent the crystal back at Ebirah by delivering a spinning kick to the object and the giant shrimp caught it with ease. The crustacean’s claws pressed down on the crystal, cracks forming across its surface before the lobster’s claws closed fully and it shattered in his grip. Krystalak’s spine straightened up as his eyes glowed brighter, the crystal beast’s equivalent of widening them, both impressed and terrified by Ebirah’s feat of strength. The crustacean raised his claws above his head and clapped them together, daring Krystalak to try his luck. The crystalline monster did, blasting Ebirah with his Prism Beam. Before he could capitalize on his enemy’s pain, an emerald-scaled fist smashed into the side of his face.

The blow sent Krystalak crashing to the ground, his vision spinning. All the beast could register in his dazed state was the grateful call of Ebirah and the returning cry of Godzilla Junior from behind him. A pair of hands grabbed Krystalak’s arms and the mineral-made beast felt himself being pulled up to a standing position. Junior roared, right next to Krystalak’s ear, at Ebirah and the shrimp screeched a reply as he barrelled towards the two. Realizing what the crustacean was planning to do, Krystalak struggled feebly against his captor’s grip, but in his dazed state, he lacked the ability to harness his true strength.

After building up momentum, Ebirah leapt at Krystalak and smashed into his chest, using his own claws as a battering ram. The purplish-white beast didn’t possess any lungs, but a blast of air was still forced out of his mouth from the blow. Junior kept a tight grip on Krystalak, even as the mutant abomination’s spiky crystals stabbed into his chest and gut as Krystalak was knocked back by Ebirah’s blow. The strike managed to knock some sense into the crystalline monstrosity and he lashed out with his tail, stabbing the tip into one of Ebirah’s eyes. His mouth contorted into a sickening grin of pleasure as Ebirah shrieked and squirmed at the loss of half his vision. Unfortunately for Krystalak, the mutated shrimp was used to tolerating high amounts of pain, having lost and regrown his pincers in the past, and was able to react fast enough to grab the crystal mutant’s tail as it extracted itself from his eye socket. Krystalak’s eyes glowed bright as Junior released his grip and Ebirah tugged, pulling him down to the beach. The colossal lobster, still adjusting to the loss of his eye, clumsily battered Krystalak’s back with his claws. The mineral monster hissed in pain and his eyes flashed with worry as he felt the cracks forming across his back.

Mercifully for Krystalak, Ebirah stopped pounding on him, but he quickly learned this was so Junior could grab his tail and drag the crystal monster across the beach as he spun, slowly building up momentum. Junior spun faster and faster, and soon Krystalak was no longer touching the ground, but swinging through the air. After several more rotations, Junior released Krystalak and let him fly through the air. Krystalak’s eyes glowed with horror at the cliff face rapidly approaching before his reflexes kicked in. He reared back, allowing his feet to strike the cliff first and kicked off, twisting his body to face Junior as his mane pulsed with energy, but the juvenile Godzilla had already fired his own beam and it slammed into Krystalak’s gut, knocking him from the sky.

Krystalak hit the earth with a horrible crack as he landed on his right arm and he roared in agony. He tried moving the limb, but every twitch caused a jolt of pain to surge through his arm. Using his one good arm, Krystalak managed to stand and examined his right arm. Massive fractures lined its surface; it looked one good hit away from shattering completely.

A pair of high-pitched cries reached his hidden ears and he turned his gaze away from his arm towards the approaching forms of Junior and Ebirah. He grimaced as he tried moving his right arm into a threatening position, but failed. Krystalak hissed at the duo, swiping at the air with his uninjured arm in an attempt to intimidate them. But Junior and Ebirah were not so easily deterred. Seeing his strategy fail, Krystalak went for a more offensive approach, unleashing his Prism Beam and striking the ground below Ebirah, the ensuing explosion knocking the giant shrimp onto his back. Junior’s scutes pulsed with a blue glow as Krystalak’s mane flared with white light.

The two creatures released their beams at the same time, the two energies lancing into one another with a flash of light. The clash between the two beams didn’t last long, and soon Junior’s atomic ray was pushing back Krystalak’s Prism Beam. The purple and white monster’s eyes glowed with determination and fury and he directed more power into his beam, but it was too late. Junior forced Krystalak’s beam back into his mouth and the two rays exploded. Krystalak flew back from the blast and hit the ground, kicking up dust and crystal debris. Junior shrieked and began his advance on the fallen beast, but Krystalak was far from defenseless. His tail whipped out and discharged a crystal shard, aiming at the green reptile’s neck before Junior even knew what was happening. But the shard missed his throat as Ebirah rushed in and tackled Junior to the ground, avoiding a deadly fate.

Instead, the shard lodged itself into the throat of Titanosaurus. His eyes incinerated by Junior’s atomic blast, he had been attracted by the sounds of battle, hoping to find his foe. Instead, he found one of Krystalak’s crystals stabbing into his esophagus. The aquatic dinosaur gargled in surprise and clawed at his neck, but his short arms were incapable of reaching the shard and extracting it. Red foam began to leak from his jaws as Titanosaurus drowned in his own blood. He stayed standing for a few more seconds, then toppled over, the life vanishing from his eyes.

Krystalak glared at Ebirah, furious at the lobster’s intervention. Not a single part of the crystal beast’s soul cared about Titanosaurus’ death; one less lieutenant meant more power for him. His attention turned to Junior as the young Godzilla got up onto one knee. The mutant saurian didn’t wait to stand up before unleashing his atomic ray at the mineral mutant. Krystalak, an ever-learning creature, leapt over the beam as it blasted apart the ground where he once stood. He pounced atop Junior, pushing the reptile to the ground and assaulting him with the claws of his functional hand and both feet. Before he could inflict serious damage, Ebirah grabbed hold of the crystalline monster’s tail and yanked him off Junior. Growling in exasperation, Krystalak smashed his foot against Ebirah’s face, but the mutated crustacean refused to relinquish his grip.

Ebirah’s distraction allowed Junior to get back up, his wounds already healing at a rapid rate. He grabbed hold of Krystalak’s shoulders, earning a surprised grunt from the monstrosity as his head spun to face him, and pulled in the opposite direction. Krystalak found himself being stretched between the two as they pulled in opposite directions and the mutation’s eyes gleamed with worry. His armored hide was incapable of complying with being stretched like this and was beginning to crack under the stress. Pain flooded his limbs, as a loud cracking noise reached his ears. Something was giving, but he couldn’t tell what through the pain.

In a shower of shards, Ebirah ripped Krystalak’s tail from his body.

The crystalline abomination has but a few seconds to scream at the loss before Junior hoisted him up over his head and smashed him head-first into the ground. Darkness engulfed Krystalak’s vision as his head was driven beneath the crystalline earth. Light quickly flooded his vision again as he was dragged out by his legs and thrown to the ground once more. Ebirah and Junior were on the crystal-born creature before he had a chance to get up and assaulted his chest with claws and feet respectively. Krystalak’s armor held well, but the duo were relentless in their blows, and soon fractures began to form across its surface. Krystalak tried to get his jaws to face either of the two monsters so he could fire his Prism Beam, but couldn’t due to his beard getting in the way. Fortunately, the crystalline monster had more than one way of expelling his energy. He channeled energy into his heart, causing the organ to glow through the layers of armor. Junior and Ebirah looked at the light in confusion, before their eyes widened in realization and horror.

A powerful shockwave of crystal white energy erupted from Krystalak’s chest, catching the two monsters and blasting them away from SpaceGodzilla’s spawn. Junior and Ebirah cried out as they were thrown through the air and smashed hard into the crystalline ground. With the two dealt with, Krystalak leapt to his feet and instantly clutched his chest, grunting in pain. Overloading his heart with energy had worked, but the resulting burst of energy had damaged his armor-plated chest further. As his eyes scanned the area for his foes, however, he found that the pain and damage had been worth it, and marched towards the helpless Ebirah.

The radioactive sea monster screeched loudly as his legs kicked at the sky above. The blast had knocked him onto his back and he was having difficulty flipping himself back onto his feet. Worse still, his claws had been heavily damaged, one of them severed completely and lying several yards away, as they had been closest to the blast, making his efforts to flip himself over even more difficult. A mocking hiss cruelly greeted his ears and something heavy crawled onto his exposed belly. Ebirah’s legs scratched against the attacker’s armored skin, and the shrimp instantly knew Krystalak was atop him. Possessing no flexible neck, the mutated shellfish couldn’t look down to see Krystalak, but he didn’t need to since the crystalline monstrosity’s face appeared before his a moment later, his mouth partly open in a sinister smile. Ebirah swiped at the mutant with his remaining claw to try and knock Krystalak off his chest. Instead, Krystalak caught it with his good arm and forced it against the ground while snarling cruelly in Ebirah’s face. Ebirah barely had time to let out a pathetic cry for mercy as Krystalak’s pointed beard hung ominously over him…

Meters away, Junior stirred back to consciousness. Through blurred vision, he was able to stand and tried to look around. Not far away he could make out the fuzzy shapes of his ally and the spawn of his father’s killer. But as his sight returned, he was horrified by the sight before him. Krystalak crouched over the helpless form of Ebirah, who squirmed and flayed desperately to escape what would obviously come next. The crystals on the mutation’s chin glinted bright in the sunlight as the head pulled back, ready for a devastating strike to the mutilated crustacean’s throat.

Junior’s mind came to a stop, unable to comprehend the sight before him. Despite their rough start, Ebirah had been the only source of companionship for the better part of the year. The immature Godzillasaurus’ soul ached at the thought of losing another figure in his life. Another feeling began to rise; a feeling he’d been trying to keep under control even since his father’s death. His fists tightened, his lips curled upwards, a deep rumble echoed in his throat and his eyes narrowed. Junior tried to stop the feeling from taking control, but he couldn’t, not on his own. Everyone he knew and cared about were gone. The woman, his father, and in a few seconds, he would lose his only friend, too – Junior couldn’t keep his emotions under control any longer. Within that moment, the confident, caring Junior was gone – replaced with the rage of a Godzilla.

A ferocious roar left Junior’s mouth and he charged at Krystalak. The mutant beast looked away from his pinned prey and smiled, spreading his arms in a mocking gesture. A Prism Beam left his maw and exploded against the earth next to Junior, but the emerald reptile didn’t stop and ran through the flames. Krystalak’s eyes dimmed as he unleashed another blast, which achieved the same results as the previous blast. As Junior got nearer, Krystalak noticed that the juvenile Godzilla’s eyes were glowing red with energy. Energy that felt very familiar to him. A third Prism Beam scored a direct hit on Junior’s chest, drawing a growl of pain, but even this failed to slow him down. He reached out, intending to grab Krystalak, as his spines glowed brightly. Before Junior could lay a claw on the crystalline beast, Krystalak leapt up and spun around, smashing the side of his foot into Junior’s skull.

The blow sent Junior flying backwards so fast he had no idea he’d even been hit. The infantile dinosaur could do nothing but brace for the pain as he smashed into a large crystal tower and demolished the structure almost instantly. All Junior managed was a weak cry before tons of crystalline debris came down and buried him alive. Krystalak parted his jaws in a cruel smile as he watched the last of Godzilla’s legacy disappear under the mountain of crystal rubble. He made his way towards the structure, intent on making sure Junior was dead, but he only managed to take a few steps before a thought struck him. If Godzilla’s son was still alive, he could use him to gain his “father’s” favor. SpaceGodzilla would surely reward the beast that managed to take down the child of the ex-King of the Monsters. Krystalak increased his pace, intending to make good use of Junior or his corpse.

Deep within the hill of debris, Junior struggled to free himself. He growled in frustration as he pushed against the crystalline structures covering him, barely managing to push them a few meters off of himself before his strength gave out. Desperately, he tried firing his atomic ray, but to his surprise, he found he couldn’t. His spines only managed to flicker weakly before cutting out altogether. Junior’s features scrunched up in confusion. He hadn’t used that much energy in the battle. He tried again, flaring his power in an attempt to force out enough to fire at least one blast. After a moment, he felt his atomic might pulse within him. Then he released that was not all. Another stronger form of power surged within him, mixing in with his nuclear energy and rejuvenating the young monster. Junior blinked in confusion as a bright glow suddenly engulfed his body. Testing this new power, he pushed against the ceiling of crystal, and to his shock it moved away much easier this time. Where was this new strength coming from?

The strange energy crackled across Junior’s form. The emerald dinosaur watched on as crimson bolts leapt across his outstretched arms. Junior’s eyes narrowed in thought. He felt like he knew this type of energy, but what–?

His eyes snapped wide open in realization. The crystals! By destroying the towers, he had released the energy stored within, which in turn had been attracted and absorbed into the nearest living thing: him! It was SpaceGodzilla’s power that now flowed through his veins. Junior was unsure what to do. The energy now filling him felt addicting; empowering; it made him feel invincible. Was this a good thing? Was this what SpaceGodzilla felt like? Was this what his father had felt like?

With no idea how to dispel the energy, Junior had no choice but to embrace it as it overtook his body. His eyelids closed, then snapped open moments later to reveal burning red eyes.

Krystalak stopped in his tracks, sensing the build-up of energy. He snarled in anger; that power was his and his alone! Before he could take another step, bolts of cosmic energy crackled across the hill of crystalline rubble, zapping the earth and nearby trees and boulders. Krystalak’s first instinct should have been to rush in and take advantage of the situation, but another, stronger impulse told him to hang back. This wasn’t a normal phenomenon.

A bright orange glow emanated from inside the mound of debris. Krystalak began to feel nervous as the ground shook around him and the air itself surged with power. The glow rapidly increased, getting brighter and brighter until a massive explosion blasted through the crystalline rubble. Through the light of the blast, Krystalak spotted Junior standing at its epicenter and when the blast was over, the crystal mutation gaped in horror and wonder.

Junior’s very form was glowing bright with crimson power. His eyes surged with energy as they gazed upon Krystalak’s reflective form. Lightning-like bolts leapt across his form. Before Krystalak’s very eyes, Junior began to grow. His bone density increased, his muscles bulged and expanded, and his scales increased in thickness, inhibiting the glow now emanating from his body so that it was only visible through patches of his skin, giving it a lava-like texture. When the transformation had finished, his body remained physically unchanged, but now he stood over a head taller than his crystalline nemesis.

Godzilla Junior had attained Critical Mass.

For the first time in his existence, Krystalak knew fear. He cowered before this new form of the Prince of the Monsters with terror in his eyes. Junior’s mouth opened, yielding not a shriek, but a powerful bellow reminiscent of his father. The sound was enough to snap Krystalak from his daze. The remains of his mane flashed and he discharged his Prism Beam, nailing Junior in the chest. The only sign that he had been hurt by the blast was the twitch of his lip. In return, his scutes surged with deep blue light. Junior opened his maw, belching forth a powerful azure ray. Krystalak was unprepared and incapable of defending himself as the ray tore into his chest and carried him off the ground, further and further back until he smashed hard into a cliff face. What little remains of his mane was reduced to fragments that tumbled from his back and littered the earth around his feet. Krystalak paid no attention to them, falling to his knee and clutching his steaming and glowing hot chest.

Before he could even think of a counterattack, another atomic blast slammed into him and pinned him against the rock face. Unimaginable agony forced itself out of Krystalak’s throat as a howl as he felt his fractured arm and parts of his cracked chest plate disintegrated under the force and heat of the beam. When it had subsided, Krystalak stumbled away from the cliff, his crystalline armor glowing bright with heat.

His glowing eyes glared daggers at Junior as he pushed himself upright. Krystalak broke out into a sprint towards the super-charged dinosaur, determined to still win this fight. Junior made no move to defend himself as Krystalak assaulted him, slashing and stabbing at the empowered reptile’s flesh with his hand and feet. The monstrosity’s claws left deep gouges in Junior’s flesh. Wounds that healed themselves the moment Krystalak’s serrated digits left his flesh. The son of Godzilla thrust out his arm, his hand wrapping tightly around Krystalak’s throat, and lifted the beast off the ground with ease. Krystalak squirmed in his grip, his eyes widened in horror as the strength Junior had been granted. He squirmed harder as the dinosaur’s hold tightened, and the armor coating the mutant’s neck cracked in his hand.

Thinking on the draw, Krystalak lashed out with his claws once more, aiming this time for a more sensitive arena on the superpowered adolescent. A swift slash from his claws left deep gouges in Junior’s upper face, driving a tortured howl from the Godzillasaurus’ glowing maw as he dropped Krystalak to the floor, flailing wildly as blood pooled in the ripped sockets of his eyes. Immediately, the crystalline spawn launched another attack, sweeping a leg across the floor and under the distracted teenager’s, leaving him sprawled and spasming against the cold geode ground.

Krystalak knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to win. He limped over and placed a foot upon the fallen dinosaurian, digging his talons into Junior’s flesh for a secure grip as he raised a clawed hand with menace. A good strike to the heart, even in the state of Critical Mass, would snuff the life from the last legacy of the Monster King. Junior could but squirm helplessly, trying to locate his foe’s position with half-regenerated eyes, as the cold-skinned killer aimed with surgical precision at the young prince’s chest…

Ebirah’s call rang loud and true, pulling the attention of both kaiju away and to a sight that neither had expected. Junior’s restored sight watched in amazement as his wounded ally charged in from the sidelines, taking the distracted Krystalak by total surprise. He slammed into the back of the monstrosity with all of the force his tired body could muster, and his efforts were rewarded with an echoing crack as both monsters toppled to the ground. Krystalak howled in agony, seething with rage and promising a slow and torturous death for the interfering sea beast. But as he tried to stand back up, the mutant beast found his lower half to be unresponsive to his commands. The strike from Ebirah had smashed his crystal spine in two, paralyzing him from the waist down.

Junior remained frozen in his current spot, taking in the events that had just occurred. His crimson orbs met Ebirah’s luminous own, reaffirming their bond of comradery. Before anything could be said or done, a flash of purple light came from the right side of the alliance. Ebirah turned to face the source and was met square in the face by an enraged Prism Beam blast without a moment to process. He was thrown into the air without a sound, and Junior screamed in horror as his friend slammed hard in the solid ground, his carapace splintering around the point of impact, and rolled to a stop with his belly to the sky, unmoving.

His gaze turned to the one responsible for such a horrendous act. Krystalak, sprawled uselessly across the crystal earth, chuckled darkly at the sight of the motionless crustacean. If he was to lose this battle, then he had at least made sure that the reptile could not enjoy his victory.

A shadow fell over him, and powerful energies crackled in the air around Krystalak. A dazzling glow bloomed from behind him, which the crystal spawn knew signaled his end. As much as he hated to admit, he had been bested. The glow in Krystalak’s eye sockets faded, preventing himself from seeing what came next. Hopefully, his “father” and “brother” would avenge him.

An overwhelming blast of atomic energy from Junior’s maw engulfed Krystalak’s form. It pushed the mineral monster across the ground, through trees and rocks and village huts until it slammed Krystalak into the massive gates. The blast ripped apart the wooden structure as it tore Krystalak apart, disintegrating the spawn of SpaceGodzilla piece-by-piece. For Krystalak, the agony felt like an eternity, but in reality, his complete and utter disintegration only took half a minute.

Junior’s glowing eyes regarded the wreckage of the gates as he ceased firing. The ancient structure crumbled atop what little of Krystalak remained, as well as half of the village located around it. He snorted with his nostrils, glad to be rid of the crystalline menace, before turning away and towards the beach. He could already feel the crystal’s power fading. While he had enjoyed the power-up it had given him, he didn’t plan on becoming addicted to its energy, lest he end up like one of SpaceGodzilla’s lieutenants.

He walked over to where Ebirah lay, and his breath caught in his throat as he laid eyes upon the motionless form of his friend, lying in a puddle of his own blue blood and his claws torn from his body. Was it too late? Had his surrender to the prevented power of the crystals come too late to save Ebirah from the clutches of the afterlife? Had it all been in vain?

Junior’s head reared back and unleashed a wail of utter anguish that boomed across the entire island. Once more, life had played a cruel hand against him and taken away the only source of light and hope left in his violated world. He felt as if he was cursed to lose all that he cared for, that he could earn no victory without loss to tarnish its shine.

But then…

…a faint cry in the wind graced the mourning dinosaur’s ears. He looked back down at the body of his friend and ally, amber eyes wide with hope. Could it be…?

Ebirah’s tail twitched sluggishly. His mouthparts parted to release another weak cry to disprove Death’s claim upon his soul. Against the odds and his severe injuries, the titanic shrimp lived.

Junior cried in elevation and rushed to assist, grabbing the sides of Ebirah’s shell and hoisting him up, helping his wounded companion back to his feet. He could not help but let his eyes wander over the cracks and splinters across the shrimp’s form, lingering on the bloody stumps where his mighty claws once were. Ebirah dismissed his worries with a reassuring chirp. With enough time and recovery, he could recover from this in several molts of his shell, even regrow his claws stronger than ever. But that was for the future.

The both of them knew that they could linger here no more. If the connection between SpaceGodzilla and his spawn was anything like that of Junior and his father, then he would be certain to investigate the sudden disappearance of Krystalak. This meant that they could not stay, and any hope of using Faro Island in any capacity for their resistances was impossible. Their search for a new home would have to continue from here.

Slowly, Ebirah crawled towards the ocean, seeking the comfort of its cold, dark depths. Godzilla Junior followed close behind as the energy of the crystals began to wear off. His size began to decrease and the glow subsided, returning his body to its natural emerald color. By the time he stepped foot into the waves, his body was back to its original form and size. Junior didn’t even look back as the pair walked into the ocean and disappeared into its murky depths.

They were unaware of the crowd of villagers that had gathered at the petrified jungle’s edge, chanting and dancing in prayer for worship of the champions that had freed their home from tyranny, who had provided a glimmer of hope in these dark times.

In the darkness, there was now a spark of inspiration and hope.

*****

Cold, orange eyes awoke from their trance as the disturbance hundreds of miles away was sensed. SpaceGodzilla’s head turned in curiosity in the direction where the source was located. There was now a void in his mind where once there had been a link to two of his many enforcers across the planet. Someone or something had managed to overcome and destroy a pair of the most powerful beings that ruled the Earth, one of which being the spawn of his alien crystals’ power.

Any other being would be subject to rage or grief in this situation.

SpaceGodzilla found his interest peaked.

It had been so long since he had found something truly worthy of his attention in the nine long years of his rule. The brazen attempts of resistance and claims for greater power had long died down over the ages as he proved his strength over those that opposed him time and time again. He did not think any were left alive that would oppose him so openly… until now.

The tormented howl of the evening’s entertainment brought the extraterrestrial monster’s attention back to current events. From his crystalline throne, he looked down into the geode colosseum – a construction for his own personal amusement – as its sole gladiator battled for his life against the opposition. Bear-like claws lashed out in rage as the bloodied Alpha repelled another of Red King’s bone-shuddering blows, driving the ogre-like skull monster away and out of its fists’ range. In doing so, however, left him open to a combined blast of electricity that crashed into his right side, throwing the Titan to the floor in a cloud of crystal powder and shards. He pushed himself back to his feet as fast as his aching muscles would allow, glaring daggers at the taunting figures of Neronga and Jirahs. This would not be an easy battle for the Alpha to come, but it had overcome impossible odds before, and SpaceGodzilla anticipated the outcome with malicious glee.

His thoughts went back to the identity of those that had slain his champions on Faro Island, wondering if perhaps he had, at last, found the one who had escaped his justice for so many years. In the past, he would have led the hunt personally, seeking to erase the last remaining legacy of his so-called brother. But it had been so long since there had been a true challenge against his power, something to test the limits of his might and put his claim to the throne to the sword.

When this prehistoric relic had emerged from the depths of the ocean six years ago to challenge him, it had been the most intense battle of SpaceGodzilla’s life, pushing him to his limits until finally he had subdued the beast and bound it as his pet. It was topped four years later by another creature that claimed the name “Godzilla,” an ever-evolving life form that could adapt against his powers, pushing him to use not just muscle, but mind as well to bind and subdue this proclaimed “God Incarnate,” which now functioned as nothing more than a gigantic battery to further add to SpaceGodzilla’s legendary power, alongside the so-called “One Who Is Many.”

If he sat back and allowed the spawn to grow, build its resistance, increase its power and challenge him on its own terms, it could be the greatest, most challenging fight in his lifetime. An event that would allow SpaceGodzilla to finally go all out and put all of his accumulated knowledge and power to the limit. The greater the contest, the sweeter the victory.

SpaceGodzilla sat back, no longer paying attention to the violent brawl before him, as a satisfied smile crossed his lips, already eagerly anticipating the battle that was to come.

Winner: Godzilla Junior, Ebirah (Universal)

Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Dao Zang Moua | Narration: Alicia Ingram

 

A few days ago, everything was normal on Earth. Yes, there was international tension, many going hungry, and all the different things that usually plagued humanity. But there were people solving these things, there were paths to solve these issues because humanity knew what it was up against and had dealt with these things before.

Now Seattle had rivers of lava running through it, Mount Rainier spewing smoke and molten rock like it was from a myth. Colossal, alien crystals tore their way out of the ground, dotted around the city like pox sores. And trudging through the city was a colossus of stone, a boiling furnace of molten rock within his black shell.

Seattle was not alone in its suffering. Meteor showers had occurred all over the planet, bringing the strange crystals which settled in and sprouted forth. The effects they had were varied and harsh. Tokyo was horrifically flooded, Paris was wrapped in thorny vines, San Francisco was rocked by freak earthquakes, and so many more were undergoing so much.

Giant monsters roamed the planet, turning the whole of Earth into a battleground. Earth’s guardians, Humanity’s constructed warriors, the forces of the Vortaak, and power hungry mutants warred for dominance, adding to the calamity and death toll.

It seemed like the end of the world.

But for Obsidius, it was the beginning of his.

And like any newborn lifeform, he had no idea of what he would do in this world. Roaming the volcanic wasteland of blackened rock and steel structures, the magmatic creature scanned the landscape. He lacked eyes, his face consisted of a cavernous hole which dripped lava, but he was still able to detect what his environment looked like.

As he used his bulky hands to push a building aside, just to watch it crumble and fall into a burning river, he was unaware that he was being watched.

In the planet’s atmosphere, its exact location hidden from humankind’s sensors, a grand ship shaped like a saucer observed the world below. It was made of dark metal and illuminated by pulsing green and purple lights, and that was how its innards looked as well.

The Vortaak Mothership was also a city, and within the tallest building located in its very center, their queen watched. A gigantic monitor displaying numerous video feeds showed her all of the affected cities, scenes of chaos and battle playing out all over the world. But she had underlings to let her know of any major developments she missed, so she chose to focus on one city.

With the push of a button, Seattle was the only thing displayed, taking up all the space on the monitor.

“Another creature spawned from these crystals? How intriguing,” Vorticia spoke to herself. “Perhaps you will be more receptive to us than your ‘brother’ was.”

Her hands moved back to the panel of buttons. With two presses of a button, one to call upon one of the Vortaak’s war beasts and the other to tell it where to go, she set one of her kind’s servants on the path to Seattle.

Down on Earth, a signal reached the mind of a strange creature, born on another world. It shifted course towards its target, obeying the will of its rulers.

Back in Seattle, Obsidius began to walk out of the city limits, into the nearby lake. He looked out into the horizon, lost in the vastness of it all. He turned, going back into the comfort of familiarity. The water sizzled into steam and rose off his legs as he went back to the heated environment.

He wanted to venture forth, but was scared at the same time. What was out there waiting for him? He knew other life forms existed, some had wandered nearby but not entered since his arrival.

Would the world reject him, attempt to destroy him?

A strange growl broke his train of thought, drawing him to turn. Entering the city was another colossus like him, but quite different at the same time.

Four spider-like limbs jutted from its back, hypnotically waving through the air. They framed an elongated head with a wide, toothy maw. With a purple body and a grey head, it fit the aesthetic of the Vortaak perfectly, even though they had not created it. But when they found the fierce creature, they made it their own with no hesitation.

The Visitor, also lacking eyes, roared again to intimidate. But Obsidius let loose his bellowing call in response, smacking his chest with his thick fists to punctuate his display.

“So, this one refuses to bend the knee. Oh well, the Vortaak were never ones for mercy anyway.” Vorticia laughed haughtily. “Beat it down and drag its unconscious body to us.”

Charging forward, the alien beast quickly closed the distance. He dragged his claws across Obsidius’ chest, throwing out sparks as a few shallow grooves were carved into the stone. The magma beast replied with a strong punch to the Visitor’s chest, forcing the alien back a few steps as he groaned. Obsidius lunged forward, swinging an arm towards his foe. This time, the alien hopped out of the strike’s path.

The top pair of blades on the extraterrestrial’s back lashed out, punching dents into the stone hide of his foe. Crying out, the spawn of the crystals grabbed one of the blades before the Visitor could draw it back. Obsidius lifted up, carrying his odd foe over his head. The alien cried out before being slammed head first into a building, crushing the structure of steel and concrete beneath his bulk.

Dust obscured the Visitor’s body, but despite the blow he had just taken, he was not out. Two of his extra limbs reached out, swiping Obsidius’ legs out from under him. The magma beast roared and flailed in shock, releasing the limb in his grasp. The Visitor rolled out of the debris pile, swiftly straddling Obsidus’ chest.

The molten monster roared, only to be punched across the face. The side of his skull hit the ground, and as he looked back to his foe, a second punch from the opposite side had similar results. The Visitor roared, putting both fists together then smashing them into Obsidius’ chest. It cracked the black stone.

From the void of the magma beast’s face came a geyser of bright lava. The Visitor shrieked as it crashed into his chest, sending him tumbling back and off of his foe. Obsidius pushed himself up, keeping the high-pressure stream focused on the alien as he got to his feet.

When the assault ceased, the Visitor was left with a large, black mark on his chest. Lava dripped down from his body and onto the scorched landscape below. His extra limbs pushed against the ground, holding him upright enough to bend his head down and have his cranium face Obsidius.
The alien grinned as a purple glow formed on the top of his head, captivating the magma beast for a moment. It was time to return the favor.

Obsidius’ stupor ended when a beam of violet, surging energy shot forth, blazing into his torso. He was forced back, feet dragging across the ground. The Visitor’s glee faded when he realized how well his foe was taking the Brainspasm. It did not push him off his feet, and while Obsidius did cry out in shock and pain, little damage seemed to actually be occurring to his shell.

Growling, the alien kept feeding power to his attack. Obsidius began to walk forward, holding up an arm to block the psychic waves. He felt exhilarated, powerful. He was learning just what he was capable of, and he was loving it. Unknown to either, this was the result of the crystals that spawned him, which were naturally resilient to energy attacks.

The magma beast hopped forwards, curling up to turn himself into a ball. The Brainspasm’s concussive force was not enough to hold him back, allowing him to crush the Visitor beneath his weight. The beam faded, the alien gasping.

Four blades sank into the sphere of stone, earning a muffled bellow of anguish from within. Despite the weight crushing down on him, and the heat assailing the ends of his extra limbs, he continued pushing. He had to hit an organ or vein at some point, and he had the durability to withstand this pain.

Part of the ball unfurled, revealing a hulking right arm. It gripped one of the spider-like legs, throttling it and attempting to pull it free. The other arm emerged, slamming a closed fist onto the Visitor’s chin. With his foe caught off guard and staggered, Obsidius pulled one of the blades from his back. He fully unrolled, groaning as both lava dropped from the wound and the blades in his back were jostled by his movements.

The Visitor growled, ripping his other right blade free. He flipped Obsidius off of his body, smashing the magma beast against the ground beside him. The impact freed the spawn of the crystals from the remaining limbs, allowing him to quickly climb to his feet.

Soon, both were back on their feet, staring each other down. Four miniature streams of lava poured down Obsidius’s back, and a massive bruise formed beneath the already present burn on the Visitor’s torso.

Growling, the alien re-evaluated things. Ranged combat was not an option, for his psychic assault was feeble against this foe. In physical combat he was at a disadvantage. His flesh did not hold as well against the heavy blows of his foe as the magma beast’s rocky hide held against his own strikes. Merely trading blows was not a path to victory here.

Obsidius did not let him think more as he vomited forth another geyser of molten rock, putting the Visitor on the defensive. Crossing his arms, he shielded his damaged body. From the extraterrestrial’s cranium came another psychic attack, which struck the lava and ceased its current. Droplets of glowing fluid soared as the geyser broke before the Brainspasm.

Both beams ceased, prompting the stone colossus to charge. He slammed his fists into the ground, then lifted himself up and sent his legs forward. The Visitor leapt into the air, avoiding the dual kick as he sailed backwards. Obsidius kept charging as soon as he regained solid footing, viciously bellowing.

The Visitor side stepped his foe, swinging a backhand across the magma beast’s face. Momentum sent Obsidius rolling onto the ground. Before he could recover, his extraterrestrial foe rushed towards him, grabbing the molten creature.

Holding his foe up, the alien’s extra limbs began rapidly stabbing and slashing. One crashed into the side of the volcanic berserker’s skull, tearing a chunk out of the rim of his maw. Molten blood oozed from various cuts, and the haunting bellows of Obsidius echoed across Seattle.

The volcanic berserker’s hands shot up, one slamming into the Visitor’s upper jaw and the other into his lower jaw. Teeth flew from both, along with blood and saliva as the jaws went in opposite directions. Reflexively, the alien hurled his foe away, then stumbled back as he growled.

Obsidius crashed into a river of lava, splashing it across the nearby block. Glass shattered as the globs crashed through them, smoke rising as metal began to sizzle and warp. A shadow fell over him, prompting him to quickly roll. The Visitor slammed feet first into the lava where his foe had just been, and immediately regretted it.

He attempted to run away, relieve his feet of the burning pain, but a thick hand gripped his ankle. The alien tripped, falling into the blazing river. Obsidius dragged himself forward, trying to get onto his foe. One of the Visitor’s extra limbs swept back, bashing the magma beast across the skull. Despite hearing the sound of stone being sheared away, the alien still felt his foe pulling on him.

Pain filled Obsidius, a sensation he had not even known an hour ago. It drove him forward, compelled him to do whatever he could to cease this horrid sensation. The panicked cries of his foe filled him with determination. Not just because he knew he had a path to victory, but also because of what it meant. He was powerful, immune to things that gravely endangered most creatures.

If the wider world wished to destroy him, it would never be able to.

He grabbed two of the extra limbs of his foe, taking them in one hand. Their flailing brought him closer, allowing him to reach up and wrap his other hand around the Visitor’s throat.

The alien’s skin was coated in burns. His home world was cold, so it was frigid that his body was used to. As his foe’s grip tightened, he tried to fight back, but the pain and panic made it too hard to focus. His thrashing tossed lava onto his back, preventing his anguish from numbing.
Obsidus forced his foe’s face into the lava, spewing his own molten rock out to fully submerge the head. He ceased spraying the molten fluid, urged to by a strange sensation. It compelled him to focus on his arm and the energy within his core. Was he capable of something he did not know of?

Even as the blades of his foe crashed against his back, he remained still and centered. Besides, the strength of the blows was quickly fading.

The Visitor’s power waned even swifter when glowing energy began to leave his body, traveling down Obsidius’s fingers and through his arm. The alien’s flailing grew more frantic and sluggish at the same time, a desperate attempt at survival where the body could not match the spirit.
The volcanic berserker stared, transfixed as life faded from the Visitor. The spider-like limbs went limp, as did the rest of the body. Obsidius felt no remorse for taking a life. It had tried to take his, so he defended himself. Such was the basic instinct found in all lifeforms. If something else tried a similar assault upon him, he would kill it as well.

Standing up, he looked into the horizon. He began to walk, confident that he could handle whatever life threw at him. Obsidius barely regarded the corpse he left behind. It had served its purpose to him, a test to determine if he could survive and thrive.

Soon, he left his birthplace behind.

“You have made a powerful enemy, Obsidius. You believe yourself to be invincible for killing one of my pawns? I have many more, those far better equipped than the Visitor to destroy you. You will never be safe!” Vorticia practically growled from her throne, plotting out what move to make next.

Far away, on the opposite side of the country from Seattle. New York City had not been afflicted as heavily as other major cities, aside from the colossal crater near its heart which glowed with crystals.

Crouched low to the ground, a creature coated in purple crystals crawled around the crater’s rim. It seemed to be listening with how it tilted its head, baring teeth in a malicious grin. Suddenly, it straightened up, getting on two legs. Flexing its thin yet muscular arms, Krystalak began to run. He soon left New York City, compelled by a command from an unseen menace stalking creation.

To find his newly battle-hardened brother.

Winner: Obsidius

Author: Harley Jameson | Banner: Vincent Rodger

[Continued from Match 322]

Rain hammered against the roof of the National Weather Station hub and the two midnight workers were bored out of their minds. The storm hadn’t been severe enough to issue a warning, but they were the ones chosen that day for the graveyard shift. One worker with messy brown hair and wearing a hoodie over his usual work clothes took a sip of the coffee his co-worker had provided. “We need to replace the coffee filter Logan,” he said, before taking another sip. “This tastes like crap.”

“We’ve needed to replace the filter for weeks Bruce,” Logan replied lazily, shifting through various streams of weather-related data. “If you wanna go out in that mess, then feel free.” They both glanced up as a peal of thunder shook the heavens above them. “Jesus, we might need to issue a storm warning after all. It’s getting pretty bad out there.”

Bruce hummed thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair and reading over the data on his computer. “Yeah, maybe. Lemme see if we can get a better image of the storm…” He leaned over lazily, typing his commands into the keyboard to get a couple different graphs and viewpoints before frowning. “That can’t be right,” he said, straightening up and typing more urgently.

His eyes widened in alarm, and he stared open mouthed at his computer. “Logan,” he said after a moment. “Come here and tell me that I’ve gone insane.”

His co-worker did as asked, standing up and walking over to the computer and stiffening at the sight. “What the hell…” He mumbled, walking over to his own computer and typing in the same requests that Bruce had typed into his. The two men gave each other an awkward stare, the rain slamming against the roof of the building. “That… that’s not possible,” Logan said at last.

Bruce rubbed his face with his hands, before scooting over on his chair to grab the phone. “I’m calling Jess, she can chew me out for waking her up all she wants.” He began dialing his boss’s number, tapping his fingers nervously against the desk. “But I don’t know what the hell to do about thi- Jess? Yeah, it’s Bruce. Look I know it’s late but something really bad is happening.”

Gaze flickering towards the computer screen, he took a small breath. “It’s El Niño, Jess. It’s moving.”

—-

Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

The winds shrieked viciously and heavy rains lashed against the turbulent and boiling oceans. Waves rose up and crashed violently back down onto the water, spraying foam and water everywhere before the whole area was lit up with the blinding flash of lightning in the storm clouds.

Water exploded outwards and a howling roar tore through the air above the cacophony of nature. With a bright flash of blue light, Godzilla fired his atomic ray wildly up into the storm clouds blindly, poking holes that were quickly covered up by more of the storm. The waves reared up and splashed against Godzilla’s chest and head. Meanwhile, lightning slammed around the King of the Monsters, sending mist and sparks showering into the air when it hit the water.

Godzilla roared again, fighting to keep his head above the angry water and firing another atomic ray into the sky, only for another wave to crash against his face and cut it short with a spluttering cough. The loud, deafening roar of thunder exploded from the heavens and another bolt of lightning came screaming down and hit Godzilla directly on the few exposed dorsal plates. He screamed as his body was pumped with electricity, seizing in agony for a brief moment.

The whistling of the winds grew stronger. The ocean seethed in tune with Godzilla and he once again fired his atomic ray into the storm clouds, uncaring this time as seawater and lightning danced all around him. A huge wave swelled up, and the colossus fired another atomic ray at the rising water to no avail. With a deafening crash Godzilla was swept away by the furious wall of water as it collapsed down on top of him, sending him spiraling back into the depths of the ocean. Above him, the storm grew heavier. The sound of thunder became more distant as something moved in the clouds towards Japan. Beneath the waves, Godzilla began his pursuit.

—

Lake Ishi

The rain had merged into a single, droning noise on the lakeside manor, drowning out the sounds of the television news station as it reported on the storm warning that was now being formally issued. Now formally the Okouchi household, the scent of warming herbal tea was only offset by the occasional crashing of the lake’s churning waters. Former major, now commander of the aerial side of G-Force, Ryuunosuke Fujin sat in the living room with his cane splayed across his lap, watching the news half-heartedly.

“You know, some would call it unfair that I had a head-start on stocking up for the storm,” The light, teasing tone of Asuka Okouchi broke through the monotony of the rain with a tray of piping hot tea and a few sandwiches. She smiled, a slight twinkle in her eye as she set the tea down and poured the commander a cup. “Especially by such a high ranking member of G-Force. Honey?”

Ryuunosuke waved his hand a bit, sitting up a bit more in his chair. “Officially, I told you absolutely nothing. Besides, this part of the country is rather isolated. By the time the official announcement went out, you probably wouldn’t have had time to supply yourself properly, Miss Okouchi.”

“Please, Commander, call me Asuka,” she insisted firmly, placing his tea on the table next to him with a sandwich. Another teasing smile twitched on her lips. “Although I suppose it helps people believe that you’re not my father, with how much you’ve tried to take care of me lately.”

He chuckled, blowing into his tea and taking a sip. The liquid scalded his throat a little, but the taste was worth it in his opinion. “All I did was make sure that you got to keep the house that… that Miss Segusa had, and if you want to be called Asuka, then I want to be called Ryuunosuke. You’re not formally part of G-Force, you don’t have to address me by rank.”

Asuka hummed, sipping her own tea and watching the Major carefully. “And it’s the guilt over her death that keeps driving you to try and help me.” Swallowing a bite of her sandwich, she leaned back on the loveseat. “Even though my powers are waning, it doesn’t take an ESP to see how much it’s affected you.” Her eyes glanced down at his cane. “That with the stress of your new promotion…”

With a guilty shrug, he took another sip of his tea. “I manage. If the world thinks I’m going to roll over because I need a cane to walk, they’re dead wrong.” He sniffed, motioning with his cup. “This tea, Asuka, is very good by the way.”

Rolling her eyes a bit at the blatant attempt to change the subject, Asuka leaned over and turned the volume on her TV up a few notches. “If it wasn’t raining so hard, I’d take you out to the greenhouse. I’ve finally finished rebuilding it and I’ve started on a flower garden.” A sad, wistful smile blossomed on her face. “I’ve started with Roses. I thought it was appropriate, considering… considering Miki’s passion before joining me at the school. You know…”

Leaning over, she set her teacup down on the tray and poured herself another cup. “If you find the military too exhausting, you could always join the school and help me teach the younger ones. It’s a bit difficult with just myself there now.”

Ryuunosuke snorted into his sandwich, shaking his head and wiping his mouth a bit. “I mean you no offense Asuka, but I’d rather deal with the incompetent morons of the Self Defense Force than a bunch of high schoolers.”

She laughed out loud at that, giving an exaggerated exhale. “I guess you have a point. But if you ever change your mind, the door’s always open.” A shrill beep suddenly pierced the air, causing Asuka to jump a bit as the major pulled out his pager.

He squinted at the message, before sighing and grabbing his cane. “It seems I’m needed back at the base. I’m sorry, it looks like I’ll have to cut this meeting short.” Planting his cane on the floor, he hauled himself up and waved away Asuka’s attempts to help him. “Be safe, will you?”

She pulled him in for a brief hug. “Only if you do the same, Ryuunosuke.”

Returning the gesture, he adjusted his jacket a bit and gave her a wry smile. “I’ll do my best, assuming Godzilla doesn’t beat me to it.” Chuckling darkly, he made his way to the door and pulled on his raincoat and stepped outside into the storm, sloshing through the mud a bit as he made his way over to his car and stepped inside.

Rubbing his hands together, he dumped the raincoat on the passenger’s seat and turned the motor, cranking up the heater and pulling out of the driveway slowly. Despite the message summoning him back, he had to drive carefully over the slippery mud and unpaved roads of Lake Ishi until he made it back to the highway.

—-

G-Force Japanese HQ

Grateful for once about the insulated warmth of the sleek silver-grey building of G-Force headquarters, Commander Fujin hobbled his way past the receptionist’s area and down the stairs towards the heart of the building. His leg throbbed a bit as he briskly marched down to the control center, computer screens whirring and various screens blasting information at a breakneck pace. They had shut the elevators down due to the storm, out of fear that someone would get trapped in there. A few men saluted him as he passed by. “At ease, Men.” He raised his voice so it would be heard over the din of computer banks and conversation. “Anyone want to tell me why I was called down here?”

One of the scientists, Ryuunosuke couldn’t quite remember his name, approached him with his hand slightly raised. “It was General Kazuma, sir. I believe he said he’d personally fill you in on the situation. We already have a representative of the SDF here in the war room. If you’ll follow me, sir.”

The commander rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he followed the scientist to the war room. General Kazuma, the man in charge of G-Force’s ground troops, ordinarily didn’t give briefings himself. He believed his rank meant that he didn’t need to get involved with the nitty gritty of everyday soldiering anymore. His grip tightened on his cane, realizing that the situation must be serious if Kazuma was willing to get his hands dirty a bit.

The war room was already packed with a few individuals. The General, a man in a Self Defense Force uniform, a couple of his best pilots and what he presumed to be a couple of Kazuma’s men. Kazuma was studying a map of the storm, his angular features shadowed by the light. He turned his gaze towards his co-worker and gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. “Good, you’re finally here.” He turned, hands clasped behind his back. “To put it in the terms of our American counterpart: We’re up shit creek without a paddle.” He inclined his hand to one of his men, who handed a couple of files to the Commander. “We’ve got a more detailed report of the storm and we’ve found that there’s some sort of creature that’s living inside of it.”

Ryuunosuke opened the file, studying the few blurry photographs of the rainswept skies and reading over the information detailed therein as Kazuma continued. “The violent nature of the storm means that we don’t know much about this creature, except that it is responsible for the weather phenomena known as ‘El Niño.’ The only other bits of information we found was its name: Balkzardan.”

The commander nodded, still reading as he absorbed the information. “So this Balkzardan is responsible for the storm,” He concluded, although he knew it was an obvious one to draw. Finally, he looked up and met Kazuma’s impassive gaze. “Yet that’s not the sole reason you called me back here, is it? While this creature must undoubtedly be dealt with, I presume Godzilla is somehow involved.”

Kazuma studied him for a few moments, before nodding sharply. “Yes, unfortunately that is the case. Just before our satellites stopped being able to track him, Godzilla was reported to be following the storm.” His voice grew quiet now, more serious. “It’s likely that Godzilla perceives Balkzardan as a threat or invading his territory, and is trying to ward him off. With the storm coming over the mainland…”

Ryuunosuke felt his chest tighten a bit, and he finished the morbid line of logic the other man had started. “Godzilla will follow, causing untold devastation in his wake.” He sighed, looking down at the paperwork that now suddenly felt like it weighed as much as the King of the Monsters. “And evacuation attempts?”

“Slow, the storm is impeding the process greatly,” Kazuma explained, bowing his head a bit. “I’m afraid that if a flood starts, our normal kaiju shelters will be overrun with water. We have storm shelters as well, but they’re not quite as protected against Godzilla. A lot of people are going to die it seems, no matter what we do.”

“There must be something we can do,” Ryuunosuke objected, slapping his cane against the ground. Furiously his mind tried to come up with some kind of solution. “Is there no way we can force this Balkzardan out of the sky? Perhaps we can shoot it down before it’s too late.”

Kazuma shook his head briefly, giving his co-worker a sad look. “You know as well as I do that won’t work. None of our aircraft are capable of flying against a kaiju that can literally create a thunderstorm. I’ve no doubt the ability of your pilots, but…”

A voice cut through at that moment, “Sir!” and all eyes turned to Fujin’s second in command and best pilot, a young looking American, Nicholas Wright. “With all due respect sir, there is one craft we have that could theoretically brave the weather.”

Fujin leaned over, giving Wright a hard, knowing look. “The Garuda hasn’t been properly flight tested yet, Nick. You know that as well as I do. We can’t take the risk of flying her into this sort of weather.”

Wright shook his head, leaning forward on the table a bit. “No, Sir. The Garuda is our only chance to properly lure this Balkzardan out in the open. Godzilla won’t stop chasing it, and if it keeps traveling, it could potentially go to other countries.” He sat back down, his voice clipped with fear and trepidation of speaking his opinion so brashly to his superiors. “If we can either shoot Balkzardan down or stop its advance, then perhaps we could corral it into a fight against Godzilla, like we did a year ago with that Dogora creature.”

“No!” Ryuunosuke spat firmly, slamming his fist down on the table. “No, I won’t order more good men and women to their deaths again,” he breathed out, his chest tightening and his leg burning with a sudden agony. “There must be another way.”

Wright gave his superior a determined, grim look. “With all respect, Commander Ryuunosuke. I don’t see another way. I’ll personally lead the flight mission to attempt to halt Balkzardan,” he took a breath, before continuing. “We’re already risking a lot of lives trying to keep track of Godzilla. With the storm’s interference, we have a naval fleet tracking him the old fashioned way.”

His brow furrowed, and he gestured to the screen in front of him. “And as you can see, sir, we’ve already lost a few ships with this process. This will be our best bet to make sure all of our sailors can make it back to land in one piece.”

Ryuunosuke felt the world grow black for a moment. He knew Nicholas was right, there wasn’t an option he could see that didn’t involve sending good people to their deaths again. His mind cast back to Miki Segusa, of her sacrifice to try and stop Dogora. Would he have to live with more deaths on his conscience?

He let out a slow breath. “I’m getting too old for this,” He admitted to himself, before nodding and standing up sharply. “Very well, Wright. I’ll authorize the mission.” Wright seemed taken aback, but nodded and stood up with his superior. “But I want one thing to be clear: Under no circumstances are you to take any unnecessary risks. Your mission objective is to either down Balkzardan or force it out into the open. The second this objective is complete, you’re to return to base immediately. Am I understood?”

“Yes sir!”

Ryuunosuke studied his second in command for a moment, before nodding in satisfaction. “Alright, Nick. Get your best men and prep the Garuda for launch. Good luck out there.” He clapped the American on the shoulder.

General Kazuma ordered the others out of the room, back to their stations and sat down next to Ryuunosuke. “Are you alright?” He asked, a surprising gentleness in his voice.

The Commander gave a weary sigh, smoothing his hair back with his hand. “I don’t know if I can keep this up anymore,” he confessed quietly. “This is the second time we’ve had to do something like this. Ordering men to their deaths because we’re not capable of stopping the threat ourselves. I wonder if I’m cut out for this type of life anymore.”

Kazuma said nothing, and instead sat with his friend in contemplative silence as the lights flickered and distant thunder shuddered far above the ground. It was only when the door hissed open that they both looked up to see a nervous looking soldier. “Sir, Godzilla’s made landfall.”

—–

The water sprayed off of his charcoal black hide like fine-mist thanks to the storm winds. The waves violently rolled and slapped against his legs. Godzilla marched angrily onto the shore, giving an angry cry upwards at the raging tempest. Thunder boomed in response, the winds picking up dramatically and rain lashing hard against the King of the Monsters. Dorsal plates flashing briefly, Godzilla fired an atomic breath into the storm clouds, only to be blown off of his feet when the force of a hurricane slammed into him.

He fell back into the ocean, spluttering in anger until lightning slammed down onto his still-wet form. A howl of anguish mixed with pure rage and Godzilla fired wildly up into the darkened skies, dragging himself out of the ocean. Another harsh hurricane-force wind sent Godzilla sprawling into the mud, splattering across his hide. Digging his claws in the muck, Godzilla began crawling through the sludge and the mud, firing his atomic breath with relentless abandon into the storm clouds above. He reached out, slowly pulling himself through the muddy ground until he was finally able to stand back up on his own two feet.

Dorsal plates flashing violently, Godzilla shot at the ground around him in frustration with his spiral ray and arched it up to the sky, sending more mud rocketing up into the air. The clouds parted slightly when the powerful blue beam shot into them. The thunder boomed ominously and Godzilla continued his trek towards the city, lightning flashing above him. There would be nothing short of death itself that would stop him.

—–

The hangar bay for the Garuda was already flooded as Captain Wright and his two best pilots sloshed through the bay. All of the most vital equipment had been removed to higher ground, with tools sunken to the bottom and various other equipment floating on the waist high water. The Garuda herself stood resplendently amidst the water and the debris, sleek dull silver and ready for launch. They sloshed through the water, hauling themselves up one at a time into the Garuda. “Remind me why we didn’t install air conditioning on this?” His co-pilot, Apollo, grumbled as he strapped himself in.

The third, a navigator and weapons expert, strapped herself in and grinned at her co-workers. “And waste vital tax-payer dollars? For shame Lieutenant Justice.”

Captain Wright coughed, flicking a few switches and sitting back as the engines to the Garuda began warming up. “Athena, Apollo, I need you two to focus. We’re going to be flying in some real rough weather out there. We’re strong, but we’re not invincible. We don’t even know what this “Balkzardan” looks like, so we need to be prepared for anything.”

Athena frowned at him, nodding seriously. “Even Godzilla, boss?”

Sucking a breath, Captain Wright leaned over a monitor. “We’ll pray we don’t have too. Weapons check?”

“All systems are green.”

Athena pulled a headset on, tuning the radio to the right frequency and leaning over in the microphone. “Open the doors and clear the hanger, we’re ready to launch.”

Gripping the throttle, Captain Wright pursed his lips. “Be ready for a lot of water.”

The shuttle doors opened and a giant wave of water came pounding into the base. The Garuda’s rockets roared into life and blasted away the water around the edges creating a superheated bubble around the flames as the entire craft was instantly submerged.

The ship shuddered ominously before lurching forward. Captain Wright grit his teeth and slammed on the throttle, pushing the Garuda’s engines to the maximum as the mighty ship began slowly moving through the water. It boiled around them thanks to the heat of the engines, until finally the nose broke through the surface and with a loud sonic boom the Garuda launched off into the air at full speed.

Rain and winds lashed at the Garuda as it flew through the air at Mach 3. Lightning rained down around them and from high above they saw the flooded streets of Tokyo, the waters slamming into skyscrapers and completely obscuring smaller buildings. A deep blue light hummed from the storm clouds and the Garuda angled upwards. If they wanted to be at Balkzardan, they needed to go into the heart of the storm.

The Garuda shot off like a rocket, piercing into the storm clouds. The crew remained silent as they fought through the intensity of the winds and the rains. The radio hissed with static before a single word caught their attention. “Godzilla-” before it died by the clap of thunder.

The warning sensors screamed and the Garuda swerved suddenly, a blue beam of energy piercing through the clouds underneath them. Godzilla had clearly made landfall and was still trying to get at Balkzardan from the ground. The distant rumble of thunder and a low echoing cry alerted the crew towards the mysterious creature’s presence.

The twin lasers blasted into the clouds and flew in deeper. The radar was going haywire, and with visibility low they could only rely on the sounds of the monsters to indicate Balkzardan’s location. Another harrowing cry before suddenly the crew was blinded by a flash of lightning crashing into the ship. Sparks flew from the console and Captain Wright wrestled with the controls, diving away and firing another blast of the laser cannons.

“Boss, this is getting ridiculous,” Athena chipped in. Her hands were flying over the various instruments to reroute power from damaged systems into fresh ones. “We can’t even hit this thing- even Godzilla can’t hit it.”

“We have to try,” Wright insisted, the whole ship shuddering as something flew past it at speeds faster than the eye can see. “One good hit and we’ll finally be at the advantage. Apollo, I need your eyes more than ever. Athena, try to pinpoint Balkzardan’s sounds through the storm.”

Apollo leaned over the console, staring intently into the storm as Athena cranked up the external volume outside and closed her eyes. Another roar sounded in the distance, and some of the clouds shifted. Apollo sat back down, frantically typing in various flight paths and data into the terminal. Athena began doing the same, the targeting systems flailing around wildly before slowing down. They crawled across the screen, before locking on. “There!” They both screamed.

The Plasma Needles were fired into a mass of boiling black clouds and they briefly lit up, the explosions muffled by the noise of the storm. A loud cry of pain echoed out around them as another of Godzilla’s atomic rays crashed into the stormcloud and elicited a louder cry of agony.

The storm hummed around the Garuda and before the ship could properly react it was bombarded from all sides by lightning. Engines failing and the crew fried, the Garuda dove down and crashed into the flooded streets of Tokyo.

In the flood stood an angry and tense Godzilla. He watched the clouds with narrowed eyes, wanting to see if the intruder to his territory had been defeated. He called out another challenge into the sky, daring the storm to bring its occupant down to fight him. He jerked in surprise when a loud rumble of thunder and the equally loud cry of the creature finally answered his call.

The clouds parted and Balkzardan finally began descending from the skies. Its pitch-white hide shone with unnatural light as its feet touched the floodwaters so delicately that they didn’t even leave ripples in its wake. Two glowing yellow horns surged with electricity and the graceful creature’s eyes were full of malice and contempt.

The two monsters stared at one another for a long time. Neither willing to make the first move until Balkzardan crouched down slightly. Godzilla took a step forward and suddenly Balkzardan was on top of him, shoulder checking him and sending a great outpouring of electricity coursing into Godzilla’s body thanks to the Spark Dash. The water sprayed over them and Godzilla felt explosions rip into his chest thanks to the sheer power and tried to swipe with his claws.

To his surprise, Balkzardan was already gone. He looked around wildly, seeing trails of water before a brief crack of thunder sounded and he screamed in pain when a yellow beam of electricity hit his dorsal plates. The Tornado Bolt fuelled Godzilla’s body again with deadly lightning and Godzilla spasmed, thrashing in the water.

Balkzardan galloped with ease across the surface of the flood, riding the turbulent waves and crashing rains with grace that belied its size. He skidded around, firing another Tornado Bolt at Godzilla who dove into the water to avoid the attack before rearing back up and firing an atomic ray at Balkzardan.

With a giant sheen of electricity, a yellow and blue forcefield overcame Balkzardan. The water around him began to turn into steam as it was electrocuted and the atomic ray was harmlessly absorbed into the S Thunder. Moving forward, Balkzardan leaped into the air and pounced down onto Godzilla, the S Thunder detonating around them both and engulfing Godzilla in a massive explosion.

Pushing his front paws onto Godzilla’s shoulders, Balkzardan shoved the King of the Monsters down into the water. Godzilla thrashed wildly as Balkzardan held him in place. The sky god’s horns glowed for a moment before he shot another Tornado Bolt down at Godzilla through the water, coating him in electricity.

Godzilla seized, trying to gasp for air and choking when water poured into his throat. His eyes rolled up inside his head and he tried to fire his atomic ray, his spines flashing brighter and faster but nothing came out as he drowned. Something inside his chest squeezed tight, Godzilla felt himself propelled away from Balkzardan as the water exploded violently from atomic fury. An accidental nuclear pulse sent Balkzardan careening away and crashing into the waves with Godzilla.

His vision dimmed and Godzilla rose to the surface. He stood up, gasping for breath against the stormy and salty air. A coughing fit overcame him, and he doubled over before expelling water out of his mouth and shuddering violently. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked around for Balkzardan.

The waters raged around him, and for a brief moment he thought he could sense something else in the water. His eyes narrowed towards the waters, wondering what the strange sensation was before a clap of thunder arrested his attention again. He looked up to see Balkzardan’s back protrusions sticking out of the water. Lightning slammed against them and with a great show of power the sky god rose into the air and began galloping across the skies before settling on one of the rooftops.

He stared down at Godzilla, who immediately began struggling to get closer to his opponent. Godzilla fired a weaker atomic ray at the building but Balkzardan shot off into the skies as it exploded behind him. Swinging around, Balkzardan touched down on the water and sprinted over, slapping Godzilla with his tail as he did so.

The speed at which he did so, combined with his electrified attack, caused a minor explosion across Godzilla’s face, staggering the King of the Monsters. Balkzardan spun around and sprinted towards Godzilla again, his body glowing white. He crashed into Godzilla, sending the Spark Dash’s energy into his foe’s battered and beaten body once more.

Pain he had never experienced coursed through Godzilla. He was acutely aware of the explosions on his body but nothing compared to the pain he was feeling within his chest. His heart beat faster and faster. Supercharged with all of the electricity. Then in an instant, it stopped. Godzilla felt his heart stop. He froze, staring wide eyed into the sky.

For a split second, Godzilla had died. Death had edged into his surroundings before his regeneration forced his heart to begin beating again. He gasped out as his senses returned to him and panic overrode his senses. He gave an animalistic shriek of fear and fired his atomic ray like a wild animal, sweeping it around and blasting everything he could see and even more he couldn’t.

Godzilla hadn’t noticed that one of his atomic rays had hit Balkzardan until he heard the cry of pain it brought out. His gaze focused, then tunnel-visioned on the trembling monster. The god that had brought him to death’s door. With a renewed sense of life fueled by his fear and panic, Godzilla sprinted after Balkzardan like a demon from hell, screaming like a wild banshee and firing his atomic breath at the god.

The blue beam of nuclear fury hit Balkardan square in the chest as he tried to rise into the sky, throwing him across the city. Godzilla was on top of him in an instant and all semblance of self control was gone as Godzilla clawed frantically at Balkzardan. Blood and flesh were sent flying as Godzilla forewent even his atomic powers in his desperate and insane attempt to murder Balkzardan.

It was only the erecting of another electric shield that forced Godzilla away from his opponent. Balkzardan rose into the sky suddenly, firing volley after volley of Tornado Bolts that crashed against Godzilla’s chest and sent the frothing kaiju into seizures with each hit.

Balkzardan kept rising into the air and swerved out of the way as an atomic breath nearly collided with the S Thunder again. Before long, he had disappeared back into the clouds and they were receding slowly. Sunlight shone down on the panting Godzilla and his mind took a minute to register what had happened. He looked around, suddenly feeling tired and confused, and it was only when he saw his reflection in the sparkling waters that it truly sunk in.

Godzilla opened his mouth to unleash a victory cry and instead fell back into the water with a thunderous splash. He forced himself back up into a sitting position and slumped against one of the ruined buildings, trying to get his breath back. Everything in him ached, from his muscles to his bones to his organs. Godzilla sat there, chest heaving and staring blankly at the sky for a few moments.

He looked around again, only now noticing the bodies of the little humans floating in the water around him. A watery graveyard of those who weren’t able to survive the flood. He watched the bodies float around aimlessly, knowing how close he had become to being one of the many corpses in the water. Something stirred within him but he was too exhausted to process the new emotions yet one question did pervade in his mind: Was this worth it?

Godzilla stood up, reflecting on his past encounters. Biollante, Dogora, and now this god of thunder. He had nearly died three times in such a short amount of time. He felt his chest and mentally corrected himself. He had died this time, it was only through some miracle that he survived this encounter.

No, he realized. He had died twice now. Twice he had nearly been killed and it was only through powers he wasn’t aware of and couldn’t understand that he was still breathing. Was all of this pain and agony worth the need to assert his dominance? Who was he trying to prove this too, the humans? Himself? Was this worth dying twice over?

He began walking away in quiet contemplation, being careful to avoid any of the buildings as he made his way towards the sea. He needed to sleep, to heal from his injuries. Maybe then would he find the answers he sought.

Godzilla dipped beneath the waves of the calm ocean and disappeared without another sound.

—-

The water had taken weeks to drain from the city. In that time, Ryuunosuke had focused his efforts on the relief process and helping wherever his aging body could. They had dredged the Garuda from the city and he knew there were three more funerals he would have to attend this year. This wasn’t worth the pain, not to his old heart. With renewed purpose, he began walking towards the nearest phone booth and wondered how difficult it would be to teach psychic kids.

—-

The clean-up crew stared in astonishment at the sight before them. A sleek, perfectly preserved skeleton. Dorsal plates glistened with water, and there was no mistaking who this belonged to. A crowd had gathered around the site and the police were already keeping them at bay. Scientists would likely be swarming the new discovery like a colony of ants. The foreman leaned on his mop, looking unimpressed. “What’s the big deal about a bunch of old bones anyways?” he asked no one in particular, and fell back into silence as they all watched them paw over the first Godzilla’s skeleton.

—

Water poured from the warped roof of her former home. She had kept coming back every day while the construction crews brought the dead out of their demolished homes, hoping that they would finally find her parents. A dark cloud seemed to hang around the teenager and she walked sullenly through her old house, retracing her steps to her room. Godzilla had done this, had ripped her family away from her and demolished the only home she knew. One day she would make him pay for what he did, but she had no idea how. It was only the sight of something strange that snapped her out of her dark thoughts.

Staring, she walked cautiously over towards what was unmistakably an egg sitting on her ruined bed. She knelt down, reaching out and brushing a gentle hand over it. Something connected with her mind and she jerked back in alarm. The presence seemed to shy away but she quickly went back up and placed her hand on the egg. “It’s okay, I’m not mad,” she whispered quietly. “You just startled me. I won’t hurt you.”

Ayana sat there, communicating with the creature in the egg and gave it a new name.

“I’ll take care of you Iris, I promise.”

Draw: Godzilla (Heisei), Balkzardan

Hello to all! Hope for the best that all is going well. However, to cut to the point, we have announcements to present for the coming future of the K.W.C.

First off, there isn’t a TypeForm Survey this time around, just general announcements. Those will be saved for the end of the year for the Awards and Feedback Surveys. But nevertheless, here are some of the new additions forthcoming to the K.W.C.!

New Combatants:

• Mefilas (Reiwa) [Shin Ultraman (2022)]
• Zarab (Reiwa) [Shin Ultraman (2022)]
• Zetton (Reiwa) [Shin Ultra Fight (2022) + Shin Ultraman (2022)]

You can find more in our “Announced, but no Matches” thread for publicly announced Combatants.

New Updates:

Mothra (Heisei) and King Ghidorah (Heisei) will be formally brought back as available Combatants for writing. However, on top of that, several characters will be converted to “Universal”, all who are listed below:

• Anguirus [Showa + GFW]
• King Ghidorah [Heisei + Showa]
• Hedorah [Showa + GFW]

Beyond that, look forward to the next K.W.C. Match coming… Tomorrow! In the meantime, we’ll see you by the year’s end!

Author: Declan Coughlin | Banner: Landon Soto

A giant octopus swam through the ocean in a good mood, as he had just downed a fishing vessel and it had been so long since he had eaten something as tasty as a human. He wasn’t even worried about the many other kaiju that called the sea their home. All he was worried about was his next meal.

Seeing the shoreline, the octopus began to crawl up the sandy beach. However, just before his entire body could surface, a blue ray of death reminded him that there’s always a bigger fish in the sea.

As the second the beam slammed into the cephalopod, he felt its destructive heat wash over him, and his last sight on earth was a king long forgotten to time.

With the giant octopus in his jaws, Godzilla rose from the ocean, letting out a horrifying bellow, an announcement of his arrival to all kaiju nearby. After years of confinement on Monster Island, the aptly named “King of Monsters” had finally broken through the fields surrounding the islands and the scientists at Monster Island tracking his location were stunned when they saw that Godzilla had gone to Mondo Island.

The nuclear menace seemed to have taken up residence in the nearby waters and islands, and from the signal, it looked like he was there to stay.

The leviathan who usually stayed in the waters that surrounded the island, would occasionally come to the island to find some quiet, or to vent his frustrations. But besides some resistance from an overgrown allosaurus, the monster had faced little challenge in his new home.

The monster king walked up the shoreline, ripping apart chunks out of the boiled octopus. As he dropped the creature to the ground, Godzilla grunted in disappointment. He didn’t want to leave Monster Island, but he also didn’t want to be confined by the humans.

He had remembered what they did to his son.

As he remembered these horrors, the monster king roared with fury and Godzilla’s dorsal plates glowed blue, and his mouth catapulted a blue atomic ray. The lancing beam struck a line of trees, causing a huge explosion and starting the surrounding environment ablaze. Seeing nothing but the island to take his rage out on, he decided to raze it to the ground. Nothing would be left and he let out a guttural roar that echoed through the island.

Miles away, in an unmarked village, the elder chief watched on in sadness. His very home was being attacked, and there was nothing he could do.

Or so he thought.

Several native women, each dressed in garbs, began to dance in a circle. The chief saw this and, knowing what it was, soon summoned several more villagers to join the dance. In just a few minutes, every man, woman, and child were dancing and chanting, hoping their protector would save them like he had so many times before.

The music caused Godzilla to temporarily halt his rampage. As the giant looked over behind him he saw the villagers dancing and singing and was confused. Were they dancing for him? Did they want their own destruction so badly? If so then he would give it to them and began trekking over to the village, trees splintering in his strut.

The chief saw that Godzilla was getting closer and told everyone to keep going. Their god would come, he had to! Just as the chief gave the order to evacuate, he realized it was too late: Godzilla was already here!

Godzilla stopped walking at the outskirts of the village, the natives too horrified to continue dancing and instead scattered in every direction. Some ran to find their families and try to escape, others stood paralyzed as statues, accepting their terrifying fate. Godzilla on the other hand was amused, it seems that these people knew he was to be respected and feared.

But perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to make sure.

With glowing spines, the nuclear menace spat his atomic breath at several huts further away. The beam hit the structures, vaporizing them and the people inside in an instant.

The villagers cried in grieving horror as all that was left of their huts were reduced to fine ash. After the atomic display, Godzilla began walking once more and stepped into the village. His massive steps crushing people and huts under his massive feet as he moved forward. Looking up, the village chief saw his massive claw, closed his eyes and began to accept his fate. If this was how he was to die, then so be it.

Just before Godzilla’s foot could come down upon the elder, a furious howl traveled through the land. The elder, the remaining villagers, and even Godzilla stopped and turned, looking for the source of the roar. From the mountains, a creature with brown fur adorning most of its body except its face, jumped to the ground. It had noticeable biceps on its chest, with long arms supporting the sides and a face sporting a look that could kill, aimed directly at Godzilla with utmost hatred. To most, the creature simply looked like a giant gorilla, but the villagers knew him for who he really was…

The God of Mondo Island, King Kong, had arrived.

He let out a loud grunt, indicating to his surviving subjects to clear the area. As the villagers ran, King Kong looked at this monster before him, this being had shown up to his home, destroyed it, and murdered his people. He would make the leviathan pay for his actions.

Likewise, Godzilla stared back with the same intense hatred. How dare this pathetic creature not only rob him of his fun but also challenge him, did he not know his place? He would make this overgrown ape regret his decision.

The two circled each other, waiting to see who would throw the first attack. Suddenly King Kong charged forward. Godzilla was shocked and found himself tackled to the ground. As the ground shook upon impact, Godzilla cried out as King Kong ruthlessly punched the creature in the chest, each hit echoing like gunshots in the wind. As Kong was ready to throw another punch to the face, Godzilla’s expression changed from shock to fury.

Seeing a blue light beginning to emit from Godzilla’s mouth, Kong hurriedly jumped off his chest just as the atomic fire shot into the sky. The large primate looked at his chest. Even though the attack had just missed him, the heat of it had singed some of his fur. As the charcoal tyrant returned to his feet, Kong charged once again. He slammed into Godzilla again, but this time the beast was ready for the impact. As Kong tried to wrestle the leviathan to the ground, Godzilla began to claw at the ape’s chest.

The ape king cried out in pain and backed away, and looking at his chest, saw claw marks running down his stomach. Luckily the claws didn’t dig deep enough to draw too much blood. Before Kong could launch a counterattack, Godzilla was already charging in. The giant ape threw a punch with his left hand, only for Godzilla to grab it with his own clawed hand. The nuclear menace tried to scratch him with his right hand, but this time Kong countered it with his own grab. The two kings stood, locked in a contest of strength, each trying to push back the other.

Eventually, fatigue favored Godzilla who started to win the contest.

King Kong looked in fear as he realized he was being pushed back by the leviathan. With one final shove, Godzilla knocked the ape to the ground. As King Kong struggled to stand, Godzilla turned his back to him and the irradiated monster began to assault his foe with his tail, each hit causing the ape to roar in pain with the seemingly never ending blows.

Just as Godzilla’s tail went in for another hit, Kong grabbed it, holding it in place. Godzilla struggled as he tried to free his appendage from King Kong’s mighty grip, but the ape didn’t show any signs of letting go. Godzilla swung his tail from side to side, dragging Kong on the ground, but he refused to let go, and he began twisting the tail.

A loud snap rang out.

Godzilla cried out in agony, the pain giving Kong the chance to rise to his feet. He had successfully broken the monster’s tail.

As he turned towards the towering simian, Godzilla’s eyes were red with rage. The limb would heal, but it still infuriated him that this furry beast dared challenge his power. This creature was not only comparable to him in strength, but he had the speed and stamina to back it up. If he couldn’t beat the ape up close, then he would try an alternate approach.

The spines on his back began to glow, each one charged with a bright light. Atomic fire gathered in Godzilla’s maw. Kong saw this and attempted to charge him once more.

It was too late.

Just before King Kong could reach him, Godzilla fired his atomic ray, striking the ape with immense power. Fire and sparks flew as the beam struck King Kong’s chest. The true King of Mondo island roared in pain as the azure lance disintegrated fur and burnt flesh. Before Kong could recover, a second atomic breath hit him in his right leg, bringing him to the ground. He rolled low, dodging a third beam and rose to his feet, a tree in hand.

Godzilla shot one more blast but Kong charged forward. Even when the beam hit the 8th wonder, he refused to fall and continued his sprint through the beam. Just as the nuclear menace cut off his breath weapon, Kong charged through and shoved the tree straight into the kaiju’s open maw, the plank slowly making its way down deep in his opponent’s throat. Godzilla panicked, and began to flail and stagger, desperately trying to remove the object from his jaw. As the charcoal giant struggled, King Kong rushed forward, grabbing Godzilla by the neck, trying to either choke him out, or just plain break it. He didn’t care, he just wanted the monster dead.

Reptilian vision started to darken and his breathing slowed. Kong grinned, his victory was drawing ever so close, just one final push. His grin disappeared when he noticed Godzilla’s dorsal plates beginning to glow. The ape was confused. Why would his opponent try to fire his beam with the tree still in his mouth? Did he really wish to hurt himself just to be free of his grasp? But Kong noticed something different, the blue glow was spreading out through his entire body. Noticing his foe’s determined eyes, he felt a slight sliver of fear.

With his whole body a bright blue, Godzilla released the power.

In a glorious flash of light, the nuclear pulse erupted from Godzilla’s body, launching both him and Kong back. The blast threw the mighty ape backwards, with the force being enough to lift the beastly gorilla off his feet and into the air. Kong flew at least a mile before slamming into the ground. Godzilla fell back as well, but although it was his attack, he still felt the burning. A good amount of Kong’s hair and flesh had been disintegrated by the attack, some areas even having exposed bones. Godzilla, likewise, was in a similar predicament.

Burning skin was hanging off his chest, tail, and face, but, unlike King Kong, the charcoal terror had his regeneration to heal the injuries. The attack did have an additional upside, as the tree trapped in his maw had been disintegrated. As Godzilla rose to his feet, King Kong was struggling to breathe. His lungs felt as though they were on fire. As he lay on the ground, his vision began to blur as unconsciousness took hold. It looked like the god of Mondo Island was finally dead. Godzilla howled into the sky to announce his victory.

Dark clouds planned to change that.

Godzilla was confused. Just a few seconds ago, the sky had been a clear blue, but now the dark clouds blotted out the sun, plunging Mondo Island into darkness. Before Godzilla could make sense of it, he heard the humans chanting once again, only this time it was different. It was an aggressive, demanding tune, almost like a war cry.

Below the brawling titans, the village elder and his people chanted as loud as they could. After so many years of their God saving them, it was time to return the favor.

As the clouds started to roll in, lightning made itself known, striking the ground around both King Kong and Godzilla. After a few seconds though, the bolts started to strike the fallen beast, as if they were drawn to him like a conductor. One, then two, then three. The bolts continued to strike the prone ape, each one lighting his face a bright blue. As one last bolt struck, Kong’s eyes shot open. The towering god jumped to his feet, seemingly unaffected by the gruesome injuries he had received from his enemy. As King Kong locked eyes with Godzilla, he let out a terrifying howl which made even Godzilla hesitate to attack.

Godzilla growled, he could tell his opponent had just powered up from the storm, but he wasn’t afraid. He’s faced some of the most powerful kaiju in the world, and even the universe. He wasn’t about to be toppled by some giant monkey. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried.

A bolt of lightning struck between them, acting like a bell for their final battle.

The two kings, as different as could be, let out their respective calls and charged. Godzilla threw his hand forward, only for Kong to bash it away and slam his fist straight into his lower jaw, dislocating it. Godzilla howled in pain, not just from his foe’s immense strength, but also taking damage from the electricity that now flowed through his foe’s veins. He went for another blow, only to recoil as his hand was jolted as soon as he touched his opponent’s fur. Before he could find a work-around, Kong jumped forward and landed a clean blow on Godzilla’s ribs, actually breaking a few in the process.

As the atomic brute backed away, Kong threw another series of punches, each one shocking and causing immense agony to the monster king as each blow earned Godzilla cracked bones and torn flesh. Kong knocked Godzilla to the ground, intending to finish the fight. He tried to find a weapon, but couldn’t, until he noticed one of the ribs protruding from the reptile’s body. Godzilla let out an agonizing cry as Kong ripped the rib out of his body, before aiming it at his heart.

The island shook as the bone pierced Godzilla’s heart.

At first, Godzilla didn’t feel anything. Death was not a new concept to him. He had died several times before, but he had always come back, albeit through unconventional means. But for once, he was truly fearing for his life. He didn’t know if he would return to the living. As he started to black out, he thought to himself, was this it? All of his hardships and struggles just to lead to his death?

No, this was not it! He was the King of the Monsters. He’s been through more than any other creature on the planet. He’s even escaped the depths of Hell itself. He wasn’t going to allow some damn dirty ape to take his life away from him, and if he did, then he would make sure the ape was dragged to Hell with him.

Just as Kong began to walk away from him, Godzilla slowly rose to his feet and bellowed a bloodcurdling roar, his heart healing the damage it had once sustained. The brown-furred beast spun around in shock. How? How could this creature survive something like that? There was no plausible explanation to it. As the ruler of monsters began to step forward, Kong began stepping back. Like Godzilla had moments before, Kong was fearing for his survival. The charcoal behemoth was quick to notice this and decided to make his move. His spines began to glow with atomic energy, but this time it was different. Instead of being a vibrant blue, his spines were glowing a chaotic red. As sharp orange eyes locked eyes with Kong, he saw the ape’s face twisted in fear. He wanted mercy. Godzilla wouldn’t grant him that luxury.

Digging his feet into the ground, Godzilla heralded a crimson, more powerful atomic ray at Kong. The blast struck Kong’s arm, erupting in a violent showing of sparks and fire and causing him untold amounts of agony. The arm had been completely destroyed, all of the flesh up to the elbow being completely atomized. Before Godzilla could capitalize on the injury he had inflicted, Kong struck Godzilla with his remaining arm in one of his eyes, the electricity channeled directly into the pupil, destroying it with a loud POP.

While Godzilla tried to recover, Kong climbed onto his back and began trying to tear off the monster’s dorsal plates, specifically the big one centered in the middle of his back. As the towering ape began to tear at the dorsal plate, Godzilla swung back and forth furiously, desperately trying to rid himself of colossus. Unfortunately, it was too late, as cracks began to sound before Kong, in an immense show of strength, ripped the dorsal fin straight out of the tyrant’s back, the area where it used to be bubbling with atomic energy. The revered King of the Monsters finally threw Kong off of him, the ape falling forward with his prize. Godzilla and Kong both paused to get their bearings as each stared into the other with animosity. Each of them was in immense pain, fatigue finally beginning to set in and both Kaiju barely able to stand. Despite this, they still wished to send the other to hell.

As Kong held the severed dorsal plate in his remaining arm, he realized that while Godzilla’s heart had regenerated, the hole from the wound had not. Noticing this, Kong let out one last call. Godzilla, likewise, responded with his infamous deep bellow. They both knew one of them was going to die tonight.

Kong charged the atomic dinosaur as fast as he could, ignoring the faint red glow he saw coming from his opponent. Despite the pain of channeling his atomic energy with the loss of his biggest dorsal plate, he was still successful in firing a series of beams. Kong dodged and weaved around each one before he was finally in range. With all of his remaining strength, he plunged the dorsal plate directly into Godzilla’s heart. The animalistic brute then began to expand the space around the dorsal plate, tearing flesh and bone as Godzilla cried in anguish. Once Kong finally had a good grip, he began to crush Godzilla’s heart.

Time once again began slowing down for Godzilla. He struggled to stand as King Kong continued to squeeze his heart. As his vision started to go black for the final time, Godzilla’s spines once again began to glow.

King Kong continued to squeeze his opponent’s heart, slowly crushing it and killing the tormented beast. He looked directly into Godzilla’s eyes, not seeing sadness or regret, but acceptance. Godzilla opened his mouth, and Kong saw crimson energy begin to build in his jaws. Kong locked eyes one more time and his eyes only said one thing.

See you in hell.

A final crimson atomic blast struck King Kong directly in his face, vaporizing flesh and bone at an astounding rate. Kong’s grip began to loosen on the atomic creations beating heart. As the beam subsided, all that was left was a headless, burnt corpse of a god.

As the body of the once king of Mondo Island fell to the ground, Godzilla roared one last time, proving once again that a king could never beat a god.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done. Godzilla’s heart had been crushed almost completely, to the point that regeneration would not be able to heal it. The atomic beast groaned in misery as his body fell right next to the beheaded King Kong’s. Godzilla managed to roll over on his back, watching as the sun began to shine once more. Despite his imminent death, Godzilla felt content, even with almost no chance of coming back. As his eyes began to close, his only regret was that his son would not be able to continue his legacy. The King of the Monsters then took his last breath…

—

The ancient relic Gorosaurus had come out from the forest, waiting for the battle to come to an end. The allosaur walked over to the corpses of the two kings. He let out a roar of sadness for King Kong. While the two had not been friends, they both had a rivalry with each other. Along with that, despite King Kong winning the majority of their brawls, he had never finished Gorosaurus off, and he respected that. With one last roar, Gorosaurus began to head back into the thicket.

However, a third party made itself known.

A bizarre alien craft descended from the clouds, its two boosters on each side emitting smoke as it descended to the ground. As it brought itself to the ground, it noticed the giant dinosaur.

Gorosaurus noticed it too, and it wasn’t long before he was running as fast as he could, trampling trees and mountains under his bulk. He didn’t know why this thing had made him so fearful, but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

As the allosaur fled, the spacecraft suddenly revealed a port, to which the opening expanded with a blue balloon. Gorosaurus turned to look before letting out a grunt of relief. Unfortunately, it seemed the craft was not done yet.

Suddenly, an explosive burst ruptured from the spherical balloon, covering the area with burning flames. In the midst of the fire, a new monster rose to its feet, directly in front of the bodies of Godzilla and King Kong. The being was made of geometric shapes, loosely connected together in a humanoid structure. Ebony pieces made up its armor, hands, and feet, with gray stalks acting as its arms and legs. A pulsating orange orbs decorated its chest and face, with its head topped with two antennae-shaped horns.

It emitted a strange beeping sound as it looked at the two corpses. It then began to let out a laugh. Its two biggest obstacles had been eliminated. The ‘crevice’ in its face began to pulsate as it let out several powerful fireballs, dousing the corpses in flames that began to burn away. It began to turn away before speaking its name, not just to the island, but to the entire world.

“Zetton…”

Draw: Godzilla (Heisei), King Kong (Showa)

Creator: Andrew Sudomerski, Harley Jameson, Alex Williams & Dao Zang Moua | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski

Live from World Wide News! In under a year after Godzilla scourged Japan, Osaka becomes sieged by titanic forces like no other. From the audio files of Steve Martin, reporter and witness to the travesty, listen as the devastation erupts into mass chaos for Osaka–and perhaps to the rest of Japan. (more…)