Authors: Andrew Sudomerski & Harley Jameson | Banners: Andrew Sudomerski

Nazca, Ica, Peru. 2,500 years ago.

The world burned.

Waves of fire crackled and popped as it illuminated the night sky. The air became hazardous to take in as the indigenous people fled for their lives, overcome with fear and grief. Their capital lay in ruin, broken at the foundation from the utter destruction. As they fled, one of them turned around to see for himself. Surrounding the fractured city, the fallen ships of the sky gods became fossils of the Earth, a reminder of this fateful day.

The day when tragedy struck.

Off in the distance, a towering figure stood out from the rest. Taller than any of their buildings or the tallest hills, the figure made its advance. Its three horns rested on its draconic cranium and the twisted shoulder protrusions helped distinguish it from everything else. The shadowy demon stalked the people, its red eyes blaring with hatred. Then from the darkness, a beacon of light began to form. But the citizens knew it wasn’t a sign of hope. It meant it found them and their tiny lives would end quickly. Just as soon as it noticed, they were enveloped by a purifying light, their bodies atomized before they could even feel it. The ensuing explosion guaranteed that nothing, not even their shadows, remained.

The dragon glowered at them, exhaling with teeming rage. These insects, and others like them, found solace in the destruction of the Earth. And for that, he would pay them in blood and retribution. As alien warships descended upon the mighty dragon, bombarding it with science and technology years beyond human comprehension, the demon beast retaliated with another streak of light. In its wake, devastation lit up the darkened skies, burning into the memories of the few witnesses that saw the entire ordeal.

In a matter of minutes, it was all over. Those responsible for his upbringing lay in the wreckage, broken beyond repair; the destruction and casualties immeasurable. It howled an echoing boom for everyone to hear, fearing his presence.

His lust for justice would bring the end of the world. And he would be its new Adam in a kingdom of monsters.

A familiar chirp rang in his eardrums. Twisting to see, the dragon recognized it as one of the Earth’s kin. Beating her majestic wings and softly radiating light in the darkness, Mothra approached the gray dragon. She had no ill will to fight, but converse. To reach a conclusion that would not end in bloodshed. But the beast snorted in contempt.

The Earth would never know peace so long as they, those endowed with knowledge, remained. He would be there to put an end to it, once and for all.

—

Modern day.

From the stillness of the night, quiet winds pervaded the mighty metropolis. Yet, it was not bolstering with millions of denizens repeating their daily routines. Tonight, for the first time in decades since 1954, Tokyo stood still. Most fled to other parts of Japan, maybe even moved to another part of the world, while others kept themselves isolated in underground bunkers, subways, and kaiju shelters. Only an ambitious and reckless few decided to witness the incredible phenomenon that was soon to take place with their very eyes. A new chapter in humanity’s dark history.

The most powerful forces on Earth, face to face at last.

Churning from the depths of the Pacific Ocean, a mighty leviathan rose from the deep, standing as tall as skyscrapers. Charcoal black hands flexed with ivory claws. His spine protruded with dozens of maple-leaf shaped dorsal plates, a feature too distinguished for the world not to know. Waving mindlessly, a wormy segmented tail disturbed the ocean water. Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, had been called upon by challengers from forces unknown. From his rising at the harbor, Godzilla landed near Shinagawa, carving a trail of destruction in his wake.

Like all previous encounters, the combined forces of the Earth Defense Force and G-Force were present. Unlike past cases, however, they did not aim their turrets at the kaiju king. Not only would it prove to be an impractical move on their part, but their forces were spread thin across the entire country. The threat came with an army of monsters of their own, making it all the more necessary to deploy their big guns elsewhere.

Type 90 Masers, MBT-92s, and Type 90 Tanks treaded on the pavement whilst the ASTOL-MB93s and F-15s patrolled the skies. Other structures, disguised as skyscrapers, opened their rooftops to reveal Typhoon Devastators, aimed and ready to fire. Warships closed in on the harbor area, ranging from the IJN Destroyer Hatsuyuki to the Battle Cruiser Aizu and its Escort cousin the Aka. Though most of the weapons were Japanese in origin, an American Ohio-class nuclear powered submarine was also present, but remained out of sight of the naked eye. It only had one function to follow, and it would enact its orders when given permission to. Though in the minds of everyone executing this operation, they hope they wouldn’t need it.

As more armory poured from the EDF and G-Force, another vessel made its presence known. The second generation of the mobile defense fortress line of super weapons, the Super-X2’s irregular trapezoid-like shape entered the scene. The Super-X2, driven by the action of the pilot, carried special hosts; the people who might be single-handedly responsible for the upcoming battle for humanity.

Within the Super-X2, Lieutenant Taniguchi piloted the war machine towards its objective: The massive alien invasion force on the horizon. The pilot gripped the controls of the vessel roughly, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he heard Godzilla’s roar pierce the dark sky. A gentle hand firmly grasped Taniguchi’s shoulder, reassuring him. He twisted his head to see Miss Yano behind him, looking just as worried as everyone else onboard.

“You all right, lieutenant?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he lied, “I’m all right.” Years of military experience and several close-encounters made Taniguchi a hard man to rattle. But for the first time since his first few missions, fear crept along his spine and anxiety began to settle in his consciousness. With every bit of courage he could muster, he suppressed the natural urge to tremble before a mightier power. It was only natural for the prey to fear the apex predator. Who that would be in the end, he didn’t know. So while hearing words from another human being eased his body from the tension, albeit minimally, it wouldn’t be enough.

Aboard the Super-X2, besides the pilot Lt. Taniguchi and megazoological researcher Ms. Yano, were Professor Ogata, foremost expert in genetic engineering and advancing the field of science with his research, and a commander of G-Force, Yoshida. The superior officer pulled out a radio transceiver from the control panel of the Super-X2, relaying commands to the EDF and G-Force ground, sea, and air troops. After doing so, he set it down and turned his attention towards the professor.

“Professor, how soon will you have the payload ready?” Yoshida barked. Though he didn’t mean to come off as snappy, time was not on their side. Not anymore.

Ogata stood beside a shell akin to that of a small nuclear warhead, operating on it with the gadgets he had on him. Within the casing, a small, bulletproof glass container hosted a brilliant blue fluid mixed with neon orange particles that sloshed around. “I’ll need an extra half-hour before it’s fully operational, Commander. The auto-targeting systems need to be fine-tuned and we need to be sure that this works on the field.”

“It worked during the lab tests, did it not?” retorted the commander, “Then this isn’t going to be any different from your experiments, professor. You have five minutes to get it fully functional.”

Ogata winced at the thought. Fact of the matter was that this would be the first time this sort of technology would be used without any proper testing. Had his lab not been destroyed earlier in the day, five minutes would have been more than plenty of time to have the payload fully operational and loaded with the chemical compound of his creation. Still, he had no room to go against his superior’s orders. Sucking his teeth, Ogata replied with a “Yes sir.”

The transceiver crackled to life, but rather than a transmission from HQ, the monitors flickered and jittered before finally seeing an alien visage. For the crew of the Super-X2, it was one they were all too familiar with at this point. They could only see its mug, with an enormous forehead with its cranium consisting of a human-like brain. Its thick brows shadowed the calm and collected eyes as the nostrils flared with anticipation.

“Hello again, humans,” it responded with an echoing tranquility in its voice, “It’s been a while.”

Yoshida held the transceiver to his mouth, communicating with the alien presence. “It has. Look, let’s cut the formalities and get straight to the point. If you surrender now, we can part ways and live our lives in peace. If you do, we will return Godzilla to the ocean and we can move on.”

Not that it has worked before, Taniguchi firmly noted in his mental vault.

“Don’t fool yourself with your delusions, Commander,” the alien retorted haughtily, “You know as well as I that a peace treaty will be inefficient. Humans are animals of war and conquest, and our past encounters are proof of that.”

“Then what does that make you?” Yoshida firmly demanded.

“Earth’s savior. This planet will be rid of your kind, as well as every subsequent form of life unwilling to oblige to my order. And the trump card leading to humanity’s downfall: Bagan!” The monitor switched to satellite footage of an enormous sphere, pulsating with nightmarish life like a beating heart.

“Our conversation holds no purpose any longer, Commander. With Bagan, I will crush humanity; and no monster on Earth stands a chance.” With that, the alien ceased communications with the humans aboard the Super-X2.

—

Nagatacho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. National Diet Building.

It was quiet as Godzilla marched up to the unholy cocoon, radiating energy like a tidal wave. The silence stretched on for a few moments, Godzilla’s reptilian eyes examining the strange abnormality. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but within the sphere a dark presence waited. The monster king curled his upper lips, baring his set of double-row teeth against the alien orb. No response.

Commander Yoshida barked into the transceiver, relaying his orders to those at HQ. “Ready your battle stations!”

“Yano, help Professor Ogata however you can,” Taniguchi requested. “The faster he can finish the payload, the better off we’ll be.”

“Of course. And don’t lose yourself to the paranoia, soldier,” she whispered softly. Yano strode over to the scientist’s aid at the lieutenant’s request. Guess I’m not as good at hiding secrets as I thought I was, Taniguchi took heed of her words, keeping his thoughts to himself. Still, there’s no going back now. It’s do or die time.

The external cameras on the Super-X2 observed the battlefield. The EDF and G-Force weaponry were at their respective vantage points, ready to unleash hell on earth. Type 90 Tanks, Masers, Typhoon Devastators, and MBT-92s aimed their turrets toward the bulging mass of organic material. The ASTOL-MB93s and F-15s locked onto the enemy forces, comprising nearly of countless saucer-shaped spacecrafts; the largest of these UFOs, the mothership, boasted an elongated shape and a singular, unnerving mechanical eye.

The warships waiting along the harbor prepared their assortment of weaponry, all with long-range distance capabilities. From the IJN’s 76mm deck gun, Harpoon ship-killer missiles, and Sea Sparrow air defense missiles, to the Battle Cruiser Aizu’s and the Escort Cruiser Aka’s deck cannon, Phalanx anti-missile Gatling guns and usage of the auto-targeting D-03 drill warheads, they were more than ready to unload their arsenal on either the spacecrafts or the nightmare-inducing sphere.

And for a moment, there was silence.

Godzilla’s eyes narrowed at the large cocoon sitting in the political heart of the metropolitan cityscape, bellowing a powerful roar. Its meaning was all too clear.

War.

Then with a shot of a flare from the Super-X2, all hell broke loose.

The F-15s and ASTOLs fired to life in an instant, screaming into the skies as the fighting began. The extraterrestrial drones jaggedly zipped around the reddened sky, firing their rainbow-colored lasers of concentrated plasma at the air force of the combined armies. Explosions boomed across the sky as the opposing forces collided. The ASTOLs soared into the fight, firing a barrage of twin lasers as one of the UFO’s energy beams speared through one of the aerial anti-kaiju machines, plummeting to the ground with an erupting explosion.

The ground forces roared to life, weaving through the buildings and firing up into the sky at the enemy force, praying they wouldn’t hit their own comrades by mistake. A barrage of blue lasers, streams of yellow bolts, and rounds of tank shells embedded into Bagan’s biomass. The Typhoon Devastators unloaded their pods, each landing direct hits in rapid succession on the target. But it did nothing. From the harbor, the Aizu launched four D-03 drill missiles to the sky, aiming for the UFOs. Locking on their targets, the protective casings loosened as the drills latched onto an unfortunate drone, drilling into it. Then with a plume of explosions, it was sent crashing into a skyscraper, taking out the entire top half.

The Super-X2 charged fearlessly into the massive dogfight over the city, unveiling its rounds and firing missiles with as much coverage it could fire at the alien invaders. Taniguchi banked a sharp turn to avoid energy fire before responding back with another couple of missiles. Although built specifically for undersea combat, the Super-X2 fired two torpedoes from the shafts on the front of the craft, both scoring direct hits on the spacecraft. But for every one taken down, two more would appear in its place. And it wasn’t long before the crimson skies began piling with the drones.

At the epicenter of the fight, Godzilla’s spines flashed dangerously, firing a concentrated beam of blue atomic energy at the cocoon. Much to his surprise, it washed harmlessly off the throbbing construction, leaving only minimal burns in its wake. The assault from the ground forces did nothing to make a dent in the sphere, either. The cocoon began slowly rising into the sky; Godzilla narrowed his eyes and roared again, daring for an attack.

The energy body pumped its unnatural veins, and from its form emanated sickening sounds of tearing flesh. It took Godzilla aback, not fully comprehending what would come next. From the artificial orb, smaller spheres crawled out of its twisted shape. One by one, they emerged from the body until there were four of them. The clusters of organic material surrounded the large ball of mass.

That was, until it began to fire them off.

The first of the four found its target in the nearby streets, wiping out some of the ground troops and structures in an instant. For the few that remained, they continued the fight in vain. The second detonated in midair, clearing the skies of the EDF/G-Force units at the cost of some of the extraterrestrial drones. The third marked the skyscrapers hosting the Typhoon Devastators, enveloping them in a bright light. Everything outside of the explosion’s fireball radius collapsed from the force of impact and the immediate shockwaves thereafter.

And the fourth, echoing a high-whistle noise in its trail, was aimed at Godzilla.

With no time to avoid or counter, Godzilla prepared to brace the projectile. Upon impact, the charcoal monster was consumed in a bright flash, compressing the air and releasing it as a shockwave. Amidst the deafening explosion, the faint agonizing howl of the King of the Monsters could be heard. Unlike everything else destroyed by the body spores, Godzilla’s form remained relatively intact, but it wasn’t without its damages. As the fire dissipated and the cloud of smoke settled, Godzilla slumped on the ground with his scorched hide blacker than black, like a giant silhouette.

Then his nostrils flared and he began rising to his feet. From the back of his maw, a shimmering blue light collected atomic energies. With a flash of his maple-leaf dorsal fins, Godzilla fired his atomic ray at the Bagan cocoon once more. Like before, the damage was minimal. Howling in fury, Godzilla continued to spew streaks of nuclear rage against the organic sphere, chipping its armor piece by piece.

—

From within his prison, his body slept, but his mind was fully awake. Darkness was all that he saw and it was all he knew. In his sarcophagus, artificial fluids doused his body with the necessary compounds to revive him. Within the corpse, his beating black heart felt nothing. He had done everything this world had to offer, and what remained was nothing. The day he had sold his soul to a devil that promised him great strength was the day he died. Now he was but a breathing husk pulled by strings, a tool to be used as a means to an end.

And now his master called upon his destructive wrath to end the lives of millions once more. He complied.

—

Huffing and puffing, Godzilla fired another stream of nuclear fire, exploding with sparks and chunks of flesh against the energy body. The onslaught of atomic rays had proven to be somewhat effective, carving marks against its organic form. In the span of its own heartbeat, the sickening tearing of flesh resounded the battlefield. It registered in Godzilla’s consciousness that it was about to launch its explosive spores, something he was not going to let happen again.

As the smaller spheres slowly crawled out of Bagan’s encasing, the charcoal lizard summoned more atomic power at his disposal. His dorsal plates ignited with blue and white energies, and then fired a stronger atomic ray at one of the forming spores. Although incomplete, the resulting explosion consumed part of Bagan’s cocoon, doing more damage against the organic mass than ever before.

Not letting up his assault, Godzilla launched another powered atomic ray at another spore, leading to similar results. Pouring several million gallons of blood, water, and amniotic fluids from its freshly made wounds, the sphere lost air stability and made a steady decline to the pavement below. The streets became flooded with the loss of bodily fluids, crashing against what little there was within the vicinity. As the sphere touched down, Godzilla unloaded another atomic breath at the third forming sphere, sizzling from the intense heat and creating another popped blister on its being.

The King of the Monsters honed in on the fourth and final one, which attempted to recede back into the host. But it didn’t work as Godzilla lanced another ray into it, exploding into a pile of blisters and internal liquids. After the fourth strike, the organic mass seemed to slump over, unmoving and not beating.

Godzilla moved in to inspect the enemy. Kicking it with his heavy set legs, the sphere uttered no response. The kaiju king boomed a victorious roar. His spines crackle with light, blue and purple bolts of atomic energy dance along his dorsal plates. Then, from the recesses of his maw, the nuclear leviathan fired a purple and blue beam laced with white spirals, aiming at the craters on its form. Cracking at the seams, Bagan’s energy body erupted in a colorful display of sparks, flames, fluids, and flesh as Godzilla relentlessly poured his rage onto it. It wasn’t long before the entire orb was engulfed in fire, sizzling from the intense heat. Godzilla belted out another victorious screech, letting the world know the fate of this Bagan.

—

“He did it!” cried out one of the soldiers on ground level, “Godzilla did it! He beat the enemy’s ultimate weapon!”

This sudden news took everyone aboard the Super-X2 aback, having been preoccupied by the alien forces for the last several minutes. The mustached commander took hold of the transceiver. “When?” he asked, demanding the full details just from his voice alone.

“Just now,” said the soldier crackling over the radio. “He managed to find a weak point and used it to his advantage. But—”

Yoshida silenced him. “I know. We lost too many already. Gather your men and regroup in Squadron E. Supply them with as much assistance as possible. Over and out.” The commander placed the transceiver back in its proper place, then he turned to Prof. Ogata and asked, “How much time?”

“It shouldn’t be for too much longer,” the doctor replied, “All the components fit into place, now it’s a matter of tuning the auto-targeting system and the payload will be ready. If given the time, I can have it done possibly in the next five minutes.”

Yoshida nodded in agreement. “Good.”

Then suddenly, the Super-X2 rocked violently, throwing everyone off-balance and crashing to the floor. Though Taniguchi held tight to the controls in the cockpit, everyone else grunted from the sudden burst of pain. Unfortunately, the labors of Ogata’s efforts would be further delayed, as the heavy shell, the stand used to support it, and its contents spilled on the floor. Though the bulletproof glass prevented the liquids from leaking, the fact that everything had to start from first base deeply upset Ogata.

“We’ve been struck from the rear!” Taniguchi exclaimed, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t avoid it.”

“Apology accepted, lieutenant,” the remorseful doctor said. “But we need to start on the payload again promptly. Or else—”

“Of course, Professor, we understand,” said the commander. “Lieutenant, activate the Fire-Mirror.”

Sweating from the pressuring stress, Taniguchi pushed a large red button, the front shaft of the Super-X2, opening to reveal the reflective coat of synthetic diamond, artificially created to bounce energy beams back by a thousand-fold. So when one of the UFOs directly in their path split open, revealing a cylinder-like core and firing a rainbow beam of plasma, the Fire-Mirror caught it and redirected it right back to the spacecraft as a yellow beam, effectively destroying it in a large ball of fire. Pieces of the alien tech fell to the earth below, some of it crashing into the skyscrapers while others splashing in the river of blood, water, and amniotic fluid.

But things only got from bad to worse, as the interior lights began to dim and sparks flew out of the computer monitors and near where the control panels were.

“What the hell is going on?” Yoshida called out. No one could conjure a proper response, especially as the exploding sparks kept everyone on their toes.

“I-I don’t know, sir,” Taniguchi stammered. “I can’t see!”

Hovering above the Super-X2, a drone sent showering sparks of electricity raining down upon the man-made super weapon from its orbs, keeping it suspended in place. ASTOLs and F-15s tried to break the Super-X2 free from its captors, but it was all for naught as other spacecrafts destroyed them when they came even remotely close to their vicinity. Other UFOs dove past the Super-X2 and headed straight for the ground troops.

Although the Maser Cannons and MBT-92s were successful in taking down one or two, the rest zipped through the air and dodge their beam weapons. The alien vessels retorted with a string of beam weapons of their own, raining rainbow-colored plasma at the more reliable EDF/G-Force weapons. The Type 90 Tanks never got a chance to land a single blow against the UFOs, as their spinning orbs rained lightning below, vaporizing anything that stood in its path.

For the battleships in the Bay area, they’d proven to be more fortunate. Though their primary cannons and missiles missed, the D-03 warheads did an effective job in crippling the enemy forces. Likewise, backup also came to them in the form of the aerial forces, so the advantage was briefly in their favor. Unfortunately, a small clan of drones gathered around the Escort Cruiser Aka, bombarding it with bolts of electricity and streams of colorful plasma. In a matter of seconds, the mighty warship exploded and sank to the bottom of Tokyo Bay, leaving no one onboard alive.

This gave crucial time for the Hatsuyuki and the Aizu to shoot down the saucers with their firepower. Sadly, there was nothing they could do to save the Aka from destruction. Their com-links blared with constantly updating information; over 70% of the air force had been lost already and 95% of the ground troops were gone from the face of the Earth. And with only the Hatsuyuki, Aizu and the secretive Ohio-class nuclear submarine lying at the bottom, there wouldn’t be much left.

But fortunately, they were not alone.

Three of the drones descended upon Godzilla, blasting his charcoal-gray hide with beams of plasma and bolts of electricity. Sparks ricocheted upon impact, but did little damage against him. Parting his jaws, Godzilla unleashed blazing fury against the alien menace, destroying all three of them in a single swipe. Though the third one tried to avoid it, it lost part of its upper components, destabilizing it and erupting into a fiery explosion upon impact.

As the King of the Monsters waded through the bodily fluids of Bagan, he scanned the red skies only to see the Super-X2 being picked apart by these UFOs. While Godzilla had little reason to care for the well-being of weapons that had tried to harm him in the past, his intuition told him to save it. Separating his jaws once more, Godzilla spat out a volley of atomic rays at the UFOs, notably at the two keeping guard. With the destruction of those drones, the air force finally got a solid shot and crippled the one frying the Super-X2 with electricity. Unfortunately for them, the vessel began to drop from the sky…

—

The world around them began to shift. From having solid ground to being uplifted by the forces of gravity, Yoshida, Ogata, and Yano clung to the nearest stable foundation they could as their bodies were forcefully lifted off the floor. Taniguchi, though firmly seated in the cockpit, felt his stomach churn from the intense g-forces at work. Trying his damndest to get the Super-X2 back in functional order, he yanked back the dual joysticks while slamming on the ignition buttons with his index fingers as hard as possible. He wasn’t an expert mechanic, and even if he was he’d still be unable to fix it from their current predicament.

Fortunately, as if out of sheer luck, it worked. The internal lights blared to life as the rockets beneath it and at the rear of the ship ignited, roaring with bursting flames. As everything within the Super-X2 stabilized, everyone and everything was thrown to the metallic floor. With yelps of pain and bruises, they struggled to rise to their feet. Even though the lieutenant was firmly in his seat, his body was still rattled from the intensity of it all, letting it sink in.

Ogata ran over to the equipment, only to be devastated by the results. The shell casing, the only thing housing his chemical formula, was broken beyond repair. Wires stripped apart made it nearly impossible to piece back together; rough dents and torn metal would expose whatever internal components there were left to the elements; and its overall shape contorted in an uneven fashion, making loading it into the Super-X2’s missile chamber awkward and even dangerous.

Though repairing the shell would be nigh impossible, he scanned his surroundings to find the most important piece to the entire thing. And much to his dismay, the container of the blue and orange liquid had a severe crack, ever-so slightly leaking its precious contents. Ogata hastily snatched up the glassy cylinder, holding it horizontally and flipping it to keep the contents from spilling through the gash.

“Ms. Yano, get something that can help bandage the glass,” he beckoned, “Keep the G-Energy from spilling out anymore than it already has.” Yano was one step ahead of Ogata, scouring through the internal wreckage trying to find something to help stitch the fractured container. As they did, the radio crackled to life once more. “This is Squadron B. Things are getting real bad down here. The biomass, it’s—” In an instant, he was cut off. And in the next, they felt a powerful vibration. Though Ogata and Yano were able to keep steady, it wouldn’t be the case if the tremors continued. Fortunately, it stopped just as quickly as it started.

“What was that?” questioned a panicking and concerned Yano.

“A shockwave,” Yoshida immediately responded. “A big one, too.”

Commander Yoshida spoke up. “So then, Professor, will we have to rely on the second plan?”

Ogata let out a heavy, disheartening sigh, keeping the G-Energy container from spilling. “If the situation calls for it, yes, I’m afraid.” They knew full well that launching a nuclear strike on Japanese soil was beyond unethical, even going against what has been printed in the Japanese Constitution. But this one exception had to be made, especially if that meant saving the entire world from utmost devastation.

“Professor,” Yano called out, holding a smaller cylinder of glass in her hands. “This is the best compromise we can come to. I can’t find anything to repair the glass as it is.”

She’s right, Ogata thought to himself grimly. The G-Energy can only be transferred to a new container. It’s better than continually leaking. Pray to the gods that the lieutenant can keep us out of enemy fire this time.

“Lieutenant,” Ogata issued firmly, “get us the hell out of here.”

“Yes sir.” With no delay, Taniguchi wheeled the Super-X2 around to avoid whatever was coming next.

—

Homing in on the King of the Monsters, several of the alien’s spacecrafts rained bolts of electricity upon him, refusing to let up. Curling his lips and emitting a vicious snarl, Godzilla stood his ground, refusing to go down. Bending over, he showed off his fearsome dorsal plates, Godzilla’s entirety flashed a brilliant atomic blue. Energy absorbed into the core of his being, then released in the form of a massive pulse. The oncoming shockwave critically damaged the internal systems of the saucers, plunging them into the earth below in a plume of smoke and fire. The monster king followed up with a stray beam of nuclear fury, completely destroying several of the alien weapons in one fell swoop. It didn’t take long for Godzilla to notice the idle mothership several kilometers up.

“This Godzilla is a lot stronger than I originally predicted,” muttered the alien fiend. “Cunning, too; I can see why so many of the past invaders failed.” He’d hate to admit it, but he did silently applaud the humans for being able to contend with and manipulate such a powerful beast. Still, it was nothing he’d say to the humans outright. “But he has yet to see Bagan’s true power.” He remarked darkly, softly chuckling to himself. His brain-like cranium pulsed, sending signals throughout his personal vessel and relaying them to the monstrosity of his design.

“Arise ancient one! It’s time to show humanity their place in our world!” the alien, with its composed voice, ecstatically calmly commanded. “And you shall obtain your long awaited revenge! But first…”

Bagan’s glowing red eyes pierced the surrounding darkness. In his mind, he heard the voice once more. Its presence was insignificant, like a quiet whisper, but he felt no urge to fight against it. So when he received his orders, Bagan lazily began to uncurl from within his tomb. But among the gibberish echoing in his consciousness, one word stood out from among the rest.

Revenge. A word he did not understand the meaning to, but at one point felt. His memory was hazy, even to the point of being lost. None of it mattered anymore, though. Whatever brought him to what he was now was something he would never remember. And for that, he was indifferent to it.

From within his shell, the energy body began to glow a translucent green…

With great haste, the enemy’s mothership descended from the heavens and met Godzilla at eye-level. Its “eye” emitted an ethereal hue, forcing Godzilla into a hypnotic-like trance. The elongated saucer transmitted telepathic signals, probing the mind of the King of the Monsters.

“Godzilla,” spoke the alien into the monster king’s mind, “I have come to appease you. For years, your kind has suffered from the faults of humans and the bearer of their sins. Even now, they’re bending you to their will as a means to an end. Join us, and we can exterminate all of the humans!”

Godzilla remained silent and still.

“Come, and monster-kind will be allowed to rule the planet once more. The age of man will come to an end… And the kingdom of monsters shall reign!”

This time, the alien got his response. Bellowing a low snarl, Godzilla discharged a concentrated beam of radiation. The mothership swerved sharply in the sky to avoid the beam, narrowly dodging it.

“I see. Very well then. If you have denied me, then you will have to face the full fury of my greatest creation! Behold!” The mothership ascended back into the dark red skies, disconnecting its telepathic links with the monster king. Feeling a wave of energy emitting behind him, Godzilla twisted to see the source of the insane energy output.

Even in its broken state, the ravaged cocoon quivered and pulsated, releasing a supernatural hue of bright green light. Waves of energy washed over Godzilla, being pushed back by the force of the pulses. The energy body, no longer bleeding from its craters, lifted itself into the sky. The bioluminescent green on its form turned into an intense white before consuming the organic mass. Its shining brilliance even forced Godzilla to avert his eyes from its presence. Then, after violently shaking, in an instant…

It exploded.

—

Even several miles away from ground zero of the fight, the Super-X2 found itself barricaded by walls of drones in Shinagawa. All other forms of the air force within the vicinity had been eradicated by the alien menace. Much to everyone’s surprise, none of them unloaded their energy cannons to get this over with. Unfortunately, their business was not quite done yet. The mothership hovered in front of the Super-X2, ensuring that they would not escape. Then they receive a transmission, directly from the heart.

Within the Super-X2, Yoshida slowly picked up the transceiver. “This is Commander Yoshida of G-Force.”

“Yes, Commander, we meet again,” it responded, with its vocal chords still as uncannily human as before.

“Here I thought we settled our business when this war began,” retorted the commander sarcastically.

The alien pointedly ignored him. “I commend your bravery for being able to hold out for this long,” he commended, earning a small surprised look from the Super-X2 crew before continuing. “But you never had the edge to begin with.”

“Commander,” Taniguchi spoke up. “Look!” Yoshida, Yano and Ogata rushed over to the screens nearest to the cockpit. And what they saw was something beyond otherworldly.

“Something’s changed in the energy body!” Ms. Yano yelled in shock.

“Yes!” the alien proclaimed. “Now you shall bear witness to the rise of the strongest monster of the past, present, and future!”

From that body, a monster is about to come out… Taniguchi mentally shuddered in horror.

“Godzilla stands no chance, nor do any of Earth’s greatest monsters!” proclaimed the alien. “And I want you to be the first humans to see Bagan in full glory! Behold!”

On the screen, they watched as the pulsating mass emitting a white hue, resulting in an explosion. Godzilla was caught in the core of the blast, disappearing in it; everything else caught in the wake of the fireball was instantly incinerated.

Though the Super-X2 and the UFOs were safe from the explosion’s wrath, the ensuing shockwave reached them, causing brief instability. The hundreds of thousands of buildings several thousand feet below were either ripped straight from their foundations or the glass that once separated the inside and outside worlds of human society shattered from the amount of force flowing through the metropolitan cityscape.

For what seemed to be an eternity, only the heavenly glow existed. But with the passage of time, it was revealed that Tokyo has turned into a massive ashen crater engulfed in a sea of flames. With a surprising amount of speed, Godzilla recovered from the catastrophe; and with his very own reptilian eyes, he finally saw it for what it was.

By far, this monstrosity stood as among the largest of monsters Godzilla ever had to contend with. Through the ashen clouds and crackling white-turning-orange fire obscured some details, the beast stood out within the ruins of devastation. It had three horns attached to its draconic visage, two of them curved and one of them straight and pointed. Each of them twitched independently, popping the cartilage within the dragon-beast’s skeleton. The sound of heavy nostrils flaring overpowered the crackling flames as Godzilla examined more of its form. Two massive wing-like protrusions jutted out from the shoulder region, each having five or more azure colored orbs with a glow that pierced the cloud that engulfed them both. The rest of its body resembled a bipedal dragon, layered with thick gray armor, bulging black muscles, and a long extension of a whip-like tail. The demon beast cracked its knuckles by simply clenching its fists and showing off its sharp talons.

A fixated gaze of empty red eyes stared down at Godzilla.

“Is that… Bagan?” asked a stunned and horrified Professor Ogata.

“Yes, it is,” the alien replied haughtily. “The final trump card for humanity’s extinction.”

“What is it that you want? Why do you want to destroy all of humanity?” Ms. Yano demanded, directing the alien’s attention to her. For a moment, he considered ignoring her like he had all the past times he ignored humanity’s questions. But perhaps, with their inevitable demise at hand, they should have solace in death, knowing what has wrought their destruction.

“To be this Earth’s savior, as I have stated already.”

This Earth’s? Taniguchi thought bitterly. What does he mean by that? He wanted to interrupt the extraterrestrial and ask the all obvious questions, but for the safety of everyone onboard, he remained quiet.

“Humanity is an animal based on the concepts of war and conquest. The more you spread, the more you can carry out your genetic lineage and your legacy. To do this, you mine Earth’s raw materials and exploit nature to suit your own needs.”

“Then you’re doing a poor job not realizing that we’ve been doing our best to keep balance with our evolution and nature’s order,” Yano blurted impulsively. “Yes, we do use Earth’s resources, but we’re also trying to create our own so that way we won’t have to rely on them anymore. And while we have to explore and experiment with genetics, its benefits have been more than helpful for not only humans, but the animals on our planet as well. Not only that, ever since the dawn of the modern kaiju age, we’ve found new and unique ways to adapt and survive. Having monsters overthrow humanity isn’t the answer; it’s to co-exist with them.”

“Then why fight them? Your history shows the violent records of the kaiju destroying your major cities around the world.”

“Self-defense, of course. We have come to a compromise that takes the form of Monster Island or Monsterland.” For a brief moment, Yano paused to take a breath and gather her thoughts. “Besides… Even though you claim to have the Earth’s best interest, you’re not telling the entire truth. There’s more to this catastrophe than you let on. Being Earth’s savior is a phony excuse.”

The alien’s eyes widened in surprise. But with a soft chuckle, he responded, “I have. And I will tell you everything you need to know. Because, even if you know the truth, you won’t survive to tell it. Bagan will destroy you, and that will be that. Consider this spilling of beans, as you humans phrase it, a silent confession.” He paused, releasing a heavy sigh as he stared at them with his calming eyes.

—

Godzilla stared at Bagan’s looming form, waiting for the first strike. Godzilla wasted no time and took the first shot, spewing a laser of nuclear energy. However, the demon dragon was quick to respond by holding his forearms in front of him, the atomic ray washed over harmlessly against an invisible force. The King of the Monsters was taken aback by this revelation, so he instead decided to charge head-first.

A decision he’d immediately regret.

Taking long strides, Godzilla reached the gargantuan dragon and batted his paws against the armored-muscled physique. Bagan felt nothing, choosing to retaliate with a swift and brutal slash from his claws. Sharp talons tore into charcoal scaly flesh, drawing blood. The charcoal dinosaur shrieked in pain, backpedaling to separate himself from the demonic powerhouse. But Bagan quickly transitioned into another attack. With speeds that belied his size and weight, Bagan strutted over to Godzilla and slammed his entirety against the kaiju king. As Godzilla’s ribs and bones cracked from the immeasurable power behind the body strike, he echoed an agonizing scream as he was sent flying across the ashen crater. The force from the impact created another hole, kicking up black clouds of ash and earthly debris.

As the gashes from Bagan’s claws healed and the broken bones cracked back into place, Godzilla summoned the strength to pick himself onto his feet, clearing his head from the dizziness. But it wasn’t long before Bagan covered ground with his massive legs, closing the gap between them.

Godzilla’s dorsal fins flashed with shimmering energy, blue and purple bolts dancing along his spine. Opening with a surprise attack, a potent purple and blue beam laced with white spirals discharged from his destructive jaws. Bagan’s eyes widen, taken aback by the quick turn of events. The spiral breath exploded against the dragon’s armor and muscle, clouding him in flames and smoke, stopping the mighty demon beast in his tracks. Godzilla followed up with another streak of indigo, hoping to deal as much damage as possible to the draconic foe. It struck its target as intended, but he hadn’t heard his foe roar in pain…

Godzilla went in for a third strike. Lighting up with atomic energy, with the indigo spiral breath burst from his maw. But this time, it didn’t lance into Bagan; rather, it washed harmlessly off an unseen barrier. When the smoke cleared and the flames died down, Godzilla saw Bagan holding out his forearms once more, effectively neutralizing his third attack. Still, if the minor burns were of any indication, Godzilla would have to hit even harder, no holding back. However, Bagan was ready.

The three horns on his head began to angle inward, sparking to life with pure white bolts of electricity. From the tri-horns, the bolts of lightning traveled down Bagan’s neck and onto his spires, with the azure orbs flashing brightly. The electricity sprouted off the shoulder protrusion-like wings as white hot plasma collected in his gaping maw, loading with tons of energy. Godzilla attempted in vain to interrupt the process with another spiral breath, but it was too late.

As the lance of purple atomic energies rocketed towards the dragon, a gush of pure white plasma launched from his mouth. Ripping through the air, the streak of light collided against the spiral breath, tearing it to shreds with little effort. Reptilian eyes widened and he braced for impact, planting his large feet into the ground. The moment Bagan’s plasma breath crashed against Godzilla, the King of the Monsters was sent skidding back, creating trenches from the intense pressure applied. Bagan continued to pour more energy into his attack, sending Godzilla bursting from the crater into the ruins of the Chiyoda district, stumbling north towards Akihabara.

—

“If you must know,” the alien began smugly, “Bagan is a monster from Earth’s ultra-ancient past, considered an elemental protector by its inhabitants. Once a sentinel, he fell from grace when humankind began to salvage and exploit Earth’s resources for their own use. But once he was sealed by his kin, that is other guardian monsters, it was I that excavated him from his tomb, fulfilling the desire for vengeance.”

The professor chimed in. “Earlier today, you found and invaded my laboratory and tried to extract my data. What were you looking for?”

“Don’t play dumb, professor,” the alien snapped, “You know full well what I was looking for. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have used a virus to delete and shred all of your files regarding the Godzilla-Ghidorah cell fusion to enhance the strength of monsters.”

So he doesn’t know about G-Energy, Ogata mentally noted. Good. The virus did its job.

The extraterrestrial continued, regaining his composure. “But yes, after retrieving Bagan from the Himalayas, I began experiments to make him stronger, a monster of monsters. It was then that I found you and your research.”

“That’s right, then you kidnapped me,” Ogata replied bitterly. “A pleasant experience as I recall.”

“Oh yes. Just like you, I have been quite interested in fusing Godzilla’s and King Ghidorah’s cells. And thanks to you being successful in your tests in the cell fusion you tried on Godzilla, I performed the very same experiments on Bagan. Now, he is more powerful than ever!” the alien proclaimed triumphantly.

Taniguchi pondered on that for a moment, unsure if to ask the question. However, the moment slipped out of his grasp as the Super-X2’s sensors detected a high energy output. Everyone snapped their attention to the cameras, and they saw a concentrated white beam streaming out of the massive mushroom cloud.

“And you will see for yourselves Bagan’s new power.”

—

As the white hot plasma died down, Godzilla laid in smoldering ruins. Although death had not taken its toll, Bagan’s wrathful punishment proved to be too much. Godzilla forcefully gasped for his tightening chest, trying to relax his body from the trauma. He tried to raise himself, but his wobbly arms collapsed under his weight and dizziness. He realized that he had little control over his body. His massive legs twitched spontaneously whilst his arms struggled to move; the elongated tail suffered from continuous spasm attacks, flailing with no control; his breathing was erratic, making it hard to get air into his enormous lungs. And within, he felt something. A feeling he hadn’t felt since his rebirth through nuclear energy.

Weakness.

For so many years, Godzilla had fought foe after foe, fighting them to the point of death or exhaustion. And more often than not, he had emerged from the battlefield victorious, proving to the world why he was King of the Monsters. Yet even with loss, his determination remained intact, waiting to fight another day. A monster of unthinkable power, unstoppable fury, and an unbreakable will. And now, the Earth was finally putting him to the ultimate test.

From the depths of the crater to the remains of Akihabara, Bagan found the twitching Godzilla. His massive form loomed over the trembling king, jeering him with his dead crimson eyes. Another body to add to the mountain of corpses he had made in his wake. A soul that didn’t stand a chance, just like so many others. And he felt nothing of it. Once again, Bagan’s body jolted with crackles and sparks, showing off an array of electric bolts crawling on his horns, torso, and spires. Only this time, however, plasma didn’t gather into his maw. Rather, the air around him warped, discharging electricity from his being as the air hissed with static. Then clusters of lightning detached, each taking on a diamond-like form. In no time, three large luminescent tetragons hovered over Bagan, almost as if awaiting further orders.

It was time to end it.

Only, destiny had other plans.

Something a couple of miles away caught Bagan’s attention. Off in the distance, he saw a rising star with a tail of smoke forming its path. His eyes followed the trail to its origin, seeing some faces he hadn’t noticed before.

With the skyscrapers fallen, it made it easy for Bagan to spot his oppressors and vice-versa. Floating atop the waters of the Port of Tokyo, a busted IJN Destroyer Hatsuyuki and a worn Battle Cruiser Aizu aimed their turrets at the demon dragon. Several ASTOL-MB93s and F-15s, for the few that there were, circled the battleships before swooping in to engage their target. Then at the source of the smoke trail led to an Ohio-class nuclear submarine, resting on the surface.

Minutes ago, these men and women served as the only witnesses that could do something to change the tide of the battle. Unable to communicate with the crew of the Super-X2, they took it upon themselves to initiate the backup plan. And until the payload reached its destination, they had to do everything in their power to ensure that Godzilla remained alive at all costs. Knowing full well that their weapons wouldn’t kill the devil dragon, they let him have it.

Even miles away, their weapons still packed a punch and had a ton of range. So when their deck guns, ship killer missiles, air defense missiles, and D-03 drill warheads departed from their vessels and found Bagan, it was a lightshow to behold. The F-15s and ASTOLs unloaded their arsenals, firing twin lasers, and launching shrieking air-to-air radar/infrared missiles into the mammoth titan. Even with all their efforts, it didn’t even faze Bagan. It did, however, distract him from Godzilla. So instead of instantly destroying Godzilla, Bagan redirected his signature attack, the Diamond Storm, at the intruders instead.

With a flick of his wrist, the three quadrilateral energy bodies dove, taking aim at their respective targets. Zooming past the ASTOLs and F-15s at incredible speeds, the first dealt a critical blow against the Hatsuyuki, instantly sinking it. Very few would survive the initial impact; even less would survive the intake of salt water and the hypothermia that would follow. The second majorly crippled the Aizu, slowly sinking much like the Hatsuyuki. But even when all seemed bleak, they continued to fire what ammo they could until the Aizu was no more. The final found its mark with the Ohio sub, erupting into a miniature nuclear explosion when the blast made contact.

Even with the devastating blow, the ASTOLs and F-15s continued to rain hell upon the gray dragon. Unfortunately, they proved to be short-lived. Quick spurts of plasma energy incinerated the pilots and vessels in an instant, while others had to endure a hail of diamond-shaped energy blasts, all smaller but far more numerous. In the end, they didn’t make it, but they kept at it until the last man was dead.

Death came to the pilots as a tetragon-shaped blast erased the last of the air force, leaving the red skies barren of movement. Bagan directed his attention back to the shimmering star, surprisingly closer now than it was before. His blood-red eyes glared at the falling star, trying to make out what it was. Only then did he realize that it was no star at all; rather, a missile, akin to those that tried vainly to puncture his hide. Bagan thought not much of it, turning around to kill this “King of the Monsters” once and for all. With no sense of sadistic glee or satisfaction, Bagan’s draconic form erupted with bolts of electricity, creating another set of his Diamond Storm.

The burning rocket fuel of the nuclear warhead, with the yield of fifteen kilotons of TNT, screeched through the air. Bearing in on its target, the nuke closed the gap on its final destination. Bagan quickly redirected his attention from Godzilla, checking the missile’s trajectory. However, as it got closer, the voice in Bagan’s head told him to stop it. It wasn’t fired at Bagan.

It was fired at Godzilla.

With little time to react, Bagan ceased his killing blow and, rather than manage the time to stop the bomb, lifted his arms and created the invisible wall once more. The nuke sped past Bagan like a bullet, striking Godzilla’s downed form. In an instant, they were both consumed by the nuclear fireball in a white flash. From the devastating fireball, a massive shockwave; from the air blast, loads of radiation dispersed across the land, tainting it; from the radiation, a far-ranged electromagnetic pulse echoed across the battlefield. Everything in Akihabara and beyond collapsed, creating another crater in the mighty metropolitan empire of Tokyo.

—

Even though the Super-X2 and the drone fleet were in the Shinagawa prefecture, the effects from the nuclear bomb in Akihabara did not go unnoticed. Though far away from the blast radius and air burst, the electromagnetic pulse released by the nuke endlessly traveled throughout the cityscape, shutting down all electronic power in its wake. The flash of bright light and the rising mushroom cloud also caught their attention as well.

From within the cockpit of his vessel, the alien grimaced. Had the humans thought ahead of time that Godzilla wouldn’t stand a chance? Out of the warships on the surface, he hadn’t noticed anything… Regardless, with a quick far-reaching scan from the mothership, everything that belonged to humanity was no more.

“Who ordered the nuclear strike?” Yoshida demanded.

“None of us have received any transmissions from the Hatsuyuki, Aizu, or the Aka,” Ogata stated. “And if that was the case, then…”

“They took the initiative,” said the commander. Then that means Godzilla wasn’t strong enough to fight Bagan as he was. He strung a multitude of curses under his breath.

The alien glanced back at the humans. Then it was just as he thought. “Oh ho, did you not know, Commander?” he chuckled. “When I’m relaying my transmissions to you, it cuts off all communications with the outside world. So if they happened to try and contact you lot, then they wouldn’t hear back. Still, none of it matters. When all’s said and done, when you witness Bagan slay Godzilla, your end will come next!”

“Wait!” Taniguchi interrupted, hoping to get his last thoughts in.

“Yes, lieutenant?” the alien inquired, injecting a hint of mockery into his words.

“You said you were here to save this Earth. What do you mean by that?” He didn’t even need to say anymore as everyone, the extraterrestrial included, stared silently at him. The brain-like entity scolded himself internally for letting such a vital piece of information slip. His overconfidence got the better of him, and now they were catching on.

“That is none of your concern,” the alien’s visage shifted from confident to seething hatred. “Maybe instead of dying later, you will be terminated now!” Those were his final words as the alien cut communication from the Super-X2.

The wall of drones simultaneously dropped their lower discs, revealing their cannons gathering plasma and light. The mothership, too, lowered its rotating lower-half, revealing a thick column; then a second column dropped from beneath it. Both gathered a tremendous amount of energy, the unmoving singular eye leaking an ethereal blue.

“Guess there was no point in delaying the inevitable,” the commander called out.

“Great.” Yano sighed under her breath.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” Taniguchi said plainly, shrugging his shoulders. Yoshida and Yano glare at him, wincing at how painfully obvious the statement was.

“Not quite,” the doctor interjected suddenly. “We might still have a chance.”

“Against a giant wall of UFOs waiting to incinerate every last molecule of us?” Yano retorted sarcastically.

“Nuclear bombs and electronic interference might have a word with you,” Ogata replied confidently. “Now hold on, we might be dropping again, if only for a brief time.”

Almost out of convenient timing, the internal lights of the Super-X2 flickered, albeit momentarily, as the entire vessel shook violently.

“Keep us afloat, lieutenant,” Yoshida shouted sternly. “We have an EMP to barrel through.”

Taniguchi tightened his grip on the controls. They got through being electrocuted by the alien forces, so this time he was more than ready.

The commander smirked confidently. “And our alien friend is going to be in for one hell of a doozy.”

As the screens to the external cameras returned, they saw that the nuke’s EMP worked in their favor. Dozens upon dozens of smaller drones had varied effects. Some dropped dead and burst into a plume of smoke and fire; others kept air stability, though clearly shaken from the aftershock. The Super-X2 struggled to maintain its aerial buoyancy, but miraculously pulled through. Its rockets burst, making way towards the rising mushroom cloud.

From within his vessel, the alien screamed out in pain as the electromagnetic interference violated his pulsating cranium. His brain and nervous system, hardwired to the mothership’s onboard computers and operating systems, shutting off in an instant and rebooting. As the wave passed over, his nerves and circuits adjusted, optimizing the damages and repairing any errors within the saucer.

His eyes filled with bloodlust at the monitor in front of him, seeing through the eye of the mothership. They’d outsmarted him for the last time. Now he needed to complete his task, his objective. Groaning in anger, he signaled the wall of drones to move in.

This time, they wouldn’t get away.

—

A familiar feeling washed over. Bright light intensified his fury as the heat seared his charcoal flesh. The nuclear fire coursed into his body, shredding his thick muscles and hardened bone. His skin burst and popped with hideous boils, destroying his outer charcoal shell. Slowly, he felt the disintegration plucking him apart piece by piece, atom by atom. The eyeballs sitting in his sockets melted and evaporated as Godzilla’s entire being was pounded by the ripping kinetic force pulling at his body. As his howl of agony was silenced by the intense heat, the wet dribble in his maw dissipates as his gums, tongue, inner cheeks, and saliva glands shrivel like that of a dried prune. From the unbearable intensity of it all, Godzilla’s body went numb. Had he been any normal animal, his molecules would have broken apart and his entirety turned into nothing more than a splotch of shadow to mark the earth.

But he was beyond that of nature’s creations. Nearly incapacitated and looking like a shadow of his former self, the hellfire ended mercifully quick. His breathing, if it could even be called that, was coarse and dry. However, the process was not over. From the surrounding ash clouds and heat remnants, countless numbers of radioactive isotopes leaked nuclear energy from instability. But rather than contaminating the land with atomic poison, they were magnetically drawn to Godzilla’s deathly body, his eyelids shut. Their juices seeped into his cracked, armored skin and shriveled muscles, rejuvenating life within them once more.

The G-Cells processed the nuclear energy and started to repair the foundations of Godzilla’s very being. His saliva glands moistened his maw as the wounds were sealed by charcoal black bark. His muscle mass returned, as too did his numbness fade away. He flexed his ivory claws, feeling life return to them. His body continued to sponge the surrounding land, taking in all of the atomic energies. But soon, it became too much for his body to bear. The scaly flesh near the clavicles and iliac crests cracked, pouring intense streams of white cloud from the nuke’s fire and heat. Then soon after, his chest progressively lit up with nuclear bioluminescence, fiery orange patches on his chest, shoulders, and lower torso. His once bony white dorsal fins changed molecular integrity, matching the sickly marks on his body. Godzilla’s nostrils flared, expelling air and removing waste from his systems.

Then, his eyelids snapped open. What was once an empty socket had grown into a pair of new eyeballs, flashing a powerful crimson red with small sparks of nuclear electricity flowing through them. With a low rumble emanating from his snout, the reptile rose to his feet, his orange glow piercing the ashen smoke.

The King of the Monsters had achieved his second form: Burning Godzilla.

—

From the moment of detonation, Bagan became a witness to humanity’s weaponry. Its impressive power washed over his wall, not harming a piece of his body. However, its brightness forced him to close his eyes, protecting them from the light. But when he shut his eyelids, his vision changed from the bright light to a triggered memory. Something he thought his consciousness had lost long ago.

In this place, he was no longer in the presence of death and destruction. Rather, the familiar visual echoed a phantom of the running river and flowing winds. The lush green forestry and wild plant-life flourished in this peaceful place. The mammals rummaged through the bushes and foliage, the birds nested in the branches of the trees. Mountains and hills reached for the purple sky, blotting out the twilight sun. Bagan’s eyes scanned the beauty of creation, watching as the wildlife and flora continued their destined routines. He recognized this place.

Paradise.

And he felt nothing of it.

Inhaling the air through his nostrils, the stench of death and destruction brought him back to the cruel reality. His fantasy shattered, burning ablaze as his eyelids cracked open. The fireball that consumed them was no longer present, but a blazing light caught his attention. What was once a dying reptilian monster now stood proud before him, his body flashing a brilliant orange. Godzilla unleashed a howling war cry, resonating in Bagan’s black heart. His power had increased significantly. Maybe this would be the one monster that could stand up to his fury, prove to him that he was not the strongest beast in all creation.

Or prove his captor right.

Godzilla broke into massive strides, his massive legs crunching the wreckage beneath. The Oriental dragon planted his enormous feet into the charred earth, with the blue orbs flashing an azure light. Sparks of electricity snaked around the spires, crawling down to his forearms. His claws were consumed with the white lightning, intensifying their power. The burning kaiju king closed the gap between them, Godzilla slamming against Bagan’s armored figure. Conducting nuclear energy through his body, the impact transferred sparks of red atomic lightning to the devil beast’s lower torso. While it did little to even budge the plated dragon from his place, he felt some weight behind the nuclear energy and intense body heat.

Bagan retaliated with his electric-charged Slasher Claws, lacerating Godzilla’s hot burning flesh with a conductive touch and sharp bony protrusions from his fingers. Godzilla shrieked and backpedaled as white molten blood and high-pressured steam burst from the wound. It splattered against Bagan’s armored hide, sizzling upon impact. It didn’t take long for the wound to be cauterized by Godzilla’s intense body heat, with the G-Cells repairing the damage soon after.

Bagan brought his other crackling hand down, ready to tear into Godzilla’s scaly hide with another Slasher Claw. But Godzilla was quick, his maple-leaf dorsal plates illuminating with fiery fury. The back of his maw ignited with reds and oranges, twisting his head at the descending arm. A moment later, a volley of intense heat burst forth. A beam of red and orange laced with yellow spirals and white bolts, the Spiral Fire Ray collided against the draconic beast’s arm, erupting in a small nuclear explosion. The gray armored arm became seared with furious heat and billowing fire, charring the skin in an instant. An instinctual yelp escaped Bagan’s snout, pulling back his damaged, depowered arm. Using the other hand, Bagan slashed at the nuclear menace, sending jolts of electricity and pain with each swipe. Godzilla retorted by slapping his paws against Bagan’s armor and muscles, each strike conducting bolts of nuclear energy.

Signaling the formation of his signature attack, Bagan’s torso crackled with searing bolts, warping the gas with the surging bolts. Registering the pattern from before, Godzilla preemptively began to react, surging nuclear power throughout his body. The glowing splotches illuminated in a brilliant orange, as did the dorsal plates. The pillars of white erupted from Godzilla’s form, followed by an immense pulse of radioactive energies. The Nuclear Pulse sent the Oriental dragon reeling, disrupting him from using the Diamond Storm. The empowered Godzilla boomed a powerful roar, firing a Spiral Ray at the super monster.

As Bagan regained balance, his nostrils snorted with contempt. With his blasted arm fully regenerated from the fusion of G-Cells, Bagan manifested the invisible barrier once more. The Spiral Ray smashed into the force field with a surprising amount of power, but the protective wall did not falter. What he didn’t expect, however, was another beam of atomic fury immediately after. So when the second Spiral Ray collided with the energy field, it had little trouble in puncturing the barrier and lancing into Bagan’s armored hide. An echoing roar emanated from the dragon’s gaping maw, reverberating throughout the region. With his foe staggering back, the enraged kaiju king quickly pressed the advantage.

Godzilla closed the gap once more, only this time keeping some space between him and Bagan. Prepping his tail, Godzilla’s large-bodied figure twirled, his wormy extension at an upward arc, smacking Bagan square in the lower jaw. Though it did little to actually hurt him, Bagan felt something inside him; something resonating after so long.

Excitement.

The stoic demeanor of the demon beast cracked with a tiny smirk, taking personal initiative as opposed to his master’s. Snapping his own long tail, Bagan rotated his massive form to repay the King of the Monsters. Sweeping over the carnage, Godzilla noticed the armor-plated tail heading his way. Unable to avoid it, Godzilla braced for the inevitable. Upon impact, the elongated tail cracked like that of a whip, stripping some rugged skin as the nuclear leviathan collapsed to the charred earth. With his back turned to the burning one, Bagan twisted his head, seeing behind his shoulder, to see the downed reptile king. Then, almost as if it had a mind of its own, the whip-like tail scourged the blistering behemoth. Beating him with every strike, Bagan continued to flog the monster king as Godzilla yelped in pain and anguish, his wounds cauterized by the heat of his body.

As Godzilla endured the excruciating agony, the orange splotches illuminated with a flash of light, his dorsal plates crackling with atomic bolts. A surge of radioactive fury atomized the air molecules in its wake, the spiral beam landing a hard blow against Bagan’s thick plated dorsum. Though the blast did nothing more than char the outermost layer of armor, it halted the scourging, if only for a moment.

From the dragon’s maw, a low gurgling hum resounded. The orbs flashed a bright blue, the shoulder spires and head horns discharging bolts of electricity. Plasma bubbles gathered into his gaping mouth, glowing with an illustrious light. Godzilla’s eyes widened, knowing full well what was coming. With a rough twirl, Bagan fired a concentrated beam of light. The Plasma Breath tore through the air, seeking and finding its target. The pillar of energy smashed into the super-heated monster king, tossing him around like a ragdoll. Bagan ceased the output of energy, the beam evaporating within mere moments. His eyes scanned the trail caused by his destructive power, searching for him. When he locked onto the presence of the sickly orange hue, he saw the prostrate Godzilla. But much to his surprise and delight, he wasn’t down for long. Picking up his weight, Godzilla stood erect, his body shining brighter than before.

Godzilla snarled, twitching his reptilian lips. Infuriated, his dorsal plates and luminescent skin illuminated with an intense red-orange. Pillars of light sprang from his body, moments before discharge. Spewing a volley of seething radioactive rage, red beams encased with yellow spirals collided against Bagan and his surroundings.

Though the Spiral Rays proved to be potent and destructive, Bagan didn’t let that hold him down. Sprinting at physics-defying speeds, with each footfall creating deep imprints and kicking up debris, the demon dragon soldiered through each of the atomic blasts. Though each hit chipped off his thick armor and black flesh, he remained undeterred. While still maintaining the sprint, Bagan bent forward, his upper torso parallel to the earth below. The nasal horn lowered and the crescent head horns separated, leaving his armored cranium open. However, he couldn’t help but notice the sweltering heat as he made his advance…

Regardless of Godzilla’s energy output, it didn’t budge Bagan in the slightest. With a crushing blow, the dragon’s bare head slammed into the burning torso, knocking the wind out of him and cracking his sternum. But rather than letting him fall to the ground, Bagan had other plans. The outward crescent horns swiftly retract, clamping onto burning shoulders. The nasal horn sprung up, gutting the lower abdominal region of its target. All of this was coming too quickly for Godzilla to process. Resisting the boiling body heat and the molten blood, Bagan summoned his monstrous strength and heaved. The dragon god of old reverted to his upright posture, unhinging his horns. Gravity did the rest as several thousands of tons of atomic reptile was sent soaring through the air, leaving a trail of steam in his wake. When Godzilla finally made landfall, he was no longer in the crater, rather just outside of it. What little there was left came crumbling down upon impact.

Bagan trekked his way through the atomic hole, each footfall leaving a trail of footprints. The loose slope of the crater made the dragon beast’s journey easier as he towered over the fallen king once more. The sweltering heat emanated from Godzilla’s collapsed form, more intense than it was just moments before. Then he saw something else.

His spines were melting. The great orange dorsal plates melted and dripped like candle wax due to the heat he was exuding.

As suddenly as he noticed, blinding white columns and bursting geysers of steam escape Godzilla’s dorsum. The powerful destroyer was taken aback by this sudden surge of radioactive power. Pulsating with atomic light, the plates unleashed waves of destructive nuclear energies, each searing and exploding against Bagan’s armor and muscle. The monstrous dragon screamed in pain, but found delight in it. Unable to control it, more waves surged from the dorsal fins, either striking Bagan or wandering aimlessly in the crimson skies. Burning and sweltering, Godzilla pushed himself off the charred earth and faced Bagan. His spines continued to discharge burning waves, destroying everything behind him, a testament to the awesome power of the King of the Monsters.

Maybe there was only so long they could fight. Perhaps the increase of Godzilla’s power would result in their destruction. But it didn’t matter. Bagan was going to make the most of it.

—

His cranium pulsated, transmitting signals to his army of drones. In spite of his faults, he knew his moment of triumph was at hand. He would rid the planet of sentient life or cast them out into the endless abyss. Though the pests of this world proved to be sneakier than originally predicted, it still didn’t change the outcome of humanity or this timeline. His eyes flashed with determination, smug and overconfident. He telepathically relayed orders to the saucers, preparing for battle.

“This will be my sign,” he issued to himself, “And prove that I am more than prepared for them this time.” The manoc voice started as a low murmur of chuckling, which soon evolved into a haughty laughter. The enormous brain-like cranium pulsated with excited glee, accelerating the communication between the host and the drones under his influence.

Victory would be his, just as it had been many times before. But would he lose this Earth as well and start over? With his trump card in hand, he doubted it.

“And when that day comes, they shall fear the name of Alien Miko.”

—

This powered Godzilla was strong, but Bagan was stronger. The dragon beast hammered his massive fists down on the super-heated monster king, the sickening snapping of bones reverberating across the battlefield as molten blood and hissing steam spewed from the wounds. Screaming in howling agony, Godzilla’s body illuminated, his melted spines flashing white. It wasn’t long until an empowered Spiral Ray erupts from his reptilian maw, the beam of searing heat and radiation crashing against Bagan’s armored torso and rugged skin. The power behind it delighted Bagan, but he would prove otherwise.

Collecting bubbles of plasma energy, the dragon’s mouth filled with an intense white light and fired it with tremendous force. The impact sent Godzilla tumbling across the battlefield, the relentless fury not letting up. Then as Bagan allowed the Plasma Breath to dissipate, the King of the Monsters struggled to rise back to his feet. But as soon as he did, his sickly blotches brightened with radioactive intensity, his melting spines flashing white. With all the power he could muster, Godzilla discharged a powerful Spiral Fire Ray.

Bagan was quick to respond in kind. His head horns surge with electric prowess, building energy in his snout. A lance of pure white tore through the air, colliding with the red beam laced with yellow spirals and white nuclear bolts. For the brief moment, the two streams of focused energy clashed, seeming to be locked in a stalemate. And although Godzilla had proven himself in this new state, Bagan would make sure he would keep his mantle as the strongest beast in all creation.

Bagan’s spires crackled with lightning, summoning more power than ever before. Adding it to his already powerful Plasma Breath, it slowly began to overpower the Spiral Fire Ray. It didn’t take long for the beam of light to shred through the rest of the atomic fire, striking Godzilla’s visage and ending in a powerful fiery boom. With that, Godzilla collapsed.

The ancient super monster stalked towards his prey, a seeming evil grin on his face. His body pulsed with electricity, warping the air and hissing as clusters of electricity detach from his form. They morphed and shifted, turning into the ever-so familiar tetragon-shaped energy weapons used to destroy the Japanese military forces. Flicking his wrist, a hail of diamonds puncture Godzilla’s armored hide, spraying molten blood and radioactive steam.

—

From within, the crew witnessed the severity of the situation at hand.

“My God…” Ogata murmured, his face lit up with a fearful grimace.

“Godzilla… He’s losing,” Yano stated, her eyes widening at the fact.

Taniguchi flipped the switches on the control board near the joysticks. He knew if Godzilla died, there would be no hope left. “Not on my watch.” Lieutenant Taniguchi’s eyes narrowed and he pushed the Super-X2 forward.

The noise stirred by the Super-X2’s arrival caught Bagan’s attention. The Gatling guns roared to life, pelting the beast’s layered exoskeleton with little to no avail. Its persistence did earn a sudden reflexive snap from Bagan’s tail, the Super-X2 narrowly avoiding it.

Bagan roared in irritation and he spat a white hot plasma breath at the super weapon, Taniguchi vaulting the Super-X2 in the air to avoid the beam. “Lieutenant!” the doctor shouted from the back. “We won’t last long against Bagan by ourselves!”

Flipping open the Fire-Mirror, Taniguchi silently agreed. The Super-X2 could barely handle Godzilla, but Bagan was something else entirely. He spun the super-weapon back around expertly, missiles pouring out of the various ports to rain down on Bagan, who responded with another plasma breath.

The Fire-Mirror easily caught the white beam and bounced it back at Bagan, who howled in agony and surprise at the feeling of his own beam being used against him. “The Fire-Mirror won’t survive another hit like that again!” Taniguchi yelled.

Bagan really was something else entirely. With just one shot of his beam weapon, he had nearly disabled the Super-X2’s trump card. He gritted his teeth in frustration. How much time did Godzilla need?

“I must admit; you humans have made some impressive feats of technology.”

They were all yanked out of their thoughts by the drones, the mothership hovering with a brand new swarm of the damned things, the alien appeared on the view screen, seemingly a little impressed with them. He inclined his large head. “You have made advances in technology you ordinarily would not have otherwise. Do not think I’m not aware of your Mechagodzillas. Or that they are both currently fighting in other areas. I will not say you are stupid creatures.”

“But?” Ogata asked sharply.

“But, it will not be enough. Godzilla’s power is strong, yes, but Bagan is stronger. Even with your super weapon, the two of you will not win this fight. Earth will fall.”

Taniguchi grimly stared out at the army before him. He briefly acknowledged Godzilla rising back to his feet, breathing raggedly. The fight was draining on both of them.

“If you give up Lieutenant, no one will blame you.” Taniguchi’s hands tightened around the Super-X2’s controls. With a defiant stare, he slammed a fist down on the control panel.

“The earth will not surrender!” he proclaimed fiercely. “We will fight to the last man and monster!” The Super-X2’s torpedoes roared out of their ports, taking out two drones with a giant fiery explosion.

The alien’s eyes went wide with surprise before narrowing. “Very well then. I will admit I do admire your courage and your resolve despite everything. Yet you will regret your choice. Attack!” The drones launched out at the Super-X2 and Godzilla. Taniguchi felt sweat on his brow. This would be their last stand.

As the Super-X2 surged forward, the radio blasted to life. “Lieutenant! This is the commander of the Fukuoka forces! Please respond!” Fukuoka? What were they calling for?

The commander’s familiar tone barked into the comm. “This is Commander Yoshida responding, say what you want quick, soldier!”

Explosions rocked the sky as Fighting Falcons screamed overhead. The deafening sound of minigun fire echoed in the sky as the attack helicopters stormed in defiantly. “Sir.” The commander’s voice rang over the radio. “Fukuoka has been secured. Repeat, Fukuoka has been secured. We’ve rerouted all available troops to you sir.”

Taniguchi watched in awe as the cavalry came charging in. The MBAWs, Full Metal Launchers, and DAGs were blitzing across the ground, the sky was alight with a hurricane of fire and bullets. Godzilla bellowed into the air, and led the charge back at Bagan.

The fighting would go on. Immediately, Taniguchi lunged the Super-X2 forward, firing off in complete frontal coverage as they carved a path through the drones to get to the mothership. The mothership was zipping about erratically in the air, firing at every non-alien ship they could see. The Super-X2’s Gatlings screamed to life as a searing blast of nuclear energy roared under the war machine, Godzilla thundering underneath and grappling with Bagan.

The two titans wrestled in the middle of the war zone, but even as the war for earth continued, it was clear Bagan was stronger than Godzilla. With a large grunt, the hulking monstrosity slammed Godzilla back to the ground, stomping harshly on the King of the Monsters. The cracking of bones was deafened by the fighting, but Bagan could hear it all too well. He bellowed with glee.

Godzilla soldiered through the pain as steam billowed into the air from the open wound. He fired a super-charged blast of atomic fury, the beam sparking with nuclear lightning as Godzilla pushed himself to his feet, clawing valiantly at Bagan.

With a howl, Bagan gashed a deep wound against Godzilla’s chest, forcing the monster king to cry out in pain and step back. It was the opening Bagan needed. He fired a relentless plasma breath at the already weakened monster king, blowing a chunk out of Godzilla’s leg.

The alien commander watched silently as the humans continued their struggle against them. “Why?” he questioned softly. “Why do they keep resisting? Why must they fight?” He was so perplexed by it all. These insignificant creatures, impressive yes, but compared to Bagan and his drones, they were weak. And yet they continued to fight.

“Most perplexing. No matter, they chose their future. They shall have it.” His brain pulsed as he telepathically communicated with Bagan. “Bagan. Target Godzilla’s second brain. If you destroy that, Godzilla will be yours. I will show you where it is.” The information obtained from his invasion of the lab granted him this knowledge, even if it took time to repair the corrupted data from the virus.

As Godzilla attempted to rise again, promising to himself that Bagan’s death would be slow and painful, he saw Bagan’s mood shift from cackling with sadistic glee to his former stoic demeanor, his red eyes calculating. Rage built up inside of him, roaring at Bagan, daring him to attack again.

He braced himself as Bagan’s maw lit up white, the spires igniting with blue light and crackling electricity, but then his vision whited as blinding pain shot through him like fire. Godzilla didn’t howl, he didn’t cry, he screamed. The narrow light ray collided against the searing abdominal region, more focused than before, shredding the compromised armored black scales and sickly orange patches, having been worn over the course of their fight. The plasma breath ripped through the thick layers of muscle and internal organs. Godzilla screamed in agony as he crumpled down to the ground after Bagan’s plasma breath completely destroyed his second brain. The white ray of light found its exit, erupting from the lower back. Just as quickly as his vision went white, it turned to blackness.

Godzilla was down.

The crew of the Super-X2 was silent with shock as Godzilla crumpled to the ground. Yano’s horrified whisper seemed loud in the crew’s ears. “Professor…Is. I-Is…. Godzilla dead?” Shaking, the professor checked the scanner.

“No,” he said hoarsely. They all could see the faint, red glow of Godzilla on the ground. “He’s alive. Barely. The second brain was completely destroyed though, so it’s a miracle Godzilla isn’t dead already.”

And those damned aliens had used his own research against the humans. He wanted to curse at himself for not being prepared, for all that happened.

But he couldn’t. No one but himself would blame him. “Professor Ogata?” He was snapped out of his thoughts by Commander Yoshida, staring stonily at him. “It’s time. Prepare the payload.”

“B-But sir…we weren’t sure if it would work on an alive and fully functioning Godzilla, and now you’re asking us to test it out to see what would happen to a nearly dead one!?” Yoshida’s eyes narrowed at the cynicism.

“That’s an order. Ms. Yano, please help the professor with the payload. Taniguchi?” The commander turned towards the pilot, who met his eyes once and nodded.

“I understand sir, I will personally take the G-Energy to Godzilla.” Silently, he pushed forward on the controls as Ogata and Yano prepared the G-Energy. It was all or nothing now.

“Excellent, Bagan!” crowed the alien from the mothership. “You’ve done an excellent job! Now finish off Godzilla, and let us liberate this Earth!” Bagan’s maw lit up with plasma, staring down at Godzilla. It was time to end this once and for all.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it. Going as fast as it could towards the downed Godzilla.

The Super-X2.

“Foolish humans. Do they honestly think they can stop us now? Take care of them, Bagan, then kill Godzilla!” This time, Bagan remained still, transfixed on the Super-X2.

It has been many years since he had once been around humans, far too long. But something deep inside was telling him, screaming at him to let the humans continue unharmed. Humanity was smart. The creatures that he once protected were cunning, Bagan knew of this. It was in their intellect that begot destruction, their encroaching advancements needing to be punished. But by a small grace, a gentle whisper in his mind told him that he would get what he wanted if he let them pass. He would get his ultimate wish.

A true fight. The humans could provide Bagan this much.

And that meant his captor was in the way.

“Bagan! What are you waiting for? Attack them!” Summoning his almighty power, Bagan opened his jaws wide as the plasma energy formed. Cranking his head suddenly, Bagan’s beam carved through several drones, sending the burning wrecks crashing to the ground.

The alien’s eyes opened wide with anger. “What are you doing!? I command you, destroy the humans and Godzilla!” To his horror, Bagan slowly turned around, flexing his claws and bellowing at the mothership.

The humans would be safe for now. And Bagan was calling for his blood.

“Protect me!” the alien called out in a panic. “Protect the mothership and destroy Bagan!” In an instant, another plasma breath rocketed out of Bagan’s mouth, uncaring about the sudden volley of fire being rained down on him by the drones.

The mothership banked sharply and shook violently in the air as the plasma breath clipped a bit of the ship. The alien tried his best not to scream out in pain because of it. Anger and desperation filled his veins and fueled his bloodlust. His own creature had turned on him. The last chance he had to wipe out the blasted humans was now fighting him.

If he could make Bagan, then he could break Bagan.

The mothership opened fire with an intensity that it never had before. The alien commander relentlessly fired blast after blast against Bagan, who completely ignored all of the aliens and tore down his drones one by one with his claws, tail, and energy.

Bagan howled into the air, and electricity sparked dangerously from the tips of his horns as his plasma energy formed into a much more dangerous attack. The alien commander’s eyes widened with fear and with a thought, a shield of drones covered the mothership.

The Diamond Storm rained death down upon the alien forces. Drones were instantly torn apart by the ferocity, and the shield that was raised to protect the mothership was being torn apart like paper.

“No!” the alien called out fearfully. “I was supposed to control this planet! I was the one chosen to become its new lord! NO!!” He screamed in agony as the Diamond Storm tore through the mothership, blacking out from the pain as the alien craft was sent hurtling into the ground, dust rocketing into the air when the mothership hit ground.

And when the mothership fell, so too, did the drones. The drones fell all across the world, powerless and broken. For now, humanity had achieved a great victory.

But Bagan was still alive.

After getting over the initial shock of seeing Bagan turn on his masters, the Super-X2 hovered over the downed Godzilla as Taniguchi secured the G-Energy capsule within his arms.

“Lieutenant…Taniguchi,” began the doctor. Taniguchi looked up at the doctor, his eyes full of fire. “I won’t stop you.” Ogata quickly affirmed, but he slid a hand to the young man’s shoulder. “You’re a braver man than most Lieutenant. You’re the best pilot G-Force will likely ever see and…” He paused for a moment, eyes full of warmth. “You’re also my friend, Taniguchi. I’d better see you back in that pilot’s seat as soon as possible.”

Taniguchi smiled confidently, and Yano briefly hugged him as the commander slapped Taniguchi’s other shoulder. “You’ll only be down there for a short time, so Godzilla’s radiation won’t kill you. Make it back in one piece though son. Who knows what Bagan could do?” Silently, Taniguchi nodded as he exited the Super-X2, and went down to Godzilla.

The irony was not lost on him as he approached the dying Godzilla. He had dedicated the rest of his adult life to killing the monster for the safety of the human race. Now he was going to save Godzilla’s life in order to save the human race. Funny how life worked like that.

“Please…” he spoke to the King of Monsters. He was fairly sure Godzilla couldn’t hear, let alone understand, him as he walked closer to Godzilla’s jaw. “Save us, Godzilla. You are our last hope.” With that final plea, he threw the G-Energy container down Godzilla’s throat, and scrambled back to the Super-X2 and into the controls. As he flew away, his heart was hammering in his chest.

Now they had to wait.

Bagan waited impatiently as the Super-X2 flew away, staring intently down at Godzilla. He growled in irritation as the seconds ticked on. He was eager to fight this new foe.

Godzilla was beginning to change. The changes were minor at first; his skin turned from charcoal-gray and red-orange to a dark royal purple and neon green. His eyes opened, a horn began to form on his forehead, sharp teeth growing out of his cheeks.

With a low, guttural growl, his shoulders began bulging out rapidly, the skin forming to a sharp spike at the very top of the shoulder. Spikes erupt from the tip of his wormy tail, glowing the same green as his body. Bagan watched in glee as his foe rose to his feet. He could feel the immense power washing over him and he couldn’t be happier.

Today, Bagan would finally fulfill his personal desire. Super Godzilla bellowed powerfully into the sky, before his deep red eyes locked onto Bagan.

It was time for one final battle.

With no hesitation, Godzilla and Bagan charged at one another, thunderously crashing together as their hands locked to try and dominate each other with power. Bagan snarled and pushed hard against the new super monster, sending Godzilla skidding back a bit.

Not to be outdone, Godzilla bellowed in rage at Bagan, and pushed back just as hard, his body surging with unholy amounts of nuclear energy as electricity conducted from Godzilla’s hands, shocking Bagan as he was roughly shoved back.

Bagan grinned with wicked delight as he fired his plasma breath at Godzilla. Super Godzilla’s spines and body flashed with a sick green color before he spat out an orange beam of atomic energy, which smashed into the plasma beam.

For a brief moment, the two blasts were in deadlock. Godzilla dug his feet into the ground and poured more of his renewed energy into his new attack. Much to Bagan’s surprise, his own beam was slowly being pushed back towards him! Bagan howled in pain as Godzilla’s attack slammed against his face and sent him stumbling back.

Godzilla wasted no time and charged Bagan, roughly slamming into him and pouring his energies into the attack. The impressive strength of this Super Godzilla bewildered Bagan, who nearly toppled over from the body strike. But he felt something else when Godzilla made impact; a surge of energy coursing through his body. But only after a few seconds did he get the results. Bagan screamed in howling pain as his armor ruptured with blue explosions, ripping across his body and sending him pedaling back even more. By the end of it, Bagan took a moment to clear his head a bit, his body working to repair the damages. As he snarled, he noticed an odd tasting sensation in his mouth. After putting his hand up to check, he looked down to see something that shook him to his core.

Blood. He tasted his own blood. He had actually been injured and his blood had been spilled because of it. He heard Super Godzilla’s roar and the thunder of footsteps marching towards him.

And Bagan devilishly grinned.

—

Landing the battered and beaten Super-X2 near the wreckage, Taniguchi hopped onto solid ground along with the rest of the crew, pistol at the ready. His new orders were to locate and arrest the alien for everything that he’d done to this Earth. Assuming it was still alive. “Come on… Let’s search the wreckage.”

The Super-X2 crew silently approached the downed mothership. Ms. Yano gasped out and pointed. “There sir! Trying to…!” Her words cut short, but Taniguchi sprinted forward towards where Yano pointed, raising his gun.

Its form was disgusting to see in person. The only reason they were even able to identify it as their enemy is because of the ever-so familiar visage. Everything they had known as all that there was; a gigantic brain, infused with electronic wires, dangling from the core of the wreckage. It was truly massive in size, comparable to a kaiju brain in terms of scale. It tried to pull itself free from entanglement, but only wound up slumping to the side. Veins pulsed, inflating and deflating as the rest of its cranial mass operated as normal.

“Stop!” Taniguchi cried. The alien brain stopped before it could do anything, although when Taniguchi approached it, he realized it was powerless now. Taniguchi had to suppress the urge to throw up at how hideous the alien looked. Its large brain-like head pulsated, its ear-holes twitching, looking over at Taniguchi before speaking into his mind.

“I am your prisoner, lieutenant.”

—

Godzilla raked his claws across Bagan’s chest, his evil blood spilling as the demon beast angrily hammered his fist against the neon green gut of his foe, temporarily winding the new super monster. Bagan grabbed at the throat of the powerful beast in an attempt to strangle him. But to his delight, Godzilla was able to easily throw him off.

Bagan bellowed as Godzilla spun around, his tail lighting up with electricity and firing a yellow orb at the ancient monster, who grunted as he raised his arms to block it, sliding back a bit. Godzilla reared up his fist, and with blinding speed, surged forward as a blue aura coated his fist, and the super punch landed with a loud crack against Bagan’s jaw.

A sudden eruption of plasma washed over Godzilla, howling at him with his repaired jaw. The beam carved a deep gash against the super monster, but as blood oozed down Godzilla’s arm, the gash healed quickly.

Bagan was over the moon with joy. Godzilla had finally proven to be a worthy adversary, already fighting him on equal ground. He dipped his head a little, snarling as he began to concentrate his energy.

—

“What’s Bagan doing?” The lieutenant demanded, pointing his gun firmly at the alien’s temple.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Lieutenant. Bagan is out of my control.” Taniguchi’s eyes hardened, but he knew it was the truth.

“What do I call you then? You’ve never given me your name.” The alien’s eyes shifted once again to Taniguchi.

“You may refer to me as Alien Miko.”

—

Super Godzilla could feel Bagan pooling his power together, and growled in anger. He spat his nuclear breath at the towering monolith, who tried vainly to block it with his energy barrier. He bellowed angrily at Bagan, who remained hunched over in front of him. It was time. It was finally time to show off his true power.

To fight at his best.

His strongest.

A baritone roar trumpeted across the desolate city; if there were buildings standing, glass shattered from the force. Bagan’s scream of power continued. Like before, his horns and spires crackled with lightning, the azure orbs flashing a bright blue. Godzilla was more than ready to pummel him, but came to a halt when he noticed something different. The orbs began to change in color, shifting from the bright blue to an illuminating white. Bagan’s crimson eyes, too, became a purifying white. The electricity and energy began to crawl along his armored back, forming a massive cluster of energy. Its brilliant luminescence shined brightly, forcing Godzilla to avert his eyes until they adjusted to the brightness.

From the cluster, six massive tentacles of pure energy unfurled from Bagan. From the appendages, a membrane of electricity connected the energy protrusions together. And with a mighty push, he was lifted into the sky in majesty.

The Wings of Light.

Bagan dove down at the surprised Godzilla, slamming into him roughly to the ground before dragging him along the city streets. The superbeast angrily screamed at the airborne Bagan, his maw flashing orange, but sent him crashing into a building and watched as the structure came toppling down on Godzilla. Before they knew it, the two titans were in the ruins of the Sumida.

Godzilla flashed violently, and with a mighty roar, atomized the building that had fallen on him with an orange nuclear pulse. Bagan couldn’t avoid the pulse and was sent spiraling into the Tokyo Skytree, which caved in on itself as Bagan hurdled through it. Nearly six hundred and thirty meters of man-made architecture came crumbling down as one of the last skyscrapers disappeared in a massive dust cloud.

Bagan shook his head clear and snorted. He could feel the void in his heart, the void that had been empty for so long. He could feel that void being filled and erased with desire. This was it. This was what he was seeking! His hands began to tremble, bones within his fingers began to loosen. Minus the thumb, his claws extended with nearly twice the length than they were before, charging with electrical joy.

—

“Amazing…” breathed Alien Miko. “I’ve never seen Bagan use those wings before. This…. Godzilla. It must be a truly outstanding creature for Bagan to use his maximum power.” Silently, Taniguchi nodded.

“Yes,” he agreed, watching the two titan’s duel. “Godzilla is outstanding.”

—

Bagan flapped his vibrant wings as he sped across the ground like a heat-seeking missile. As he drove his extended claws into Godzilla, he grunted in surprise when Godzilla had grabbed onto him.

Using his own momentum against him, Godzilla slammed Bagan into the ground with a judo flip. He yanked the claws out of his body, bellowing down at Bagan before sending the ancient monster skidding across the ground with a powerful Super Breath Attack.

Godzilla sprinted at the rising Bagan, refusing to give up the attack. He had nearly died twice this day, and he wouldn’t die for a third. Bagan, however, was ready for the charge and replied with a charge of his own, his head tucked down as he flew at breakneck speeds at Godzilla, goring him with his horns.

The King of the Monsters screamed in pain as electricity was pumped through his veins. He refused to fall here, he would not die! Godzilla used his new body’s affinity with electricity to redirect Bagan’s back at him, and now it was he who was wailing in pain.

Bagan lifted his head, using his herculean strength to toss Godzilla off his horns. Godzilla howled as his smoking body landed with a mighty thud away from Bagan.

Bagan turned to the down Godzilla, panting heavily, but feeling exhilarated! He had never felt happier in his entire life! Flying into the air, his power brewed darkly and he tore across the sky and over supercharged leviathan, thunder clapping as the Diamond Storm rained down, pelting Godzilla’s flesh as Bagan drank in the ensuing screams of pain. It was so… delightful.

Pain ached across Godzilla’s body. He had thrown almost everything he could at Bagan, and he knew that his new energy was running out. If he didn’t win now, he would die.

But somewhere, he knew he wasn’t fighting purely for himself. He was fighting for his home. The humans, as much as he despised them. He was fighting for them as well.

The image of his two sons flashed across his mind. Of Minilla and Junior. His sons. He was fighting for his family.

He would not fail them.

Surging with nuclear energy, Godzilla rose to his feet as his body flashed with power, and he gave a nuclear charged roar at Bagan. The King of the Monsters’s eyes were filled with fire and determination, and with renewed strength he watched as Bagan took off into the air. Now it was time to end it.

Godzilla’s spines rippled with energy as he spun around. Electricity danced and crackled along his tail as a bright yellow ball of energy shot out of the tip, honing in and crashing against one of shoulder spires. It forced Bagan to lose air momentum, if ever so briefly. But Super Godzilla was not going to stop. With every flick of his electrical tail, he shot more yellow orbs that found their mark on the draconic demon. But even after enduring the hits, Bagan refused to fall. Shooting vertically into the sky, Bagan began to gather plasma energy.

Gathering up the rest of his energy, Godzilla’s whole body began glowing with energy. The core at his stomach sparkled with a brilliant sky blue as Godzilla charged his most destructive weapon.

This would be it.

The final attack.

Bagan struck first, belching his charged plasma breath at Super Godzilla. Howling defiantly, he fired the Nova Beam. As the two beams raced towards one another, the Nova Beam morphed into the head of Super Godzilla, and it gave an echoing war cry as it slammed into Bagan’s plasma breath.

The two beams were dead-locked, gaining and losing ground quickly. Mustering up the last of his strength, his very being, Godzilla gave one last booming roar, and the Nova Beam began to engulf Bagan’s plasma breath.

Slowly, the plasma beam was being pushed back, and there was nothing Bagan could do to stop it. With a soul-shattering scream, Bagan was overwhelmed by the Nova Beam. In the instant it made contact, a massive sphere of light began to consume Bagan. The air around him warped and exploded, each one resulting in a deafening boom. To the onlookers, it was a hell of a sight to behold. The holy light cleansed the reddened sky, parting away the dark clouds to reveal the night sky for the first time.

As the light dissipated, the smoking body of Bagan dropped from the sky. His shoulder spires broken, his Wings of Light gone, most of his tri-horns missing, his body bruised, torn, and battered. Nearly 280,000 tons of solid mass fell to the ground in silence for half a minute before impact. Bagan’s broken body crashed into the solid earth, kicking up tons of dirt, debris, and shockwaves.

Godzilla, too, felt weak. The bright neon green faded as steam ruptured from his maw. His dark purple skin began to crack, pressuring steam slowly enveloping his form. His cranium, shoulder protrusions, chest, abdomen, legs, arms, and tail let loose with steam. Pieces of Super Godzilla’s skin begin to fall off, revealing the familiar charcoal black texture, evaporating into nothing. His deep red eyes return to their regular brown as his super powered body dissolved. As his exterior disappeared, Godzilla stumbled out of the smoke. His spines returned to their original bony-white state and his flesh no longer tainted by the burning patches. Finally worn, Godzilla collapsed.

—

“Why did you do it?” Taniguchi asked Alien Miko, forcing himself away from the fight. “Why did you attack us? We did nothing to you!”

Alien Miko sighed, gazing out at the ruined city. “I had no choice. It was to protect you.”

Taniguchi spluttered in disbelief. “Protect us!? How is wiping us out protecting us!?”

“I wasn’t aiming to kill you!” snapped Alien Miko, before the alien sighed out slowly to calm himself. “It was never my intention to kill you. But you pushed back until I had no other choice. I was trying to save you, not from Bagan, but from Godzilla.” Taniguchi eyed Alien Miko suspiciously, but motioned for him to continue.

“In the future, Godzilla will wipe out everything. Everyone. No one will be safe from him. I had gone back in time before Godzilla was even created to find a monster powerful enough to fight him. I found Bagan.” The alien’s head inclined at the fallen monster. “I had thought Bagan was powerful enough to beat Godzilla. He was easily wiping out not only the Nazca, but he was fighting off two guardian monsters not long after that. I thought if I could experiment with the Godzilla and Ghidorah cells, he might stand a chance… But I was wrong. Take me away if you wish. I thank you for listening to me. I suspect it will be the last time I get to tell anyone.” The invader glanced up at Taniguchi. “We both know I will likely die in incarceration.”

Yoshida motioned for the EDF and G-Force soldiers to prepare and gather cranes and construction vehicles to haul the mass of biological matter, though securing him in a specialized prison was going to be a different issue entirely. The alien’s eyes stopped cold when he heard movement.

Slowly, the broken Bagan rose to his feet. Much to everyone’s shock, they gaped in horror as Bagan stood to his full height, and roared into the night. The titanic dragon weakly stumbled towards the fallen monster king.

“Oh God,” Yoshida fearfully beckoned. “Everyone, get out of here now!”

Taking what they could, Taniguchi, Yano, and Ogata hopped aboard the Super-X2 while Yoshida stayed with the personnel to accompany Alien Miko’s eventual trip to his cell. Both parties went their separate ways, with the Super-X2 staying behind to record this moment in history. There was no way they could even fight Bagan in this state; their ammunition had practically run dry, and the Fire-Mirror too damaged to handle another beam attack. They were only witnesses now.

“Lieutenant,” Yano spoke up. “Do you think what Alien Miko said was true? About Godzilla destroying us?”

He thought about it for a moment, before sighing wearily. “I don’t know. It’s impossible to tell. I certainly can’t deny it though.”

“Godzilla is a monster born from our mistakes,” Ogata said, his voice filled with remorse, “and maybe, so too will this Super Godzilla. Only time will tell if that is so. Of course, theoretically speaking, Godzilla shouldn’t be able to transform of his own accord. And with the last of my records destroyed after Alien Miko’s raid, I don’t think anyone will be able to replicate the process. Still, only time can tell what fate has in store for humanity.”

“That is, assuming any of Alien Miko’s words are meant to be true,” Taniguchi rebutted gently.

“Point taken, soldier,” Yano winked. “Though what was up with the freak out with your question?”

“Who knows. Commander Yoshida might be able to pull it out of him eventually.” After that, everything was silent. They sat quietly, waiting to see the outcome of what was transpiring before them.

—

Powerful footfalls stirred Godzilla from his exhausted slumber. The monster king lazily looked up at the ravaged dragon with tired eyes. Bagan likewise gazed down at him, his crimson eyes brimming with life. From the back of his throat, Bagan emitted a humble growl. If it hadn’t been for Godzilla, Bagan would have never found joy and a true reason to live. For a long time, he thought death would be his only solace. Today, he was proven wrong. And off in the distance, a familiar chirp rang in his ears that grabbed his attention.

The crew of the Super-X2 were taken aback by this new appearance. “Mothra!”

Flapping her mighty wings, her blue compound eyes visible in the dark sky, Mothra appeared like an angel from the heavens. She gently floated down, meeting eye to eye with Bagan.

“Y’know, we could have used her help earlier,” Taniguchi jokingly retorted. Yano slapped him on the back of the head and glared, forcing an apology out of him. Before they could bicker any further, a small light materialized within the Super-X2. At first, they couldn’t distinguish what it was, but it turned out to be that of the Earth’s Cosmos. The twins, cladded in silky orange dresses and beautiful jewelry of an age long forgotten, bowed as a sign of respect.

“What brings you here?” Ogata asked quietly.

“We have come to give our gratitude,” the two fairies responded with utmost sincerity, beaming proudly at the humans, “that you have helped save the Earth from destruction.”

“Please,” Taniguchi replied humbly, bowing his head slightly. “The pleasure is ours. We did what we needed to for the best of humanity.”

“And to that, we’re thankful.” The fairies gave the humans a brilliant, beaming smile.

Yano inspected the monitors, seeing Bagan and Mothra chatting to each other with grunts and chirps. “What are they saying?” she questioned.

“Bagan is requesting to be locked up in the Earth, as consolation for his sins and to restore order to the world.”

“What do you mean by that?” Yano inquired.

“A long time ago, Bagan was a guardian of the Earth. He was the protector of the forests, the seas, and the skies, and the animals that walk among us, including humans. But one day, in an act of vengeance against humans and those endowed with the power of knowledge, he broke his vows. He swore an oath to eradicate all humankind and those like humans for their selfish acts against nature.”

“So like Battra, then?” Taniguchi replied.

They nodded. “Except Bagan went too far. His lust for justice became tainted by an evil desire and a will to become stronger. And it is because of this newfound power that he needs to be sealed. Nature has an order, and if that balance is not adhered to, then chaos will certainly spawn.” They paused, tilting their heads towards the battlefield. “But perhaps, in time, Bagan too can be redeemed.”

“I see,” the professor remarked. They all looked at the monitors once more, seeing everything unfold before their eyes.

—

With what strength he could muster, Godzilla rose to his feet. His height paled compared to Bagan, but the two met eye to eye. The monster king heard everything he needed to know. In the beginning, he thought Bagan was simply an enemy of the Earth like so many others. But knowing this, he felt a kinship with the giant dragon. They were more alike than he originally thought; wrathful monsters born of arrogance and misdeeds.

Mothra chirped at Godzilla, communicating in a language only they could understand, wanting him to move away. It was never often that Godzilla obeyed the words of another, but Mothra was an ally that he had earned respect for. Godzilla cleared out of the parameter.

The rainbow-winged lepidopteran ascended above Bagan’s massive form, sparkling in a golden, heavenly glow. The great dragon rested upon the Earth, letting loose a low howl. Then from the earth below, he created an armored cocoon that encased him. The biomass at first stood idle until it began pumping its fluids.

Circling around Bagan’s newly formed cocoon, a ring of golden energy was formed in Mothra’s wake. Then within the ring, her symbol appeared in brilliant luminance. The seal descended upon the grotesque sphere, pushing it deep into the Earth and blocking the hole with rocks, dirt, and debris. As the shining spell faded, the burn it left behind represented as an eternal indicator that his area had been purified by Mothra.

—

“And please, listen to us; we implore you all, never wake Bagan from his slumber,” the Cosmos said, uttering a warning. “Lest you bring about the destruction of the world by throwing it into chaos.”

“Rest assured, Cosmos of the Earth, we won’t,” Ogata pledged solemnly. Yano and Taniguchi nod in agreement.

“Until the next time we meet, may you all prosper with good futures.” With that, the twins disappeared in a blink of an eye.

“So how do you think the Commander is doing with our alien friend?” Taniguchi asked with a smirk on his face.

“Let’s go check,” said Yano.

They scanned the monitors once more, finally seeing them off. The dawn of the morning sun rose from the horizon. Mothra returned to the skies, Godzilla to the sea. The Super-X2 returned to HQ. Humanity would rebuild, stronger and more understanding than before. A bright future awaited everyone.

—

Deep beneath the surface of the Earth.

The darkness enveloped him, but did not control him. Within the biomass, it fed him with the necessary nutrients to remain alive. Bagan’s heart pulsated with life. Long ago, he was born into the land of legend. While it may no longer exist, he dwelled in his own phantom paradise.

He recalled his sins. How he once howled with insurmountable pleasure as he laid waste to the advancements of olden empires and extraterrestrial warships. How he betrayed the oath of the Earth in the pursuit of power. How his guardian kin, Mothra and Battra, had to seal him away in fear of his corruption. All of this at last remedied through one that mirrored his own willpower and ambition. Even in the eyes of a superbeast such as himself, they were one worthy to hold the title of King of All Monsters. And one that could be entrusted with the fate of the world.

Until the day the Earth needed his awesome power, Bagan would sleep, knowing full well that there were others out there. Others of equal power, if not even stronger.

He took solace in that. And in his solace, Bagan drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Draw: Godzilla (Heisei), Bagan