Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski

1954: an ancient colossus moved beneath the waves around the Bikini Atoll. This colossus was known as Godzilla, a mere legend of man proved true. Blackened burn marks covered his body, blood leaked from various wounds, and his internal supply of radiation was low. Godzilla sensed radiation nearby, filling him with hunger. He simply hoped nothing would interfere this time.

In a bunker miles away from the Bikini Atoll, a group of highly esteemed people gathered. High ranking officers of the U.S. military, scientists, and high-ranking members of the group Monarch watched as Godzilla moved closer to the nuclear bomb known as Castle Bravo.

“Are you sure this will kill Godzilla?” stated one of the Monarch officials, beginning to doubt the nuclear behemoth even could be killed.

“Of course it will, this bomb’s the strongest we’ve ever made. Nothing could survive this one,” bragged a general, a cocky grin forming on his face. “That lizard’s as good as dead,” he added.

Another Monarch official began to speak, only to be silenced by one of the scientists, holding a pair of binoculars, exclaiming “He’s surfacing!”

Everyone clamored to the viewing window of the bunker, the one’s lucky enough to get there first grabbing binoculars. “Gentlemen, get ready to witness history!” proclaimed a scientist as he pressed the button to trigger the detonation.

On that day, they would witness history. But not in the way they thought.

Godzilla breached the surface, his head rising high into the air. He looked at the source of the radiation he sensed, a yellow object resting upon the shore. Godzilla groaned, fully aware of what would come next. He braced himself.

A tremendous shockwave miles wide tore through the surrounding area, followed by a horrific wave of heat. Trees, along with whatever else was unfortunate enough to be nearby, on the surrounding isles were reduced to ash by the devastating power. An overpowering noise bellowed for all within miles to hear, nearly deafening the people in the far off bunker.

“What the hell was that?” shouted the general, his ears still ringing.

“There m-must have been a miscalculation somewhere, the bomb wasn’t supposed to be nearly that powerful!” stammered out one of the scientists. “A miscalculation!”

An admiral cut in, enraged. “Do you realize the damage that had to have done? We’ll be lucky if we don’t die of radiation poisoning!”

“Did it at least kill Godzilla?” questioned a Monarch official, receiving a multitude of angry glares in response.

“How could that have possibly not killed him?” yelled a scientist at the top of his lungs.
Before the whole bunker could devolve into a bickering contest, they were all cut off by the almost timid voice of another Monarch official watching through binoculars. “G-guys, you might want to see this…”

Godzilla’s eyes slowly opened. Every nerve in his body burned with agony as he slowly sank beneath the raging waters. If it hadn’t been for the insane amounts of radiation the blast released, he wouldn’t have survived. As his body absorbed the nuclear energy and healed itself, Godzilla began slowly making his way to the surface. The nuclear behemoth rose from the water, now seeing that the explosion had thrown him a great distance. He looked down, now realizing his chest armor had been scorched black. He began to swim forward, toward the source of the explosion and hopefully more radiation, when a horrid bellow struck his ears. Then the water a few hundred meters before him began to rise, as if something massive was surfacing. Another booming roar echoed across the waters, but its source was much further away and behind Godzilla, causing him to ignore it.

“How is it still alive?” screamed the general, his fists clenched and shaking violently.

“It’s the radiation, it has to be!” a Monarch official stated.

“We’ll either need to produce megaton level explosions without radiation, or make a nuclear bomb so powerful Godzilla doesn’t have a body to regenerate,” added a scientist.

“If we keep building bigger bombs, we’ll destroy ourselves before Godzilla ever gets a chance to,” grimly claimed another Monarch official.

As the inhabitants of the bunker argued amongst themselves, a scientist watching the behemoth dropped his binoculars, his hands shaking and covered with sweat. His breathing heavy, he stammered out three words that gave even the hardiest men pause. “There’s two Godzillas!”

Standing before Godzilla, there stood a smoldering monster of fresh creation, its stance upright. It had green scales charred black, small round eyes with pinprick pupils, and jagged dorsal spines jutting from its back. It was bulky, not quite as much as its counterpart, as he stood a head taller than the new creature, but it clearly still had muscle. The second Godzilla’s eyes darted back and forth, his head jerking from side to side.

The primordial Godzilla carefully stepped forward, recognizing the roar of anguish from this new arrival. The first Godzilla considered interacting with this creature that resembled himself, but before he could do anything, another roar sounded just behind the original Godzilla, followed by a rising bulge of water. Before the primordial beast could react, a pair of short, muscular arms burst from the water and dug their claws into him. The water fell away, revealing another massive creature, its sharp teeth bared in a snarl. Its scales were black, and uniform three-pronged spines ran down its back. The third Godzilla continued pushing against the alpha-predator, who braced himself. Breaking away, the primordial Godzilla turned to meet his new foe. The alpha-predator let out a mighty roar directly into the face of the black leviathan, who responded with a roar of his own. The two titans collided, locking hands and shoving against the other.

“There’s three of them now? Why, how?” an admiral stammered out.

“Why do all three look different? Are they all separate species?” questioned a scientist.

“The latter two may be evolutionary branch offs of the first Godzilla’s species, both awakened or attracted by Castle Bravo’s radiation,” exclaimed another scientist.

“How do we kill them, that’s all I care about!” yelled the general.

A Monarch official, watching the fight between the two Godzillas through binoculars, chimed in. “Just let them fight amongst themselves, they seem to be pretty territorial.”

A scientist also holding binoculars, but instead watching the green Godzilla break away from the pair yelled, “Yes, but what about the one that’s currently fleeing?”

The general contemplated both statements for a brief moment before immediately barking out orders. “Radio the fleet of ships we have nearby, tell them to stay out of the radiated zones and to keep the first Godzilla distracted until one of those two new ones dies!”

Their shoving contest seemingly going nowhere, the ancient Godzilla threw his head forward, bashing it against the black leviathan’s own. The new Godzilla cried out in shock, the blow throwing his focus off long enough for the alpha-predator to rake his right claws against his face. The brown behemoth punched the dark dragon with his left fist, staggering him back even further. The ancient Godzilla opened his jaws, before lunging at his foe’s face. The black leviathan ducked beneath the attempted bite, before turning his body and ramming his shoulder into the alpha-predator’s torso. The new Godzilla dug his claws deep into the behemoth’s blackened chest, drawing strands of crimson blood, before beginning to pull his claws out. The first Godzilla screamed in agony as he felt two of the armor plates on his chest begin to be pulled off. The brown behemoth grabbed his foe’s arms, then with a cry of pain yanked them free from his body. Two noticeable wounds now scarred his chest, leaking small rivers of ichor. The new Godzilla bit down on his foe’s neck, the teeth digging into the alpha-predator’s gills, drawing even more blood. The original Godzilla cried out in agony, but the agony soon changed into something different.

Rage.

The alpha-predator slammed both of his fists into the sides of the black leviathan’s skull, the blows sounding like the crack of thunder. The new Godzilla stumbled backward, streams of blood pouring from his ears and visible, deep dents where he was struck. The dents on his head began to fill back up, an unseen regeneration already working. The alpha-predator grabbed his foe’s shoulders, shoving him toward a nearby island. The primordial behemoth threw his foe forward, onto the now wet sand of a small island. The dark atomic saurian landed on his back, his head almost fully healed from the attack. The original Godzilla marched up to his foe, stood over his body, and then raised his massive, elephantine foot. The alpha-predator stomped hard onto his foe’s chest, being rewarded with a cry of anguish. Another stomp, a subtle cracking sound. A third brutal stomp, a sickening crack followed. The alpha-predator brought his foot high, hoping to tear clean through the leviathan’s chest this time. He brought it down, but the atomic saurian caught the foot with his hands, barely keeping it above his chest. His regeneration already working to heal his chest and ribs, the new Godzilla shoved upward with all his might, staggering the original Godzilla and forcing him to stumble backward. Flipping over onto his chest, the black leviathan pushed against the ground as he got back to his feet. The two titans stared at each other, their clawed hands both flexing in anticipation.

The fleeing Godzilla waded through the waters, hoping to find some kind of place to rest. One moment he had simply been resting, the rest of his herd nearby. His mate tending to their nest, all seemed normal and simple. Then, there was a horrid sound, accompanied a seemingly unending light. Then, they were all gone. His herd, his mate, his offspring, all nowhere to be seen. His own body, now twisted and terrifying in ways he had never thought imaginable. He hoped this was all some sick dream, that none of it was real, that he would wake up and all would be back to normal. As he moved, something on the water’s surface caught his attention. More things began to arrive, drawing closer. A human would recognize them as a small fleet of battleships, but to Godzilla’s primal mind, they were strange shapes that he had almost nothing to compare to. Suddenly, the ships opened fire, massive shells firing from huge guns aboard the boats. The hail of projectiles crashed against the mountain of flesh, earning growls from the colossus. The humans onboard mistook them for pain, prompting them to fire more. But the shells caused no real harm to Godzilla, only annoyance. Godzilla charged at the fleet, his growls growing more intense. He reached the front most ships, then let out a booming bellow of pure rage. The ships stopped firing, now attempting to flee. The titan kicked a ship just in front of him, sending the metal construct flying above the rest. Some of the fleeing ships shot at him, hoping desperately to halt the coming rampage. As the first ship sent flying hit the water, killing everyone on board, another ship was almost folded in half by a strike from the colossus’ tail. Suddenly, an explosion blinded one of Godzilla’s eyes. The behemoth stumbled backward, roaring in genuine pain. One of the battleships crews had the idea to fire at his eyes, seeing them as a weak point. Instead of driving the monster away, the attack had only made things far worse. Godzilla opened his jaws, causing a geyser of white smoke to pour from his maw. The geyser struck one of the ships, immediately causing it to glow red and melt. Godzilla began thrashing his head side to side, spraying the deadly mist over the rest of the fleet. Even if every ship wasn’t destroyed completely, the heat still instantly killed every man the attack passed over. Some of the battleships exploded, sending molten shrapnel in all directions and killing those who avoided the smoke.

Within the bunker, all was silent. Everyone in the bunker somberly hung their heads, having just heard over the radio the final moments of one unfortunate crew.

“What have we done?” Whispered one of the scientists, so quiet some wondered if he had even meant to say it out loud.

The dark Godzilla charged forward, his footsteps shaking the earth. The original Godzilla waited. The black leviathan neared his foe, claws ready to tear into him. The nuclear behemoth turned swiftly, his long tail whipping into his foe’s shoulder. A loud snapping sound, followed by a cry of agony echoed across the land. The new Godzilla stepped back, his left shoulder dislocated and broken. Before the arm could heal, the brown behemoth lunged forward and grabbed the appendage, yanking it downward. More snaps and pops sounded as the original Godzilla attempted to rip his foe’s arm off. The black leviathan clawed at the alpha-predator with his other arm, but it failed to deter him. The atomic saurian flailed in his foe’s grip, but the flesh around his shoulder was beginning to tear and gush crimson ichor.

The new Godzilla’s spines glowed a bright azure.

A solid blue pillar of atomic power exited the new Godzilla’s maw, crashing against the original Godzilla’s chest. The brown behemoth was pushed back as a series of explosions blasted away chunks of armor and flesh. The atomic ray ceased, only for the black leviathan’s spines to flash again. The ray tore apart the ground before its user, before the atomic saurian lifted his head up and swept the beam up the behemoth’s body, forcing out a screech of agony. As the original Godzilla stood still, his body wracked with great pain, the new Godzilla slowly stepped forward, his lips parting in a vile grin. He didn’t know where that power had come from, but he didn’t care. The dark atomic saurian prepared to fire another blast, but a loud crackling sound caught him off guard. A similar blue glow began travelling up the original Godzilla’s spines. The brown behemoth gasped in air, before opening his jaws and firing a cascade of what looked like blue flames. The atomic breath struck the new Godzilla, scorching his chest charcoal black and pushing him away. The black leviathan’s feet dug trenches through the sand as he was pushed back, trying to focus long enough to fire back with his own atomic breath. The stream of fire ended, yet the nuclear behemoth’s spines still glowed. Before the alpha-predator could attack again, the new Godzilla charged forward, his spines now glowing. The two merely one hundred yards away, both released their atomic breathes. The two beams struck each other, sending out a shockwave that sent sand flying. As the two titans continued their struggle, neither giving an inch, a blue sphere began to manifest where the two rays collided. The energy sphere began to move closer to the black leviathan, only to be pushed back toward the brown behemoth. Putting more power into his beam, the original Godzilla moved the sphere back toward the center, the heat from both of their beams beginning to glass the sand below the sphere. Both colossi dug their feet into the ground, bracing themselves.

The orb began to pulse oddly.

The two Godzilla were thrown back by a massive explosion, one which shook the whole island they fought on. Sand was either obliterated or turned to glass, trees were burned to cinders, and radiation deadly to most lifeforms was spread throughout the island. The original Godzilla was sent flying into the water, while the new Godzilla hit the ground harshly, sending sand and chunks of glass soaring. The dark atomic saurian got up, his entire front scorched jet black. He immediately began running forward, and dove into toward the water. He wasn’t done with his foe yet!

Submerged beneath the waves, the new Godzilla searched for his foe. He dove down further, knowing it would take more than that explosion to kill the behemoth. His ears picked up the sound of something large swimming toward him. Before he could react, the original Godzilla slammed into the new Godzilla’s side, bashing him against the rock wall beneath the island. Ignoring the boulders that fell from the impact, the alpha-predator began punching his foe’s face with his right hand. The black leviathan slashed his claws against one of the open wounds on his foe’s chest, but no cry of pain came. Instead, the brown behemoth grabbed the new Godzilla by the face, before slamming his head against the rock wall. Seeing a cloud of blood float up from behind his hand, the alpha-predator bashed his foe’s head against the rocks once more. A blue flash caught the original Godzilla’s eye, before another, brighter flash of an atomic ray consumed the thumb on his left hand. Pulling his hand back in agony, the brown behemoth saw that his thumb had been burnt down to the bone. The new Godzilla prepared to fire another atomic ray. The alpha-predator threw both of his hands forward, wrapping them around the black leviathan’s throat. The original Godzilla squeezed with all of his might, ignoring his foe’s thrashing and clawing. The alpha-predator lunged his body forward, crashing his foe into the rock wall so hard an indent formed. Foam began to fill the new Godzilla’s maw, his movements slowing. The original Godzilla lunged forward again, his foe almost halfway into the mountain. The dark atomic saurian’s spines flashed a deep blue.

A powerful wave of energy erupted from the new Godzilla’s body, breaking the alpha-predator’s grip on his throat and pushing the behemoth back, along with melting the rock behind him. The original Godzilla could barely process the pain and shock he felt. The black leviathan charged up another beam, but this time azure strands of atomic power danced around his spines as he did. Having absorbed the excess radiation from his nuclear pulse, the atomic ray that the new Godzilla fired had white spirals surrounding it. The blue spiral ray lanced into the alpha-predator’s stomach, obscuring half of his body with a massive explosion. A colossal cloud of blood floated toward the surface as it was soon revealed that the blast had torn the original Godzilla’s stomach open, revealing bones and internal organs. The new Godzilla prepared to finish the job, but a loud rumbling stopped him. He looked up, realizing that the cavern he had created with his nuclear pulse, along with the heat from his spines during the spiral ray, was collapsing. He tried to flee, when an avalanche fell over the opening of the hole. He tried to blast the falling rocks away, but nothing would come out of his mouth. Godzilla cried out wrathfully as thousands of tons of rock fell onto his drained, weary body.

Several helicopters landed near the bunker, ready to escort everyone on site back to America.

“Remember, you all saw nothing here aside from Castle Bravo’s explosion.” Coldly stated a Monarch official. Nobody else said anything, just boarding their respective helicopters, everyone not associated with Monarch hoping they would be able to forget what they saw.

The original Godzilla’s eyes slowly opened, horrid searing pain wracking his whole body. He wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious for, but he did know that he had healed slightly. He looked down, seeing a thin layer of flesh over his stomach, slowly getting thicker as it regenerated. The alpha-predator began to slowly swim away, but he cringed as his muscles burned at the movement. Thinking for a brief moment, Godzilla decided to close his eyes again, drifting back to sleep.

The black Godzilla burst from his cave, but he felt no sense of triumph. He felt empty, in multiple ways. His stomach felt empty, and something told him flesh would no longer fill that void. As the beast looked out into the endless abyss of the ocean, he felt a sense of loss, not of possession but direction. One moment, he had been a normal dinosaur, dying slowly on an island, alone. But then there was a gigantic sound and light, and then he was no longer dying, but his body was changed drastically and painfully. Filled with fury and desperate for revenge against the world, he had lashed out against the first thing he had seen. Now, he had no idea of what to do.

The green Godzilla rested in an undersea cave, but he felt no peace. Part of him wondered if he’d ever feel peace again.

Draw: Godzilla (Heisei), Godzilla (Legendary)