Authors: Matthew Williams & Matthew Freese | Banner: Tyler Trieschock

[Continued from Match 283]

A loud shout arose from Zone Fighter as the giant alien was blasted into the air before crashing into a skyscraper. The towering building didn’t stand a chance against the impact as it slowly crumbled down, burying the Meteor Man. The remaining citizens who had yet to evacuate the chaos that fell upon their city watched their fallen protector, horrified as they had no other choice but to flee for their lives.

Zone Fighter lifted his head out of the pile of shattered concrete. He had a pounding headache while his ears rang, making him unable to hear anything clearly. The alien could hear faint voices and explosions nearby, so he looked to his right. His eyesight was blurry, but his large, bulbous orbs located the unsettling scene of dozens of screaming people. They were sprinting as quickly as they could, passing by several lifeless bodies of those who were unlucky enough to be crushed by pieces of debris. Soldiers were escorting the evacuating people, with some helping carry those too injured to move. It was an unsettling sight, especially for Zone Fighter, despite having so many battles that led to such destruction in the past. He could never get used to such carnage, his heart refused to go numb to it.

A powerful gust blew through the air, blowing away some of the debris that rested on Zone Fighter’s buried body, along with anything else that stood in the way. The evacuating citizens and soldiers screamed as they were instantly swept into the air as if by a tornado. The Peacelandian gazed up, looking directly at the source of this gale.

The ground shuddered when the abandoned Futurian creation, King Ghidorah, landed. His three draconic heads leered at Zone Fighter, seeing that their new opponent was too injured to rise. Recently, King Ghidorah had been searching for a new home from which to heal the wounds he had received during his escape from the Garogas’ new fortress on Mars. Upon his arrival to Earth, the clone of the true King of Terror had sought out Sendai as a safe refuge, only to be attacked by another giant that had the potential power to dominate this planet: Godzilla.

Once again finding himself lacking before the King of the Monsters, he retreated to find a new resting place. After days of searching, Sapporo, Hokkaido was where he eventually reached and settled on. Like a medieval dragon raiding a village, King Ghidorah had ravaged the city to claim it as his new home, demolishing countless buildings and slaughtering thousands of civilians. The moment Hikaru Sakimori saw this on the news, he shifted into Zone Fighter without hesitation and teleported to Sapporo to slay the dragon. For he had actually already faced this King Ghidorah shortly after it had fled from Godzilla, yet he had failed that time…

Despite possessing skills and powers capable of overcoming the real King Ghidorah, Zone Fighter was failing against the imitation. Marching towards his downed foe, the three-headed monster winced as he moved his still recovering legs. Raising a foot, he slammed it down into the warrior’s chest, earning a cry of anguish.

The Peacelandian tried desperately to call upon some hidden reserve of strength to pry the leg off his form, but he could not. King Ghidorah twisted his foot, grinding it against the guardian’s rib cage. Zone Fighter’s head dropped as his meter began to blink red, filling the air with a droning siren. Seeing his foe go limp filled King Ghidorah with pride, and he expressed it with a triple shriek to the skies of Sapporo. He stepped off his foe, turning away and walking.

Zone Fighter’s yellow eyes stared at the sky above him, feeling hopeless and weak. How could a lesser clone of King Ghidorah do this to him? He had defeated the true King Ghidorah, yet this imitation conjured up by man was too much? The first time made sense, for he had already been worn down by a previous battle.

“Hikaru…”

Zone Fighter heard the faint voice echoing. His ears were still ringing, making it hard to tell who’s voice it was. Could his family be calling for him? The more he listened to it calling out to him, the more he felt his determination building up to rise up and perform one last assault.

”Hikaru…! Hikaru!”

Zone Fighter pulled his aching body up to stand, groaning as he tried to endure the pain. King Ghidorah grew annoyed when he heard the Peacelandian rising, then turned around. But by the time the hydra’s six crimson eyes gazed at the hero, Zone Fighter had crossed his arms before spreading them apart.

”Meteor Missile Might!”

A pair of wrist-bound gauntlets manifested on Zone Fighter’s forearms, and with only just a few seconds left, he wasted no time to attack. The silver giant aimed his left arm and opened fire with a volley of missiles, bombarding King Ghidorah. The golden hydra screamed when he felt dozens of explosions erupt all over his body, blasting chunks of his scaly hide and tearing through his large wings. His legs had craters punched into them, exposing muscle and bone. Zone Fighter ran towards Ghidorah, still shooting until his wrist gauntlet was out of ammo. Before the Futurian bioweapon had a chance to attack, the Hero of Justice had aimed his right arm directly at the central head’s throat, where he then unleashed the missiles he had been saving.

A bombardment of deployed explosives ignited the main neck, scattering blood, flesh, and scales everywhere. King Ghidorah’s screams echoed throughout Hokkaido, his voice growing louder and more anguished until the middle head was severed. Zone Fighter had ceased fire when the severed appendage landed on the pavement. Ghidorah’s body then slumped onto his knees, before collapsing to the ground.

Zone Fighter’s exhausted powers had finally depleted, forcing him to revert back to his human form. Hikaru stood on the damaged streets, surrounded by heaps of rubble and toppled, crushed vehicles. The Peacelandian fell onto his aching knees, panting and cringing from his sore body.

Hikaru gazed up to discover that his last chance to kill King Ghidorah had not quite succeeded. The hydra still breathed, though barely. He was more red than gold at this point, and his wings were shredded, skin barely suspended between the bones. The warrior of justice let a sigh of relief leave his mouth, before gasping in another deep breath just to try and remain awake. Had he finally won? Was his family finally—

A silver, flying saucer descended, hovering above King Ghidorah’s rapidly failing body.

Hikaru desperately fought to stay awake, just to see what would happen. He wanted to stand up and keep fighting, but his body refused to comply. He tried to push himself up, but his rumbling arms gave out, dropping him limply to the pavement. Anger rose in his heart, but it failed to fuel him as his wounds got the best of him. He shrank down to his human-sized form, remaining comatose.

Dozens of minutes passed, almost reaching a full hour. Hikaru’s body was still resting on the road, while the mangled King Ghidorah was gone. The ship had, to no one’s surprise, stolen the hydra away with a beam of light. Eventually, the hero was discovered by several soldiers that were scouting out to search for survivors. Before they could come any closer, one of the soldiers warned the others when he spotted what looked like a meteorite falling from the sky.

The troops began to fall back to take cover, bracing for the collision. But the unidentified object slowed down to a complete halt, standing fifteen meters in the air directly above Hikaru. The soldiers gazed at the subject, appearing like an enormous red sphere made out of energy, constantly emitting light within, while a faint eerie sound could be heard.

It stood still for a few seconds, where the noise it generated grew louder, and the soldiers saw Hikaru’s body being carefully lifted into the air. They weren’t given the order to open fire, fearing that their firearms could accidentally hit Hikaru. It didn’t take long for the unconscious Peacelandian to be sucked into the red matter, swallowed by its mass of shimmering light. The spherical being began to ascend, moving faster than a launched rocket, the military forces were unable to do anything but watch it moving higher until it disappeared within the clouds.

Year: 2204 A.D…

The sound of whirring machines echoed through the main chamber of a huge docking bay, with mechanical appendages moving about, making the last adjustments on their task.

Resting in this giant room was the ruined body of King Ghidorah, who had been brought back to the time period his masters came from. The hydra had been discovered by the Futurians, for they wasted no time retrieving their creation and took it back into their technologically thriving timeline.

To ensure he did not move and exacerbate his injuries, the golden dragon had been drugged into a powerful coma. As he slept, they had gone to work and undergone the lengthy process of removing now useless limbs and organs in order to replace them with machinery.

“All preparations of Project: Mecha have been completed, King Ghidorah is finally rebuilt,” the M10 reported to his boss.

“Excellent, then let’s have a look,” Wilson spoke in anticipation, getting off his seat and following the Android, who guided him to the enormous chamber. Wilson’s eyes fell upon King Ghidorah, marveling at the wounded hydra’s new mechanical limbs. The hydra’s torso was fully armored, his legs from the knee down being similarly covered. The wings and tail end had been replaced with the same material, the spiked clubs adorning the twin tails now sharp prongs. All of it was made of the most durable steel alloys the Futurians could obtain. To ensure that their cybernetically-enhanced weapon wasn’t freed of their control, Wilson made the wise decision to have it be a piloted weapon. A new robotic head was made to not only replace the severed center head, but also to control the now brain dead mutant.

“Magnificent, King Ghidorah now looks better than ever,” hummed Grenchiko, walking in from behind.

“No, we will no longer call him that,” announced Wilson, turning his head to Grenchiko. “From now on, we will call it Mecha-King Ghidorah.”

“Now that’s a much better name, especially since he’s just a clone of the real King of Terror.”

“Indeed, and now that all preparations have been completed, we will resume our task,” vocalized Wilson. “M10, get everyone ready to deploy MOTHER and Mecha-King Ghidorah, we’re going to complete this mission.”

“As you wish,” the M10 obeyed.

Year: 1991

Tokyo was in ruins. King Ghidorah had wreaked havoc upon the city, and this destruction had only grown worse when Godzilla arrived and the two kaiju had fought until the Garoga stole the golden hydra. The survivors of the unexpected event had all been evacuated away from the ruined city, for they had received the terrible news of the golden hydra returning to the planet a few days later. He had battled Godzilla again, then ventured away only to face off with Zone Fighter and drive the hero back.

People mourned those that had perished from the kaiju attacks, many of them friends and family. All they could do was pick up the pieces and hope that those who had passed would find peace.

Suddenly, many civilians and soldiers still in Japan noticed a strange distortion forming high in the sky. A blinding light formed in its center, bolts of electricity crackling around it. There was an explosion of light that faded in a second to reveal Mecha-King Ghidorah and the MOTHER.

The moment they saw the hydra that had attacked Japan, the soldiers sprang into action, helping civilians flee as quickly as possible. One of the soldiers used a radio to contact the JSDF HQ, alerting them that King Ghidorah had returned as a cyborg. The soldier and every person near him were unfortunately silenced when they were engulfed by the golden beams that Mecha-King Ghidorah blindly fired.

The two organic heads spewed Gravity Beams and brought down the remaining structures that were standing. The mechanical central head fired its new Laser Triple Beam weapon, a bolt of synthetic power stronger than the Gravity Beams. None of the towering buildings lasted long as the rays danced across them, blasting them apart and spraying debris in all directions. Anyone that was still in this ruined city ran for shelter, desperate for solace from this seemingly endless nightmare. Many of them were crushed by the falling chunks of concrete, trapped and slowly withered by the fires, or obliterated by the energy beams fired out of the three maws.

“Excellent, Mecha-King Ghidorah is leveling this entire city!” Grenchiko cheerfully yelled out, observing the ruined Tokyo quickly being further reduced to a wasteland by the destructive force of their cyborg.

“And if Godzilla, or any kaiju, dare stand against us, they will perish by Mecha-King Ghidorah’s power,” Wilson boasted.

“You can say that again,” Grenchiko chuckled.

“Boss, we have detected an incoming threat. Godzilla has arrived.”

“Well, what do you know, perfect timing to put our upgraded weapon to the test,” surmised Wilson, putting his fingers while a small smile grew on his face, readying to revel in his newest creation’s successful test run.

Surviving civilians and soldiers quivered in horror when they heard thunderous footsteps from miles away, followed by the fearsome cry of Gojira. Ripping through a nearby skyscraper with his claws, Godzilla let out another bellowing roar when his tail slammed against a building. The radioactive dinosaur had been on his way back to the sea, only to sense another towering giant arrive. Godzilla lifted his head, watching the Futurian weapon descend before his soles landed on the ravaged streets, triggering a heavy thud as his three heads cackled with aggression.

Godzilla had easily recognized this being as King Ghidorah, or at least the creature that bore a striking resemblance. He noticed the new mechanical limbs and armor that it had, realizing that either mankind or some alien race had enhanced his foe. This would not be an easy fight, that much was certain. The leviathan was not afraid though, for he had fought the real King Ghidorah before, and so he would be able to put an end to this cyborg. Mecha-King Ghidorah’s organic and mechanical heads cackled and shrieked at their target as Godzilla let loose a terrifying roar, challenging the hydra from the future.

“Kill it, Mecha-King Ghidorah!” ordered Wilson.

Godzilla marched in as he was struck by Mecha-King Ghidorah’s Gravity Beams, but he ended up flinching when the future weapon’s central head blasted his chest with its Triple Laser Beam. Mecha-King Ghidorah cackled when he kept firing his beams from its three maws, having sparks and miniature explosions burst from the durable charcoal hide. Godzilla quickly realized his foe’s mechanical enhancements were far more potent than his organic portions, so he swiftly charged an atomic ray and spat it at the armored chest.

Despite the intense sweltering force crashing into the metal upon the bionic hydra’s torso, it barely changed or warped the abdominal hull. Godzilla rushed forward to reach out for Mecha-King Ghidorah, bracing against the dragon’s golden beams and multi-colored laser that speared his charcoal scales. When he managed to get up close to the Futurian weapon, he swatted the armor with his sharp claws, scraping the exterior layer of hard steel. Mecha-King Ghidorah activated his antigravity flight mode, pushing himself into the air and delivering a flying kick to his foe, sending the saurian to the ground with a heavy thud.

Mecha-King Ghidorah landed and resumed firing his energy beams at Godzilla, who attempted to rise to his feet. The mutated Godzillasaurus cried out from the destructive force of the rays burning his skin until the pain began fueling his empowering rage. Godzilla turned around with a raised tail, whipping it against Mecha-King Ghidorah’s chest to force him back. Godzilla’s spines flickered again when he discharged his radioactive beam, this time aiming it at the scaly area of the bionic monster’s leg. The limb, however, shot up at that moment, leaving the armor to take the hit. Much like the chest, the leg’s steel plating was able to resist the heat and kinetic force of the atomic ray, only stumbling the titanic cyborg

Mecha-King Ghidorah then used another of the upgrades he had received as the mechanical head fired a blue spray at Godzilla. The saurian backed away from the mist, but was unable to stop it from reaching his legs. Thick layers of ice began to grow on the streets and the legs of the atomic mutant, freezing them solid. Godzilla groaned when he couldn’t move a muscle, let alone feel his soles. Noticing the war-machine approach while still spraying his ice breath, Godzilla charged up his energy, electric bolts crackling along his glowing spines. The moment he felt the freezing mist touch his charcoal scales again, Godzilla quickly fired his blue Spiral Ray at the cyborg’s armored chest. The attack forced Mecha-King Ghidorah back, to which the mechanical dragon opted to cease its freezing ray.

Godzilla growled as he felt the temperature of his radioactive insides slowly drop, the ice crawling further up his body. Not wanting to be frozen solid, Godzilla roared as his entire form surged with energy. A Nuclear Pulse erupted outwards. The shockwave tore apart the ice, freeing him and allowing blood to flow back into his legs. The atomic terror snarled as his orange eyes leered at the living weapon from the future. The weapons that this fake King Ghidorah had left didn’t matter, he would not let it beat him, no matter how difficult to overcome it would be.

”Well, he figured out a way to break free from the ice,” Grenchiko surmised, disappointed at the King of the Monsters overcoming one of their many powerful new additions to their cyborg.

”It still doesn’t matter, he’s powerless against Mecha-King Ghidorah,” retaliated Wilson in a very determined tone. ”It will only be a matter of time before he exhausts himself, and when that happens, he will no longer hold claim to the title of King of the Monsters.”

Elsewhere, far away from the raging battle…

“Hikaru…” A faint voice was heard, speaking to the unconscious Hikaru, repeatedly calling him. “Hikaru Sakimori… arise…”

Finally, his eyelids slowly opened and tensely surveyed his surroundings. He thought that he had died and moved on to the afterlife, where he could join with the rest of his kind. However, nobody was around him, and he wasn’t even in Sapporo. He was now in what he could best attribute as the interior of a large spherical chamber of red energy. He then looked at himself, seeing that he was still in the human form of Zone Fighter, but then he saw who had been calling his name.

Hikaru saw a silver giant, who looked very similar to the giant form of Zone Fighter, having an expressionless face and bulbous eyes that glowed a white-yellow light. But there were several key differences. The giant’s skin wasn’t as colorful as Zone Fighter’s, being mostly silver with various red stripes. In addition, two rows of metallic stubs formed a line starting from the shoulders and ending at the chest, where a circular light rested in the center, similar to the Zone Marker. Lastly, the most noticeable difference was that it had no antenna on its head.

“At last, you have finally regained consciousness, Hikaru Sakimori,” the giant spoke assuredly, to affirm to Hikaru that he was no threat.

“Where am I…?” Hikaru groaned, getting up to his feet as his muscles had apparently healed since his defeat by King Ghidorah.

“You are safe here in the Travel Sphere, with me, so that you could recover and rise once more,” The giant explained. “My name is Zoffy, Leader of the Ultra Brothers and the residents from the Land of Light, located in Nebula M78.”

“The Land of Light…” Hikaru mumbled, gazing at Zoffy, his eyes widening. “So the stories back in Peaceland were true, that there do exist giant warriors called Ultras.”

“Yes, and I’ve heard a lot about you, Hikaru. Or I should say, Zone Fighter,” Zoffy mused. “You were the one who had protected this planet from the destructive Garoga, bested the dreadful King Ghidorah, and had befriended the King of the Monsters, Godzilla.” Hikaru simply nodded.

“And I have heard of the tragic event where the rest of the Zone Family perished by King Ghidorah’s power. All of them, except for you.”

Hikaru was silent at that moment, as it all came back to him, the events of a week ago. He had tried not to think much about it, not relive the pain until he could say they were avenged, but being confronted with it let the memory barge into his skull. Since driving the Garoga away with the defeat of Grotogauros, he and the rest of the Zone Family had vowed to continue defending humanity from all manner of threats. Even as his grandfather passed of old age, and his parents perished as well in a kaiju attack, he and his siblings kept their spirits high as long as they had each other. It was what the deceased would have wanted.

But one day, the three aliens had traveled to Kyoto when they heard it was being ravaged by Megalon, who had been sent by the Seatopians to begin their next plan to strike back at humanity. After a long fight that ended with Megalon being forced to retreat, lightning bolts suddenly rained down from above, demolishing anything they came into contact with. One of the bolts struck the wings of Smokey, the spacecraft that Hotaru and Akira piloted to lend Zone Fighter a hand whenever he was endangered in battle. The hero noticed the falling vessel and quickly took off to save the last members of his family, only to be halted when he was shot out of the sky by the golden bolts. The Meteor Man landed on his back, only able to watch as the Smokey crashed into a building, imploding in a ball of fire.

Zone Fighter watched in silence, barely able to comprehend what he had just seen. A shadow fell over him, his instinct allowing him to roll backwards and barely avoid King Ghidorah’s stomp. Three sneers greeted him as the heads waved back and forth.

Zone Fighter’s mind rolled with mixed emotions. Wrath, sorrow, and confusion all vied for dominance, but when he looked into the eyes of his family’s killer, the first of these three was unopposed. He was now the last of his kind, and more importantly to him, he was truly alone. He would attain vengeance for his family, even if it killed him.

But, like his first battle with the true King Ghidorah, he was forced to retreat. Zone Fighter would come to regret fleeing, even though he could not have stopped the three-headed monster, for the golden hydra demolished Kyoto before moving onto the next city.

Hikaru was powerless and filled with despair after his failure, for he needed to wait before being able to fight again. If it were not for Godzilla, the destruction and mass death would likely have been even worse. He clung to hope yet, but it was beginning to slip through his fingers.

“Yes…” Hikaru replied, sounding defeated. “They tried to save me, as they had always done, but then King Ghidorah showed up and… destroyed the ship that they were in…”

“My condolences for your loss. Had the Garrison and I known about this, we would have traveled all the way to prevent this tragedy,” Zoffy spoke softly. “But by the time we got wind of the situation on Earth, we fell under attack by alien forces.”

”I appreciate the sentimentality,” murmured Hikaru. ”But now that I am the very last Peacelandian, I don’t know what I should do….”

”Do not let their deaths be in vain, Zone Fighter. You are a Peacelandian Warrior, trained to become the people of Earth’s guardian from the Garogas and many greater threats that try to rain terror down upon that planet,” the leader of the Ultra Brothers encouraged, his voice booming with gentle, yet firm gravitas. “I say this, because the monster that you have fatally wounded is not the same King Ghidorah that you or Godzilla have previously fought.”

“I’m aware of that, but more importantly, it was much more aggressive and refused to flee, whereas the first turned tail the moment the fight turned against him.”

“That creature is nothing more than a man made weapon from a group of terrorists that came from the future, and they have one simple goal. Take their replica to this time period and wreak havoc upon not only Japan, but to destroy all aliens and kaiju, no matter if they are an ally of humanity,” Zoffy explained. “The Garoga attempted to steal it and make it theirs, but it demolished their fortress and killed several Terror-Beasts before flying back to Earth. To make things worse, the terrorists have taken King Ghidorah back to their time period and then returned it to ours after rebuilding him as a powerful cyborg.”

”What? A cyborg?” Hikaru inquired in a troubled, hushed voice.

”Yes, and I regret not being able to finish it off by myself,” The Ultra leader expressed in a regretful tone.

”But why? Why would they do this if they’re humans from the future?” Hikaru questioned, confused and angry that someone would commit such a horrible act. ”Why would they create a monster and send it back to the past to kill so many people?”

”That, I do not know…” Zoffy answered. ”But that’s sometimes the nature of humanity, there are many that are innocent, but few can be just as cruel as many of the invaders that you have faced.”

”Whatever reason they have, I will make them pay for taking my family’s life!” Hikaru said with his teeth gritting, fists clenching until his knuckles turned white. Just thinking about how those terrorists would do such a thing angered him. No cause could be worth so much bloodshed.

”Vengeance will only bring suffering and suicidal recklessness, my friend,” Zoffy stated. ”And besides, your powers still need time before they can be used again.

”Can’t you stop him?” Hikaru questioned.

”I’m afraid not, our forces are currently spread thin.” Zoffy shook his head. ”The best I can do is to travel back to my home planet and send one of my brothers to aid you, for I am still needed. But for now, you need to rest, and you will regain the power to stop the monster responsible for the death of the Zone Family.”

”I understand…” Hikaru hung his head low. He perked up when a thought popped into his head. ”But can I ask for a simple request?”

”What is it?” Zoffy asked in curiosity.

”You said that these people, the ones who made that copycat of King Ghidorah, are after every single alien race?” Hikaru questioned.

”Yes.” Zoffy nodded.

“And that the creature caused great damage to a Garoga settlement?” When he received another nod of confirmation, he revealed the desperate plan he had come up with. ”Then I beg for a request, take me to the Garoga Space Station,” Hikaru asked.

”Why would you want to do such a thing? Risking your life to be sent to the enemy’s base while you’re in no condition?” Zoffy questioned, as he did not expect to hear the Peacelandian make such a foolish request.

“It’s something that I would have never considered doing, but now that the terrorists from the future have brought King Ghidorah back, and I need help, no matter if it’s from an enemy or not,” Hikaru explained. ”Please, for my family, and the people that are dying out there…”

He didn’t want to do this, to have to face the ones responsible for killing his whole species and ask them for help. But he saw no other choice, so he would swallow his hatred for now if it meant saving Japan and avenging his family.

Zoffy’s non-blinking eyes stared at Hikaru for a moment, as his head tilted down, thinking about this decision. This plan was risky, but they were quickly running out of options that didn’t sentence millions to death. Zoffy didn’t like it, but he relented.

”Permission granted, I will teleport you to the Garoga Space Station,” announced Zoffy. ”But in case the Garogas try to backstab you, I will have Agent 340 come in to assist you.”

”Thank you, Zoffy,” Hikaru thanked the silver and red alien, while he stood up and began to perform several poses and utter the phrase whenever he entered his true identity. ”Zone! Fight!! POWER!!!”

When he pointed his fingers to the air, they emitted a brief flash as he shifted into his Zone Fighter form within a second. The last Peacelandian gazed up and nodded to the giant, showing that he was ready to perform this risky task that just might be his final challenge. But if this decision could save millions, then he would gladly accept this path. Using his powers of teleportation, Zoffy warped Hikaru to the interior of the Garoga space fortress, spawning right in front of the desk of Lord Gold. The silver grunts that were nearby instantly pulled out their weapons. They hadn’t expected their foe to appear before him, but if they wanted to offer himself to die, they had no complaints. Zone Fighter quickly drew his blaster out of his holster, aiming it at the Gold Garoga right before he got up from his seat.

”Now what’s all of this?” The leader asked, despite being at gunpoint. ”My greatest nemesis has shown up all of a sudden in my office, completely surrounded.”

”Well, I have a very good reason for showing up,” growled Hikaru, having his index finger touching the trigger.

”And let me guess, does it have to do with the loss of your family?” he questioned. “If so, then we were not the ones responsible for the death of your precious family.”

“I already know that you weren’t using King Ghidorah, or whatever that kaiju is supposed to be,” hissed Hikaru, his teeth grinding as he was reminded of the deaths of Hotaru and Akira. ”Which is why I’m here, for an alliance.”

”What? An alliance?” The Gold Garoga stood baffled, obviously shocked at such a proposition. It felt suspicious, since he knew Zone Fighter would never side with him.

”Yes, I ask for you to aid me,” declared Hikaru, raising his other hand to the monitor screen. ”To destroy him.”

The captain of the destructive race turned to look at what he had already been observing before Hikaru showed up. Mecha-King Ghidorah and Godzilla were still continuing their fight to the death; Godzilla, however, was in bad shape. The giant dinosaur was covered in bite-mark wounds from the controlled hydra’s teeth and had received several burns that were caused by the electrical beams that he took. But these wounds were starting to heal. A swift and deadly discharge of atomic fire prevented the mechanical dragon from using its freezing spray, hitting it in the armored plating.

The two organic heads released howling shrieks as they struck back with their Gravity Beams, lancing them into a tough, bark-like hide. The cybernetic hydra stalked closer, hissing as the central head fired another Triple Laser Beam, blasting at the atomic dinosaur’s wounded chest. Yelling in pain from the powerful energies blasting away chunks of flesh, the nuclear leviathan twisted and swung his tail. The dragon from the future didn’t stagger back despite the powerful force the tail delivered, as all of his three heads fired their primary electric beams at Godzilla’s stomach and feet. The atomic saurian let out a high pitched roar as he fell down, crashing against a skyscraper, leaning against it and shattering the glass and concrete as they collapsed like an avalanche from a cliff.

The legs of the monster tyrant ached after such a strike, leaving him unable to stand. Continuing in its sole mission, Mecha-King Ghidorah’s chest compartments opened. The radiant orange eyes looked up and saw three Capture Cables launch from the ports. One of them latched onto the saurian’s neck, while the other two clamped onto his wrist and leg. High amps traveled through the conductive wires, electrocuting the flinching dinosaur who could only roar in pain.

”So let me get this straight, you want us to side with you to defeat something that’s already doing something that we planned to do?” Lord Gold mused, leaning back and chuckling to himself.

”Yes,” the Peacelandian said bluntly, ”This King Ghidorah was created by humans from the future, who seek to destroy Japan and to exterminate all alien life, including myself.”

”So humans from the future are controlling it,” the captain grunted. ”Just shows how selfish and destructive those apes are, they’ll even go so far as to time travel into the past and destroy themselves.”

”Humanity may have committed horrible atrocities upon itself, but there are many that are innocent, which is why my family and I made it our role to protect them.”

”Why still risk your life to protect them? Even when there will still be many that would do the same thing, all while you have nothing!” the gold Garoga questioned, his voice rising.

”I fight so that no one has to suffer any longer, and I will do this as long as I’m still alive!” yelled a defiant Hikaru. ”Why can’t you do the same, rather than just terrorizing everything that isn’t a Garoga?”

”We will bring terror to everyone that isn’t us, to show that we are superior! We will make them fear us!” Lord Gold shouted. His glaring, bulbous, eyes suddenly emitted a flash of light to force Hikaru to shield his eyes. He barked an order to his silver-headed servants. “Eliminate him!”

Just when the Silver Garoga readied their blasters, suddenly, a red humanoid emerged in a similar manner to Hikaru, generating a barrier that blocked the Garoga laser barrage. Hikaru regained his vision and narrowed his eyes at the captain. He fired his gun at the wall, doing so as a warning shot for Gold to stay put. Everyone then got a good look at this intruder’s identity, Hikaru easily recognizing it as another Ultra Warrior. While his body was mostly red with two silver stripes, the major difference between him and Zoffy was the armor on his shoulder and chest. He lacked a color timer, but had a lamp located underneath the crest on his head.

“Who are you?!” Lord Gold demanded in an annoyed and surprised reaction.

“I am Agent 340, Ultraseven, member of the Ultra Brothers,” The red alien disclosed. “And I have come here to ensure that Zone Fighter’s mission is a success.”

“And let me guess, that mission is to destroy the King Ghidorah clone?” The leader questioned as he laughed. ”You’ll all be dead before you could even scratch it, considering that Godzilla is having a hard time defeating it.”

”Unless we all worked together,” Ultraseven spoke up.

”Work with Hikaru and the likes of you? Never!” Gold shouted. ”We are Garogas! We are strong, determined, and we can create an army of Terror-Beasts that will put the likes of the Xiliens, Space Hunter M Nebulas, and the Black Hole Aliens to shame!”

”Really?” Hikaru asked. ”Then explain how your people and the Terror-Beasts would handle something that overwhelmed me, while he wasn’t a cyborg and wasn’t even controlled.”

”Not to mention, your fortress on Mars was destroyed by it when it wasn’t being controlled.” Ultraseven reminded the cruel alien. ”From what I’ve heard from my brother, that clone of King Ghidorah managed to destroy four Terror-Beasts, and he might as well destroy all of us if we don’t work together, now that he’s turned into a weapon of mass destruction.”

The gold Garoga stared at the Peacelandian and the Ultra Warrior, growling in annoyance. He refused to side with anyone, let alone side with someone who constantly thwarted his plans of domination and destruction. But seeing that Mecha-King Ghidorah was now powerful enough to overwhelm Godzilla, and with how the being’s lesser form had crushed his forces and overcame Zone Fighter, he wasn’t seeing many options. After a moment of silence and pondering, Lord Gold sighed and made his decision.

”Alright, we will side with you.”

”Wise choice,” Ultraseven nodded.

”But once this cyborg King Ghidorah clone is dead, we will be your enemies again, and keep up our conquest of Earth.” The Garoga dictator growled, pointing at them.

”Then a deal is a deal, but until then, we need to come up with a plan,” vocalized Hikaru, glad that the leader of one of the most destructive races in the galaxy could see reason. But the Garoga was right, as soon as this was over, they would be enemies once more. He could never forgive the ones who killed his whole race.

”Tell me, captain, how many Terror-Beasts or kaiju do you have?” Ultraseven questioned.

“For now, we’ve almost completed our next Terror-Beast, Super Jikiro,” the Garogan warlord explained. “We still need time, however, we have revived one Terror Beast, captured dozens of monsters, and the kaiju that once belonged to the Space Hunter M Nebula, Gigan.”

“Then I have a solution, since Zone Fighter wouldn’t be able to last too long in his giant form,” Ultraseven spoke up. “We send these three Terror Beasts to our enemy, so that they can wear it out as much as they can, and should they fall or manage to weaken it, that’s when we will come in and attack.”

“This could work,” Hikaru agreed.

“I wouldn’t want to risk losing any more Terror-Beasts, but I’ll do anything to achieve victory.” The gargoyle-like alien nodded.

“Very well,” said Ultraseven. “Baron, if you would?”

“With pleasure,” he said, standing up to point at one of his silver henchmen. “Direct the following monsters to Tokyo; Zandora, Gezora, Ganimes, Kamoebas, and Bemular!”

“Roger!” The Silver Garoga obeyed.

Outside of the massive fortress that the destroyers of Peaceland resided in, a hatch began to open from ports located on the side of the space station. Once opened, five missiles were launched out of the ship, one containing a revived Terror-Beast and the rest containing captured kaiju. Hikaru, Ultraseven, and their new, temporary allies could now only observe the goings on in Tokyo. Things weren’t looking good out there.

Godzilla roared in agony as he was electrocuted by Mecha-King Ghidorah’s machine hand once more, the fatally high amps coursing through the saurian’s entire body, frying his muscles to a char. Hikaru couldn’t believe it, one of the strongest beings he knew was losing. The taser weapon and the capture cables retreated back into Mecha-King Ghidorah’s metal body, leaving the petrified Godzilla to drop. He could only wait and see whatever was about to come.

Rendered a sitting duck from the pain filling his form, Godzilla could only watch as the frost poured forth from the bionic hydra’s robotic face. The clinging cold crawled up his legs, spreading through his body.

Within a minute, Godzilla’s body was now encased in a giant chunk of blue ice, all movements ceasing…

”We did it, Godzilla has lost!” Grenchiko cried out in gleeful ecstasy.

”Now, let’s end this so we can resume our plan,” Wilson pointed out, patiently watching as the cyborg clone of the King of Terror was preparing to shatter the monster king. That was until sirens went off and alerted the Futurians of an incoming threat.

”Now what?!” Grenchiko shrieked angrily, the thought of another delay was simply insufferable to them, as they were on the edge of victory.

”Incoming missiles are located, coming from the sky,” one of the androids reported.

The five missiles fell from the sky, heading directly towards Tokyo, but none of them were directly aimed at the hydra from the future. Massive explosions rocked the city as they detonated, but these explosions were merely the release mechanism of the missiles’ true payloads.

Zandora rose up, emitting the same laughter that Mecha-King Ghidorah would have recognized if he weren’t a mind-controlled slave to his masters. Along with the revived Terror-Beast, Bemular stretched his stubby forelimbs, howling his shrill call. Gezora emerged, making aggressive cries while he raised his slimy tentacles. Ganimes made its presence known, cackling as he was ready to have his crab claws bathed in blood. Finally, the oversized matamata turtle, Kameobas, marched in and let loose a high pitched shriek, revealing the sharp teeth and fangs within his maw.

The giant monsters sent by the Garoga roared at their collective target all at once, carrying a greater sense of menace with such high numbers. Mecha-King Ghidorah’s six eyes glared at his opponents, before he raised his three heads and let out intimidating cackles towards his foes.

”Hmph, the Garogas must have known what we’re doing, someway and somehow,” surmised Wilson, not too surprised by the appearance of the five monsters, as he knew almost everything that the Garogas were capable of in the past. ”Doesn’t matter, Mecha-King Ghidorah will show them just how obsolete they are.”

The jaws of Mecha-King Ghidorah discharged electrical blasts, constantly bombarding the Garoga’s pawns to ward them off. Ganimes, Gezora, and Bemular cried out from the Gravity Beams, while Kamoebas retracted into his shell, protecting himself from the Triple Maser Laser that struck his bumpy carapace. Zandora, on the other hand, made a quick dash forward, lunging to headbutt the futuristic weapon. Sparks rained out as the drill head raked against the metal waist, but the dragon’s right head spat a golden beam at the Terror-Beast to stop him from chiseling a hole into its armor. Zandora cried out in anger as he lashed out with his shovel hands, slapping the hydra’s right head and metal body.

Ganimes lent the subterranean Terror-Beast a hand by assaulting the cyborg’s left head with his pincers. Mecha-King Ghidorah knocked both of his attackers down at once by bashing his biological heads against them. Gezora caught Mecha-King Ghidorah’s attention when his tentacles wrapped around the right neck, crying out as he began to tighten his grip to suffocate it. The cybernetically augmented dragon fired its central laser at the cuttlefish, making him loosen his strangulation grip. Gezora didn’t give in though, tightening his tentacles while pulling himself closer to the dragon’s leg, gnashing his well hidden beak into the exposed scaly hide. Mecha-King Ghidorah forced the mutated squid to let go with another use of his Triple Laser Beam, leaving a burning groove in his white flesh.

Kamoebas rammed his rocky carapace against the metallic chest, causing the cyborg to miss its shot. The turtle’s ally, Bemular, stepped in to shower the mechanical dragon with his Pale Heat Ray. Gezora and Kamoebas quickly moved away the moment the alien reptile spewed the blue ray, just barely in time to avoid making contact with the burning wave. The hydra’s robotic head, however, didn’t react in pain like the other two, instead firing its primary beam at Bemular’s chest. The space fugitive screeched in pain when he was blown back by the maser weapon, collapsing onto a small building and flattening it.

Ganimes scooped up a smaller building that was next to him, hurling it at the cybernetic dragon. Gravity bolts and lasers were fired from Mecha-King Ghidorah, destroying the thrown structure before it could make its mark. But Ganimes, along with Kamoebas and the rising Zandora, charged in to tackle all at once. The Futurian weapon’s three maws released loud shrieks when he fell on his back, causing an earth-shaking thud once he landed on the damaged pavement. The resounding impact made chunks of concrete and damaged cars jump into the air before plummeting violently.

Kamoebas slammed his forearm down on one of two metallic spike-tipped tails, pinning it as he bit down on the other tail. As the turtle was busy chewing, Ganimes used his claws and legs to bash and jab the struggling, cybernetic Ghidorah while Zandora helped out, slamming his foot on the left neck. The war-machine’s controllers commanded him to lift both his right and robotic heads, effortlessly bombarding Ganimes with a mixture of concentrated plasma and blasting the giant rubble crab away. The two heads likewise managed to force Kamoebas to let go of his tails by discharging its rays.

Zandora quickly fired steam from his hands to keep the futuristic weapon from getting up, pouring waves of murderous microid drugs over the automated cyborg. Although the organic heads screamed when they felt their scaley hide burning from the molten vapors and miniature explosions, the robotic head rose up and sprayed its freeze ray at the Terror-Beast. Zandora backed away, releasing high-pitched laughter; the Earth-Eating Terror-Beast kept discharging steam, redirecting it to the tubes underneath his oddly-shaped head. He was spraying it onto himself to melt the ice trying to coat his body. Mecha-King Ghidorah cackled as his ankle bracelets activated their anti-gravity mechanisms to pull himself up to his feet. It was time to punish these Garogan pawns.

“Let’s put an end to this nonsense!” declared Wilson, his patience on a swift decline.

Bravely crawling forth as he raised his opening pincers, Ganimes viciously assaulted Mecha-King Ghidorah’s golden scales with reckless abandon. The left head of the three-headed monster reached down to give the oversized rock crab a nasty bite to one of the pincer claws, causing the crustacean to let out a loud painful cry, for his pincers were sensitive to pain.

Gezora, Kamoebas, and Zandora tried to move in to help Ganimes, but Mecha-King Ghidorah’s controllers made sure that the monsters wouldn’t help their crustacean ally. They commanded their weapon to fire lasers and bolts at the incoming Garoga pawns, forcing them back with a chorus of panicked cries. White foam drooled out of the panicking Ganimes as he tried to spit coalesced seawater at the dragon’s face. This only made things worse, when the draconic head began to tug to try and rip away the helpless crab’s claw.

Bemular saw this when he rose to full height and immediately took action by curling up in preparation for flight. Exuding an energy sphere around his form, the dense ball of energy took flight, the space fugitive lunging forward. Crashing his travel sphere against the three heads, he forced the dragon back and allowed Ganimes to retreat. Blood oozed from the cracks in his pincer, but Ganimes could still move his claw.

Auto-targeting locked onto the energy signature, unloading a destructive payload of jagged graviton bolts against the azure orb. The explosive display washed over the sky, with Bemular forced to disengage from his travel sphere and drop to the ground with a booming thud. Just as the mechanical dragon adjusted its calibration systems, Ganimes rushed and grabbed him from behind, shooting coalesced sea foam. Kameobas ran to his foe’s front, tearing up on his hind legs and extending his neck to bash his skull against the armored chest. Golden jaws shot down, aimed at his throat.

The turtle’s eye caught the incoming jaws, so he pulled his head back into his shell. The right head of the three-headed Dorat mutant still managed to bite down on the Matamata turtle’s skull, but its teeth had trouble penetrating or even cracking it due to the reptile’s rock-like forehead. Kamoebas sprang his head out to push Mecha-King Ghidorah’s, having it crash into his own metallic chest to make him let go. Once he was freed from the dragon’s maw, the turtle went for his foe’s right neck, biting down harder as the two vampire-like fangs poked through the scales.

”I gotta say, the turtle is wiser than I thought it would be,” Wilson commented contumeliously. ”But it’s still as predictable as the others, finish him with the Machine Hand.”

To Kamoebas’ surprise, the waist of his towering foe opened. The Machine Hand lunged forth to ram into the terrapin’s soft underbelly, pushing him back as the mechanical limb wrapped around the reptile’s carapace. Before the discharge came, Mecha-King Ghidorah’s three mouths spewed their energy beams towards the other Garoga pawns, forcing them to back away. He did not even aim, the only intent was to scare.

The eyes of Gezora and Ganimes widened as they watched their reptilian brother’s stubby limbs twitch violently as he shrieked from hellacious levels of electricity coursing into him. Smoke rose as the turtle’s flesh burned, boiling foam rising up from his throat and spilling down his face. Kameobas died swiftly, yet wracked with agony. His carcass twitched for several seconds, even after the Machine Hand had retracted.

”As I suspected, they might not stand a chance against this cybernetic clone of King Ghidorah” Gold commented, disgusted at how the battle was turning out so far.

”Remember, this is part of the plan to wear him out,” Hikaru reminded the alien.

”Should there be one or two remaining, that would be a perfect time to throw in our real attack.” disclosed Ultraseven, while the doors opened as a Silver Garoga walked in and saluted before he gave his report.

”Captain, preparations on Super Jikiro are halfway done!”

”Then get to it, we don’t have much time!” the leader ordered.

As Zandora‘s drill and shovels tore into the earth, Gezora rushed forward and wrapped his twin tentacles around the golden necks of his foe. His crustacean brother charged and clamped his pincers on golden flesh, trying to pierce and shed blood. Two golden bolts were discharged into Ganimes, causing the mutated crustacean to stagger back and groan. Gezora’s tentacle wrapped around the robotic head’s muzzle, clamping it shut in a very tight grip. The two organic heads hissed when they faced Gezora, both of them opened their mouths to fry the cuttlefish with their Gravity Beams.

Ganimes rapidly shot several blobs of sea foam, blinding his foe’s six eyes. Gezora’s tentacles rapidly clamped shut around the shrieking maws, the cuttlefish straining to keep his grip. The crab lunged forward as their foe began to ascend, wrapping his arms around the bionic hydra and doing his best to keep him down.

As the ground began to quake and a hole formed to swallow cars and debris, Bemular took his chance once Zandora emerged next to him. Together, the two bizarre aliens moved closer to Mecha-King Ghidorah, Bemular opening his jaws while Zandora raised his hands. Ganimes instantly moved out of the way as Gezora quickly released his grip and slithered away. Mecha-King Ghidorah suddenly lunged forward with his three heads, each one clamping down on Gezora’s cold, yet soft flesh. The cuttlefish cried out in surprise when the cyborg dragon turned around, dragging him to have his body face Bemular and Zandora, just as they fired out their primary high-temperature weapons.

With the fatal combination of the fire and the steam, explosions shredded his hide. The two Garoga pawns immediately ceased fire, but the single second had been enough.

The mutant cuttlefish’s skin was not only coated in burns, but was also ignited. The rest of his flesh was blackening and shriveling up. His screeches of anguish rolled across the city. It was a bit of a pity for Bemular and Zandora, both knowing there was no way to save Gezora with no source of water nearby. Wilson commanded his cyborg to leave Gezora be and let him die a slow and painful death.

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s three mouths bombarded the remaining trio with a barrage of beams, making all three of them scream in pain. Zandora, the toughest of the remaining monsters, shrugged off the pain as he dashed forth, steam bursting out of his pipes while his drill began to spin. Mecha-King Ghidorah’s controllers activated the anti-gravity to lift him off the ground, letting Zandora pass by underneath and crash into a damaged, but still intact skyscraper. The building began to crumble away, shaking the ground’s surface even more as the earth-eating Terror Beast was buried by tens of thousands of tons of debris.

In a desperate attempt to bring down the almighty foe, Bemular fired the Pale Heat Ray out of his mouth, landing a direct hit on Mecha-King Ghidorah’s chest. The cybernetic weapon shrieked from the surprise attack, dropping to the ground. Bemular kept the Ghidorah clone at bay by firing his blue beam again, as Ganimes crawled hastily to batted his foe with his claws. Mecha-King Ghidorah shrieked when his mechanical neck took the blow, but then he bit down on Ganimes with his three mouths, each head growling as they tried to suffocate and tear the rubble crab to shreds.

Bemular would not allow this, he would not face this thing alone! The space lizard carefully took aim and spewed his Pale Heat Ray at the long neck of Mecha-King Ghidorah’s robot head. The explosion barely dented the metal, but it did cause him to drop the bloodied Ganimes and shriek towards the space fugitive. Bemular entered his travel sphere to avoid the rays that came his way.

Gezora groaned weakly as he tried to drag his blazing body across the pavement, having no luck in finding a way to extinguish the flames killing him. However, the cuttlefish’s remaining eye spotted the giant chunk of ice encasing the frozen Godzilla. Gezora didn’t care about the monster sealed within, survival took precedence above all, and that ice looked like the best way to extinguish his pain.

Using the last of his exhausted strength, Gezora dragged his dying body to Godzilla’s icy tomb and rested on it, having his aching tentacles hugged around it. He then waited and hoped for the fire to die down, but with no luck. Even if the flames did die down, he was not long for this world regardless.

Deciding to accept his fate, Gezora closed his eyes and waited. As the fire slowly took the life from him, the ice began to drip and deform.

Wilson felt dread when the screen alerted everyone that Gezora’s burning carcass was melting away the ice. So many delays. “Damn it, get that squid’s corpse off of the ice! Quickly!” He shouted.

“Gah! That imbecile squid is gonna awaken Godzilla if we don’t do something!” The Baron Garoga growled. “Are your powers done recharging yet?”

“Still need a little more time for it to be fully replenished,” Hikaru shook his head as he sat down. The leader of his main adversaries clenched his fists, showing that he would not be pleased should Godzilla burst out and destroy his monsters.

Mecha-King Ghidorah shoved Ganimes aside when he received his master’s next order. A trio of screeches left his jaws as he turned towards Godzilla’s icy tomb, preparing to douse the fire. Bemular noticed his foe’s distraction, and came down like a meteor upon the bionic hydra. The space criminal’s energetic tackle knocked the cyborg onto his stomach, just in time for the ground to begin rumbling. The quake grew more powerful with each passing second, until Zandora burst forth from the ground before the dragon. He had recovered consciousness after being buried in rubble, and now he was eager to return the favor.

Zandora slammed his foot down on the titanium-enforced back, crying out in glee when he let loose a stream of hot steam that triggered small explosions upon the mechanical mutant. The two outer heads of the Futurian weapon screamed when they felt their skin be burned by the molten vapors, leaving painful burns. Steam was covering most of the living futuristic weapon, even spreading out further to make contact with the giant chunk of ice. Mecha-King Ghidorah’s mechanical head tried to use its freezing weapon on the melting ice, trying despite all else to follow its primary command. The Zandora’s drill head whirled to life as he slammed it down on Mecha-King Ghidorah’s replacement head, causing sparks to fly.

Pieces of chiseled metal flew through the air as Mecha-King Ghidorah’s robotic head released a staticky screech, the green eyes flickering wildly as the interior wires were ripped and ground up by Zandora’s spinning drill. Bemular shifted back to his true form when he landed, then helped out his burrowing partner by pinning down the two tails. Soon, Mecha-King Ghidorah’s shrieks were cut off as a massive burst of sparks erupted, signifying the separation of the robotic neck. It lay limply within the rubble, the other two heads going limp as they returned to a brain-dead state.

Just as the three Garoga pawns cried out in triumph, their celebration was cut short when a blast of radiation burst out of the chunk of ice, vaporizing pieces of frozen water along with the fried corpse of Gezora. A rumbling bellow was heard from the gritting jaws of Godzilla. The leviathan opened his eyes and leered at the aliens as he got to his feet. In an instant, energy crackled on the mutant saurian’s dorsal plates, as he fired a Spiral Atomic Ray at Ganimes. The mutant crab’s head was blasted apart the moment the radioactive beam landed into it, shards of burnt exoskeleton and clumps of blackened meat flying in all directions. Bemular screeched with terror and anger as he watched the headless body of his ally slump down into the ruined streets.

”Godzilla… Is moving again…” Grenchiko murmured, watching the infamous kaiju roaring with malice.

”As if our luck couldn’t get any worse,” Wilson responded. ”But should they keep him occupied, it could buy our weapon some time to repair itself.”

Bemular screamed with fury, darting towards Godzilla as he exhaled his Pale Heat Ray out of his maw. Godzilla growled when his charcoal scales were burned by the beam which resembled his own, but he needed the extra heat, his body was still frigid. The King of the Monsters unleashed his Atomic Ray again, which swallowed the alien’s beam as it raced towards his head. Bemular ceased fire when the leviathan’s mighty power washed over his skull, melting flesh and popping his eyeballs. Zandora rushed his new foe down, tackling him into the Seisoku High School, flattening the building as they proceeded to fight.

The maddened space fugitive fell down as his screams grew weaker, his body now coated in fire. After a few gasps, Bemular lay down and stopped moving, his skull blackening and turning to ash. The Baron Garoga glared at his two temporary allies, growling through the teeth permanently locked in a smile.

Hikaru certainly didn’t feel sorry for the destruction of the Terror-Beasts, but this situation still wasn’t ideal. The Futurians were still active, even if their primary weapon was downed. He felt like a fool for not taking into account that even if he allied with the Garoga, Godzilla would still view them as a threat. He needed his full power to be able to get back to Earth, soon. A thought came to him.

“Ultraseven, why haven’t you gone down there yet?” Hikaru whispered, hoping to avoid drawing the attention of the Garoga.

“Two reasons.” The warrior of light said. “One, to ensure that they don’t attack you while I’m gone, and two, because I intend on dealing with the Futurians while you fight.”

“Why don’t we both infiltrate them?” asked the Peacelandian.

“Because one of us needs to be on the battlefield, both to help Godzilla and to keep an eye on the monsters the Garoga send. Nothing’s stopping the Garoga from turning their beasts upon the city after our deal’s over.”

“Are you sure you can handle them? They’ll likely be packing some serious technology.”

“I’ve handled worse,” Ultraseven boasted.

Zandora crashed to the ground, flailing as he tried to right himself. Godzilla stood over him, thinking on how to best execute his foe. The saurian’s spines glowed, his throat glowing with the building power. Just before he fired the beam, Zandora rolled to the side. So, when the beam crashed into the ground just next to the Terror-Beast, he was sent flying away instead of being blasted apart. The momentum helped Zandora regain his footing, allowing the strange alien to stand tall.

His masters hadn’t recalled him yet, so the drill-headed kaiju assumed that he still had to fight. Not that he was complaining about a chance to end Godzilla.

Zandora’s drill revved to life as he tilted his head down. He rushed forward. Godzilla braced himself, his primitive mind contemplating how to deal with the attack. Until the Terror-Beast fell forward, the drill tore into the ground as if it were soft soil. The monster king stepped back, perplexed by his foe’s tactics. His spines began glowing, but he did not fire an atomic ray.

The King of the Monsters waited, silent. He heard nothing except the distant sirens and crackling fires around him. The ground beneath him began shaking, but he held still. The intensity of the quake steadily grew, until it reached the point of beginning to upset his balance.

Now.

A nuclear pulse erupted from his body. The ground beneath him cratered, the concrete boiling and shattering against the fearsome power. The shaking stopped, a low groan muffled by the ground taking its place. Godzilla took a step forward, then turned to look at the ground where he had been standing. A blackened drill-bit stuck out, melted and deformed. Bending down, Godzilla grabbed his opponent’s exposed drill, and pulled straight up.

Zandora was a powerful digger, and most kaiju would have been impaled by the attack it had attempted. But Godzilla not only had vast experience in fighting burrowing opponents, but he had made sure to train against burrowing opponents using his greatest ally, Anguirus.

The Terror-Beast screeched as it was pulled into the air, concrete and soil falling off its form. Before the saurian could do anything, every vent capable of venting steam fired. Godzilla backed away with a screech, skin being scorched by the desperate attack. Zandora charged forward, bashing its hands into the saurian’s temples. Godzilla’s vision blurred, but he didn’t need clear vision to know where his foe was. He lunged forward, slamming his bulk against Zandora.

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s two remaining heads began to twitch. Their hollow eyes slowly opened, regaining limited consciousness and scanned the environment for nearby danger. With the alien fiends dealing with the resurrected leviathan, the war-machine’s programming software came into effect. Crackling resonated from the stump as the core situated on the chest flashed, with flailing wires sprouting from where the metallic head once resided. Quickly and efficiently, cords and segmented metal welded and forged into a serpentine neck, the last segment extending into an ever-so familiar visage. As the assembly of the reconstituted head came to completion, green orbs flashed to life, screeching its malicious intent.

Aboard the Futurian ship, Wilson and Grenchiko were elated.

“Excellent!” Wilson laughed. “The automatic repair function worked just as intended!”

Grenchiko laughed with his comrade. “Let’s announce his return with a light show!” They both cackled as they sent orders to their renewed creation.

Godzilla’s vision had returned, and the first thing he did with it was aim an atomic ray at Zandora’s chest. The beam sent the Terror-Beast skidding back, two trenches being dug into the ground by its feet. As the beam still crashed against its body, Zandora felt a flash of burning agony against its back. The beams pierced its body, meeting in the alien’s center for the briefest moment before the conflicting energies detonated.

The city shook as a vibrant explosion burst from Zandora’s body, sending chunks of its body flying in all directions. Godzilla stepped back in shock at the colossal blast. His beam was powerful, but he knew it didn’t have nearly enough power to do something like that on its own.

The smoke was forced apart as Mecha-King Ghidorah flew through it, feet raised as it approached the monster king. The saurian, instinct taking over, caught his foe’s feet and stopped the kick. A trio of screeches echoed from the mechanical behemoth. Its two tails came forward, ramming the metallic prongs into Godzilla’s chest. Mecha-King Ghidorah flew forward, knocking the saurian onto his back with the cyborg hydra coming down feet-first onto his chest.

“What happened?” Hikaru yelled, watching the monitor before him as his heart-rate rose.

The golden Garoga bellowed a command to his underlings. “Rewind the footage! Zoom in on Mecha-King Ghidorah!”

Those gathered watched as the super-weapon came back online and reconstituted its central head in a matter of moments. The footage continued as it fired all three of its rays forward, which lanced into Zandora’s back.

As the footage went back to real time, showing a battle between the two colossi that was going much the same as before, silence filled the room.

Lord Gold spoke, “Self-repairing machinery for something that complicated and massive…” his sentence faded. The Garoga didn’t have anything that was technically complex on that scale. Did the future humans really outpace them technologically? The Garoga slouched forward. Of course they did, they had time travel! Garoga scientists had deemed traveling back to the past impossible, yet humanity still would one day discover exactly how to do so.

“Severing its center head isn’t going to cut it this time, Hikaru,” Ultraseven said. “You’re going to need to do a lot more to put this thing down.”

Hikaru’s face suddenly lit up as a warm feeling filled his chest. “I can feel it! My full power has returned!”

“Then let’s not waste any time!” The warrior of light replied.

Hikaru stepped closer to the monitor. Suddenly, the display began to warp as he jumped through the screen, disappearing and leaving no trace. The Garogas and Ultraseven were dumbfounded, until suddenly Zone Fighter, now in giant form, appeared alongside Godzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah.

“What!” Lord Gold bellowed, hands pressed to the sides of his head. “Why…” he whimpered.

Ultraseven disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing outside of the fortress. He began flying towards Earth, towards the MOTHER ship. He had seen weirder than what Zone Fighter had just done.

But the Garogas hadn’t. “What is happening today?” yelled the Garoga captain. “Am I going crazy?” One of his silver Garoga began to raise a hand. “Say anything, and I’m throwing you out of an airlock.” The Garoga grunt put his hand back down.

“Sir!” called another Garoga. “Super Jikiro is ready!”

“Excellent!” yelled the Baron Garoga. It was exactly what he needed after the past few minutes, to see a creation of the Garoga in action. “Prepare to deploy it and Gigan!”

Elsewhere, the Futurians were baffled.

“Is everything that has opposed us come back for more?” Grenchiko inquired.

Wilson was silent for a moment, stroking his chin with his fingers in thought. “It appears so. But our weapon is still strong, so let them come!”

“But what if all of this opposition becomes too much for it?”

“Then we retreat into the future, repair and upgrade it, and return to the exact point we left.” Wilson retorted plainly.

Zone Fighter wasted no time, rushing into battle and punching the hydra right in the chest. After the loud clang of the impact rang out, the silver hero backflipped away to avoid the gnashing jaws of the cyborg. The metal had barely given an unremarkable dent, being the only proof he had even struck. He couldn’t afford to slowly wear this foe down before throwing out his stronger attacks, he had to hit hard and fast.

“Meteor Missile Might!

Rings formed around his wrists, which he pointed forward towards Mecha-King Ghidorah. A barrage of missiles left the gauntlets, which the mechanical dragon intercepted with a trio of beams. Explosions surrounded the lasers as they raced towards Zone, who quickly thrust his hands forward again.

“Zone-Barrier!” He shouted quickly. A translucent square manifested before him, which the Gravity Beams and Triple Laser crashed into. The barrier held for a few seconds before cracks spread across it, until it shattered. The silver hero cried out as the beams knocked him to the ground, until another blast sounded out, and the beams stopped. He got up to find Godzilla firing another atomic ray at Mecha-King Ghidorah, who cried out.

The King of the Monsters was forced back as the cyborg fired its freezing mist once again. The freezing substance latched onto his legs once more.

“Meteor Dash!”

Zone Fighter glowed with energy as he rushed forward, closing the distance in less than a second. He crashed a punch across the mechanical face, forcing the mist to sail through the air harmlessly.

“Meteor Punch!”

His arms moved like blurs as he rapidly punched the cyborg’s body, striking its necks and torso. Bruises formed on the organic necks as dents and tearing appeared on the metal. Mecha-King Ghidorah’s twin tails swung around, spearing into the Peacelandian’s feet. With a push forward, they knocked Zone Fighter’s feet out from underneath him, sending him to the ground face-first. The Futurian superweapon began stomping on the back of Zone Fighter’s skull, drawing a cry of pain from him. A pair of capture cables were fired forward, latching around the back of the hero’s heels.

Mecha-King Ghidorah stomped its foe’s head once more, then sent forth horrific currents through the cables. Zone Fighter thrashed about on the ground, letting out a choked gasp as his body seized. He may have been just as strong as Godzilla, and much faster than the saurian, but the monster king was by far the more durable of the two. He dreaded to think what would happen if all four capture cables and the Machine Hand were to be used against him.

His pain stopped when Godzilla rushed forward, shoulder tackling the cyborg away from his ally. Mecha-King Ghidorah staggered back, advanced systems working to keep it balanced.

“Meteor Missile Might!”

These systems were overwhelmed when the alien missiles and an Atomic Breath crashed against its armored body, throwing the machine to the ground. Its heads crashed through a skyscraper, carving three grooves through the structure. The building shuddered as its support weakened.

Elsewhere, a sudden idea struck Wilson. He began typing on the controls as quickly as he could.

Gravity Beams ripped out from insides of the building, speeding up its destruction.

“Wilson, what are you doing?” Grenchiko tensely asked.

“Stress testing another one of its weapons,” he stated.

The top half of the building split off from the rest, falling directly towards the cyborg’s body. Suddenly, the center head reared up, and from its open mouth came a green, conical, ray. Zone Fighter and Godzilla, already perplexed by their foe’s actions, were shocked when the beam struck the falling building.

The green ray was holding the building in the air, defying gravity. Mecha-King Ghidorah pushed forward off the ground, entering the air with its own anti-gravity flight. Using the momentum, it cut off its tractor beam, launching the mass of concrete and steel towards its foes.

The half of a building crashed against Godzilla, sending the saurian falling to the ground with a roar. Zone Fighter was stunned by the sudden development, meaning he was unable to react when two capture cables closed around his arms. Mecha-King Ghidorah howled as two more capture cables fired, aimed at the hero’s legs.

Suddenly, the two cables were pulled to the side, missing Zone Fighter by a massive margin. A green and yellow blur sailed through the air, slicing the two cables apart as it passed. It did the same to the cables restraining Zone Fighter, and by this point all could see that this new arrival was Gigan.

The silver and blue hero pulled the remains of the cables off of him. He looked over to where the other set of cables were being pulled to see Super Jikiro, its left arm extended.

Hikaru shuddered at having just been saved by Gigan and Super Jikiro, but he pushed it aside. Now wasn’t the time to focus on such things. He saw Gigan looking at him, the smile always on its face somehow looking bigger than usual. The alien cyborg cackled at him for a moment, before a blue beam crashed against its back. As Gigan slid against the ground, Godzilla let loose a bellow at his old enemy.

“Wait, they’re our allies for right now!” Zone Fighter yelled at Godzilla. The King of the Monsters looked at him, bewildered. He snarled at his friend. “I don’t like it either, but until Mecha-King Ghidorah goes down, they’re helping us.”

Godzilla was confused and conflicted, but when the Futurian’s weapon fired its rays while flailing its heads to strike all of its opponents, the saurian relented.

Gigan took off into the air, drawing the attention of all three of the future cyborg’s heads to him. Before the mechanical dragon could shoot him out of the air, colossal bullets began striking his body. Super Jikiro stepped forward, its right arm raised high as it spewed bullets. Unlike the first Jikiro, who had massive gun barrels protruding from the right hand, Super Jikiro‘s right hand only had four holes in it. Much less to grab or damage.

Mecha-King Ghidorah took off, flying directly towards the Terror-Beast war-machine with its legs raised to deliver a double kick. Zone Fighter leaped into the air, coming down from above the three-headed weapon.

“Meteor Kick!”

An empowered kick crashed against the space between the base of center and left neck, dropping the future cyborg. As its feet crashed into the ground, Gigan swept past, his spinning buzzsaw raking against the right neck. Blood spewed from the wound, but there was no reaction of agony. Instead all three heads fired their bolts at the flying alien, forcing a shriek from its beak as it dropped.

Zone Fighter grabbed the outer heads and pulled them back, restraining them. Super Jikiro thrust its magnetic hand forward, aiming its pull at its foe’s center head. Godzilla’s atomic ray crashed against the hydra’s body, warping and damaging the armor on its torso.

Mecha-King Ghidorah wrapped its twin tails around Zone Fighter’s legs. They pulled down hard, throwing the Peacelandian to the ground and forcing his grip to end. The two outer heads, now freed, turned their Gravity Beams upon Godzilla. Meanwhile, the mechanical dragon’s stomach opened, thrusting forward the Machine Hand. The Machine Hand raced towards Super Jikiro faster than usual, clamping around its stomach due to being too solid and fast for the magnet to redirect its course.

Super Jikiro’s magnetic pull was cut off as the Terror-Beast was shocked, a mechanical shriek echoing out. Its internal machinery was being overloaded, signified as sparks erupted from its various joints and openings. Before this could go on for long, Gigan arrived, slamming his hammer claws against the middle of the Machine Hand’s contraption. His blades inflicted two large dents with the mechanism, prompting Mecha-King Ghidorah to blast the alien cyborg back with Gravity Bolts before it could do much more.

The future cyborg retracted its Machine Hand, moments before Godzilla leaped into its side, forcing the hydra back with a shriek.

It hadn’t taken long for Ultraseven to find the Futurian’s ship. Its sleek chrome stuck out like a sore thumb against the forest they had chosen to wait in. He contemplated how to go about attacking. Right now, Zone Fighter and Godzilla were working together against their weapon, and the Garoga were getting close to sending in more kaiju to aid in the battle. He knew the Futurians would probably get very jumpy when more kaiju showed up, so he had to act fast to stop them from escaping. Now wasn’t the time for stealth.

Grabbing the crest atop his head, the warrior of light pulled it off to reveal it was a bladed weapon. He threw the Eye Slugger down towards the MOTHER, then started flying straight after it.

The bladed weapon from space tore through the hull of the ship like it was tissue. Immediately, alarms blared throughout the vessel. A moment after the Eye Slugger has torn through, Ultraseven smashed the hole it had made feet-first, landing gracefully on the chrome flooring. The Eye Slugger flew back into his hand, and he put it back onto his head. An android that had already been in the room he landed in rushed towards him, fists clenched.

The facsimile of a human swung a punch towards the interstellar warrior, who blocked it with his forearm. Pain shot through the limb, forcing a grunt from the ultra warrior as his block barely held. These androids hit much harder than he thought they would. Ultraseven swept the legs out from underneath the android, knocking it to the ground. The warrior of light briefly considered growing to his giant size and crushing the ship then and there. But, he had to know why Wilson and Grenchiko were doing this, but more importantly, they had to be brought to justice.

Ultraseven delivered an axe kick to the machine’s chest, tearing the fake flesh and crashing against the machinery beneath. The android kipped up, then fainted with its left hand before actually throwing a right punch. Ultraseven dodged the true punch before elbowing the android in the face. The strike seemed to do little actual damage to the machine, but it did force it to take a step back, which was all Ultraseven needed. Hopping back a few steps, the warrior of light put his hands to his forehead. A thin ray shot forth from between them, striking the android’s skull. The energy tore apart the android’s head, spraying shrapnel throughout the room. Ultraseven waited a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief when the robot limply hit the ground.

But alarms were still blaring overhead, and every minute he was on the vessel was dangerous. So, he quickly ran towards the nearest door.

“What’s happening!” Wilson exclaimed, looking at the control panel as the ship ran diagnostics. He soon saw that not only was there a breach in the hull, but an individual had intercepted their vessel. One of the androids went offline shortly afterwards, and the intruder was running through the vessel.

“All androids, kill the intruder before he ruins our plans!” The man from the future commanded.

Ultraseven was looking for a map or some other way of knowing the location of the command center. As he turned a corner, he found two androids waiting for him at the end of the hallway. They locked onto him, then charged.

Grabbing his Eye Slugger, the warrior of light threw it forward. The blade speared into the chest of one of the androids, getting wedged within and halting it for a moment. The other kept charging, and closed the distance in a second. Both fists flew towards Ultraseven, who dodged one and deflected the other. The android went to attack again, only to lurch forward as the Eye Slugger pierced its back. Ultraseven maneuvered around it to grab his weapon, just in time for the second android to charge at him. He pulled the Eye Slugger free, before jumping high into the air above their heads. The second android stopped right next to the first as Ultraseven kicked both in the head, sending them staggering in opposite directions as the white and red hero landed.

The android behind Ultraseven kicked the hero in the back, pushing him forward with a grunt. The other android punched the hero straight in the gut, doubling Ultraseven over. Its other hand came down in a chop to the hero’s back, bringing him to the ground. Before either android could stomp on him, Ultraseven thrust the Eye Slugger into the heel of the android in front of him, then pulled backwards. The android fell on its back, its foot torn apart in the process.

The warrior of light got to his feet, before throwing both elbows back to his sides. Just as he predicted, they struck the other android, forcing it back from its attempted attack. He stomped down on the damaged foot of the downed android, further warping and deforming it. He turned on one heel, another foot raised in a roundhouse kick which he hit the second android with.

As the android staggered from the kick, Ultraseven rammed the Eye Slugger into its face. Metal and machinery split before the glowing weapon, until the warrior of light thrust his hand upwards, ripping through the top of the mechanical skull. Its head split in two, the android dropped.

Two arms wrapped around the hero’s own, forcing them to his sides. A damaged foot did little to prevent the android from standing. With all its might, it squeezed its target. Ultraseven could hear other footsteps echoing throughout, approaching his location. He kicked against his captor, but the bear hug only grew tighter. Pain spread throughout him, he needed to think of something, and fast.

The ultra warrior’s body glowed, and he began to shrink. The android’s arms tried to keep him restrained, until he grew too small to be hugged. Ultraseven kept shrinking until reaching the size of an insect. He looked up to see the android’s raised foot.

He rolled out of the way, leaving the foot to come down right next to him. Ultraseven’s feet left the ground as he flew upwards, keeping close to his foe. He swerved around palm strikes and attempted grabs, rapidly making his way up to the robot’s head. Before the android could block him, he flew into its ear. Its hand clapped onto the ear, a reaction that had come a second too late.

Another second passed, and the android collapsed to the floor, its head superficially undamaged.

Meanwhile, in the control room, the two men of the future were tense.

“Two more androids go offline, and the intruder disappears from the radar? How could this be happening?” Grenchiko asked, looking over the diagnostics in confusion.

“Run another scan, and take this,” Wilson retaliated, handing his partner a gun. “Be on your guard, we cannot rely on the androids for everything.”

“Maybe it’s something the intruder can actively do, an ability of some kind,” Grenchiko stated, grabbing the gun with a shaky hand.

“Then have the androids search the place by themselves,” Wilson commanded, checking and making sure the gun he had grabbed was in working order.

Time passed as they waited for the androids to report back to them on finding the intruder. In this time, the two kaiju the Garoga had landed and began battling Mecha-King Ghidorah as well. The Futurians considered time traveling out of there at that point, but didn’t dare risk it with the intruder on board.

The door behind them opened, prompting both to swing around and point their guns forward. To their relief, it was an android.

“Sirs, the intruder is still hidden, but we suspect it is because he shrunken down.”

“Well, how do you know that?” Wilson asked.

“Because M4 had no damage to any vitals, instead having a disconnected-“

The android hit the floor like a sack of bricks, as a growing light signaled Ultraseven returning to human size. With a scream, both future men pointed their weapons forward and pulled the triggers. Ultraseven ducked, letting both bolts sail over his head. His palms flattened, and two blue beams shot from them. The dual knuckle rays crashed into both Wilson and Grenchiko’s guns, knocking the now shattered guns from their hands.

Rushing forward, Ultraseven quickly threw them both to the ground. After a brief scuffle, he had both men’s arms behind their backs, with his own hands serving to restrain the arms there. They were on their knees, backs to him.

Wilson spoke first. “If you truly value this planet and its people, you will not stop us!”

“What cause could be worth killing millions?” Ultraseven demanded.

“Saving billions!” Wilson replied.

“By ravaging Japan? By killing the Earth’s guardians?” The warrior of light spoke, his grip tightening slightly to apply figurative and literal pressure.

“In the year 1999, the Earth will be invaded by aliens called the Kilaak. They will bring no kaiju with them except for King Ghidorah. Instead, they will take control of the minds of every kaiju on Monster Island, including Godzilla and Mothra.” The Futurian went on. “Hundreds of millions will die as every major city on Earth is torn apart.”

“Where are the Ultras during this? Where’s Zone Fighter?”

“Gone. To where, nobody knows.” Ultraseven was silent after this, which the Futurian took to mean to keep going. “And they were still gone decades later, when the Xiliens showed back up and took control of every kaiju on Earth except for Godzilla and Mothra.” Wilson hung his head low, his voice growing more somber. “Billions will perish in that invasion. Even over a hundred years later, it will still remain the greatest tragedy in human history. And despite all of this, humankind will still continue to trust the kaiju to protect us.”

It was all so much for the warrior of light to take in. The absence of his kind, the mass death. He needed to know more about this. “But, why attack Japan?”

Wilson’s tone began to grow darker, angrier. “Because after the invasion, Japan will rise up and become the most powerful nation on Earth. They will eclipse the might of every other nation combined and doubled.”

Grenchiko spoke up. “And every other nation will be firmly planted beneath their thumb.”

Ultraseven was having a hard time arguing against them, if they were telling the full truth. A few minor details left out could alter the whole story. “What about the dangers of changing time?”

“Don’t lecture us on the butterfly effect, I studied everything mankind knows about it before I set foot in a time machine!” Wilson affirmed.

“Why didn’t you just come back and tell the people of the past?” The hero asked.

“Because the people that could actually do something about it won’t give a damn. They only care about themselves, and the masses are too stupid and easily manipulated for us to have properly convinced them enough!” Wilson spat.

“Did you try?”

“Why would I try what I know wouldn’t succeed?”

Ultraseven’s voice rose. “And so you resorted to causing death and destruction, not even bothering with another option because of what you believed! You proclaimed yourselves the judges of who lived and who died! You would ravage an entire country instead of trying to build the rest up! You are no better than those you claim to fight!”

Wilson yelled back. “How dare you say such a thing, you narrow minded bastard! You know nothing of our struggles! Our world is dying, because the impotent fools of this time period put all their trust in beasts! The supposedly kindest among them, Mothra, introduced herself to the world by destroying a city! And for what? Two girls! The burden of guarding humanity will fall upon a single nation, as the rest are left to suffer in the wake of constant invasions from space, along with attacks from these beasts, whenever Japan is spread too thin!”

“The kaiju are an integral part of nature, and to try and kill them all is tampering with powers you don’t fully comprehend.”

“Oh, what an excellent non-argument,” Grenchiko scoffed.

Ultraseven continued. “Thank you for telling me of this world’s future. I swear on my life, I will prevent these tragedies you have spoken of, or at least soften the damage as much as possible. I will not let this planet fall into the darkness you claim it will. May that give you some comfort as you face whatever punishment you are given.”

“Rot in hell,” Wilson hissed, his voice dripping with venom.

After dropping the Futurians off far away from their ship, Ultraseven called Zoffy to come pick them up.

“Take them to the highest court in Japan, and let the people deal with them however they choose.” Ultraseven asked of his ally.

“Happily, agent 340. Good luck against Mecha-King Ghidorah,” voiced Zoffy.

“Thank you,” Ultraseven replied. As Zoffy took the two into his ship, Ultraseven flew back towards the MOTHER. Growing to his full height, the warrior of light stood over the future vessel. Even if he had vowed to save Earth from the dangers it would face in the future, there were still some things he couldn’t let humanity have yet.

Crossing his arms, he fired a yellow beam of energy from his forearms. The Wide-Shot tore into the chrome time-machine, then a second later detonated the entire thing. He knew Mecha-King Ghidorah was likely running on auto-pilot right now, so he did not dwell on the wreckage. He had a job to do. And so, he flew towards Tokyo.

Mecha-King Ghidorah flew through the air, raining his three beams down upon Godzilla and Super Jikiro. The future cyborg tried to outmaneuver Zone Fighter and Gigan, but the countless gashes and dents in its armor showed it wasn’t doing well. It had thrown both into separate buildings, taking them out of the fight for a brief time. Suddenly, the hydra began descending straight down. Super Jikiro’s magnet hand was raised, pulling against its foe. As Mecha-King Ghidorah struggled against the pull, an Atomic Breath tore into its chest armor. The armor was weak enough to break apart at where the beam directly hit, revealing a patch of pale, golden, flesh beneath. This made him drop further, but still his anti-gravity held strong.

Ultraseven dropped from the sky, feet-first onto the hydra’s back. This was enough to send it careening from the air, forming an impact crater as it smashed into the ground. The red and white hero back flipped off his foe, then put his hands to his forehead. The Emerium Beam was fried, crashing into the mechanical dragon’s back. Mecha-King Ghidorah flailed on the ground, shrieks leaving its jaws. Godzilla rushed forward, grabbing his foe’s outer heads. Straining, he lifted the gold and silver terror high, before slamming it back to the ground. The King of the Monsters lifted his foe again, only for the middle head to rise up and fire a Triple Laser directly into the saurian’s eyes.

Godzilla staggered back with a roar, his eyes burnt out. Mecha-King Ghidorah caught itself in midair, before swiveling around towards Ultraseven. The warrior of light’s hand went to his Eye Slugger, but before he could reach it, he was flung back by twin Gravity Beams and the Triple Laser. He crashed to the ground, crying out in pain as the beams continued burning away at him.

“Meteor Missile Might!”

Zone Fighter, now freed, summoned forth his second strongest attack. But instead of turning it upon the future cyborg, he fired them at Super Jikiro. This was not an act of betrayal, because the Peacelandian remembered the trick behind this upgraded Terror-Beast. The robot absorbed the missiles with its magnetic hand, then pointed its gun hand at their common foe. Zone Fighter turned to the hydra, his gauntlets still active.

From both the silver and blue hero’s gauntlets and the guns of the alien robot came the kaiju-killing missiles. Dozens of missiles soared towards Mecha-King Ghidorah, who could only turn in time to see the storm of projectiles.

Metal and scales were torn and flung away as its entire form was coated in explosions. Shrieks left its maws, but the shrill sounds were drowned out by the deep cacophony of blasts.

When the smoke cleared, the front of the hydra’s torso armor was black and torn apart. Deep, burnt, craters marred its flesh as blood flowed from spots where the steel had been forced into the flesh. The bases of its wings were filled with holes, live wires dangling from within and spewing sparks.

Zone Fighter’s timer was red, most of his power already expended. This only grew worse when, despite the pain that should have been wracking the cyborg dragon’s body, it still fired its beams upon him and Super Jikiro. The hero was flung back, as the Terror-Beast was forced to back up and brace against the assault.

Pain had been removed from Mecha-King Ghidorah. So many wires ran through its organics and so many sedatives had been pumped into him for the transformation process. It existed to fight, and for nothing else.

But it could still bleed, and Gigan would make sure it geysered. The alien cyborg flew at the hydra’s side, specifically the left head. His buzzsaw revving, the alien weapon rammed the spinning blade into the side of the neck. Crimson ichor poured out, the other two heads stopping their assault to aim towards Gigan. Gigan responded by slamming his hammer claws into the center head’s sides. The lights that resembled eyes cracked, shards falling free. Gigan hugged the neck he was still carving into, until that head fell limp as the buzzsaw tore through the side opposite the alien cyborg. The right and center heads blasted the alien back once more, but the damage was done as the momentum of the left head falling nearly tore it off.

The hydra lurched forward as the Wide-Shot crashed against its weakened back. It turned to face Ultraseven, uncaring of the gore spewing from its dead right neck. Godzilla bellowed, before unleashing a Spiral Atomic Ray that tore into the base of the right wing. The fake appendage was torn off, as more of the true flesh beneath was exposed and subsequently vaporized.

Mecha-King Ghidorah turned to face Godzilla, its jaws opening once more. The right head roared at the monster king, until a stream of colossal bullets tore into the opened maw. Blood spewed out in a choked gurgle as the colossus turned to face Super Jikiro. The mechanized dragon’s whole body shook with each breath and movement.

Had it the proper brain function to understand the concept, it would have known it was doomed when it saw Zone Fighter on one knee with both hands to the gem atop his head. But its autopilot did not have things like fear and dread, so it just prepared to fire its beams again.

“Meteor Proton Beam!” Shouted the last Peacelandian at the top of his lungs. The thin, blue laser was fired. It lanced into the center head of Mecha-King Ghidorah. The head was blasted apart by the alien power, and a series of explosions traveled down the neck, tearing it apart as well.

The cyborg from the future hit the ground, and the mutated Dorats’ struggles were ended.

As soon as it did so, three Garoga ships descended from the clouds. Two grabbed Super Jikiro and Gigan in tractor beams, as the third went for Mecha-King Ghidorah’s carcass. The Eye-Slugger tore through the third ship, sending a cluster of wreckage to the ground.

The other two ships retreated into space. Godzilla stepped forward, power building in his spines.

“Stand down. There’s been enough fighting for today!” Hikaru ordered, causing Godzilla to just fire his beam into the air at nothing. He’d destroy Gigan next time they met.

A mighty roar pierced the air, Godzilla announcing his victory to all who could hear. He looked to Zone Fighter, and gave the warrior a nod. The saurian let out a softer growl, a thank you. He then looked to Ultraseven, and did the same. He didn’t know the latter, but the red and white humanoid had helped him, and didn’t seem to want to attack him now. So, this being was an ally, at the very least.

And with that, Godzilla began walking to the sea, seeking rest.

Zone Fighter and Ultraseven shrank down to human size, and walked over to each other. The ultra warrior spoke first.

“Thank you, Hikaru. For everything.”

“I should be thanking you,” The Peacelandian replied. “If it weren’t for you and Zoffy, this wouldn’t have happened. The Futurians would have killed Godzilla, and continued their rampage for who knows how long.”

“You’re welcome, but I couldn’t have done this without you, especially with your brazen idea to get aid from the Garoga.”

Hikaru looked to the sky for a moment, silent. “Yeah, the Garoga…”

Ultraseven reassured him. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance at them again. And the Ultras will be there by your side. We’ve been meaning to deal with them for quite a while.”

Hikaru’s mood lightened up, slightly. “So, what about the Futurians?”

“I dealt with them. Their time machine has been destroyed, and Zoffy’s hauled them off to have the Japanese Government deal with them.”

“That’s good. That makes me feel much better.” He paused for a moment as he tried to remember something. He kept talking when it came to him. “Ever find out why these guys were doing this in the first place?”

Ultraseven sighed. “Two hundred years from now, Earth isn’t doing very well. A lot of alien invasions, two of which used many of Earth’s kaiju against it, and power struggles between nations have made things difficult.”

Hikaru sighed as well. “I can help deal with the first thing, but I don’t think I’d help much with the second.”

“Dealing with a world’s internal struggles is never easy for guardians like us,” Ultraseven stated. “It’s why the Ultra Garrison forbids Ultras to intervene with a world’s civil wars. It is far too easy to go too far and change from guardian to tyrant.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Hikaru chuckled ever so slightly.

Ultraseven looked back towards the carcass of Mecha-King Ghidorah. “I know where we can start, however. Let Japan claim Mecha-King Ghidorah’s body and do whatever they’ll do with the technology, but don’t let them keep it a secret to themselves. As a member of the Ultra Garrison, I cannot interfere with a planet’s internal affairs. But you’re not a member of the Ultra Garrison.”

Hikaru was baffled. “What? Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

Ultraseven looked Hikaru straight in the eye. “Because in seven years, neither me, you, or any other Ultras will be here to help humanity deal with any more alien invasions.” Hikaru looked shocked, but Ultraseven kept talking. “At least, that’s what happened in the Futurians’ history. I don’t know if that’s something we can prevent, but that’s for another day. The Futurians attacked Japan because Japan was far more powerful than the rest of the world in their time period, the only nation capable of actually fighting off kaiju and aliens. We can’t let one nation be the only one capable of fighting, or else Earth will become a nightmare to live on. All of them need to be able to stand against the universe’s dangers.”

Hikaru was shocked, to say the least. After a moment of conflicting emotions, his face changed to one of determination. “You’re right. Humanity can’t solely rely on us, or the Earth’s guardians, forever. They need to be able to fight without us, so that when we all fight together, we’re unstoppable!” he spoke up, finishing off with a nod.

The two heroes bowed to each other, before flying their separate ways.

Winner: Godzilla (Heisei), Zone Fighter, Ultraseven, Gigan (Universal), Jikiro