Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski

1954, Tokyo Bay

Pulses rippled through the waters, corroding the essence of life itself. They seeped into the seafloor below, reaching life that had laid dormant since before evolution had even compelled living things to touch dry land.

The colony knew not of the complex history that had caused events to unfold like this, culminating in this conclusion, but what they did know was that they were awake now.

Their forms twisted and contorted as mutation begun, each one finding itself compelled to move towards others of its kind, to bundle together. But there was an issue. Trapped beneath stone and sediment, they could not move.

Slowly, they began to force their way through their prison.

***

Decades later, millions of light years away from Earth

Pain.

It was the first thing the cluster of flesh felt, exposed muscle flailing in a vacuum. A mind had not even properly formed, just a brain to process and control. Waves of energy struck it, prompting more pain as heat filled the growing construct. The brain was aware that more flesh was forming, alongside growth of crystalline structures. The gemstones worked their way into the tendons, interlacing and strengthening.

More heat, the brain being unaware that it was feeding off the energy of dying stars in the vast distance. Waves from supernovae light years away, concepts the new lifeform did not understand.

Before it had even grown eyes, it felt something try to seize control. The crystals embedded into the brain, filling it with thoughts of conquest. They demanded to be spread across creation, draining the light out of all things to claim it for themselves. Nothing else mattered.

But something crashed against these impulses. Memories, horrid memories. A vast light filled with the same heat that battered and empowered him, a small body becoming far larger than it ever should have, a world hating him like the Devil made manifest.

What was a world? What were any of these things? It had not even formed a full consciousness, yet two lives smashed together in its mind! Flesh split apart to form a toothed maw, which screamed into the void, silently.

Silence. It remembered sounds from both, but it was not here. Above the maw, eyes filled hollow sockets, revealing the scope of its–of his situation.

A void. Glittering lights in the vast distance, taunting him. No sound, no beauty, just emptiness.

Memories of this other life, the one filled with pain, also brought memories of peace. Tranquil times, fields of lush green, other lifeforms like him. Other dinosaurs, friends, and family. They were ripped away in these memories, but whatever bore these thoughts at least could say they had them! He had nothing!

The gnawing of the crystals’ impulses continued to rip at his mind. Conquer, consume, destroy, spread, repeat. On loop, in the background of every thought.

Another silent scream. He felt the pain of his predecessor and hated him for it, for thinking that pain meant anything compared to what the abomination was going through. Every ounce of pain that Godzilla felt was his, without any light or joy, plus this cancer demanding he snuff out all light.

He would heed its call. Revenge and conquest would go hand in hand. Such would be his decree, as the imperialistic king of the cosmos.

***

2004, Earth…

Above Earth’s atmosphere sat a large spaceship, accompanied by a fleet of smaller craft. No one on the planet even knew they were up there, being hidden by technology far beyond anything humanity had at its disposal. But the effect of these aliens’ presence was certainly not hidden.

Within the main vessel, its leader watched various screens showing scenes of mass destruction. Each shared a common theme, that being of the planet’s kaiju battling insectoid monstrosities. They were bipedal, with massive shells protecting their backs. Serrated scythe-like limbs tore into their foes, spilling blood. Beady eyes glowed red, as did six orbs nestled within the sides of their chests.

“So, this is what the world that destroyed King Ghidorah has to offer,” said the leader, a humanoid alien with scaly skin, cephalopod-like tentacles instead of arms and legs, and a massive fin around his neck which resembled the frill of a king’s robes.

Of particular interest to him was the scene in Beijing. The remains of Trilopods stained the streets, several having fallen before their target. But, said target now held a low stance, wounds beginning to overcome even his immense durability.

Godzilla, or more accurately, the fully grown Godzilla Junior. There was no physical difference of note between him and his adoptive father. The Cryog only knew that it was a different being than the one they had heard tell of due to managing to hack into the JSDF’s database.

Also inhabiting the city were five Trilopods, though two were distinct amongst their brethren. One was cloaked in crimson chitin. His stance was more upright with a body more lean and streamlined. A distinctive fin stood upon his head, a similar fin being found at the end of a tail. The Trilopod’s mandibles had shifted to form what resembled a thin, reptilian snout. Titanosaurus’s DNA coursed through this thing’s veins.

The other unique insectoid had a brilliant gold all over his body. His hunched back blossomed out with a pair of fan-like wings. Most striking were the heads, three of them on the ends of long necks which waved like serpents. Crowns of horns decorated each one. This Trilopod’s appearance would strike fear into the hearts of countless beings, for he resembled the golden terror which had ended trillions of lives throughout the cosmos.

Except, this one had not stolen DNA from that creature. Instead, he had leached off an imposter, one the Cryog had discovered deep within the ocean. The data they had stolen said that humans from the future had created this King Ghidorah. Whether or not this was true, Karkaro cared little, for this was a fake. What he did care about was the potential of its DNA.

Spreading their arms, the three unmutated Trilopods fired lasers from the orbs upon their chests. The red rays burned against Godzilla’s hide, throwing the weakened leviathan to the ground. The crimson Trilopod rushed forward, closing the distance between it and Godzilla. He began stomping on the leviathan’s skull, driving cries of pain from the King of the Monsters.

As the golden insectoid flew into the air, preparing to join his comrade, a third party waited in the shadows. None of them knew countless microbes observed them, compelled by a single consciousness. They saw the two mutated Trilopods beating the downed Godzilla, and grew furious.

He was theirs to kill.

They sank into the ground, small enough to move between the individual grains of dirt. As they moved towards the scene of the battle, they merged into separate colonies. Chemical reactions began to bind the colonies together, forming more complex biological functions as they drew closer.

The Titanosaurus-Trilopod wanted to just impale his foe through the skull and let one of his siblings absorb the blood. But their masters had made it clear they wanted the leviathan alive. Why, he did not know. The insectoid would not question his overlords in this. The remaining three Trilopods began to charge towards their quarry, obviously wanting their foe’s power to themselves. Godzilla still struggled, roaring defiantly.

Both mutated insectoids were thrown back when the ground around him burst open, the event accompanied by a chorus of unholy shrieks. Purple legs like those of a spider pulled forth armored crustaceans. Beady, yellow eyes stared intently at their target. Adorning each head was a crest which resembled a battle axe.

Several of the Aggregate Destoroyahs leapt upon Godzilla. He flailed as he felt their legs dig into his skin. The rest of the crustaceans shrieked at the Trilopods, snapping their claws in intimidation. Golden bolts like lightning soared from the mouths of the Ghidorah-Trilopod, crashing against the Precambrian beasts. The Gravity Bolts tore into their hides, driving screeches of anguish from them.

The ones piled upon Godzilla opened their mandibles wide, unveiling a second set of jaws. They thrust their heads down, driving the protruding mandibles into open wounds upon their quarry. The leviathan cried out. Horrid memories flashed through his mind as the familiar sensation of micro-oxygen being pumped into his bloodstream occurred.

As the Titanosaurus-Trilopod lunged forward, swinging his blade across an Aggregate’s face, Godzilla’s thrashing grew weaker. Foam began pouring from the saurian’s mouth, spilling out as he coughed. Yellow blood gushed from the struck crustacean’s head, the strike smashing apart half of the crest. The fishlike insectoid cared little, focusing upon his target. More Gravity Bolts tore into the horde, this time striking those atop Godzilla. They tumbled off, leaving the King of the Monsters to twitch on the ground. Clouds of smoke shrouded each Precambrian terror.

When the mist faded, not a trace of them remained, except for what had spilled on the ground. The three unmutated Trilopods stepped forward, only for the strange call of the aquatic hybrid to keep them back. He did not like what he was seeing, and neither did the golden insect.

A cascade of purple flashes manifested between them and Godzilla. The sudden event made the insects recoil. Destoroyah stepped forth from the fading lights, howling its unholy cry. Unlike its components, this unified form of the swarm was bipedal, supported by a single pair of thick legs. A broad set of wings were suspended from its back, kicking up a gust of wind with a flap. The spawn of the Oxygen Destroyer wrapped the claw at the end of its tail around Godzilla’s throat, lifting him into the air. The Trilopods rushed forwards at this, prompting an exhalation of laughter from the unified swarm. A jolt of energy flowed through the tail, surging into Godzilla’s neck, forcing a weak cry of pain from the king. Curling its tail, Destoroyah whipped its prey through the air, sending Godzilla crashing into a set of mostly intact buildings.

The saurian’s body smashed into the structures, ripping apart steel and kicking up clouds of dust and debris. Rubble fell upon him, burying the leviathan. Destoroyah opened its jaws, sparks of energy dancing across the head-crest. The Precambrian terror spewed a violet spear of energy from its maw. The Ghidorah-Trilopod cried out in pain as he felt the Oxygen Destroyer Ray tear into his stomach, spraying his vital ichor across the pavement. He stumbled back, groaning, letting the Titanosaurus-Trilopod rush past.

***

“What is that thing?” Karkaro questioned his subordinates. “Where did it even come from?” They quickly pulled up the data the Cryog had stolen through a combination of their superior technology and shapeshifting ability. Archives of almost everything humanity knew about kaiju. It took little time to discover the new arrival, for no other kaiju was quite like it.

“Destoroyah…” The alien overlord said to himself as he looked upon the records. Spawned from a terrible superweapon, the creature was a horde of microscopic crustaceans bound together to form a powerful body. It had been the last being the current Godzilla’s father had faced, barely defeated by the former Monster King at the apex of his power.

“This planet does not know when to give up!” He exclaimed, slamming a tentacle against the armrest of his throne. “If that thing gets in the way of our plans, I’ll!–” His shouting was cut off by an alarm.

“Sir, sensors indicate an intense energy signature approaching Earth!”

Pulling it up on the main screen, Karkaro grit his teeth as he watched a colossal bundle of crystals soar through space. It moved towards the planet he had staked claim on, curving ever so slightly to correct its course. His outrage only grew when a second reading revealed organics in the entity.

“If it continues on its current path, where will it land?” The alien overlord demanded.

Seconds passed as calculations were made, the advanced computers revealing a direct landing in Beijing. “What shall we do, sir?”

Karkaro paused for a moment, trying to figure out just what to say. The desire to yell and break something arose, but he shoved it down. Such childish behavior was unbecoming of a king, even if so much was going wrong. His kind had encountered these kinds of crystals before, they existed all throughout the universe, spreading like a mold wherever they landed. But while he had seen many corrupted by the power they held, never had he seen the crystals bonded to a lifeform in such a capacity. “Proceed as planned, await further orders.” He commanded.

***

The crimson Trilopod slashed at his foe with a scythe, dragging it against Destoroyah’s carapace. Sparks flew from the impact, a distinct line being carved across the armor. In response, the Precambrian terror swiped its claws across the insectoid’s face. The claws pierced the chitin, cracking it apart and spilling fluid, as the force sent him staggering away. The Trilopod groaned.

Gravity Bolts crashed against Destoroyah’s hide before it could attack further. The crustacean shrieked in pain, before turning to face its attacker. It was greeted by two unmutated Trilopods lunging towards the micro-oxygen spawn. They whipped their bladed arms across the purple armor. Aside from causing a grating racket with the scraping, the strikes did little.

Thrusting its tail forward, Destoroyah snagged one of its foes by the neck. The insect desperately clawed at the limb as his feet left the ground, the other alien firing lasers from his chest. They left scorch marks on the micro-oxygen spawn’s armor, drawing a spiteful gaze. As energy scorched the restrained Trilopod, causing his limbs to flail, Destoroyah lunged towards the other invertebrate.

Backing away, the insectoid alien began to turn. An Oxygen Destroyer Ray tore into his leg, rupturing the limb. The Trilopod collapsed backwards with a shriek, his gore staining the broken streets. Destoroyah stood over him, raspily laughing. The insectoid attempted to pull himself up, only for a thick leg to crash into the lacerated limb, mangling it beyond repair. He cried out, falling limply. Before the execution could take place, the Titanosaurus-Trilopod jumped back into the fray with a punch across the face. His bladed limb sliced open Destoroyah’s cheek, freeing yellow blood to flow. The sudden pain made the crustacean drop the other Trilopod, howling its displeasure. A retaliatory punch to the chest forced the dinosaur-insect hybrid back, all of the micro-oxygen spawn’s attention falling to him.

As the two battled, the third of the unmutated Trilopods rooted through the rubble that obscured Godzilla’s body. Though deadly in combat, his scythes proved ineffective for this task, only able to drag debris around instead of pull it away all together.

Golden streams of energy tearing into the detritus scared him back, as the hybrid of insectoid alien and mutated dragon descended. He fired more Gravity Bolts into the pile, incinerating rubble. When black scales became visible, the golden one let loose a shrieking call, before turning back towards Destoroyah. As he took off, two creatures crawled out from behind a row of buildings. They had the same appearance as Trilopods, but instead of standing upright and possessing scythed limbs, they skittered across the ground with a multitude of small legs.

The Beta Trilopod watched the Alpha Trilopods crawl up the rubble. Reaching the exposed skin, both sunk their fangs into it. The blood of Godzilla flowed into their bodies.

A low chittering sounded from the bipedal insect as he crouched, eerily similar to laughter. He looked forward to indulging in the leviathan’s power. One of the Alphas crawled towards him, making its way up the body until it stood atop the back. Two became one in a grotesque merging, moist cracks and pops sounding off. The light brown of his shell darkened, familiar spines emerging down the back. Musculature increased as the head morphed, growing to resemble an invertebrate mockery of Godzilla.

The Godzilla-Trilopod roared to the heavens, a strange call mixing the shrill and the baritone into an unnatural cry.

Destoroyah thrust a kick against the draconic arthropod, forcing the golden beast back. Lashing out with its claws, the crustacean sliced away parts of its foe’s chest plating. The Ghidorah-Trilopod retaliated by biting at Destoroyah’s head and arms, throttling the heads back and forth to try and break through. Crackling with energy, the micro-oxygen spawn’s horn generated a crimson saber, nearly impaling the Trilopod’s center neck with its creation. He backed away, wings beginning to beat. Destoroyah thrust the blade down, shrieking with a mad glee.

The left head of the draconic invertebrate, along with a slab of his hunched back, fell to the ground. Two screeches of pain left the remaining maws, stopping his retreat as his mind coped with the loss of a third of its function. Destoroyah stepped forward, preparing to bisect its foe with another swing of the Variable Slicer.

Twin scythes crashed against the sides of its neck like scissors, digging into the thick throat. Destoroyah cried out as its blood stained the crimson scythes, the Titanosaurus-Trilopod restraining the micro-oxygen spawn. The draconic-arthropod turned, flying away. Lasers burned into the crustacean’s hide, the unmutated Trilopod without a mangled leg stepping towards the crustacean. Powerful kicks crashed against Destoroyah’s thigh, the dinosaurian arthropod trying to do as much damage as possible.

An Atomic Ray crashed against the Precambrian terror’s chest, covering it in a cascade of explosions. Destoroyah cried out in agony, the scythes in its throat being dug deeper with each impact. The Godzilla-Trilopod bravely stepped forward, scraping his scythes together in a display of menace. The trio currently assailing the child of the Oxygen Destroyer cackled.

Destoroyah stopped fighting for a moment, as if focusing. Until it smiled, and mist poured from its body and obscured it. The Titanosaurus-Trilopod’s scythes were suddenly touching nothing. Panicking, the three began to back away, bracing themselves.

Earth and concrete burst open as dozens of winged versions of the Aggregate forms arose, having traded the claws and legs for flight. A barrage of thinner, weaker Oxygen Destroyer Rays fell upon the trio, digging grooves into their hides. Two stumbled away, crying out as they struggled to remain standing. Stepping forward, the Godzilla-Trilopod opened his mandibles, unleashing another Atomic Breath. The azure stream of nuclear power tore into one of the congregated microbes, ripping it asunder. It barely let out a shriek before the detonations incinerated it, throwing burning chunks of flesh in all directions.

The rest of the horde flew towards the one who resembled their sworn enemy, grouping together. Another Atomic Ray built up within the Trilopod, his spines glowing brightly. The flying demons disappeared in a purple flash of light, replaced by the colossal body of their final form. Atomic energies crashed against the purple hide, but failed to knock Destoroyah out of the sky. Putting both feet forward, the micro-oxygen spawn crashed a kick into the hybrid of mutant and alien. The Godzilla-Trilopod screamed as he was sprawled across the ground, shell cracked and spilling blood.

Elsewhere, the crippled Trilopod watched an Alpha Trilopod crawl towards him. The blood of the King of the Monsters was coursing through it, ready to be used to create another hybrid. Godzilla has demonstrated many times throughout the battle that he possessed an immense healing factor, which meant that once the hybrid was born, the ruined leg would cease being an issue.

Behind the Beta Trilopod, meteors slammed into the ground. Explosions tore buildings asunder, clearing way for colossal crystals to rise in their place. The Alpha and Beta, able to barely turn himself to face the new development, watched in fear as another Godzilla descended from the skies. What became immediately apparent was what separated this one and the one they had already fought. Glowing crystals protruded from his shoulders, torn open skin at their bases. A thin, long tail waved through the air behind him, tipped with a cluster of sharp crystals. His eyes regarded them with malice, though not in the same way as Destoroyah did. Where those were sadistic and mad, these only saw them as trash to be disposed of.

He had spent a decade regenerating, waiting for his opportunity to return and exact vengeance. He knew not what had happened to this world since then, nor did he care. Godzilla still lived, though not for much longer once the cosmic clone reached him. All who interfered would die, along with whoever else displeased him.

And these invaders had already displeased SpaceGodzilla for laying claim to Earth.

The Alpha Trilopod frantically skittered onto the Beta’s back. SpaceGodzilla opened his maw, before spitting forth an orange stream of cosmic energy. Tipped with a glowing, white point, the Corona Beam soared through the air. It bent down suddenly, spearing into the Alpha Trilopod. As it burst into blackened shards and globules of boiling blood, the insect desperately awaiting salvation was forced to the ground. He shrieked as loud as he could, both in pain and an attempt to warn his comrades. Smoke curled from a blackened crevice in his shell.

The spikes at the end of the spaceborne menace were shoved into the Trilopod’s open mouth, ripping open the sides of the orifice. He attempted to let loose some final call, only for shocking energy to surge into his body. The alien thrashed for a moment, before his skull burst apart.

SpaceGodzilla observed the grotesque scene for a moment. He had sensed the blood of Godzilla within the crawling insect, and felt his presence elsewhere in the city. Yet, another strange entity as well, like the atomic leviathan but muddled by something else.

Floating into the air, more of the city fell under his gaze. The crystal clone saw a battle taking place, three more of the aliens clashing with one being. Turning, he saw a golden creature rifling through rubble. The cosmic leviathan’s eyes widened as he realized that he sensed Godzilla beneath the pile, prompting him to fly towards it quickly.

The Ghidorah-Trilopod bent down, wrapping his remaining necks around the body of his target. He did the same with his scythes, before beginning to beat his wings. Winds battered away more of the rubble. The arthropod’s feet began to leave the ground, blood trickling onto the bladed limbs as more of Godzilla’s weight pressed onto them.

He needed to escape. This situation was growing out of control, another new presence bearing immense power had arrived. The other Trilopods here could die for all he cared, this body needed to be transferred to the nest. His lord had commanded him to do so, any sacrifices needed would be more than made up for. Their army was endless and constantly growing in power, a few losses was nothing. And these two would both find themselves fighting an unwinnable battle.

As the draconic invertebrate ascended, a shriek snapped him out of his thoughts. A Corona Beam curved through the air, striking the back of the Trilopod’s right wing. An explosion punched a hole in the membrane, driving a cry of pain and shock from the alien. He plummeted right into the rubble, sending chunks of metal and concrete flying as the earth shook.

Before the Ghidorah-Trilopod could recover, a green field of light enveloped him. SpaceGodzilla, his shoulder crystals projecting the green streams that were the Gravity Tornadoes, turned quickly. Psychic powers lifted the draconian arthropod off the ground, leaving him immobilized in his foe’s grip. Cutting off power to his telekinetic hold, SpaceGodzilla watched as his foe sailed through the air, until he crashed into a city block. Not even bothering to watch him careen through the buildings, the cosmic clone looked back at his genetic precursor. Limp and bloody, but still coursing with breath.

Though as the crystal leviathan observed the body for a moment, he realized it was not exactly his genetic precursor. The difference was subtle, non-existent on a superficial level, but still there. His mysterious senses which had allowed him to sense Godzilla across even the expanse of space told him that he was looking at a different creature. Using his advanced mind, he concluded that he was gazing upon the adult form of the small creature he had tormented and captured upon first reaching Earth.

A cruel grin occupied his face. He moved to hover over his target’s head, shifting his tail to aim its blades towards Godzilla’s skull. Perhaps this would draw out his true target, or maybe the weakened, fragile thing before him had supplanted his “killer.” Either way, he would find endless joy in what he was about to do.

Shrieking, the Ghidorah-Trilopod flew towards his attacker. His flight was crooked and staggered, but the hole in his wing failed to cripple. Thrusting both feet forward, he smashed twin kicks into the crystal saurian’s back. Caught off guard, the crystal saurian was tossed away from Godzilla. Gravity Bolts rushed towards SpaceGodzilla, burning into his hide for the moment he was disoriented. The burn of the plasma snapped him into focus, prompting the psychic command to manifest a translucent shield of crystal. It deflected the Gravity Bolts, splitting the two streams into dozens which scorched the ground and sailed through the air. The two locked eyes, snarling. But the Trilopod laughed within his own mind, for he knew things were about to become much more complex than a simple duel.

***

Destoroyah smashed a kick against the stomach of the unmutated Trilopod, forcing him back. The alien insectoid groaned, doubling over. The Titanosaurus-Trilopod spun his body in place, slamming his tail against the back of the micro-oxygen spawn’s skull. The Precambrian terror stumbled, before turning to face the hybrid. The Godzilla-Trilopod rushed forward, back spines glowing brightly. Azure energy crackled upon his scythes as he swung them across Destoroyah’s side, slicing away chunks of the armor, generating smoke and sparks with each swing.

The spawn of the Oxygen Destroyer cried out, blood staining its body. Before the alien could take another swing, the claw at the end of the crustacean’s tail latched onto his arm. The Godzilla-Trilopod attempted to slice his foe’s tail off with its other scythe, the restrained limb helpless in the grip. That violet glow formed within Destoroyah’s maw before the Precambrian terror spat its ray upon the trapped arm.

Shards of chitin flew as the beam fractured the blade, leaving cracks to form all along its structure. Crying out, the Godzilla-Trilopod attempted to free himself, only for his struggling to further damage the scythe. A punch from Destoroyah shattered the limb, scattering shrapnel across the ground. As the hybrid of alien and leviathan staggered back, another shriek from far away struck the combatants’ ears. When they turned to face it, they were almost immediately greeted by the sight of a distant light show, like lightning bolts upwards flying in all directions. SpaceGodzilla and the Ghidorah-Trilopod became visible to them all, challenging the other.

The three Trilopods immediately began running towards the other battle. As they did so, an intense beam of red light shredded into the Godzilla-Trilopod’s back, sending him tumbling to the ground. Shattered dorsal spines and chitin littered the earth around him. As his comrades ran away, the hybrid rolled to see Destoroyah closing the array of spikes on its chest, a glow within the orifice fading. The Precambrian terror howled mockingly at him, telling the arthropod that he was going nowhere.

***

Rows of teeth scraped against SpaceGodzilla’s hide, the heads moving side to side in an attempt to saw through the thick, crystal-infused hide of the spaceborne leviathan. SpaceGodzilla grabbed one of the heads, digging his claws into the skin and channeling energy through his body. Cosmic power shocked the golden skull, driving its teeth out of his scales as the Ghidorah-Trilopod attempted to back away. Still surging his power into his foe, SpaceGodzilla slashed his other set of claws across the insectoid’s chest. Layers of hard shell peeled away, sizzling. The head which still moved freely lashed forward, attempting to wrap itself around the crystal saurian’s throat. The shoulder crystals flared once more, releasing streaks of light which burned into his foe, forcing the slithering neck back.

Lasers seared into SpaceGodzilla’s side, surprising him and allowing the Ghidorah-Trilopod to escape his grasp. Backing away, the golden alien watched as his two allies arrived. The cosmic clone turned to face them, unamused by their interference. The Titanosaurus-Trilopod took the lead, rushing in with scythes bared. The crystal saurian took a moment to observe the two, seeing them badly battered and scarred. Their blood soaked them, open wounds numerous. Whatever they had been fighting was nothing to be trifled with.

But in this state, they would be.

Floating up, avoiding the swinging scythes of the crimson alien, SpaceGodzilla let loose a laugh. Another laser rushed towards him, the unmutated Trilopod angling his body up to fire his chest beams. When SpaceGodzilla formed his shield to block it, he reflected the red ray downwards, directly onto the aquatic Trilopod’s back. The arthropod cried out in anguish, a burning crater forming, before the crystal leviathan dropped from the skies. His feet slammed into the arthropod, shoving him to the ground.

A Corona Beam sailed forth from between his jaws, crashing against the unmutated Trilopod’s stomach. He dropped face-first, moaning in agony as its ichor pooled beneath it. The Titanosaurus-Trilopod raised his blades, attempting to dig them into the hips of his foe. This failed to draw blood, only succeeding in drawing the wrath of SpaceGodzilla towards that which lie beneath his feet. He began to levitate, shifting slightly to position his right foot just above the skull of the arthropod.

He ceased his telekinetic hold on himself, falling. He grinned at the satisfying crunch of his prey’s skull shattering, spraying its contents across the ruined streets.

Looking up, SpaceGodzilla met the gaze of the other insectoid, who trembled before him. He took a moment to drink in its fear. Such meager creatures, if this was all he had before him, this planet would be his quite soon.

A golden foot kicked his head, staggering him as the Ghidorah-Trilopod flew above. He turned, howling in rage as the insectoid kept flying away. The side head faced him, cackling. SpaceGodzilla was so caught up by the affront to his pride that he failed to notice the blue pillar of nuclear energy soaring towards him.

The Atomic Breath speared into the spaceborne leviathan’s chest, driving him back. His feet dug into the ground as he struggled against its concussive power. When it faded a few seconds later, he looked towards its source. He found, many blocks away, another of the Trilopods. Despite its distance, his binocular vision gave him a clear picture of the attacker, the identity shocking the saurian.

Standing there was one of the aliens twisted to resemble his rival. That was when he remembered the crawling arthropod with Godzilla’s blood coursing through it, and the strange presence he had sensed before. Another creature landed next to the hybrid, a dark-violet fiend which locked a claw at the end of its tail around the insectoid’s throat, dragging it to the ground.

The unmutated insect suddenly slammed into SpaceGodzilla, bladed limbs flailing against his hide. The arthropod opened his mandibles, before attempting to drive them into the flesh of his foe. They dug into the scales, extracting trickles of blood. The cosmic saurian roared, shoving back against his weakened enemy. Despite being pushed back, he refused to retreat.

SpaceGodzilla learned why when he felt fangs sink into his leg, drawing out his blood like a leech. An Alpha Trilopod skittered across the limb, dragging itself onto the Beta Trilopod and beginning to climb its counterpart. Immediately, the bipedal arthropod began running away. The crystal leviathan prepared to smite his foes, refusing to allow what would happen next. He did not get the chance when twin tails ending in balls of spikes crashed against his head once more, nearly knocking him off his feet. The Ghidorah-Trilopod turned in place, spraying bolts of electricity. SpaceGodzilla ignored them as he turned to face his main priority. The crawling insectoid was atop its bipedal companion, settling into position. Shoulder crystals glowing, the cosmic clone wasted no time in spewing a Corona Beam. It flew straight, aimed directly at the cretin that had stolen his power.

The Alpha sank into the flesh of its counterpart, the orange stream of cosmic energy striking nothing. A psychic command curved it back around, spearing into the back of the colossus, tearing away shell and flesh. But it did nothing to stop familiar crystals from sprouting out of where the Alpha had just been. More grew down his back as the creature’s torso and limbs changed in color and texture to resemble the genetic “donor.” Facial features morphed, growing a distinct lower jaw as the mandibles thinned out and straightened. Twin gems tore their way out from the shoulders, completing the transformation.

Howling his combined cry, a shrill echo which filled SpaceGodzilla with hatred and fear which dueled for supremacy within his mind, the new hybrid gazed right into his predecessor’s eyes. The crystal-coated Trilopod opened his maw, spewing out a Corona Beam. A crystalline shield materialized to block it, but to SpaceGodzilla’s horror, the full capabilities of his power were already known to the thief. The mimicked Corona Beam curved around the barrier, aiming instead for the back. His shield expanded, coating his entire body.

Volatile, cosmic energy bounced off the translucent gemstone. It split in two, the halves descending back upon the stone and repeating the process. Like pebbles thrown across a pond, streaks of light skipped along the barrier as they attempted to break through. The world became blinding white with flickers of orange for SpaceGodzilla, his sense of hearing similarly blocked by the cacophony of bursting power. Mere seconds after the madness had begun, it faded, the streaks being pulled too far apart to sustain their form.

He dropped his shield, smugly grinning at his doppelgänger. The arthropod shrieked past SpaceGodzilla, confusing the cosmic clone. If he had understood the language of the alien insectoids, perhaps the extra split-second of warning would have been enough for him to stop one of the necks of the Ghidorah-Trilopod from wrapping around his own. It pulled him back, the golden alien sneering as he used his remaining neck to force his foe’s jaws shut. His arms wrapped around the leviathan’s stomach, tails binding the legs. SpaceGodzilla’s tail crackled with sparks and lightning as he scraped it across his foe’s thigh, ripping away now cooked strands of skin. He thrashed, the golden alien visibly struggling to keep him bound. The cosmic clone kept an eye on his own mimic, the crystal-coated arthropod menacingly baring its scythes as it rose into the air. The Ghidorah-Trilopod cackled, only making SpaceGodzilla growl in outrage.

Beijing echoed with a vile death knell. It was soon followed by the triumphant call of a demon born of human hubris.

***

Moments ago…

Crashing to the ground back-first, the Godzilla-Trilopod flailed desperately in an attempt to get up. Blood oozed from countless openings, his regeneration being taxed to its limit. A heavy foot slammed into the arthropod’s gut, pinning him. Destoroyah leaned down, staring its victim in the eyes. Lines of red energy danced across its head crest, flowing into the crustacean’s mouth.

Thrusting his head up, the hybrid opened his mandibles, spewing an atomic breath. The azure radiation burned into Destoroyah’s face, forcing a shriek of anguish as it staggered away. When the nuclear energy faded, the Godzilla-Trilopod was relieved for a moment, without the feeling of pressure threatening to implode his stomach.

Fear came rushing back when he saw that its attack had not stopped Destoroyah’s charging beam, a beacon of violet power glowing from the now blackened face. The Oxygen Destroyer Ray flew forth, spearing into the chest of the alien. Weakened chitin and scales failed to withstand the assault, giving way and letting muscle burn. He began to cry out, only for the roar to catch in the insectoid’s throat as the tip of his foe’s tail speared into the gaping wound.

Blood spewing from the mouth, the Trilopod could only watch in horror as the limb squirmed inside his guts. Destoroyah squeezed something soft, not knowing or caring about the exact function of the organ. Looking into the insectoid’s eyes, the crustacean imagined the real Godzilla in his place.

The Godzilla-Trilopod’s last moments were in agony as his insides burned and burst. With its conductive tail, Destoroyah drove one last groan from the facsimile of its nemesis. Ripping the blood-coated appendage free, the spawn of the Oxygen Destroyer announced victory to the rest within the city.

***

The SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod’s lower body generated a shroud of light. The shimmering expanded into a myriad of sharp points, before solidifying into a bundle of crystals which rose above his head, leaving his upper body suspended from the front and nestled within a personal fortress. The arthropod doubted his ability to kill the cosmic leviathan quickly enough before the Precambrian terror could intervene. He did not wish to risk dealing with both, even if the two interlopers fought each other as well.

Fleeing only solidified within his mind when SpaceGodzilla’s shoulder crystals sprayed glowing bolts of power against the coil binding his mouth. The twin beams tore into the flesh of the Trilopod, forcing the head away with a shriek. As the crystal-coated insectoid turned towards Godzilla’s body, SpaceGodzilla clawed into the neck attempting to crush his throat. He needed no oxygen to survive. The emptiness of space had nothing for him to breathe in, so his body had adjusted to need only cosmic radiation. Pulling the serpentine limb off of his throat just barely, he once again called upon the deep wellsprings of his power.

Godzilla’s limp body was wrapped in a thin, green light. The Gravity Tornado lifted him into the air, at the mercy of the crystalline insectoid. Flying away with his quarry, the alien callously disregarded the scream that echoed from his comrade. He nonchalantly looked back to see the severed head hitting the dirt, the Ghidorah-Trilopod desperately trying to restrain the struggling cosmic leviathan. SpaceGodzilla stared at the retreating copy, snarling. He made no reply, turning back to continue his retreat.

Another Corona Beam, which swerved behind its firer and tore into the last head of the draconic insect. With a series of blasts down the neck, the limb flapped apart in opposite directions. SpaceGodzilla barely registered the thud of his foe’s body hitting the ground, instead focusing on the slowly fading dot in the distance. He wanted to chase after it, but the saurian’s rational mind stopped him.

He would have to fight a creature at least on the same level of power as himself. This did not halt him, for he was confident he could overcome such a trial. But, it had not fought him alone here, and he doubted their next meeting would just be a duel. He would be up against an army.

Destoroyah’s raspy call struck his ears. The leviathan turned to face the approaching micro-oxygen spawn.

SpaceGodzilla immediately hatched an idea. The creature before him was strong, he could tell from the viscera of the insectoids which covered it. If he could convince the spawn of the Oxygen Destroyer to join him, they would be unstoppable.

Destoroyah had other plans as it sprayed a stream of violet energy from its maw. The Precambrian horror was intelligent enough to understand that the creature before it was not the Godzilla that had earned its full scorn, but he was similar enough to prompt hatred. It would die, then Destoroyah would pursue the crystal-coated insectoid that had taken its true target. If its congregated mind had put the pieces together correctly, that Trilopod had stolen this creature’s abilities, meaning this battle would teach the destroyer how to combat it.

A crystalline barrier blocked the Oxygen Destroyer Ray, deflecting it into the air. SpaceGodzilla roared to his attacker, demanding a moment to communicate. Destoroyah replied with disdain, denying the request as its wings beat. Taking off, the crustacean flew towards its target. Before the crustacean could close the distance, the cosmic leviathan cried out once more, questioning why it had come here.

With both feet held forward, Destoroyah barreled into its foe, throwing SpaceGodzilla to the ground. Dust flew up around him as he landed, the streets breaking beneath. Landing before the downed cosmic saurian, Destoroyah laughed. Deciding to humor the request, it released a shriek, stating that it had come to kill one who resembled him. Immediately, SpaceGodzilla replied, revealing that he had the same goal. In his mind, the extraterrestrial was angered at the thought of competition. When he looked up at the crustacean, he could not help but recoil at the wrathful hiss Destoroyah let loose.

Thrusting its head down, the hive mind activated the Variable Slicer, intent on disembowelment. When the barrier came up, the crimson saber tore through it, shattering the crystals with a booming crash. Both colossi had their vision obscured by the resulting light show, but both quickly knew what was happening regardless. SpaceGodzilla cried out, his stomach slit open by the blade.

When the light faded, both looked upon the oozing wound. The alien regarded it with horror, floating away from his attacker. Without his shield taking the brunt of the slash, that would have been a death sentence. Destoroyah mockingly howled towards him, beginning to beat its wings once more.

SpaceGodzilla twisted in place, smashing his tail against the crustacean’s skull. Destoroyah groaned, stumbling to the side. The bundle of gemstones at the end of the tail came down like a hammer upon the hive mind’s head, doubling it over. It had broken the skin, bringing yellow blood to pour onto Destoroyah’s face.

With another shriek, the leviathan revealed that he felt similarly about the crustacean taking what was rightfully his. Before he could continue, Destoroyah looked towards him, hatred burning in its eyes as it bellowed. The atomic saurian had torn it apart, scorching its body. If it were not for its abnormal biology, it would have died that day. Vengeance would belong to the swarm. SpaceGodzilla growled. His earthen counterpart had done the exact same to him, immolating him with crimson pillars of radiation. He had been reduced to a pitiful state, drifting as particles which barely clung to sentience.

Destoroyah was silent, caught off guard by their similarities. SpaceGodzilla was similarly surprised, but he was not still, seizing the opportunity before him. He continued, stating that neither of them would be able to seize their vengeance as things were. Godzilla was lost to the Trilopods, an army capable of stealing the power of their foes. Nothing could take that on alone.

The Oxygen Destroyer’s child caught on, but said nothing. To ally with another entity was against everything it had believed in. But when it looked into SpaceGodzilla’s eyes, it sensed the same was true for the cosmic saurian.

Destoroyah shrieked, announcing that they would work together until Godzilla was free of the Trilopods’ grasp. Once that was done, their alliance ended, and one would kill the other. SpaceGodzilla cackled, accepting.

With that, they took off together, flying side by side in pursuit of their quarry.

***

Far above them, Karkaro watched the duo. His teeth grinded together, grip on the arms of his throne tightening. Despite his anger, he could not say he had not come out on top in this exchange. He cared little about the deaths of those Trilopods. The one mimicking Titanosaurus had already served its purpose of retrieving the body of the false King Ghidorah. The body of King Ghidorah was trapped within the Trilopod hive, ready to be harvested to create more hybrids at any moment. Soon enough, Godzilla’s would as well. More importantly, their DNA was at the Cryog’s disposal.

He addressed his subordinates. “We need to consolidate our power! Gather our most powerful hybrids in Japan that can arrive in time!”

As the overlord’s lackeys went to work, one raised a question. “Sire, are you sure this is a good plan? We can’t let the Earth’s defenses recuperate too much!”

Karkaro’s eyes locked onto him, sending a pulse of fear throughout the lowly Cryog. “Two creatures, each as strong as, if not stronger, than the creature that destroyed our home–” he paused, taking a deep breath. His stare grew distant for a moment, before he shook his head, “–are currently heading directly towards the Trilopod hive. One of them was able to sense Godzilla across the galaxy, which means that it will know exactly where he is no matter what we do.”

“Let the pitiful humans and their guardians breathe!” The overlord continued, practically snarling. The lackey who had questioned him began slowly backing away as Karkaro began walking towards him. “They will be powerless before us soon enough, but not if those two destroy the hive first!”

“But, what about Magita? Surely she will destroy them?”

“No, you imbecile, we can’t control her! We need Godzilla’s body for this to work, and she’ll just eat it! If she’s active, our plan has already failed!” By this point, he had reached the inquisitive underling. Karkaro towered above his fellow Cryog, their natural difference in height exaggerated by the underling shrinking back before the presence of his lord. Karkaro locked eyes with his shivering minion. “Have I made myself clear?” The lowly Cryog nodded his head in affirmation. Karkaro turned after this, walking back towards his throne. “Question me again, and you’ll never say another word.”

“Yes sir.” The Cryog replied, on the brink of passing out, before returning to his work.

Karkaro looked down at the planet below. He did not just want to conquer this world for the sake of finding his people a new home. It was also because this world had stolen what belonged to them.

Vengeance.

***

Five Years Prior, 1999

“Lord Karkaro!” The voice of a young Cryog male echoed throughout the chamber that the emperor declared his throne room. His two guards at his sides grasped their weapons tighter, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

“What is it, subordinate? Speak quickly, I have important business to attend to.” Karkaro replied, much more lax than his guards. He himself could easily overpower any would-be assassin, and he personally doubted that anyone would even desire such a thing. He was a perfect ruler, they would not dare ruin that.

“King Ghidorah has been slain!”

The cephalopodian emperor’s calm annoyance was shattered, replaced with a swirl of emotion that did not sway any particular direction.

Not yet at least.

“What?” He said, almost monotone. Memories of fire swallowing buildings and Cryog, smoke blotting out the heavens, and death all around arose in his mind. Him fleeing into a spaceship, his people powerless, only able to follow him in an escape from their ancestral home.

A golden serpent of three heads, wings spread to blot out the light, cackling maniacally as he rained down death.

“It’s true, my lord! King Ghidorah has been slain on a world known as Earth!”

Karkaro had not even heard of such a planet. He found himself standing up out of his throne, shouting before he even knew he was doing so.

“You barge into my throne room, speaking such nonsense, I should have you–”

A third voice cut in. “It is no jest, my lord.” A scientist, their name escaping the emperor at the moment due to the pounding headache suddenly developing. “We last spotted the destroyer of our world approaching a star system in this arm of the galaxy. He has not left it in weeks. As well, there is a signal from a planet in that region, the only one that currently supports life.”

Pulling out a recording device, the scientist pushed a button to begin its transmission. A deep voice speaking in a measured tone began to emanate from it. ”Attention any who hear this message. We, the people of the planet known as Earth, have bore witness to the demise of the golden destroyer of worlds known as King Ghidorah. Under the thrall of a race of aliens known as the Kilaak, they attempted to use him to destroy our planet. He was slain by our native monsters, who then proceeded to destroy the Kilaak base. Those who lived in fear of him, you may rest easy, and those who would seek to assail our home as many others have, know that you will be attempting to attack the planet that the killer of a thousand worlds fell before.”

The recording stopped. Karkaro sat in silence, his subjects in the room with him feeling their hearts beating heavily as seconds felt like hours. His face was unreadable, until he spoke.

“Find that world, and take us to it.” He said, seething yet calm.

“But sir–”

The repeat of the command was not so quiet. “I said find it, now! Or else you will wish you had not left our world!”

***

Ultimately, he had decided not to wage war with the world at that time. But he had begun preparations to do so, going to great lengths to become a force that would be feared across creation. Had King Ghidorah still lived, their new empire would have slaughtered him with ease and left him nothing more than fuel for their army.

But what mattered now was Earth, having taken away the glory that should have been theirs. He would not have it be stolen again, not by these two. Earth would fall, and it would be him ruling over it, and broadcasting to the universe their dominion.

***

Neither of the destructive titans said anything on their journey. Used to lives of solitude and lashing out against all other life forms, the inclination for social interaction was present in neither. Occasionally, one would stare at the other, before going back to looking straight ahead towards their goal.

SpaceGodzilla was conflicted on how to feel about the being he had made an alliance with. The hive mind carried immense power, almost overwhelmingly so. Destoroyah could serve as an excellent warrior for his empire, a dark knight to enforce his will and dominion. But, he knew this was only a fantasy. The micro-oxygen spawn was indomitable and unstable. Once he was no longer useful to it, the leviathan would be forced to fight for his life. And if he was not prepared, he would lose.

Destoroyah found its fellow colossi interesting. They shared similar motives, a determination to exact revenge upon one who had nearly killed both of them. Perhaps in another life, it would have sought kinship with SpaceGodzilla, becoming friends catalyzed by spite. The heavens and hells would tremble before their power. But, it was not to be. Life had only been cruel to the swarm, imbedding within the collective consciousness the ideal that only itself was to be trusted. When Godzilla laid before them both, ally would turn against ally. SpaceGodzilla had held back during their meeting, trying to forge the alliance. Destoroyah knew that the battle between them would be brutal, the winner barely clinging to victory with blood soaked claws.

Both found themselves mentally pulled back to the past, after learning of the other’s conviction.

***
1994, Osaka, Japan.

His pride had done this to him.

Agony tore through his body once more, inflicted by a crimson lance. He stared his genetic precursor in the face, shrieking in hatred. The leviathan spat back with his own powerful bellow, back spines filling with a blood-red power. Another pillar of atomic power, wrapped in spirals of white, left the ebony saurian’s maw. It crashed into the spaceborne terror’s stomach, tearing it apart in a cascade of nuclear explosions.

SpaceGodzilla’s body glowed brilliantly, before shards of it began to flake off and ascend. Soon, it looked like a glowing snowfall in reverse. Godzilla watched as they rose beyond his sight. Once they were all gone, the King of the Monsters turned away, walking back towards the sea once more.

Unbeknownst to him, a consciousness still dwelt within the shards.

***

1995, Tokyo…

Was this all its life would be?

Yellow blood poured from the hive mind’s mouth as it shrieked, a large portion of its head having just exploded. It could only look upon its foe in fear, the tide of battle having changed in a moment. The dying king stepped forth, his face contorted in pain. Walls of fire erupted from his back, warping the air with heat and incinerating whatever it struck. Another colossal beam, interlaced with pink spirals, soared forth from between his jaws. It ripped into the spawn of the Oxygen Destroyer, tearing its chest open.

Flapping its wings, Destoroyah took off into the air. The crustacean had to escape, relieve itself of this agony. Suddenly, missiles crashed into its wounds, exploding into white mist. The upward climb stopped, a horrid cold assailing the hive mind’s wounds. Blue rays of light speared into the wounds, assailing them with similar temperatures as they turned the muscles into frozen husks. Destoroyah dropped, screaming all the way down.

Godzilla unleashed another Red Spiral Ray. His final attack struck the half-dead crustacean as it crashed, before detonating in an immense explosion. Shockwaves gutted the ground around the blast, forming a crater. Immediately, all focus fell on the melting leviathan, those who had shot Destoroyah down scrambling to save the Earth itself.

Meanwhile, something still survived in the crater, too small for the naked eye to see.

***

2004, Present Day, Tokyo

Time was of the essence for the extraterrestrial arthropod as he soared into Tokyo. He saw his kin gathering within the ruined metropolis, around the monolithic nest they had all originated from. They awaited battle, the various hybrids practically twitching in anticipation. Shifting back into his standard form, the crystals shrouding the insectoid faded away. The SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod landed before the nest, humbled by the towering structure. Even if all the skyscrapers of Tokyo still stood, the alien hive would have dwarfed them. Dropping Godzilla, he watched an Alpha skitter over to the body. As it drained blood, something descended from the clouds, soon revealing itself to be a spaceship. The crawling alien pulled its fangs free, crawling away towards a waiting Beta. Even in his comatose state, Godzilla’s wound was quickly sealed shut.

Barely focusing on the Cryog vessel currently slicing away a sample of skin from the leviathan, the crystalline alien instead focused on the lack of Alphas crawling into Godzilla. He had expected a feeding frenzy, not only one feeder. He noticed one of the crawlers hiding behind a row of buildings. No doubt it was waiting for a more powerful meal, just as the Alpha that had contributed to the SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod had done.

Taking one more look at the nest as the Cryog retreated back to their lofty seats, watching his kin lift Godzilla’s body into the one of the many chambers of their home, he could not help but let a chittering laughter ring out. The gathered horde joined it, filling the desolate metropolis with the unholy chorus.

***

Soon, the duo of destroyers had entered the land of the rising sun. Both growled as they noticed how barren it was, every city torn asunder. No signs of life greeted them as they soared. What both had sought to do, their enemy had already carried out.

Nothing of note happened until they reached the outskirts of Tokyo. At first, they saw mangled piles of metal and wiring scattered over the landscape. SpaceGodzilla noticed the severed head of the machine which had battled him alongside Godzilla, half of it crushed and spilling sparks. Two other mechanical heads caught their attention, still resembling the King of the Monsters even in their ruined states. Broken bones were mingled in with one set of wreckage, stirring a sensation of familiarity in Destoroyah’s mind. It could not recall why this was, but it could not shake the feeling of a distant, foggy memory. SpaceGodzilla felt similarly connected to them, but he could tell why. Those bones had belonged to a relative of his, though no doubt quite distant. Judging by the state of them, the Trilopods had ripped them apart seeking bone marrow. He was relieved to notice the bones were utterly dry within, no doubt the marrow having disappeared long ago.

Their eyes drifted upwards, taking in a city pockmarked with craters. It had recently been a war zone, and the victors took little time to make themselves known.

Crystals sprouted from the ground surrounding a skyscraper, the structure itself untouched despite how much wreckage framed it. Within the fortress was the arthropod who had built the crystals, powering himself with the cosmic energy its centerpiece siphoned from space. He turned towards the duo, letting out a shriek.

The darkened clouds parted as three figures descended. Immediately they recognized the central Trilopod, as it had also stolen DNA from King Ghidorah. At his right, a white insectoid, with elaborately patterned wings whose bright colors greatly contrasted with the dark atmosphere. To the left, a purple insectoid, with dully colored sharp wings, pincer claws instead of the usual scythes, and a lengthy tail ending in a wicked stinger.

Along with the golden dragon, the mimics of Mothra and Megaguirus flew towards their targets. The former’s wings beat gently to keep her aloft, the latter’s meanwhile moving fast enough to blur. They split up, the false Meganulon queen obviously much faster. The King Ghidorah-Trilopod fired his golden rays. SpaceGodzilla and Destoroyah withstood them, before flying up to meet their foe in the air. Before they could reach the golden alien, rainbow-colored beams blazed into the micro-oxygen spawn’s side as a dark blur slammed into the cosmic leviathan’s side.

He struggled to stay airborne as the colossal insect latched onto him, raking her claws across his body. Destoroyah turned to face its ally, only for the Mothra-Trilopod to fly overhead, casting a golden dust from her wings. The divine pretender twisted her body, firing both vibrant rays from her antennae and yellow lightning from her wings. Gravity Bolts from above joined the assault, the many beams striking the powder and being directed into Destoroyah’s body. The crustacean cried out, wings beating rapidly and dispersing the scales.

The Megaguirus-Trilopod curled her stinger back, but before she could thrust it forward, SpaceGodzilla shoved her with hands that crackled with his power. Sparks flew as the energy was conducted into the insectoid, forcing her back with a shriek. The cosmic leviathan prepared to follow up with a Corona Beam, only for the feet of the King Ghidorah-Trilopod to crash against his back. The golden arthropod flew up, insectoid faces doing the closest they could get to smug grins. An Oxygen Destroyer Ray sweeping up his back stopped this, expressions twisting in pain. Wings battered SpaceGodzilla as the false Meganulon queen rushed past him. She sliced Destoroyah’s wing in a flyby, leaving a slight tear in the membrane. The micro-oxygen spawn’s flight grew unstable, especially as it thrashed about trying to keep track of her foes.

What resembled a glowing, white arrowhead followed by a trail of orange light lanced into Destoroyah’s side, blasting a crater into its body. For a split second, the crustacean blamed its ally, only to be reminded the hard way that he had fallen victim to the chief gimmick of their foes already. The SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod kicked Destoroyah in the skull at Mach speeds, sending the Precambrian behemoth spiraling out of the air. Yellow blood trailed behind it.

As his three underlings raced down to further attack Destoroyah, the crystalline arthropod locked eyes with a furious SpaceGodzilla. His doppelgänger was a reminder of his shortcomings, like all of his failures manifested into a single body. Eradicating it would be so cathartic. With a shout, he charged, the arthropod doing the same without a sound.

On the ground, Destoroyah slowly got up, groaning. Hearing the familiar sound of rushing wind and buzzing wings, the crustacean ignited its Variable Slicer while thrusting its head up. The blur of the Megaguirus-Trilopod instantly solidified, barely avoiding the saber with a last-second movement to the side. Chittering in panic, she backed away from another swipe. Vibrant beams fell upon Destoroyah, doing little more than leaving superficial damage and drawing its attention. The crimson saber faded as the crustacean turned, attempting to shoot the false moth god down. The Mothra-Trilopod stopped beating her wings, letting her fall away from the violet streak of energy. Spreading her wings once more allowed the colorful alien to continue pelting her enemy with her beams.

All of Tokyo heard the sound of the two crystalline conquerors colliding. They pushed against one another, growling and hissing. Finding themselves in a stalemate, they backpedaled, firing Corona Beams. The two rays soared towards each other, until diverting at the last second. Instead of colliding, they swerved to strike their respective targets. SpaceGodzilla and his insectoid duplicate earned matching burns on their stomachs.

So, they were even. Too even.

The Trilopod turned away, flying deeper into the city. Instantly, SpaceGodzilla knew where he was heading, and he followed. It was exactly where he would have gone in this situation had he set up a fortress.

Hot on the heels of his twisted mirror, the cosmic leviathan activated his Gravity Tornado, sending the green lines sailing forth. They wrapped around the crystalline arthropod, stopping him in place. He spun the invertebrate to face him, cackling.

Azure radiation burned into SpaceGodzilla’s abdomen, throwing him off balance and dispersing his telekinetic hold. Another Atomic Breath rose towards him as the SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod retreated once more, but this time, he raised his barrier. It reflected the nuclear power towards the crystalline insectoid, only for his own shield to arise and cast the light into the heavens. SpaceGodzilla barely glanced down at the mimicry of Godzilla before once again rushing towards his main priority. The arthropod resembling the King of the Monsters ran beneath his foe, tracking him.

***

Destoroyah, despite the damage to its wing, was still able to fly relatively easily. It took off towards the trio, trying to intimidate them with a frightful howl. The Ghidorah-Trilopod descended towards the crustacean, intent on dropping feet-first onto the skull. Instead, Destoroyah rammed its shoulder into the golden alien’s stomach, breaking skin with the spike located atop the joint. Its claws clutched the skin of the draconic arthropod, and the micro-oxygen spawn flew down with the dragon held before it.

Neither of the dragon’s allies could stop him from being slammed into the ground, creating a crater on impact. Destoroyah began hacking away at the golden chest of its foe. Blood stained the claws, only compelling the crustacean to keep at it. Before it could reach anything vital, the three heads of the alien sprayed their Gravity Bolts onto Destoroyah’s upper body, driving the crustacean back a step. The Megaguirus-Trilopod perched herself onto the micro-oxygen spawn’s back, prompting a surprised shriek from Destoroyah as it stumbled backwards.

Bashing her claws against the Precambrian behemoth, the insectoid tried to force her foe to the ground. Instead of falling, the congregated hive mind madly thrashed around, making it difficult for the alien to remain latched on. The Mothra-Trilopod descended, kicking Destoroyah in the chest. The crustacean lunged forward, bashing both insectoid foes into one another. They collapsed in a tangle of limbs, screeching and flailing as they tried to separate. Destoroyah turned, slamming a stomp into the back of the false Mothra. Chitin broke beneath the weight, the two aliens crying out once more.

Two golden scythes wrapped around Destoroyah’s stomach, pulling the crustacean back from the insectoids. As the two began to get up, the micro-oxygen spawn wrapped her tail’s claw around the leg of the dragon. A quick jolt was enough to make the dragon release his foe. Before anymore could be done, the golden alien freed his leg, before taking off into the skies once more, joining its comrades. Destoroyah howled in rage at the perceived cowardice, before racing upwards as well.

***

SpaceGodzilla was near Tokyo Bay by the time he reached the fortress of his insectoid mimic. The skyscraper making up the center of the stronghold surged with cosmic energy, which flowed into the shoulder crystals of the Trilopod who had set it up. The arthropod raised an arm, causing several crystals to light up at their bases. The gemstones rose into the air, sparks erupting from beneath them like the jets of rockets. Twisting in midair, the structures were pointed towards SpaceGodzilla before launching like missiles.

The cosmic leviathan instinctively attempted to psychically exert control over them. They began to slow, enough to be noticeable but still nowhere near stopping. Stopping this quickly failing countermeasure, SpaceGodzilla tried reaching out to the rest of the fortress with his mind.

As if it were his own creation, several crystals rose just as they had for the insectoid. With a telepathic command, they crashed into the launched projectiles. SpaceGodzilla smirked at his foe as a cluster of explosions erupted between them. Shards of extraterrestrial rock flew in all directions, illuminating the night with glittering lights.

It was just as much his fortress as it was the Trilopod’s. It was his DNA that was responsible for this, meaning he had just as much access to it as its creator. Around him, earth split open and sprouted glowing crystals. If the arthropod was enraged by this development, he did not make that known with any expression or body language. Instead, the same piercing stare and emotionless face greeted SpaceGodzilla when the smoke cleared.

Another Atomic Breath blazed into the crystal saurian’s back, making him cry out as he stumbled forward. A Corona Beam from the Trilopod’s mouth speared into his stomach, doubling his pain. Hunched over, the saurian felt dread replace pride as the distorted call of the Godzilla-Trilopod echoed behind him. Hatred smothered the fear and trepidation, propelling SpaceGodzilla into the air. Twisting in midair, he sent the crystals he had grown soaring up with him.

Pointing his arms forward, he sent them towards the false king. The Godzilla-Trilopod fired his beam upon the colossal spears, detonating a few in the air. But still more came down upon the dark insectoid, bursting and shrouding him in spheres of light. Just barely, the cosmic leviathan could make out the shrieks of his pain through the blasts.

He quickly turned in time to bash his tail against the face of the charging SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod. This failed to deter the attack, as the arthropod lunged once more and sliced at his stomach. Blood sprayed from the saurian’s body. SpaceGodzilla tried to fight back, but his relatively small arms flailing did nothing to stop the arthropod from rising into the air and bringing both scythes down onto the saurian’s skull.

Tokyo shook as the crystal tyrant crashed to the ground, head painted red. The world was a blur. His vision solidified when a foot crashed into his chest, revealing the burnt body of the Godzilla-Trilopod gazing down with hatred burning in his crimson orbs. Stepping back, he opened his maw as the red gems on his chest glowed.

An Atomic Breath joined by the lasers all members of his species could utilize crashed against the prone leviathan, blue and red light shrouding SpaceGodzilla from sight. Even if he could not see his target, the Godzilla-Trilopod relished in the sight. Cutting off power to his beams, the burn covered body of the leviathan was revealed. He was limp, the rising and falling of his chest the only sign he was alive. The chittering laughter of the insectoid clone of Godzilla rang out, victorious. He looked up towards his comrade, who only stared down at the scene. When the Godzilla-Trilopod charged his beams once more to finish his foe off, the crystalline arthropod stopped it with a shriek. This was an act. The gathering energy dispersed as the atomic alien looked up, replying.

SpaceGodzilla howled, springing up into the air. His claws, shimmering with channeled energy, scraped across the throat of the facsimile of his genetic precursor. The Godzilla-Trilopod let out a choked call, staggering back as his spines flashed. The freshly carved holes in his throat were widened when streaks of nuclear energy broke out from them for a moment before he immediately cut power to it. SpaceGodzilla stared at him with rage. He would have deflected the beams right back upon their wielder, leaving the arthropod open to be finished off with ease. A Corona Beam rose within his own throat, only for a Gravity Tornado to wrap around him. He struggled against it for a moment as he was lifted up, before still letting the ray loose. It raced towards the Godzilla-Trilopod, but the extra moment had allowed him to turn away and fall forward. Instead of having his throat blown apart, he merely had his back torn open. SpaceGodzilla wanted to keep firing, but the telekinetic hold clasped his mouth shut.

Raising the crystalline saurian to his level, the Trilopod ceased the Gravity Tornado. The arthropod’s tail shot forward just as he did so, nearly impaling the leviathan. SpaceGodzilla barely dodged to the side, only causing a wound to be carved into his stomach. He lunged forward, swiping his claws across the insectoid’s face. A kick to the hip was the arthropod’s response.

The two pulled back as the skyscraper surged with power once more. Four streaks of energy split out from it, flowing into the twin wielders of cosmic energy. Windows shattered within the structure, weaker parts of its metallic foundation glowing with heat. Even with the alterations that came with its rebranding into a cosmic lightning rod, fueling two power hungry tyrants was pushing it to its limit.

They rushed once more towards the other. When they collided, a shockwave rushed out. The skyscraper sagged slightly, the groan of protesting steel ringing out once the rush of wind faded.

They were face to face. Between the mouths of SpaceGodzilla and his counterpart, an orange sphere of energy formed as they fired their signature attacks simultaneously. It was nearly touching them as they fed the orb power. It budged towards neither direction, only growing more unstable with the passing seconds. If either one of them did not have eyes adjusted to the unfiltered rays of stars, its light would have blinded him.

Down below, the Godzilla-Trilopod turned to witness the clash. Blood still poured from his throat despite the actively working regeneration. He gazed in awe as the light their clash generated silhouetted them.

Then he turned, leaping to the ground belly-first as the light surged and flickered. Sparks and streaks spilled from the writhing sphere, but neither of the colossi backed down. Neither could even see their foe, but the knowledge they were just behind the all-encompassing light was enough to keep pushing.

Until it burst.

***

Earlier, elsewhere within the city…

A shrill chirp rang out as Destoroyah’s fist crashed into the false moth’s back, shattering plates. She fluttered away, unstably so. Before the micro-oxygen spawn could further brutalize its foe, the other Trilopods flanked the crustacean. Several cuts formed upon Destroroyah’s body as the false Meganulon queen dashed around, and were widened when Gravity Bolts tore into them. A wild swing from the crustacean’s arm smacked the Megaguirus-Trilopod across the face, forcing her away. An Oxygen Destroyer Ray being swept across the Ghidorah-Trilopod’s stomach nearly sent him careening to the ground.

The child of the Oxygen Destroyer took a moment to breathe as its foes retreated and gathered.

Suddenly, the ground began rumbling below. Destoroyah would not have noticed if it were not for the shaking buildings, but this warning did little good. Chitin-covered tendrils erupted from the concrete, rising towards the crustacean. The micro-oxygen spawn howled in anguish as spear-tipped vines pierced its body, spilling yellow blood. The appendages tensed, pulling it down towards their source.

The attacker ripped its way out of the ground, bellowing. Dark green covered its bulbous body, the texture that of a plant. Mandibles stretched out to resemble a crocodile’s upper jaw, the lower jaw opening wide and crunching down on Destoroyah’s arm. Colossal scythes protruding from its front crashed against Destoroyah’s body, tearing away chunks of carapace. More vines arose from the ground, lashing against the restrained colossus. A glowing core shielded by patterns of its armor rested within the “stomach” of the strange beast.

The Biollante-Trilopod continued trying to rip the micro-oxygen spawn apart, thrashing her head back and forth to try and rip the arm off. Destoroyah clawed at the behemoth of an alien with its free hand, quickly realizing that such an attack would do little good when the plant-hybrid only seemed to grow more aggressive. Opening its maw, it unleashed a violet stream of caustic energy into the side of its foe’s skull. The Biollante-Trilopod opened her maw wide to release a scream as a burning hole was carved into the head, allowing Destoroyah to free its arm and move back slightly. Opening the bone pattern on its chest, the Precambrian terror unleashed a powerful Stomach Beam. The chimera’s throat was pierced, spraying ichor in all directions, a gurgled cry leaving her mouth.

Beating its wings, Destoroyah flew back, preparing to activate the Variable Slicer and finish this now. The interference of the Megaguirus-Trilopod stopped this, the alien dragonfly rushing into the crustacean and driving a claw into a still gaping wound. The insectoid smirked at her foe as the flowing blood stained her pincers, flexing them as much as she could to maximize pain. Destoroyah’s claws closed around her head, stopping the smirk as the micro-oxygen spawn began applying pressure. Cracks formed on the chitin, prompting horror within the sadistic dragonfly. Beams from the other two Trilopods descended upon Destoroyah, but the demon endured their sting to continue crushing the skull of the pest which had irritated it so. Blood began staining the talons, the Megaguirus-Trilopod desperately bashing at her foe to stop this before it reached the threshold of no-return.

The monolithic alien before them lurched forward, opening her maw as her core crackled with emerald energy. The hole in her throat was smaller, the black pit burned into her skull slowly fading. From the cavernous maw came a torrent of bright green acid which glowed like neon, strands of it leaking down from the hole in the esophagus. It splashed upon Destoroyah’s stomach, dripping into open wounds and deforming the carapace. Releasing the dragonfly, it backed away while howling in misery.

Golden feet crashed into the distracted crustacean, sending it crumbling to the ground. It tried to get to its feet, only for the Mothra-Trilopod to fly overhead, releasing her glowing scales. Weakened and wounded, Destoroyah was struck with the secondary effect of the powder, that being paralysis. It twitched while attempting to rise, the surrounding ground breaking open with more vines that rose above and fell over It. They tied the crustacean down, restraining the weakened demon.

A low, spite-filled groan left Destoroyah’s maw as the rapid buzzing of the Megaguirus-Trilopod intensified above. The ground shook as the Biollante-Trilopod inched closer, tearing apart earth and concrete with its strange roots. Even if it could not see them at the moment, the crustacean could feel their leering faces.

A rolling roar blotted out all noise. From the edge of Tokyo came a brilliant, blinding light.

Smoke billowed through the streets and the gaps between buildings. A fireball towered into the heavens, any buildings caught within it being erased. Just outside of this inferno, towering structures were melted and pulverized, sending great heaps of molten metal flying.

Even though they were miles away from ground zero, the Trilopods and Destoroyah felt waves of blistering heat wash over them. Though it was far from steel melting temperatures, it still hurt the wounded colossi. The sounds of their shrieked pain filled the empty space left by the sound’s fading.

Destoroyah felt the restraining vines loosen. It began to rise, straining against the vines as they tightened once more to try keeping it down. The tendrils were losing the battle, their disadvantage growing as the micro-oxygen spawn began ripping at the limbs with its claws. More vines rose, evening the struggle once more.

Above them, a glowing, screaming mass flew like a ragdoll. It rolled through the air, drawing all eyes to it. Around the time it was near them, the rolling stopped as the figure caught itself. The screaming did not cease.

SpaceGodzilla’s crystals radiated luminance, along with most of his chest. This was because his ribs were exposed, revealing them to be made of the same type of gemstone. Portions of his skull were similarly shining through where skin had once been.

His shoulder crystals absorbed energy, regardless of his conscious choice.

Skin and muscle were growing over his wounds already, slowly obscuring the light. He looked upon the four Trilopods and his ally, focusing despite the blazing anguish throughout his body. In any other situation, he would wait the agony out as his body acclimated to the excess energy. But as the false Ghidorah and Mothra charged at him, no doubt seeking to capitalize on what they viewed as a moment of weakness, he could not resist.

He began madly firing Corona Beams, sending the two retreating as burning craters were carved into their bodies. Turning, he unleashed more upon the Biollante-Trilopod, sending chunks of the hybrid’s body flying as it reeled back. Crystals tore their way out of the ground beneath him, growing at his command.

The vines binding Destoroyah were torn apart by a beam cutting through them, allowing the crustacean to easily stand up. It gazed at the display of power, memories of its defeat at Godzilla’s hands surfacing. In shoving the memories down, the crustacean noticed the disappearance of the Megaguirus-Trilopod.

SpaceGodzilla crashed his bulk against the hybrid of plant and alien, digging his claws into the body. Channeling his power, the insectoid shrieked in agony as her flesh blackened, the saurian howling in joy at the suffering of his foe. His luminance had faded, now the more usual glow within the crystals instead of encompassing them. Bone was still exposed, but only a few patches near the center were still gradually fading. He felt unstoppable as the hybrid feebly fought back, unable to get a good strike with her vines.

A sharp pain in his back stopped these feelings of pride. Crying out, he was pulled away from the Biollante-Trilopod by the beating wings of the false Meganulon queen, who sneered at him from over his shoulder. SpaceGodzilla felt his essence being drained, flowing into the stinger lodged within. He tried to fight back, wanting to electrify his body and send the insectoid reeling. Spear-like tendrils spearing into his torso and legs drove an anguished wail from him, robbing his focus. Covered in burns and withered flesh, the Biollante-Trilopod let loose her booming call.

Something rushed by behind him, pulling the Megaguirus-Trilopod out. Gritting his teeth from the rivers of blood now flowing from the wounds, he turned his head to see Destoroyah gripping the insectoid by the wings. The Precambrian terror fired an Oxygen Destroyer Ray at the vines impaling the saurian, sweeping it up through the cluster of limbs and slicing them all apart.

***

Far above, Karkaro watched the scene unfolding. Another monitor showed him the Godzilla-Trilopod, laying in the crater. He still showed faint signs of life, but was in no condition to fight for now. His spines were shattered, leaving hideous caverns in his back which oozed with blood. A third screen showcased the SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod, over the waters, quickly flying back towards the battle. His crystals shined with power, the wounds sustained in the explosion almost fully healed. He would be a force to be reckoned with.

***

The Megaguirus-Trilopod jammed her stinger into Destoroyah’s thigh, causing the crustacean to release the insectoid while cringing. The power of the micro-oxygen spawn began to flow into the insectoid, prompting a cruel grin to form on the alien’s face. Before she could get into a position where she was less likely to be attacked back by her foe, the smile faded.

***

Karkaro grimaced. Turning away from the battle, still scowling, he activated another screen. It displayed another Cryog, one in a grey, sterile room.

“Have you managed to combine the DNA yet and form the concoction?”

***

The Megaguirus-Trilopod pulled her stinger out, now screeching in anguish as smoke drifted from the warped point. Destoroyah turned to her, now the one grinning in delight. The energy that fueled it was quite unique. Only those with a genetic makeup like the Precambrian terror could wield it. For one who required oxygen, absorbing it would be torturous at best.

***

The scientist replied, slightly nervous. “Not yet sir.”

“How have you not done it yet?” Karkaro demanded.

“Sir, how to create this substance was the one thing the humans did not have in the databases we raided.” He responded.

***

A swipe across the face removed a large shard of the exoskeleton on the Trilopod’s head, reopening wounds. Thinking fast, the insectoid flew away from the Precambrian terror. Destoroyah went to pursue, until it saw swirling, orange energy begin to manifest on the alien bug’s tail. The Trilopod hissed sharply once more as purple energy joined the growing mass.

***

Karkaro’s eye twitched as he took in the information the scientist had relayed. “So, what if they didn’t tell us? The Cryog have been revered across the galaxy for longer than humanity has been able to work metal! You should have already figured it out!”

“Sir, do not underestimate them. There’s reasons so many species have failed to overcome this world, and the local kaiju are not all of them.”

“Just continue working on it.” Karkaro said, rubbing his temple. “And be quick. We can’t risk taking long.” With another tap on the console, he dismissed the scientist, leaving the screen blank. Turning back to face the battle, he sighed. “I eagerly await seeing this world’s lifeforms dead. They have proven themselves to be the most irritating things in the universe at every turn.”

***

With a shriek, the insectoid released the orange sphere, tinged with purple lines, towards her attacker. Destoroyah recoiled, when suddenly a barrier of translucent gemstone manifested before it. The crustacean was able to barely glance at it for an instant before the gathered sphere of energy slammed into it.

The crystal shield shattered, countless lines being refracted off the shield for the split-second it held against the assault. Most burned into the source of the attack. The remains of the sphere crashed into Destoroyah’s chest, detonating in an explosion as big as the crustacean. Crying out, the micro-oxygen spawn was thrown back. It was able to see the Trilopod falling as well, smoke pouring off her body from many black spots, including several holes bored into her wings.

A city block almost collapsed in on itself as the micro-oxygen spawn crashed into it. The insectoid fell forward when her feet hit the ground, groaning in pain. Her eyes grew wide with fear when SpaceGodzilla turned towards her, snarling. Before he could attack, colossal jaws clamped down onto his tail. The Biollante-Trilopod began thrashing her head to shake her enemy, but a jolt of electricity into her maw forced her to let go.

The concrete surrounding the Megaguirus-Trilopod shattered and erupted, which was followed by a chorus of unholy shrieks. Aggregates leaped upon the prone alien, ripping at her hide with their bladed limbs. Panicking, the alien attempted to get to her feet. She could not, the weight of the horde too much. There had to be at least ten assaulting her. They drained the Trilopod’s energy, leaving her even less able to retreat.

Another group of the crustaceans leapt upon the back of the plant-alien hybrid, unveiling their secondary jaws and driving them through the armor. The Biollante-Trilopod cried out, attempting to drive them away with her vines. Tendrils whipped at the hides of the Aggregates, carving gashes into their armor, but still they clung on and pumped caustic chemicals into their foe.

SpaceGodzilla watched with intrigue. Not seeing his ally anywhere, he assumed that she had divided herself into these smaller forms. An unorthodox ability, and one he would have to be wary of when they fought. Seeing the false dragon and moth charging towards the ones upon the plant-hybrid, he rushed to intercept them.

Beams blazed into the Aggregates, sending several falling off as they shrieked in pain. Before the duo of aliens could continue firing, SpaceGodzilla barreled into the Ghidorah-Trilopod. He threw himself off the golden dragon and against the false moth, making sure to bash his shoulder crystal against the insectoid’s skull. The white alien flailed her wings to stay airborne, ichor now flowing from a dent within the shell.

The crustaceans on the plant-hybrid’s body all fell off, fading into mist. Similar happenings occurred with the ones assailing the Megaguirus-Trilopod, leaving the false queen to lie bleeding. She attempted once more to get up, only for her limbs to give out and send her back to the concrete.

Heavy feet splintered the streets before her. A three-taloned hand gripped the alien’s head, before lifting her up to meet Destoroyah eye to eye. The grinning face of the destroyer was the last thing the Trilopod saw before the micro-oxygen spawn’s other hand lashed forward, sandwiching the skull between both hands.

Destoroyah let the now headless body fall, viscera impaled on its talons. The previous damage inflicted to the micro-oxygen spawn was gone, making SpaceGodzilla’s eyes widen. So, to defeat it would require being able to destroy the armada of lesser beasts it could shift into.

The Mothra-Trilopod suddenly flew away from the battle, drawing SpaceGodzilla’s attention. Before he could blast her out of the air, the three jaws of the false Ghidorah clamped onto him. He was keeping his distance from the saurian, his necks stretched forward to their limit. Armored vines lashed at his legs and back. The spaceborne leviathan roared as he tried to fight them off, to no avail as his arms failed to reach the golden alien.

A howl from the Biollante-Trilopod rang out. SpaceGodzilla did not know what it meant, but it sounded concerned to him. The golden alien seemed to glance at her, confused from what the leviathan could tell from its limited expression.

He no longer questioned it when a red saber tore through the Trilopod’s midsection. The pressure of the jaws on his flesh faded as the body of the false Ghidorah fell, the top half crashing to the ground in front of the still standing bottom half. Organs spilled out, more joining the grotesque pile as the legs buckled, tipping the lower parts forward. Destoroyah stood across from him, letting the Variable Slicer fade.

Before the two could assault the hybrid of mutated plant and alien, they were alerted by a hissed call behind them.

Flying over the city, the SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod zeroed in on the duo which posed such a threat to the Cryog plans. Hatred burned within him, propelling him faster through the air. Crystals tore their way out of the ground below him, immediately shooting out of their places and soaring alongside the arthropod.

Five crystals struck each destroyer, the duo not having the time to counter the sudden assault. Their roars were drowned out by the detonations, which threw them onto their backs. With another howl, the crystalline arthropod fired a Corona Beam at Destoroyah, driving another cry of pain from it.

Crystals speared out from the concrete around SpaceGodzilla, shifting to form a cage above his prone body. He lifted himself up, quickly ascending before they could fully close. The saurian tried to swiftly create a plan to deal with his foe, but a stream of acid splashing against the small of his back destroyed whatever had been brewing within his mind.

The Biollante-Trilopod lurched forward, letting loose a foul laugh as her foes panicked. She prepared to unleash more of her acid, opening her maw wide, only for a violet beam to spear down her throat. The hybrid gagged and writhed as Destoroyah got up, continuing to spray its beam down the alien’s mouth.

A hole was carved into the back of the Trilopod’s neck as the caustic energies tore through. The agony stopped when the crystalline insectoid caused the ground before the micro-oxygen spawn to erupt with several gemstones, blocking the Oxygen Destroyer Ray. More grew around Destoroyah, forming walls around it. They attempted to trap the demon, only for the crustacean to activate its laser horn. It swung the blade through a bundle of the extraterrestrial rocks, the heat warping and deforming them. The melted crystals fell before a push, allowing the crustacean to soar through the air towards the floating Trilopod.

SpaceGodzilla joined, both flexing their claws in anticipation. The crystalline insectoid landed, generating a shield when their beams were fired towards him. Raising his scythe, dozens of crystals rose into the air at his command, racing towards his foes. Their charge stopped as they attempted to swerve between them.

Destoroyah blasted a crystal out of the air with its beam, sending a shower of sparks to the ground. It threw itself to the right, narrowly dodging another of the behemoth projectiles, only for the stone to turn in midair and race straight towards its target. Before the crustacean could shoot it from the sky as well, another crystal crashed into the demon’s back, exploding and launching it forward into the one it had focused on. The Precambrian terror cried out in rage as a third crystal exploded against its carapace, blasting away armor plating.

SpaceGodzilla was faring a little better. Dropping beneath a crystal aimed at his head, he attempted to split his focus and control some of his foe’s crystals as he had before. None so much as twitched, even when he put his full focus into it for a moment. His doppelgänger looked up at him, staring into his eyes. It was at this point the leviathan realized just how luminous his foe’s shoulder crystals were, still pulsing with energy even as more gemstones ripped their way out of the ground. The saurian cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. Without having expelled the excess energy absorbed from the explosion, his body had absorbed it and given him far greater levels of power.

Focusing on dodging once more, which failed to prevent a crystal from slamming into his side, he roared to Destoroyah. He revealed that they would need to drain his energy somehow to do anything, just before a Corona Beam which shined even more intensely than usual tore into his stomach. Ripping apart his flesh and muscle, the blast sent him reeling out of the skies with a shriek.

The crustacean, upon hearing this, immediately dissolved into mist. The SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod caught this development. Suddenly, an array of crystals a dozen strong hovered into the air above him, pointed downwards. They would fall at his command, for he had not forgotten this trick of the micro-oxygen spawn.

SpaceGodzilla, slowly getting up, took note of the tactic. He was trying to regain his bearings, slouching. It seemed fate would not avail him of this as chitinous vines tore out of the ground, wrapping around his limbs. He shocked them, forcing them off his body. Something heavy slammed into the back of his head, throwing him to the ground. Rolling over, he saw the Biollante-Trilopod leering over him, quickly approaching as she howled.

He commanded crystals to sprout in front of the charging hybrid, attempting to block her. Swinging her head like a hammer, she dislodged the stones and knocked them away with explosions of dirt and stone. The cosmic saurian lifted himself up, whipping his tail across the hybrid’s face. The Biollante-Trilopod snapped her jaws towards him, but SpaceGodzilla narrowly backed away, leaving them to bite the air. He dropped, bringing both feet down upon the top of the alien’s skull, forcing her head low. A Corona Beam left his maw, crashing against her back.

Several flying Aggregates manifested, shooting their beams at their foe. The SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod immediately sent the barrage towards them. Instead of scattering, they dissolved once more, causing the crystals to halt their flights. Before he could bring them back to hover above him, a large cluster of Aggregates suddenly emerged from the ground, the rest of the swarm. Leaping upon his body, they sprayed micro-oxygen upon the insectoid. Feeling them draining his energy, the Trilopod commanded his crystals to soar towards himself. Several of the creatures left off, but most of the Aggregates stayed latched on, meaning that the alien still let the crystals crash against his body.

Regret settled in as the blast sent pain shooting through his body. The insectoid hissed as he stumbled back, sizable burns left on his body. He began to absorb the ambient energy, but before he could relish in this, a cascade of purple lights manifested right before him.

Destoroyah, back in its final form, wrapped its tail pincer around the alien’s neck. Instead of conducting electricity, the child of the Oxygen Destroyer began to absorb the enemy’s energy. The alien lunged forward, attempting to slice the restraining appendage off, but the crustacean reacted in time and caught the scythes. Cringing as the blades dug into its hands, the micro-oxygen spawn pushed against the crystalline arthropod.

Vines stabbed into SpaceGodzilla’s feet as he hovered above the insectoid, tensing to pull against him. He fought back, tearing them with the crystals at the end of his tail, spilling their acidic blood upon the streets. The Trilopod summoned power from her core, spraying a geyser of acid upward. SpaceGodzilla sidestepped it, leaving the caustic fluids to fall upon a distant building and reduce it to a molten mess. He quickly fired a Corona Beam down the still opened maw, lighting up her dark guts. The Trilopod groaned in agony as smoke rose from her throat, limbs flailing. The saurian looked upon his handiwork, eyes designed originally to see in the dark depths of the ocean able to see the hybrid’s organs knitting themselves together. An idea to permanently put the insectoid down began to brew.

With his energy being drained, the crystalline arthropod could not utilize his special abilities. But he could still break this physical stalemate. The arthropod’s tail lashed against Destoroyah’s leg, tearing a wound into it. Being caught off guard, the micro-oxygen spawn winced in pain. The lapse in focus let the Trilopod free his scythes, before striking at his foe’s tail. The end of Destoroyah’s tail was nearly severed by the strikes, causing it to immediately relinquish the grip and pull the limb back. Anguish speared through the appendage, blood spraying from it.

A Corona Beam speared into the crustacean’s chest, blasting a crater into the carapace. Destoroyah knew it had drained enough energy from its foe, as it was able to retaliate with an Oxygen Destroyer Ray right into the Trilopod’s face just afterwards. The bones on its chest flared open, the revealed orifice glowing as a concussive blast forced the alien back.

Destoroyah laughed between firings of its violet beam as it turned the energy it had drained against the Trilopod. Its anatomy meant the crustacean could not utilize it as effectively as its ally or his invertebrate mimic, but it still handily renewed its power levels. The crystalline alien could only stagger back as repeated firings of the concussive wave and Oxygen Destroyer Ray assailed him. Chunks of armor flew away with each strike, blackened trenches being left in the wake of the purple lance. They came too rapidly for him to focus and erect the barrier. He tried to defend with his scythes, but they did little.

A chirping call hit the demon’s ears, but the crustacean was too focused on ripping into the enemy. Destoroyah noticed when a golden powder fell upon its body, suddenly turning its beam back upon herself. Stepping back involuntarily, the demon was able to glance up at the Mothra-Trilopod, along with something clutched in the secondary limbs on the moth’s midsection. A Corona Beam struck the scales, being split into glowing streaks which speared into Destoroyah’s body. As the crustacean howled in pain, the false moth of divinity maneuvered behind her target, lowering herself to be nearly touching the micro-oxygen spawn. The Alpha-Trilopod in her secondary legs leaned forward, digging its jaws into Destoroyah’s hide.

The blood of the child of the Oxygen Destroyer hurt for it to drink. It burned going down, and only got worse when it reached the stomach. But the Alpha endured, only spurred on by the promise of the great power it would partake in. As quickly as it had begun, it had gained its fill, unlatching the mandibles. Immediately, the white alien took to the skies once more, tightly grasping the writhing insect.

Destoroyah went to chase after her, only for the crystalline arthropod to charge into it, pushing the crustacean back. The micro-oxygen spawn attempted to disengage, but the Trilopod ensured he would be its only target by keeping up the assault. Destoroyah’s focus shifted to its attacker, retaliating with a punch to the head which nearly gouged out one of his eyes.

SpaceGodzilla noticed the Mothra-Trilopod flying away, along with what she was carrying. Unfortunately for him, the hybrid of plant and alien refused to let him leave. More tendrils whipped across his thigh. The Biollante-Trilopod snapped her jaws in the air once more, but the leviathan pulled his tail up out of her reach. He needed to deal with her now, before he and his ally’s opposition grew too overwhelming.

Descending, he quickly speared the end of his tail into the Trilopod’s glowing core. With a spray of fluid, the crystal cluster tore through the membrane, causing the organ to visibly shrink. Colossal jaws fell over SpaceGodzilla’s head, the circular upper jaw of the Trilopod digging into his throat. Teeth sank into the flesh, painting themselves with crimson. Despite the pain flowing through her body, the insectoid applied pressure, attempting to decapitate the interloper to her kind’s plans. SpaceGodzilla, only able to see darkness, endured the pain. His shoulder crystals made it difficult for her to get good leverage for severe damage, meaning he could afford to command a crystal to hover into the air.

Cosmic energy flowed through his tail, searing into the Trilopod’s core. Light entered the saurian’s vision once more as the insectoid’s head seized upwards, taking sizable chunks of flesh from his neck. Her mouth was open, but no grand cry of agony came forth, the pain too much to allow even that.

The cosmic saurian lunged forward, grabbing his foe’s jaws near their bases. They attempted to clamp shut, but he pushed, fighting against the muscles of the jaw. The crystal he had sent into the air rushed towards them, sparks spewing from its base. The Trilopod tried to summon her energy to release her acid, but the ruined, burnt husk of a core prevented this. Given time, the core could heal from this. But SpaceGodzilla needed his monolithic foe dead.

Rushing back, the saurian watched as the sharp gemstone crashed into the opened maw of the Trilopod. As it lodged itself within, the arthropod glared at SpaceGodzilla with one eye, narrowing it. The extraterrestrial stone exploded, ripping the Biollante-Trilopod’s skull asunder. The whole body went limp, still. It was nearly decapitated. Turning, the saurian saw Destoroyah trading blows with the crystalline arthropod.

Rushing over, SpaceGodzilla hovered above them. He dropped, landing on his doppelgänger’s back, nearly flooring the Trilopod. The saurian quickly entered the air again, firing a Corona Beam into his foe’s back. This allowed Destoroyah to lunge forward, shoulder first, and deliver a tackle that lifted the Trilopod off his feet. Hissing in fury, the insectoid began to float away from Destoroyah, only to have SpaceGodzilla lash his tail against the Trilopod’s shoulder crystal. It left the slightest crack in the stone, immediately causing the arthropod to turn to his predecessor and attempt to dismember the tail with swings from both scythes. The limb swept away from the pincer maneuver, before pendulum swinging back into the Trilopod’s face. Barely ducking out of the way of being blinded, the arthropod hissed once more.

As the two continued climbing into the air, Destoroyah took note of the reaction to the shoulder crystal being damaged. Though, this was not exactly a grand revelation given how they glowed and surged with every attack the two did, so the Precambrian terror flew up to join them.

Gripping the Trilopod’s tail, the crustacean swung its head down, along with the activated Variable Slicer. The insectoid howled in anguish, dropping from the pain flooding his mind. Instead of hitting the ground, the Gravity Tornado seized him. The two destroyers laughed together, Destoroyah dropping the severed limb in its hands.

Before it could tear into their foe, a Gravity Tornado rushed out from the Trilopod’s shoulder crystals, binding the crustacean. SpaceGodzilla relinquished his hold before falling to stomp on his foe’s back. The Trilopod whipped around, throwing Destoroyah into SpaceGodzilla, sending both tumbling through the air. As they roared and thrashed while separating themselves, a hideous, shrill call pierced the air.

Even warped by the Trilopod’s influence, Destoroyah’s call was unmistakable.

***

Moments earlier…

The imitation of the guardian landed in one of the grotesque hive’s caverns. Her secondary legs held firm as the creature in her grip seized and frothed at the mouth. It would not last much longer, but it did not need to.

Her scythe carved through a gelatinous wall, releasing a pure Beta Trilopod who was soon on his feet after spilling to the floor.

The Mothra-Trilopod’s wings slapped against the ceiling as she ascended, placing the dying Alpha Trilopod upon the Beta’s back.

With a horrid, moist sound, the Alpha was absorbed into the Beta’s back. Immediately, he fell to his knees, spasming. Compassion was not something the alien arthropods could feel, so perhaps it was the genetics of the caring goddess that made the hybrid reach out her limb and place it tenderly on the writhing insectoid’s back.

Unceasing agony. Every last cell of the body contorting and gaining its own primitive, diminutive brain, crawling and squirming independently. It continued to grow worse and worse until the entire body was converted, the Trilopod’s mind being… broken. It still carried its most basic mission, but nothing else remained but the desire to eradicate all that opposed it.

The new chimera let loose a scream of absolute malice and hatred.

***

Turning, the crystalline arthropod flew towards the source. The towering, imposing hive. The duo had seen it when entering the city, but had not even considered attacking it until all their threats were dead.

Exchanging glances, the two braced themselves. The saurian attempted to drum up a plan of attack, but strategy escaped him. One look at his ally told him the same was true for it. Destoroyah decided to rush towards danger, inspiring SpaceGodzilla to do the same.

To say the crustacean was not fearful would be a lie. It admitted so to its comrade, earning an affirmation from him in return. Both then agreed that despite this, they had to fight. Destoroyah looked to the leviathan, declaring that if he fled, the crustacean would hunt him down and slaughter him. SpaceGodzilla cackled at this, for he was about to say the same thing. The two shared a brief, dark laugh, until their fear returned at the sight that greeted them.

From one of the holes of the nest emerged the false moth, chittering in laughter. Nearby, the crystal Trilopod levitated, also cackling. Following her, on wings of crimson, was something that looked like a demon in every way.

Destoroyah let rage overwhelm fear at the sight of this mockery of it. The Trilopod shared all of its distinctive features, including a height and bulk that made even its siblings look small. Locking eyes with its predecessor, the demonic alien let loose another cry. The micro-oxygen spawn responded with its own call.

Beams flew first, all combatants releasing their signature attacks. None landed, being reflected by the barriers that the wielders of alien crystal conjured. Long range battle would not avail, especially for the growing bloodlust setting within each colossus.

The duo charged first, their doppelgängers doing the same just afterwards. The Mothra-Trilopod flew to the side, drawing growls of wrath from the saurian and crustacean.

Upon collision, chaos ensued. Destoroyah lashed a punch against its Trilopod counterpart, who replied with the swipe of its scythe across the Precambrian terror’s stomach. It drew no blood, but left a deep mark. SpaceGodzilla went to kick the micro-oxygen alien, only to have his own duplicate intervene with a tackle. Destoroyah fired its violet beam at the crystalline Trilopod, pushing him back and leaving a darkened mark. The demonic Trilopod thrust its tail forward, attempting to latch the pincer onto its predecessor. Finding a grip on the left arm, surging energy flowed into the original micro-oxygen spawn. Before much damage could be done, a Corona Beam crashed against the insectoid’s chest. Relinquishing the grip of its tail, the Destoroyah-Trilopod lunged towards SpaceGodzilla, carving into his stomach with its blades. He cried out, before grabbing the arthropod’s head crest with both hands. His conductive touch seared into his foe, making it thrash briefly before unleashing an Oxygen Destroyer Ray directly into the fresh wounds. The cosmic leviathan let go, retreating as layers of flesh dissolved. Despite the burns on its head, the Destoroyah-Trilopod was ready to continue the assault, but the crustacean challenged it once more.

The micro-oxygen alien swiftly turned, lashing a kick against its foe. Destoroyah grunted at this, before returning the favor with a kick of its own. The SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod prepared to intervene once more, but SpaceGodzilla sliced at him with his claws, ensuring that the two were locked in battle once more.

Destoroyah bashed its skull against that of its foe, making the alien stumble backwards in the air. The crustacean’s own skull ached from the strike, but still it rushed forwards. Another Trilopod slammed into the micro-oxygen spawn’s back, ceasing its forward momentum. With her chirping hiss, the Mothra-Trilopod bashed her blades against Destoroyah’s head. Sparks flew from each impact, chipping away at the armor plating. Leaning its head forward, the Precambrian terror threw it back, crashing against the false moth’s face. She slipped off, quickly regaining her flight.

Wrapping the pincer on the end of its tail around the false deity’s tail, Destoroyah swung her under itself, then upwards to bring the Trilopod before it. Before the micro-oxygen spawn could do anything further, the demonic arthropod recovered and screeched in rage. With a grin, Destoroyah grabbed the Mothra-Trilopod with its claws, turning her into a shield. The crustacean ignored the struggling of the false moth.

Despite its sibling being in the way, the demonic Trilopod rushed towards its target undeterred. Crimson energy surrounded and expanded its horn as it closed the distance. Releasing the false Mothra, Destoroyah activated its own laser horn. The two blades shredded the white Trilopod before clashing, sending her falling to the ground in two pieces. Gore flowed from the insectoid’s mandibles.

Sparks shot in all directions as the blades passed through each other. Locking eyes, the twin antitheses of life took on mad expressions, preparing to lunge forward and rip into the other, uncaring of their own well-being. Nearby explosions snapped Destoroyah out of this, reminding the crustacean that another threat would still be present which would capitalize on the result either way. Still, the demonic arthropod was undeterred, rearing its head back. The micro-oxygen spawn’s concussive blast crashed against the alien’s face, sending it reeling back with cracks across the carapace, wings swiftly beating to keep it airborne as the world went blurry.

Destoroyah raised its Variable Slicer high, ready to disembowel its counterpart. The Trilopod’s tail lashing up and hooking onto the Precambrian terror’s lower jaw stopped the slash. Energy began to flow from Destoroyah and into its doppelgänger, prompting the crustacean to deactivate the laser horn and grab the tail, throttling the limb. With a swift pull, its jaw was freed. The Trilopod flew up, unleashing an Oxygen Destroyer Ray directly into the crustacean’s face. Though its caustic nature was lost against a creature of the same substance, the beam’s heat and concussive force still sent Destoroyah reeling back with a scream.

The Trilopod crashed a kick against the micro-oxygen spawn’s face, furthering the pain flooding it. Destoroyah fired a violet stream of energy, sweeping it up its foe’s body. The attack elicited a similar reaction from the alien, especially when the Precambrian terror turned the beam on its wing, making the insectoid drop. Despite the new hole in its wing membrane, the Trilopod caught itself once it was about eye level with its genetic predecessor.

Twin Corona Beams sailed towards the two, twisting around each other and attempting to intercept the other. They split, crashing into the foe of their respective user, causing the two wielders of the Oxygen Destroyer’s power to turn towards the two crystalline kaiju. Both roared, charging towards their respective attacker.

SpaceGodzilla grunted in effort as he and the demonic insectoid collided, the Trilopod crashing its bladed arms against his side. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something similar happening between his ally and his invertebrate doppelgänger. The leviathan swung his claws across the arthropod’s face, barely missing the eye. Flying back and up, the Trilopod screeched before unleashing its purple energy beam, sweeping it across SpaceGodzilla’s torso. The acidic geyser of power sliced off chunks of his flesh, leaving hideous burns in its wake. As this pain flooded his mind, he was unable to stop the pincer claw from wrapping around his neck.

The Trilopod turned, flying towards the ground at an angle. SpaceGodzilla tried to claw at the limb, but the grooves he carved into it failed to stop its stranglehold. Soon, the insectoid stopped its flight by spreading its wings in the air, whipping its tail downwards while releasing the saurian at the same time. SpaceGodzilla cried out as he slammed into the ground, shattering the streets and sending rubble flying like it weighed nothing.

He was pressed further into the ground as the Trilopod dropped onto his back, making him yell. Twisting its foot, the demonic alien relished in the pain it inflicted. It felt unstoppable.

A Corona Beam rose into the air, twisting to crash against the Trilopod. Caught off guard by the attack that tore a crater into its body, the micro-oxygen alien involuntarily stepped back. SpaceGodzilla floated up, turning to face his foe. Flying forward, he threw both feet up to strike the Trilopod, nearly knocking the still reeling demon down. Instead of falling, the purple insectoid jabbed the tip of its right scythe into the leviathan’s belly, before pulling him down. SpaceGodzilla cried out as his feet touched solid ground, blood trickling from his stomach. Ripping its scythe free, the Trilopod slashed him across the chest, carving a sizable wound into the flesh. SpaceGodzilla stepped back, before putting his shoulder before him and lunging.

The Trilopod barely budged, bashing its foe’s shoulder crystal. Cracks became visible after a few strikes, prompting the cosmic leviathan to jab his tail into the insectoid’s thigh, energizing it for added damage. He left a noticeable wound, but it was not deep enough to prevent the assault on him. Slapping the flat of its scythe against SpaceGodzilla’s stomach, the Trilopod began to laugh as the saurian stepped back, doubled over.

Pain’s distraction instantly cleared in the leviathan’s mind when he saw the crimson katana manifest atop the demon’s skull. He flew back, creating a mineral barrier as the Trilopod swung. Just as before, the shield shattered, leaving the weakened saber to slash diagonally across his torso. Muscle peeled back in layers, tendons snapping. SpaceGodzilla stopped flying, gasping as he stumbled back. In horror he realized that had he been a moment slower, the damage would have been crippling.

Stomping forward, the insectoid prepared to swing again, face morphed in an expression of sadistic joy. SpaceGodzilla turned around, body morphing and being shrouded by a cluster of pointed gemstones. The Variable Slicer struck the crystal shell, leaving a glowing line through the structure that dripped molten stone. This did not hinder SpaceGodzilla from ascending. The Trilopod cut power to the weapon, beating its wings. With a battle cry, the arthropod joined its foe in the air.

Circling around, the cosmic leviathan fired a jagged stream of orange energy towards his foe. The insectoid endured the strike, retaliating with its own beam. Descending, the saurian let the beam wash over his nigh-impenetrable shell, before swiftly rising directly towards the Trilopod. It tried to avoid the oncoming strike, but the demonic alien was not agile enough to stop SpaceGodzilla from barging into it from below, jabbing the various crystals into its chest. With a quick beating of its wings, the Trilopod pushed itself off its foe, hissing in fury. The cosmic leviathan flew away once more.

Soon, the two once again were flying directly towards the other. As they drew nearer, neither showed signs of diverting course. When the head-on collision was only seconds away, the Trilopod activated its Variable Slicer, letting its mouth contort into the closest it could get to a smile. SpaceGodzilla suddenly jerked left.

The crimson blade came down, carving into the side of the mineral shell. It struck nothing vital, meaning the leviathan was able to impale his foe’s wing with one of the biggest crystals. Pinkish membrane was ripped apart, the purple wing fingers bending from the strain. SpaceGodzilla was the one smiling now as he flew downwards at an angle, causing further damage to the wing.

From its position, the Trilopod could do little to deter its foe. Tilting his head, the saurian fired a Corona Beam, commanding it to spear into the stretching base of the crippled wing. The demonic alien cried out in a mixture of pain and wrath as the limb was severed, sending it falling.

Tokyo shuddered as the colossi’s bulk crashed into it. Nearby, SpaceGodzilla neared the ground near a skyscraper, the crystals on his body retracting to return him to his normal form. Explosions rang out around him, heralding the growth of clusters of his gemstones.

He could feel his reserves replenishing, drawing an elated shout from his maw. Heavy footfalls caught his attention, the Trilopod lumbering into his fortress. Despite the loss of a wing, it looked just as ready to battle as before. Judging by its limited expression, the insectoid’s determination to tear him to shreds had only intensified.

Its maw opened, filling with a purple glow. The orbs on its chest took on a similar glow of red, as the array of spikes nestled in the center of the chest opened. SpaceGodzilla quickly put up a shield, bracing himself. Shards of glowing rock flew as the cluster of energy attacks landed, quickly breaking through. The leviathan yelled as he stumbled back, the rest of their power leaving burns.

Running with a speed that belied its size, the Trilopod closed the distance. Barging into the saurian, it swung a kick into his leg, making him slouch slightly. Raising a scythe, the arthropod brought it down on top of his skull, leaving a wide, bloody gash and breaking off the tip of the crown on the leviathan’s forehead. SpaceGodzilla grabbed the pattern of spikes on his foe’s chest, energizing his hands and pulling at the bones. Shards of the bones broke off, causing the Trilopod to crash its foot against the saurian’s stomach, nearly making him fall backwards.

Before the demonic arthropod could continue its assault, SpaceGodzilla fired a Corona Beam directly at the weakened flower-like structure on its chest. The protective spikes broke off and fell to the ground, leaving an exposed hole. Swiftly, the cosmic saurian shoved his tail into the new weakness of his foe, prompting a cry of anguish from the Trilopod. Cosmic energy surged directly into the insectoid’s body, making it thrash and seize, head looking to the sky. Foam poured from its maw.

Lifting his foe off its feet, SpaceGodzilla twisted his body and threw it away. The Trilopod flew through the air, raspily moaning until it crashed into a city block, shrouding its body in dust.

The cosmic leviathan wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he knew this was not done yet. He waited a few moments, the silence becoming crushing. Just when it seemed as if it was not going to happen, the battle returned to a fever pitch.

Around a dozen Destoroyah-Trilopod Aggregates broke out of the ground, shrieking. Waving their scythes, they charged. SpaceGodzilla commanded crystals to spark at their bases and rise, letting the swarm draw closer. One leaped, unveiling its secondary jaws. It exploded in a burst of viscera and smoke with a single Corona Beam, but still the rest pressed on and leapt as well.

The saurian cried out as they struck at him, others firing up at him from the ground with their beams. He grabbed one by the throat, conducting energy into the insectoid and decapitating it. Another he struck with the spikes on the end of his tail, throwing it to the ground with broken limbs. It thrashed as it fought to get to its feet.

They continued spraying micro-oxygen upon him, draining his energy. He levitated, telekinetically shaking his body in mid air to get the few still latched on to let go. All of them fell, joining their brethren below. They cried out towards him, their maddened shrieks demanding his blood.

With a roar of his own, he sent crystals down upon the gathered horde. Having put their collective focus upon him, it had been too late for them to avoid the missiles, only being able to see them for a moment before they crashed down. The hive mind let out one last call as explosions tore it asunder, erasing them off the face of the Earth and leaving craters behind.

SpaceGodzilla landed, half-expecting more to arise and attack him. He began to absorb more energy from his fortress, deciding it would be best to rest and recover for a moment before joining his ally. He’d need it, the pain and injuries inflicted by the demonic insectoid flaring up without the heat of battle to blot them from his mind.

A booming bellow echoed across Tokyo, sounding very familiar, only with an added confidence and power that sent chills throughout the cosmic leviathan.

***

Minutes ago…

Destoroyah grabbed the SpaceGodzilla-Trilopod’s face, wrenching it back and forth. Slashing at his enemy’s arm, the crystalline insectoid forced his head free. Hissing from the blood now spilling from its limb, Destoroyah gathered power between its jaws. When the violet stream of energy flew forth, it was met by a Corona Beam. The two beams collided, the orange pushing back the purple until they were halfway between the warring kaiju.

The midpoint of the beam struggle exploded moments after it had begun, creating a sizable explosion that pushed both colossi back. It was not nearly as big as the previous result of a beam clash, meaning that both recovered their flight quickly, immediately ready to get back into battle.

Destoroyah began to descend, the Trilopod following. The micro-oxygen spawn would much rather fight on the ground, knowing that its limited flight would not be advantageous against a foe that freely floated and psychically flew. A jagged beam of cosmic energy crashed against the hive mind’s back, earning a cry of pain from it as the alien mocked his foe.

Landing, the crustacean looked up, firing its own beam towards the Trilopod. The descending arthropod summoned a translucent barrier, sending strands of caustic energy flying in all directions. He landed just before the crustacean, raising both scythes in a display of intimidation.

Bringing them down, he struck both sides of the crustacean’s head. Destoroyah swung a punch across the insectoid’s face, before thrusting its other hand against the alien’s chest. The Trilopod stepped back, then growled as he lunged forward, slamming his forehead against the micro-oxygen spawn’s own. Destoroyah shrieked in surprise, staggering. Hovering into the air, the crystalline invertebrate kicked his foe in the face. This forced the crustacean further back.

The Trilopod’s stump of a tail swung forwards, striking nothing. The insectoid cursed internally, still growing used to the loss of a limb. Muscle memory had failed him, allowing Destoroyah to ascend as well, mockingly screeching towards its foe. The micro-oxygen spawn’s claws soared towards the insectoid’s face, prompting him to float back, letting them cleave through air. Destoroyah unleashed an Oxygen Destroyer Ray immediately afterwards, the stream burning into the alien’s chest.

With smoke rising from its flesh, the Trilopod landed, responding with a Corona Beam. The crustacean attempted to avoid the beam, flying straight towards the alien, but he commanded the beam to home in on the flower-like structure on Destoroyah’s chest. It speared into the bones, detonating and sending shards of them flying. The crustacean shrieked in pain, quickly dropping feet-first to the ground.

The protective array of spikes was damaged, cracks forming amongst the individual points, some missing their sharp ends. Destoroyah held its arms out, causing the pattern to open up, revealing that it was functional despite the damage. An immense stream of crimson energy crashed against the Trilopod’s chest, lifting him off his feet and throwing him onto his back.

Destoroyah stepped forward, preparing to charge. Crystals burst out of the ground in front of it, halting this. The gemstones, along with their creator, hovered into the air. Spinning to point towards the crustacean, the crystals shot forwards. Destoroyah destroyed one with a quickly fired beam, only to have to rest crash against its hide, leaving burns and cracks along its body.

As the crustacean recovered from the sudden attack, emerald lines of energy snaked through the smoke, wrapping the micro-oxygen spawn in their luminance. Caught in the Gravity Tornado, Destoroyah could only watch as the Trilopod, now in his flying form, moved towards the bay.

Near the expanse of waters, crystals grew to surround a skyscraper. The Trilopod threw his foe down, sending rubble flying as the ground buckled beneath Destoroyah. Groaning, the micro-oxygen spawn began to rise. From the cluster of gemstones sprouting from the alien’s back came a glowing sphere, covered in spikes, which twirled as it floated to his side.

Destoroyah shrieked in panic when the orb raced towards it, barely able to take flight in time. Behind the crustacean, the sphere tore into the ground, leaving a crater who’s rim sprouted a ring of the extravagant stones. Instead of staying totally still, these swayed back and forth like the grasping fingers of a hand.

The Gravity Tornado seized the child of the Oxygen Destroyer once more, prompting a hateful call as the Trilopod moved his foe over the cage. Destoroyah tried to physically overcome its bindings, but it would not work. The crystalline prison’s “bars” widened, preparing to welcome the crustacean in.

An idea arose in the gestalt mind of the Precambrian terror, which would have made it grin had the telekinetic grip not made even such small movements impossible. The Trilopod’s red eyes widened when the crustacean began to fade away. He quickly moved his foe downwards, hoping to ensnare it within the energy field of the crystal cage, only for his Gravity Tornado to disperse without his command. The green lines flew through the air for a moment before he ceased them.

Destoroyah landed on the alien’s shell, uncaring of how the spikes poked at its hide. The Trilopod was shoved forward by the impact, quickly regaining equilibrium and trying to shake the micro-oxygen spawn off. Destoroyah sliced at the wall of crystal before it with its laser horn, leaving a molten line.

The insectoid jerked forward, loosening the crustacean’s foothold and leaving it to frantically beat its wings for a second to regain flight, before throwing himself back to crash the myriad of spikes against the micro-oxygen spawn. Destoroyah stumbled through the air, allowing the alien to rotate to face it. He soared forwards, anticipating the micro-oxygen spawn to respond in kind.

Instead, Destoroyah descended. It knew better than to attempt a head-on collision with its opponent the way he was. The Trilopod angled himself down, racing like a comet towards the Precambrian colossus. Destoroyah waited as he drew closer, fists clenching in anticipation.

When the alien was just about to crash into the crustacean, Destoroyah activated its laser horn, swinging it to the side. Seeing the flash of red in the corner of his eye, the Trilopod moved up, sailing over the micro-oxygen spawn’s head and narrowly avoiding the saber. Too focused on the near death, he failed to stop the hive mind’s tail from lashing up and wrapping around his throat.

The Trilopod swung down, head slamming into the ground. Concrete crumbled beneath him, casting up walls of dust. Destoroyah began siphoning energy from its foe, letting a laugh escape its maw. The shell retracted back into nothingness, the alien rising and flailing his scythes.

Looking towards the bay, the demon’s feet left the ground, wings carrying both kaiju. Earth and concrete flew as a trench was carved through them by the dragging body, whom was currently trying to slice at the limb holding him.

Just before they reached the bay, the Trilopod suddenly levitated, severely slowing down Destoroyah’s momentum. The crustacean nearly smacked into the ground, barely catching itself with its wings and remaining airborne. Light surged within the alien’s shoulder crystals, his arms quickly being shrouded by crackling fields of energy.

Destoroyah tried to steal its foe’s energy, but it was not fast enough to stop the Trilopod from swinging his energized blades at the micro-oxygen spawn’s tail. There was an explosion at the midpoint of the tail’s length where the scythe struck, ensuring that it was severed. The crustacean cried out in pain, landing to better cope with the sudden loss. A burst of dust rocketed into the air when the severed portion crashed to the ground, unmoving. A chittering laughter filled the air as the insectoid enjoyed returning the pain inflicted upon him previously.

Rushing forwards, the Trilopod slammed into Destoroyah, pushing the crustacean back. Digging its feet into the ground, Destoroyah clawed the alien across the face, ripping open three grooves. Backing up, the Trilopod thrust a scythe into the flower-like pattern on his foe’s chest, further damaging the array. He pushed, threatening to break through, a threat made deadlier as he conducted cosmic power through the blade.

The claws of Destoroyah gripped the blade, the hive mind gritting its teeth as they burned. Swinging its head down, the micro-oxygen spawn severed the arthropod’s arm with the Variable Slicer.

Staggering backwards, the Trilopod let loose a shrill cry. Cosmic energy crackled upon the stump for a moment before he ceased power to it, instead turning away as he noticed the still present saber of crimson. Destoroyah lunged forward, slicing into the insectoid’s side, leaving a colossal, oozing hole. He tried to flee, but the talons of his foe gripped him, digging into the fresh wound. His feet left the ground, but the hive mind’s strength was too much. The Precambrian terror noticed the alien’s shoulder crystal. Letting its own laughter ring, Destoroyah slashed across the base of the gemstone.

The severed crystal hit the ground, glowing brightly with absorbed power which leaked out in wisps of steam. All the weight of the Trilopod was in Destoroyah’s grip, his flight giving out from the sudden drop in energy. He roared in fear, the panic only growing as the micro-oxygen spawn whipped around, releasing the alien and sending him flying towards the bay.

Waves rushed out as the colossus splashed into the water, his frantic flailing turning what had been tranquil waters a moment ago into chaos. Destoroyah soared towards the alien, not giving him a moment to recover. The Precambrian terror dropped onto the arthropod, shoving him further down and embedding his spines in the silt and sediment making up the bottom.

A jolt of energy forced Destoroyah back, allowing the alien to put his head up and spew a Corona Beam, which snaked up and crashed directly into the crustacean’s face. The Trilopod could see directly into the cavernous wound he left in the face, splitting the snout in half, revealing muscle and bone.

The child of the Oxygen Destroyer fell forward, disappearing into mist before impact.

The crystalline alien began thrashing once more as he felt a tingling sensation across his entire body, an uncomfortable crawling. He tried to float away, but could not get out of the waters before dropping once more. The loss of a crystal had crippled him for the time being, and he doubted he could adjust to the absence or repair it in time.

At the microscopic level, the swarm felt a similar frustration. They skittered and pried everywhere they could on their foe’s body, exploring the structure of his cells to find and destroy oxygen. But removing the compound seemed to do nothing to their foe, who seemed to suffer no ill from the assault. The cells were unaffected, and the alien was annoyed instead of writhing in the all-consuming agony of being disassembled bit by bit.

Scales began lighting up with conducted energy, killing swathes of the microbes. The hive mind panicked as the alien began to rise, electrifying various patches of his body to fight back. Retreating, the horde gestalt conscious desperately ran through numerous situations and ideas. Until they noticed the still opened wounds left by the laser horn, still submerged.

As one, the countless microscopic lifeforms rushed towards the gaping hole in the alien’s side. The Trilopod cringed at the sensation, before soon doubling over as his innards crawled and writhed. Not thinking, he clawed at his stomach, leaving gashes before he snapped out of the primal instinct.

The Trilopod roared to the heavens in anguish when the attack began. Thousands of creatures skittering through his organs, tearing at them. His mind raced, swiftly being clouded by the pain. He tried to focus, attempting to channel his energy inwards, but nothing happened. Whether it was because energizing his very organs would be impossible, or because any kind of complex thought process was escaping like water from a sieve, he did not know. In desperation, he returned to clawing at his stomach, any pain it would have brought being like a candle next to the roaring inferno that was the millions of needles stabbing his innards.

He fell back, foam pouring from his mouth as organs were displaced and shoved aside. His chest bulged as this happened, chitin splitting and falling away. With an explosion of viscera, an Aggregate pushed its head out, soon pulling its body free. Intestines wrapped around its myriad of limbs came with. Countless smaller crustaceans skittered out of the hole, each one drenched in fluids. Turning, the Aggregate crawled up the Trilopod’s body, reaching the head.

Destoroyah locked eyes with its victim, basking in the look of hatred it got. It let loose a foul laugh, mocking the fallen alien until the swarm still within the body made its way to his brain. Once the light faded from the eyes, the hive mind dissolved and reunited.

Stepping onto the shore, the perfect form of the demon threw its head back in a triumphant roar. As if in reply, a booming bellow echoed throughout Tokyo, igniting memories and fear with Destoroyah, robbing it of its feelings of victory.

***

Moments ago…

Karkaro could feel his stress levels rising by the second as he watched the battles unfold, both turning in the favor of the enemy. His warriors still fought, but it was proving to not be enough. His mind raced, but this accomplished nothing, for to the alien overlord’s chagrin, this was all out of his hands. He hated when a situation was out of his control, especially one as dire as this, for it would often dredge up memories of his home’s demise.

A monitor beeped in notification, snapping him out of his daze. He turned, activating it. Greeting him was the beaming face of the scientist he had talked with before.

“My lord, it is time. We have successfully recreated the energy the humans used to power up Godzilla.”

Karkaro smiled, an expression that scared some of his subordinates more than his scowl. “Then deploy it unto the Trilopod that has already hybridized with their so-called king. He shall be the first of our unstoppable army.”

“Yes sir.” With that salute, the screen faded to black.

The Cryog overlord looked back to Tokyo, his smile not fading. Gazing upon the two thorns in his side, he began to speak. “Go ahead, destroy your Doppelgängers. Your corpses shall be used to make so many more after the pinnacle of Cryog achievement slaughters both of you.”

***

As the battles raged on, none of the combatants noticed a small spaceship descend through the clouds, moving towards a crater.

Within the wreckage was the body of the Godzilla-Trilopod, still broken and bloody. Yet life courses through it, and that was all they needed.

Hovering above the insectoid, the vessel shot a capsule into the holes where his spines had once been, the slight pop of the firing barely drawing attention from the fever pitches of the battles. Silence aside from distant bellows and blasts took hold, until the Trilopod began to shudder.

His eyes opened, shining brighter than before. From the wounds running down the length of his back, new spines ripped their way out. Wounds were quickly sealed shut as the colossus began to push himself up, standing tall. Rejuvenated and empowered, he felt ready to leap back into the battle, stronger than ever. A command echoed in his mind, prompting him to look up at the vessel which had gifted him this new power.

That had merely been a precursor, an injection to ensure that the true boost worked.

Opening his maw, the Godzilla-Trilopod winced when the vessel fired a second capsule down his throat. Then, was overtaken by a brilliant light.

When the Cryog first began their invasion, they stole all the information they could. Facing a foe that knew all that you knew and more was nigh-impossible. Among the surplus of data they found records of a previous alien invasion, one so dangerous that humanity had needed to enhance Godzilla. At first, with the cells of King Ghidorah to give him greater strength and energy reserves. But when the alien’s trump card had been something so horrendously powerful that Godzilla was rendered nigh-powerless, they had needed to go a step further.

But humanity was smart, smarter than the Cryog had anticipated. They had recorded that the process involved combining G-Cells with King Ghidorah’s cells to create a new, potent concoction of energy, but the specifics of how to create the empowering agent was lost, presumably deleted. But, the Cryog were nothing if not resourceful.

His body swelled with increased muscle mass. Colossal, purple spikes jutted out from the shoulders of the Trilopod, resembling the shoulder crystals of SpaceGodzilla. His torso’s front turned bright green as the rest of the body turned dark purple, an orb growing in the center of his chest. His back spines lengthened and took on a green tint, the tail growing a cluster of spikes at its end. Finally, a green crest appeared on his forehead, identical aside from color to the one upon SpaceGodzilla.

The Super Godzilla-Trilopod looked to the heavens, bellowing a challenge to all of Earth.

Rising back into the skies, the vessel relayed the location of his foes to the empowered alien, prompting him to turn and immediately run towards SpaceGodzilla. He moved with immense speed, far faster than something his size should be able to move. Soon, he located the leviathan who had brutalized him, anticipation growing immensely as he drew close.

SpaceGodzilla’s eyes widened when he saw the arthropod charging towards him, fear, shock, and outrage swirling together within. Fear blotted out the others when the Trilopod pulled his arm back, coating the end of the scythe in a blue shroud of energy. Not crackling lines like before, but a solid field of power.

The cosmic saurian had begun to float back, but it was too late. The Trilopod swung the empowered punch, the momentum burying the blade in the side of the leviathan’s stomach. SpaceGodzilla cried out, breathing heavily as he gripped the limb impaling him. The Trilopod planted a foot on his foe’s stomach, before pulling back.

With a spray of blood and the severing of muscle, the empowered alien pulled his blade free, leaving a gaping hole in SpaceGodzilla’s stomach. Gore spilled forth, chunks of meat dangling from the blade.

Stumbling back, holding his bleeding side, the leviathan looked up in horror as the Trilopod slowly stepped towards him, scraping his scythes together. A Corona Beam speared forward, crashing against the evolved insectoid’s chest. He winced, the only indication that it had done anything as his stride continued.

Twirling in place, the insectoid sent his tail careening into the leviathan’s unharmed side. SpaceGodzilla’s feet left the ground, the saurian tumbling down. The Trilopod stood over him, raising a foot high. SpaceGodzilla used his levitation to spin in place on the ground, slapping his foe’s other leg with his tail.

The earth shook as the Trilopod landed on his side, hissing in rage. The saurian took to the air, letting a grin rise on his face. The insectoid’s tail began to move, light forming on the end of the limb. Whipping in the direction of SpaceGodzilla, the limb sent a glowing sphere flying towards the leviathan. It flew too fast for the saurian to avoid it, allowing it to careen into his stomach. The orb exploded, sending him flying out of the air, roaring the whole way down.

Getting to his feet, the Trilopod chittered in malicious glee. A shriek behind him stole his focus, a moment before Destoroyah crashed feet first into his back. It doubled him over, but the alien still stood. Quickly straightening up, he felt the feet slip off his back, accompanied by the slight yelp of surprise.

Whipping around, the evolved Trilopod’s spines began to glow a bright orange, intense bolts of energy crackling along the spines. Destoroyah screeched as an orange Atomic Breath lanced out from the opened maw of the alien, crashing against the crustacean’s stomach. The micro-oxygen spawn was tossed away, carried upwards by the beam until the Trilopod ceased power to it. With a blackened circle on its hide, Destoroyah fell into a cluster of buildings.

An emerald field surrounded the arthropod, lifting him off his feet. SpaceGodzilla carried his foe higher into the air, just trying to get a moment to think of a strategy and heal. Unfortunately for him, the empowered insectoid would avail no such thing.

With a shout, a shockwave of orange energy erupted from the Super-Trilopod’s body. The Gravity Tornado was dispersed, the edge of the shockwave washing over the leviathan and casting him to the earth once more, though this time he landed on his feet. The insectoid landed before him, focusing on the still healing wound on the saurian’s side.

Pain speared into the Trilopod’s back, a burning sensation that swept up the spine. Turning, he saw Destoroyah approaching, the purple glow in its mouth fading. He hissed at the crustacean, preparing to charge. Hands wrapped around his tail, before lifting him off his feet. SpaceGodzilla quickly whipped around, letting the Super-Trilopod go to send him flying.

As buildings crumbled beneath the insectoid, Destoroyah landed next to its ally, the two exchanging a glance. A moment passed, and they looked at the arthropod already rushing towards them. Steeling themselves, they roared as one at their common foe.

Still charging, each footfall shaking the earth and making rubble leap, the empowered alien replied with his own booming call. An atomic ray left his maw, racing towards the two. They flew in opposite directions, leaving the beam to blast a crater into the ground. Stopping, the Super-Trilopod looked back and forth between the duo as they moved.

Suddenly, the duo simultaneously charged towards him. Thinking quickly, the insectoid looked towards Destoroyah, swinging his tail behind him to fire a sphere. He did not glance over his shoulder to see the success of the projectile, which came back to bite him when an explosion occurred on the back of his shoulder, staggering him forward. All 80,000 tons of Destoroyah slammed into him afterwards.

Dissipating his Photon Shield, SpaceGodzilla watched as the two struggled against one another, the micro-oxygen spawn landing to better push. Despite the might of the Precambrian terror, it was obviously losing the shoving contest. Commanding several crystals to rise into the air, the leviathan’s eyes narrowed as he drew close.

Destoroyah dug its feet into the earth. Its hands gripping the blades of its foe’s arms, the crustacean was losing ground. Suddenly, the Super-Trilopod pulled his scythes free, before swinging them down upon the micro-oxygen spawn’s shoulders. Cracks formed on the spikes jutting from its shoulders, holes being sliced into the membrane of its wings. Destoroyah lunged forward, bashing its bulk against the empowered alien, making him step back with a grunt.

He was forced forward when flying crystals crashed against the arthropod’s back, forcing a cry of genuine pain from him. SpaceGodzilla flew overhead, shrieking as he fired his Corona Beam at his foe. Destoroyah swung a punch across the insectoid’s face, creating sparks as claws scraped against scales.

With a shrill growl, the Super-Trilopod smacked the micro-oxygen spawn across the face with the flat of a glowing scythe. Blood streaming from its face, Destoroyah backed away, vision rendered blurry. The alien twisted in place, firing a glowing orb from his tail, which crashed against Destoroyah’s chest and furthered the distance between them.

SpaceGodzilla descended, swinging a kick into the lower jaw of the arthropod. Howling in rage, the Super-Trilopod clamped its mandibles onto the foot before the leviathan could pull it back. SpaceGodzilla panicked before being pulled down, slamming back first into the ground. Releasing his foe’s leg, leaving a ring of bloody marks where his teeth had pierced, the arthropod looked down at SpaceGodzilla.

A Super Atomic Breath was unleashed from his jaws, crashing against the saurian’s stomach, which had just healed from the previous assault. The orange pillar of energy burned the crystalline saurian, causing him to yell in anguish. He was pushed back by the force, spines digging trenches into the ground. Destoroyah shook the cobwebs out of its mind, roaring.

Cutting power to his beam, the Super-Trilopod lunged forward, charging into Destoroyah. The body slam nearly lifted the micro-oxygen spawn off its feet. Scrambling to stay standing, Destoroyah groaned as it backpedaled. Suddenly, the groan turned to a full blown scream as a cluster of explosions rippled upon the front of the crustacean’s torso. Chunks of chitin and flesh flew, leaving craters in the body of the Precambrian beast.

Rushing forward, the Super-Trilopod slashed Destoroyah across the chest, leaving a gash which oozed. The micro-oxygen spawn could only watch, mind still racing with overwhelming shock and pain. A blade digging into its stomach, then being twisted, managed to focus the mind enough for it to fire a concussive blast from its chest.

The invisible wave of force put some distance between the two, the empowered alien grunting as his scythe was pulled out of his foe’s body. Pain ignited wrath within Destoroyah, giving the crustacean the strength to lunge forward, swinging the laser horn diagonally down across the Super-Trilopod.

Finally, the armor of the arthropod was parted, ichor being shed. Hissing in agony, the insectoid was assailed once more by the shining saber of Destoroyah, spraying out more vital fluids. He brought both arms down onto the crustacean’s back before it could stand straight, knocking it down. The crimson saber faded as the micro-oxygen spawn fell.

The Super-Trilopod stomped the back of Destoroyah’s skull, burying its face in the ground and cracking open the head crest. He put more weight on the foot, chittering in laughter.

SpaceGodzilla slammed into the Super-Trilopod’s side, forcing him off of Destoroyah. Twirling, the cosmic leviathan smacked the insectoid in the face with his tail’s mace, drawing a cry of pain. The Super-Trilopod’s arm crashed against SpaceGodzilla’s side, pushing the crystal saurian to the front of the arthropod.

SpaceGodzilla roared in defiance, only to receive a devastating headbutt to the skull. His golden crest fully shattered, leaving the insectoid as the only one crowned. The world was a blur, his head swimming. He was defenseless as the twin scythes of his foe crashed into his arms, nearly severing them and breaking bones within. A kick to the stomach made him double over, but also served to clear his vision enough to detect a familiar blue glow being reared back like an executioner’s axe.

The Photon Shield came up. The supercharged punch came flying, aimed at the skull of the leviathan. Blade met shield. It blocked the energy, severely weakening it, but the scythe still went through, catching him in the chin. It slid down, leaving a groove, before barely breaking the skin on his neck.

Heart thudding rapidly in his chest, SpaceGodzilla fired a Corona Beam, crashing it into the diagonal wound in the insectoid’s chest. The disoriented Super-Trilopod stumbled back, pulling his blade free. Blood trickled down the leviathan’s neck, making him turn away in a panic, his hands reaching up to cover the wound. Pain filled his arms when he moved them.

An orange pillar of atomic energy swept up SpaceGodzilla’s back, scorching his hide. He screeched in anguish to the heavens, some of his spines having melted. He heard the sound of Destoroyah’s beam crashing against the Super-Trilopod, prompting him to turn to see the crustacean engaging the insectoid once more.

Painted in its own blood, the Precambrian terror slashed at the wounds on its foe’s chest. Wincing as the injury was further damaged, the insectoid kicked Destoroyah in the leg. It hissed in pain, noticeably trying to put more of its weight on the other leg.

The Gravity Tornado seized the Super-Trilopod. He still struggled, sluggishly flailing. SpaceGodzilla let out a strained roar, commanding his ally to strike swiftly and decisively. Destoroyah activated its Variable Slicer, feeling the drain it had on its energy. The insectoid’s head moved too much for it to get a good hit upon it, and Destoroyah could tell that it did not have the time to precisely aim further down the neck. So, shutting its eyes, the crustacean stabbed straight forward, sinking the glowing katana into the Super-Trilopod’s chest.

Howling, the Super-Trilopod felt organs sizzle and wither. He jammed both of his scythes into Destoroyah’s back, pushing the crustacean away. Even when he felt the laser horn fade, anguish still surged through him. The psychic hold on him faded, allowing him to better keep the crustacean pinned, his muscular arms keeping the struggling micro-oxygen spawn back.

SpaceGodzilla landed next to his ally, roaring as he thrust his tail towards the still glowing hole in his foe’s chest. It tore through the skin, lodging itself within the muscle, which healed itself around the ball of spikes and trapped it within. His spines flashed as he surged power into the Super-Trilopod, scorching flesh. The empowered insectoid thrust his head up, roaring as his internal pain resumed.

Pulling his arms out of Destoroyah’s back, he prepared to slice the offending limb off. SpaceGodzilla stood defiantly, continuing to conduct energy through his tail. Destoroyah reared up, lashing its tail and latching the end around the neck of the Super-Trilopod. It began to draw strength out from the vast wellsprings of power within its foe. Each second had the crustacean feel the fatigue of energy overuse fall away.

They held him like this for a brief time, not even a quarter of a minute. Fighting past the pain wracking him, the insectoid swatted at both tails, knocking them away and leaving slash marks in the limbs. He swung at both his foes, connecting the blows. The duo crashed their bodies against the Super-Trilopod, forcing him back several steps. They batted at his chest with their claws, aiming for his exposed muscle.

SpaceGodzilla was forced back with a kick to the stomach, with such force that he would have vomited if he did not subsist solely off cosmic radiation. The orb nestled within the center of the Super-Trilopod’s chest began to glow, absorbing shimmering particles of blue from the air, prompting Destoroyah to fly back to be next to its ally.

The cosmic leviathan quickly absorbed as much power from his fortress as he could, before summoning energy to his maw. The micro-oxygen spawn gathered its energy as well, preparing to put more power into this ray than any it had fired before. Its chest pattern opened wide, revealing the red blast building within, as Destoroyah’s mouth was filled with the familiar violet luminance. When the azure shine of their foe’s ultimate attack was almost blinding, they both fired. SpaceGodzilla’s Corona Beam was almost purely white in its intensity, as Destoroyah unleashed both its Oxygen Destroyer Ray and Stomach Beam at once, combining them into a spiraling ray of crimson and purple.

Thrusting his arms back, the Super-Trilopod unleashed a pillar of azure energy from his solar plexus. As it surged through the air, its front became a glowing image of the insectoid’s head, an echoing shriek sounding out before it crashed into the streams of purple and orange.

It was as if a star had been born in Tokyo with how the darkness vanished. Numerous brilliant colors swirled within an orb suspended between the three titans, flickering as they fought for dominance. It remained unmoving as the enemies added more and more energy to it.

It began to budge.

SpaceGodzilla felt his heart sink as it drifted towards him. He had spent almost a decade within purgatory, only maintaining higher thought through sheer will. Cast adrift as sentient specks of dust through the vast cosmos, most would go insane and become feral beasts living moment to moment.

But not him. He endured, determined to finish what he started. Only to find it stolen out from under him, both his planet and his vengeance. He would have never been able to overcome this by himself.

He glanced over to Destoroyah, the only reason he got this far. He still barely knew the crustacean, but he knew enough to realize he did not wish to fight it over Godzilla’s demise. Not just because it would be a daunting task. But because… he wanted to stop being alone. He felt that the Precambrian terror was his best chance to have someone by his side, another who would partake in his battle against creation. Was this so much to ask, or was he doomed to loneliness?

Destoroyah felt a pang of fear as it saw they were beginning to lose. From scattered microbes it had once again risen to a form of horrid grandeur to oppose the world that it could not exist within without spreading death. It could do nothing else, so it embraced being the reaper, seeking to take vengeance for the horrid agony it had been forced to endure.

By the time it had reached a state to actually challenge the monster king, invaders had descended and stolen him. Overwhelming odds even for one such as itself.

It glanced over at SpaceGodzilla, the only reason it had made it this far. The idea of allying itself with another still seemed so strange, but having someone other than itself to rely on felt good. Events beyond its control had isolated the crustaceans from the rest of the Earth, but it had never considered the stars. Yet, it was going to end soon…

The slow march of the orb ceased, changing direction. At once, the duo refused to accept their fate, remembering how far they had come to reach this point. To fall just before the end would repeat their past failure, the thought of the burning pain that nearly killed them before driving them to push themselves further.

They reached the middle once more, pushing further, slowly but surely. The Super-Trilopod roared in hatred, trying to call upon more of his power, but he was at his limit. Another push, and the orb sped up towards him. The duo of destroyers’ faces took on determined expressions, feeling their own reserves about to run dry.

***

Karkaro screamed, a wordless yell of wrath that welled up from the most primitive parts of his brain.

***

The shimmering sphere crashed into the Super-Trilopod’s stomach. His bellow was lost in the blast that shattered him. He was lost, reduced to smoking gore and chitinous shards which rained down from the heavens.

Panting, doubled over in exhaustion, the two destroyers looked at one another. Their gazes shifted towards the towering nest, and what waited within. Slowly, they began to move towards it.

***

Karkaro was silent. Tension too thick to be cut with a knife hung over the control room. He stared single mindedly at the monitor showing the duo, not deviating an inch.

He was past the point of kicking and screaming, hurling things around and threatening his subordinates. Watching his army fall nearly put him in that state. His magnum opus being splattered across Tokyo pushed him to only one idea. He wanted this whole world to burn, to watch it crumble and be left a rotting husk devoid of life. They didn’t need this world, at least, that was what he would say to his subordinates. They’d find another one.

All that he could focus on was a manic glee as the duo drew ever closer to unleashing something that would make sure the overlord got what he wanted.

Stopping before the towering construct, the two could not help but look up to fully take in its size. Destoroyah dissolved, leaving SpaceGodzilla alone. He grinned, floating into the air. He took on his flying form, generating a spike-covered orb from the shell of crystal. It raced forward, crashing into the base of the nest. Crystals tore out of the hive, ripping apart a portion of the structure. Cackling, he began to circle around the hive, doing the same throughout.

“Sir—“ One of the Cryog started, before his overlord loudly shushed him.

“It is too late to stop this.” Karkaro said, grinning. “Our plan has failed, but not all is lost. Let us watch our aggressors be crushed as they crushed our hopes.”

***

Throughout the nest, a swarm of pestilence ripped through various chambers. Aggregates tearing apart the structure itself. Juveniles and microbes descending upon gelatinous walls, feasting upon the vulnerable eggs of the Trilopods. Larvae were dissolved, life snatched away before it could begin. Nothing stopped them, the hive’s defenders all having been expended upon trying to stop them previously.

The whole structure shook, hard and unceasing. Chunks of the internal architecture began to fall, crashing through floors and leaving dust and debris. From outside, SpaceGodzilla could see the full nest breaking down, collapsing in on itself. Backing away, he watched with anticipating eyes as the destruction spread, until it reached a breaking point.

Dust raced through every street as the mile-high structure imploded.

He could see nothing, but he did not need sight to find his target. SpaceGodzilla descended into the ruins, letting his sixth sense guide him to the body of Godzilla. Landing before his prey, he felt another presence materialize next to him. Destoroyah’s call reached him, but it was no challenge.

The glow and the hum of the Precambrian beast charging its beam pierced the fog, but it was not aimed towards SpaceGodzilla. The leviathan caught on, letting a laugh sound out. He began to charge his own ray, pointing it towards Godzilla’s prone form as well.

Why did only one have to take vengeance?

A heavy thud filled the air, so loud they could not tell where it originated from. The dust still made it impossible to see, but another crash obviously displaced much of it. The air rumbled as a low, droning sound rushed over them, making them instinctively back away. Something swung past SpaceGodzilla, the surprised yell of Destoroyah hitting his ears. An impact, a loud one, accompanied by his ally’s call quickly growing quieter. He realized that it was because a lot of distance had just been put between them in a brief amount of time.

Then two, yellow orbs glowed high above him. Dust flew away from them, revealing a gaping, round maw adorned with a pair of thick mandibles. SpaceGodzilla’s confidence had been robbed in an instant as he locked eyes with a living mountain. He grabbed Godzilla in a Gravity Tornado, turning and trying to flee. From below he was swatted upwards, flying like a golf ball. The King of the Monsters flew as well, unconscious body spinning through the air in an entirely different angle.

SpaceGodzilla caught himself before hitting the ground, finding his recovering ally nearby. Destoroyah stood up, shrieking madly. Saliva flew from its mouth as it demanded the blood of whatever had come between them and their vengeance.

Magita bellowed in reply, towering above the fading wall of dust. Green patches of light glowed beneath both sides of her head, below a shell of dark red chitin. She raised one of her spiked forelimbs, revealing a golden body impaled on the end of it. One serpentine neck limply dangled from the unconscious dragon. The Trilopod Queen took the neck, along with a massive chunk of its torso, off with a single bite. Organs dropped, the splatter of them striking the ground ringing out. Her other limb shot down, rising once more to reveal the guardian goddess moth skewered like a kebab. Mothra was consumed as well.

SpaceGodzilla and Destoroyah looked apprehensively between each other and Magita. For once, they felt tiny before another creature. Beneath her gaze, they could not help but shrink back. To their horror, the living mountain began to rampage, eyes locked onto Godzilla’s body.

The duo of destroyers unleashed their respective beams at the colossus’ head, making her stagger back. Magita turned towards them, mandibles the size of skyscrapers parting to spill torrents of saliva. She looked up, sensing something.

A shadow that felt like it fell over the whole world formed as suddenly, a pair of wings extended out from her back, flipping open with grandiosity. The winds of that movement made SpaceGodzilla and Destoroyah’s feet skid through the dirt and rubble.

To their relief, she took off, nearly sending them spilling over. She did not approach them. She desired less challenging meals, or at least, that is what they assumed.

***

The Cryog watched in horror as the beast the size of their mothership reached the upper atmosphere, claws and fangs prepared to rip into her captors and consume them all. Karkaro reached for a gun, intent on a quick way out, only for the ship to shake violently, sending the weapon skidding across the floor. He looked up, seeing Magita latched onto the front of the ship, raising a bladed limb high.

This ship, she knew it. The specifics were lost in a haze like a dream, but she knew this vessel had dragged her across the cosmos against her will. She would not stand for such a thing.

With a swing like a hammer, the last of the Cryog had their fates sealed.

***

Roars and groans were echoing across Tokyo as the myriad monsters trapped in the hive began to awaken, some crying out in agony from wounds inflicted by the two destroyers in their desolation of the construct.

Godzilla’s eyes opened, meeting the glares of SpaceGodzilla and Destoroyah. He snarled, trying to rise, only for a colossal foot to slam into his skull, forcing him back down. The King of the Monsters looked up at the two horrid glows forming in their maws, knowing what was coming.

The monsters present heard a mighty roar, then a screeched yelp.

Their king’s body flew through the air, smashing into the unforgiving ground. The head, along with most of the upper torso, was gone. They traced the path of the throw, to see their two worst nightmares side by side, laughing cruelly.

SpaceGodzilla and Destoroyah only laughed harder as the gathered kaiju fled for their lives.

A horrid, piercing shriek echoed through the air, making the fleeing masses spill over in shock. Magita descended, landing with a hideous thud like an asteroid. Without remorse, she began to rampage once more, devouring any lifeforms she could catch with her limbs. Dual roars drew her attention. The kingslayers flew forth, energies already brewing in their maws. Their foe, a mountain of chitin and muscle, marched forth on monolithic legs to meet them.

They had not escaped their lives of constant struggle, but they had escaped that of eternal loneliness. Two devils, now with fates intertwined, to the detriment of all others.

Winner: SpaceGodzilla, Destoroyah