Author: Alex Williams | Banner: Matthew Williams & Dao Zang Moua

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Into Serenity
Chapter 2: The Collision
Chapter 3: The Wakeup Call
Chapter 4: Forest Followup
Chapter 5: A Day Out
Chapter 6: Flowers and Fights
Chapter 7: The Clock is Ticking
Chapter 8: The Night Festival
Chapter 9: Where to?

Chapter 1: Into Serenity

The metallic behemoth swung forward with a large object held firmly in its hands. Anguirus shook his head, his consciousness slowly fading away as his eyes were barely able to keep track of his foe. He let out a tired snarl, finding it unnatural that such a lifeform was able to keep fighting on, even when he invoked a blow as powerful as knocking its head off. Compared to him, Anguirus was perplexed at how the being could keep going, even when it was missing a leg and its head. Still, the creature couldn’t deny his own state of health. The prior shot he endured cut off the air from his lungs, with his vision getting hazier by the second.

Anguirus had to continue, at least to where he could get the strange moving object to relent in its assault, so he could retreat back to the forest and recover. With one last defiant roar, the quadruped charged, feeling a surge of energy flow into him as he smashed into the robot.

Despite it all, time slowed down for him with his mind pacing back and forth between every thought. His memories in the Red Dust, what several would perceive as his home, were largely blank. All he could recall was a miserable existence, walking through an endless storm being pelted by red particles. The others that inhabited the dimension relished in it, showering themselves in every particle that made contact with them.

Then, his mind became clear.

A crack opened in the realm, sucking the particles in as it unleashed several excited howls from the Rodans. Through that brief window, he saw a whole array of colors and objects he couldn’t even begin to process. He watched those annoying pests soar through the breach, knowing full well these new objects would be blanketed by the pestering storm. He shook his head, wanting to experience the new world before it was consumed.

Anguirus bolted through the crack and found a world that overtook him. His heart stopped, his eyes darting around, scanning every piece he could find. Large, thin brown objects surrounded him while green surfaces rested on top as rays of sunshine peaked through. He heard a faint noise, as he felt his body beginning to move once more. Anguirus found himself in front of a small moving path separating portions of the forest. He eyed the path, watching the liquid run down, splashing the rocks. Whatever it was, it looked completely appetizing compared to the constant pests he feasted on.

Lowering his snout, he dunked it in the liquid and felt the refreshing water hitting the inside of his mouth. Anguirus felt enamored by the taste and went in for another. He spent several minutes drinking before deciding to continue his trek through the forest, eyeing every piece of it with great interest.

This world, this place. It was nothing like the one he came from and yet, he could already call it “home”. Anguirus cherished every bit of it, but the reminder hit him like a bullet train. He heard several screeches, ones he was all too familiar with. He looked up to see several Rodans flying above the trees, as their red particles seeped through the leaves and onto the ground. While it was faint, the seeds of where he originated from were starting to take over.

Anguirus let out a defiant roar as he rushed through the forest, intending to hunt down every creature that went through the crevice. He wasn’t in this world for long, but he already cherished everything about it and wouldn’t let his kind take it from him.

That dream, however, was not meant to be.

Time fast forwarded, with a loud shot being heard. The air in his lungs was completely wiped away as Anguirus felt his heart sink. He felt a major pain in his head with his horn being shot off and replaced with the object shot into his skull. His vision went black, with his worst fears coming to life.

He could no longer see the world he had come to admire in the short amount of time he was there. If only he had more time…

***

A ringing was heard as Anguirus’ eyes slowly opened. He couldn’t keep them open for long as they were overtaken by his loss of consciousness. What he saw, however, was a dark metallic room with red lighting. Had he had more control over his body, he would have hated what he saw.

“He’s reacting against the stimuli… we don’t know how much longer we can keep him down,” a voice cried out, Anguirus barely registering the words, hearing it as nothing more than noise.

“We can manage. He’s our only test subject now that the Red Dust has subsided,” another affirmed harshly.

Anguirus opened his eyes to see two people clad in long white clothing speaking a few feet in front of him. He couldn’t fully comprehend it as he tried to move forward, but felt himself restrained. He tilted his head sluggishly, feeling the weakness still stirring in his body, only to find his joints cladded with iron shackles. The spawn of the Red Dust attempted to move forward once more, but immediately collapsed and let out an exhausted roar, startling the scientists near him.

“Double the dose, now!” one of them ordered angrily, glaring directly at the tired monstrosity in front of her. Anguirus returned the gesture until he felt sleep engulf him. He didn’t know what he did to be here or why he was being denied the place he had come to love. However, he couldn’t ponder it for much longer as he finally succumbed to the sedative.

His eyes opened once more, but unlike his previous awakenings, he felt more control of his body. Anguirus huffed and puffed as he recognized more of his surroundings, with machines all around him eliciting beepings he found all too irritating. He heard several of the small creatures’ voices screaming and shouting as their footsteps echoed throughout the large room. Everything in this storage unit reminded him of all he had come to detest.

Anguirus took a step forward, but felt himself nearly being pulled down. Those shackles were still wrapped around his limbs. With little time at hand, the child of the red dust bent down and gripped the metal with his teeth and snapped it in two.

The spiky captive unleashed a howl as his teeth grew sore from biting into the metal. Yet, he had no choice. Anguirus bent forward and bit down on the second chain, snapping it with ease, but he unleashed another roar in pain when he felt one of his teeth chipping in half. He took a moment to compose himself from the affliction he had just endured.

“Open fire!” a voice screeched out.

Before Anguirus could predict what he was about to be hit by, he was pelted by several small objects. Some ricocheted off his spikes, while others bombarded his skin, inflicting bruises onto his already tattered body.

Anguirus turned to face them to properly deflect the oncoming projectiles. His spikes moved rapidly and lit up the sterile room with its purplish and green aura as the bullets immediately bounced back towards the creatures firing upon him. Some of them scattered for cover, while others were repelled by the projectiles.

The captive resumed his assault on the shackles placed upon him, however, another hail of bullets raced towards him as Anguirus foresaw the attack once more. Anguirus shifted his head out of the way and instead collided with the shackle, shattering it to pieces.

With one shackle left, Anguirus swiped at his attackers, fending them off as best as he could. While some flew across the room, he turned his attention back towards the manacle and endured himself for the coming pain of tearing it off. His jaws were inches away from the metal when his whole body lit up, notifying him of the impending threat.

Anguirus turned around only to find a rocket charging straight at him, with only a second to spare, he sauntered over a few feet, but it wasn’t enough. The projectile landed a direct hit onto his side, eliciting a blood-curdling cry. He turned to look at his side, noticing shrapnel piercing through his hide. Blood slowly poured out, and the pain took its toll. Anguirus let out a howl, forcing the personnel attacking him to cover their ears from the piercing scream.

Despite it all, he soon found the trade off from the impact.

He was free.

With the last trammel broken off, Anguirus moved forward; albeit limping from his newly inflicted wounds. Letting out another roar, he scanned the area, searching for an exit out of this prison. Unfortunately, this whole room was coated with metal and Anguirus knew it would only mean inflicting more pain onto himself to be freed.

Anguirus breathed for a moment before unleashing another roar, buying himself another few seconds from being battered once more. He braced himself, knowing full well the impact would inflict lasting damage onto his body. Then, in the blink of an eye, he bolted and collided with the wall, screeching from the pain traveling throughout his whole body. He soon collapsed onto the ground as his ears tuned out the noise still coming from the complex, and instead was met with silence.

Anguirus lifted his head up weakly, his eyes meeting the gaze of the moon shining its light onto him. He couldn’t help but admire the beauty of it. It was as beautiful as the sun greeting him in the forest. This world had so much for him, and he had to see it all.

The creature of the red dust huffed and puffed, planting his feet firmly into the ground. The silence was replaced once more with the voices from the prison, but he ignored the pain for once and put all of his energy into his feet. He eyed his destination and knew he could take solace in the forest before him, hoping they would continue to bless him with the gifts of this world.

His journey of what he wanted had begun.

Serenity.

 

Chapter 2: The Collision

The night was almost quiet in the mountainous town of Chichibu, Saitama. The brisk cold air blew gently while a yellow forerunner drove upwards on the windy road towards the tip of one of the town’s many, many hills. Its passengers chatted away with each other, attempting to make the trip go by in a breeze. Not so out of boredom, as traveling together was one of their favorite activities to do together.

“Okay, okay… Ummmm…” Masahiko stammered out, running his hands through his short black hair, trying to think of a question to continue on with the game he was playing with his friends.

“Babe, hurry up before Machiko falls asleep and gets us all killed!” Yukiko joked, playfully punching her partner’s shoulder. The driver simply rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee.

Machiko glanced at two of her friends in the backseat and smiled softly. Despite her friend’s terrible joke, it was a great night so far and one she’d look back on. For better or worse as her smile disappeared, frowning ever so slightly at how the future was approaching them like a hurricane, intending to wash them away. With one hand, she ran it through her long brown hair, keeping her eyes peeled on the road. She simply turned in whatever direction the path dictated. Following it without any resistance, as if it mapped out her entire existence, her entire path.

Before she could ponder it any further, her other friend, Koji, slammed the dash and snapped his head back at the couple. “For god’s sake! Just pick a subject already!”

“Uh, Chainsaw Man or Fairy Tail!” Masahiko blurted out, tightly grabbing a hold of Yukiko’s hand as he continued looking at Koji’s glaring eyes. To him, all hell broke loose as his friend’s infamous scowls were not ones to be taken casually. His peering eyes once sent a fellow student running into a wall, leading to a broken nose still to this very day. How the three of them had avoided his wrath to this day was a question beyond his reach.

Then, as if a miracle had just arrived, Koji chuckled, following it up with a big smile on his face. “Chainsaw Man.”

“Fairy Tail,” Machiko threw in, keeping her eyes fixated on the road.

“Chainsaw Man,” Yukiko spoke as she then patted her boyfriend on the shoulder. “You?”

“I’m rather particular towards Fairy Tail,” Masahiko answered, smiling proudly, but as his grin grew, another faded away. What he saw next horrified him.

He gulped in fear when he saw Koji glaring at him once more as he began to tremble, forcing his glasses to descend down to his lips. Masahiko’s hands trembled, slowly lifting them back up to his eyes only to see his loudmouth friend opening his lips for one of his famous rants.

“What the hell does ‘particular’ even mean!?” Koji screeched out, earning shrieks of laughter from both Machiko and Yukiko. Masahiko slinked further and further into his seat; he was starting to get an earful from him.

Machiko’s frown returned once more, feeling that sense of dread she had been feeling these past few nights as reality continued to set in. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel, her brain bombarded by several thoughts of the future looming over them. They were seniors, and their year was halfway over.

Nights like these would be nothing more than a distant memory as they would all be separated from each other. Koji would be on his way to work for his family’s construction business in Osaka, Yukiko would be attending Kyoto University to fulfill her aspirations of being the number one designer in the country, and Masahiko would be following her like a puppy to further his goals as a filmmaker.

All the while, she’d remain here.

In the town they all grew up together, studying to be a veterinarian.

Machiko sighed.

“Hey, um… guys…” her hushed, solemn tone forced the argument between Koji and Masahiko to take an abrupt end as everyone turned their attention towards her. “Are you guys still interested in what you’re planning to do after high school?”

Koji nearly huffed. “Of course I am! I get to go to Osaka and make a fortune! How can anyone pass that up!?”

“It’s the call to adventure in my hero’s journey, so I have to take it!” exclaimed Masahiko, earning himself yet another glare from Koji.

“Machiko, please stop the car so I can throw him off the cliff,” requested Koji, turning his attention towards her. She snickered at the comment until she heard a loud yell from her front passenger.

The culprit being Yukiko as she thrusted both of her feet onto the back of Koji’s seat, forcing him forward as he let out a very loud “OOF!”

It was then, Machiko started giggling like a mad scientist at Koji’s misfortune while Yukiko delivered a mile a minute speech. “I’ll have you know that as long as Masahiko belongs to me! You will not lay a hand on him and if you do, I’ll purposely find one of those pterodactyls and feed one to you while making those disgusting bugs design me a dress made of your skin!”

Machiko’s eyes widened, almost being overtaken by her dear friend’s threats. Koji’s mouth opened wide in horror. While he’ll never admit it, Yukiko was the one person he was slightly afraid of due to her bubbly nature one minute and her vicious attitude the next. All he could do to respond was simply stutter out.

“Oh… my god….”

“Relax!” she sweetly said out loud, returning to her highly energetic self, waving her hands forward. “I wasn’t gonna wear it or anything. Just turn it over for my freshmen finale in college. Professors love abstract shit.

“Can confirm, they love stuff that doesn’t make sense,” Masahiko added, earning himself a kiss on the cheek from Yukiko.

“This really escalated out of control,” Machiko pointed out, glancing back at the rearview mirror at her friends once more before averting her gaze.

Her friends looked at each for a moment before realizing they had gone off the rails from what their friend was asking them. Koji was the first to speak, rubbing the back of his neck, getting a decent idea of what she was feeling. Out of all of them, Machiko was the most apprehensive towards their future and he could empathize with that. Had he not been interested in following in his family’s path of construction, he’d feel lost like she is now.

Despite his hot headed nature, he attempted to conjure up some words of encouragement to his childhood friend, but he was beaten to the punch by their loudmouth friend. “Don’t look so gloomy! We got the Chichibu night festival coming up! It’s going to be exciting! Amazing food, drinks, games, you name it! It’ll be the best night of the year!”

“And what then? After that we just spend the last days of the school year before having to separate,” murmured Machikio, raising her head down slightly, fearful about the future.

“Well, we still can talk online, as many times as you want. It wouldn’t be too hard and….” Masahiko attempted to explain, oblivious to what his friend was getting at before his girlfriend gently nudged him. His eyebrows raised up slightly, realizing what she was feeling.

“Right…. Um…. well, let’s try to make the most of it before that time is up, like we’re doing now,” Masahiko suggested, attempting to salvage the conversation.

“I suppose, but it’s just, I really wish we all had the same path. It’s silly, but I don’t want us to grow up because of it,” she spoke softly, hanging head down even further, taking her eyes off the road.

“Watch out!” Koji suddenly screamed out.

“Break! Break! Break!” Yukiko shrieked out, forcing Machiko to slam her head upwards to find themselves careening towards a figure largely obscured in shadow. From what she could make out, the colors illuminated by the headlights exhibited a yellowish-brown color with sharp spikes protruding from its body.

Machiko gasped and slammed on the brakes and swerved out of the way, trying with all of her might to avoid the oncoming collision as best as she could. The forerunner scraped against the enigma, its spikes scratching through the back right passenger door, causing a scream of terror from Yukiko, nearly ripping it off. Before they could even fully process it, they crashed straight into a railing overlooking the valley, denting the front bumper of Machiko’s car.

Machiko rested her palm on her forehead. She unbuckled herself and got out as her friends followed suit, stumbling out of the car to assess the damages done. They scanned the entirety of the car, baffled by the damages inflicted on it.

“Jesus Christ!” Koji exclaimed, slamming his hands on his head at the unbelievable amount of damage done to it. “Can we even get home with this thing now!?”

“It’s…” Machiko attempted to voice out while she popped the hood of the car, but was greeted by a wave of smoke, ushering a series of coughs from her. “Not too bad, at least enough to get back.”

“You sure?” Koji inquired, taking another gander at the damaged car. “Whatever that thing was, it did a number on it.”

“I’m positive, but even more so that my mom is going to kill me,” groaned Machiko, slamming the hood back down after her quick inspection. “Come on, we should head back in case anything else decides to pop out.”

“And miss this perfect opportunity for our call to adventure!?” Masahiko exclaimed, pulling out his camera from the travel bag strapped to his chest. “I think not!”

“Do you really need to carry that everywhere you go!?” exclaimed Koji, his eyes piercing his friend once in complete annoyance.

“Of course! How else am I going to get good footage for my portfolio?” reasoned the film student.

“And I’ll be right there to draw up some amazing designs!” Yuriko hummed, pulling out a canvas, strapping it to her chest.

“Jesus Christ……” muttered Koji, dismayed at his two friends’ attitudes despite knowing them for his whole life.

“Jesus Christ is right…..” Masahiko concurred, pointing his camera downwards, the light illuminating the cliff’s edge with large footprints heading down the hill and into the dark forest.

The others gathered next to him when they glanced downwards at the trail of footprints, directing them towards the abyss. Machiko gulped at what lay ahead of them. Whatever it was certainly intimidated her, but not as much as the earful she’ll likely receive in the morning.

“Perhaps we can do this tomorrow, so I can have an excuse to get out of the house?” suggested Machiko, attempting to head back to her damaged car.

“Now, now! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!” Yukiko declared, jumping around to face her friend, her body oozing with energy as she bounced up and down. “We could have a chance to interact with one of those creatures from the red dust. We’ll be famous! Tour the country together, telling the world of our exploits and be the leading experts of these crazy little guys!”

“Are you crazy!? You really want us to fight for our lives in the dark with whatever that could be!” Koji countered, slamming his foot down, dismayed at how careless his friend could be.

“Eh, she has a point. Chances are we can also make some money and this is the part where our lives are about to change,” added Masahiko, turning himself and his camera to face his friend to gain his reaction.

“Okay, if you make another reference to the hero’s journey or whatever, I really will throw you off the cliff,” threatened Koji.

“Duly noted, but I cannot resist,” countered Masahiko, turning his attention back to the forest below them as he prepared to head downwards.

However, fate had other plans in store for them as all of them heard a monstrous, blood curled cry. One as if it was a concoction of anger and grief, stunning all of them as the road they stood on shook.

“Perhaps the call can be answered tomorrow like Machiko suggested,” Masahiko deduced, putting away his camera and jumping straight in the forerunner.

“Inspiration could strike me tomorrow instead, so, uh….. Byee whatever you are!” Yuriko hollered out, waving at the darkness before following her partner’s path.

“Good grief,” Koji sighed, piling into the car, leaving Machiko alone in her thoughts.

Despite her initial hesitancy, she wanted to follow that call to adventure, but couldn’t find it in herself to do so now. Machiko’s last days were going by fast and this was what she needed to get it off her mind, however, she had to be a realist. They were in no shape to continue on at this moment and poorly prepared to do so.

“I really need that excuse tomorrow,” mused Machiko, putting herself back in the car and descending down the hill, intending to drive her friends home.

“Let’s just hope whatever that thing was is still there, because god, I need that distraction really badly.”

 

Chapter 3: The Wakeup Call

His eyes snapped open!

The Bow of Vishnu gasped, feeling his lungs flowing with liquid as he gagged. It was as if his insides were engulfed with flames. Salunga darted his eyes all around the facility he was in, realizing he was in the very one where he had tried to achieve his goals.

He snarled, feeling his bones continuing to crack, letting out another gagged cry. He glanced downwards to see the very machine he was after. Alas, something about it was far different than before. The lights were not blinking and the hum of its core was silent.

Salunga’s nostrils flared, sensing the energy had ceased from it. His goals were no longer attainable, disconnected from the source that fueled his essence. He was trapped, and his life was hanging by a thread, as a small, narrow line of red dust seeped from out of his mouth and past his eyes.

His right hand morphed into a fist, he was beyond furious. Salunga unleashed a snarl as his heart rate increased, nearly going a mile at minute. His free arm took hold of the gigantic blue crystal impaling his left, firmly wrapping his fingers around it. The extradimensional reptilian didn’t even give himself time to brace for the searing pain that would follow as he yanked it out like a root from the ground.

Salunga howled in agony, red dust spraying out of his gaping wound. His newly freed arm moved around in circles, slowly feeling the control rush back into his limb. Yet, the worst hadn’t arrived.

One major crystal was still lodged in his gut, completely impaling his entire body. The child of the vicious Red Dust was astonished he hadn’t perished when the Orthogonal Diagonalizer was activated.

Placing his hands onto the crystal holding him in place, he tugged, breathing in and out as red dust slowly seeped from his open wounds. Salunga gritted his teeth while gently ascending through the crystal, bringing himself closer and closer to his freedom. The prisoner gritted his teeth, feeling the pain rush through his entire body as he continued pulling himself further and further out. All the while, loud ringing noises filled his ears, followed by chattering voices he couldn’t quite understand, but knew they were from the tiny creatures he encountered many times before.

Footsteps echoed in the chamber, following up the recurring voices he had heard just moments before. Yet, those noises would have to be ignored as he was slowly ascending up the blue crystal that held him prisoner. He dug his sharp claws in the structure, puncturing it ever so slightly while he continued ascending towards the tip.

Gun clicked and bullets raced towards the green behemoth, striking him. The bullets as before had merely just bounced off, almost giving Salunga pause to roll his eyes at their futile efforts to stop him. Time was of the essence for him and gave them no further thought. He gritted his teeth. The pain was starting to become more and more unbearable. But even then, he continued making his journey to freedom.

He felt himself nearing the top, but it was all too much to contain. He opened his maw, revealing his razor sharp teeth as he screamed out in agony. Their piercing scream forced the soldiers to cease fire as they covered their ears in pain.

He was there!

With one last pull, Salunga threw himself off the crystal and unleashed a roar, announcing to this foreign world they had failed to kill him. Salunga slammed his hands onto the machine, destroying it in an instant as fire surrounded him. Parts of the machine sprayed out, sending them careening towards a group of the soldiers, crushing them instantaneously.

Salunga snarled, grabbing a hold of a piece of metal poking out of the ruined machine and chucked it away. The flying piece of metal sliced through another squad, severing them in half as blood painted the cold, gray walls into a vibrant red. The Bow of Vishnu shrieked while Red Dust flowed more and more out of his body, slowly filling the chamber with its properties.

He glared at the last source of resistance, digging his sharp claws into the surface he stood on, fully readying to pounce on them and grind them up with his teeth. He leapt up, launching his arms forward, aiming his talons at the now panicking soldiers. However, his body had more pressing matters to attend to.

CRACK!

A large sound erupted from his body, ushering out a cry of pain from Salunga. It was as if every bone in his body exploded while his blood was on fire and his heart was crushed under a million pounds of pressure. Salunga followed it up with a gagged response, nearly finding himself losing consciousness as he eyed the platform. With a roar of determination, commanding with all of his might to right arm to grab a hold of the surface, allowing him to dangle into the dark abyss below him.

He allowed himself to breathe while bullets continued to pelt against his hand. They were of no pressing concern, but they were aggravating him when this source of pain was still deep inside him. He had no idea what it was as it was all foreign to him, one he never felt before. His hide was impenetrable until he was stopped moments or years or however long ago he was impaled.

Salunga cried out, slamming his other hand in anger while pain still riddled his entire body. With a jolt of pain, the Bow of Vishu shrieked, launching himself upwards. He landed on the surface and dispatched the last of the obstacles with his sharp claws, their severed remains coating his assaulting hand red.

It was quicker than they deserved, but it was as he surmised just before.

Time was of the essence.

Then, the pain came rushing back into him, forcing him to buckle over in agony. Salunga screeched out, his vocal cords ringing to the point where they nearly exploded. He cradled himself in a pathetic attempt to provide himself comfort.

This wasn’t possible.

No.

He was never supposed to feel this, not when it was present.

Salunga slowly opened his eyes only to find another narrow line of red dust float past his eye before fading. He squinted his eyes, looking down at his afflicted wounds from the crystals, watching a more concentrated amount of dust following suit. It was then that he put two and two together, realizing what was occurring to him.

He was dying.

Salunga growled in frustration, attempting to slam his hand down on the ground, but the searing pain prevented him from doing so as he jerked in agony once more. He was living on borrowed time.

The Bow of Vishnu huffed, he slowly found the strength in him to lift himself back up; albeit limping towards a wall to climb out of. When he and the others came into this world, he felt himself connected with just about every being from their origin, but now, nothing.

No creature to siphon the dust from to nurse his wounds. None to sate his hunger.

His only hope now was to find a way to cure himself.

Salunga dug his claws into the wall and slowly ascended the structure. Time was something he couldn’t fully comprehend, he didn’t know if he climbed for a second or for a millennia, as it was almost as agonizing as the pain he was feeling now.

It was until his nostrils flared up ever so slightly. He jerked his head around, the scent becoming more prevalent. It was faint, but present.

Did another of his kind survive?

Salunga’s heart raced in excitement, a chance for him to survive. A way he could ensure he can spread his influence around this strange world and take it as his own. A way to usurp Ultima as the one and only king.

The vile child of the Red Dust slammed his claws into the wall, allowing himself to move faster and faster. The pain struck him in every piece of his body, but he would have to make due as his only source of salvation awaited him.

Time is his biggest enemy after all.

And he didn’t know when it would strike.

***

“Chiko!” an angry voice hollered, forcing Machiko’s eyes to snap open and nearly launch herself out of her bed.

“Great…” muttered the teenager, running her hand through her messy hair as she planted her feet on the wooden floor. Machiko rubbed her face, passing by several framed photos of her and her friends hanging on the wall. All of them were enjoying the time of their lives partaking in hikes, swimming, and even production stills in several of Masahiko’s movies. She glanced over at one of her and an orange cat, solemnly smiling at it for a moment before continuing on.

Machiko put on her purple hoodie as she slowly descended down the stairway, rolling her eyes repeatedly, anticipating the earful she was about to receive for wrecking the car. Before she could even reach the final step she was rushed by her mom.

“What did you do to the car!?” Machiko’s mother, Tamiko, vocalized, her voice oozed of concern over her daughter’s wellbeing, but her eyes had a fire in them at how reckless she could be.

“I’m not gonna even bother,” muttered Machiko, resting her elbow on the handrail, slowly letting her eyes close as she prepared herself for the morning lecture.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Tamiko questioned, folding her arms together, becoming more and more agitated with her daughter’s lack of interest in taking responsibility for the wreckage of their car.

The teenager moved her elbow off the railing, barely keeping her attention on her mom. “If I tried telling you what happened, you’d give me the same old spiel…” Machiko paused, looking out the distance window in the living room, overlooking the lake that sat a decent distance from them. It was peaceful and fun, eliciting memories of her and her friends having the time of their lives throughout the years. She took a deep breath, resuming what she was conveying to her mother. “And I would rather just conserve my energy and time by being with my friends.”

Tamiko ran her hands through her long black hair and nearly spun all the way around as her face turned beat red. “Are you kidding me!?” She threw hands out of the confines of her hair and motioned them towards her daughter, nearly an inch away from taping her shoulders. “Chiko, you’re eighteen…..”

Machiko cut her mother off by raising her right hand up with her left index finger pointing at each of her digits, listing off what she was about to say almost nonchalantly. “And almost graduating high school, fully becoming an adult, so I need to take some responsibility.” The teenager glanced up from her hand and looked back at her red faced mother, as she then inquired with a smirk on her face, “Did I miss anything?”

The older woman shook her head in further disbelief at how her daughter was now making light of the situation. She raised her hand up in frustration before taking a moment to rub her forehead, averting her gaze away from her. “Yeah, you’re right. You don’t have time for this and I don’t have time for this either.” Tamiko took a deep breath and she stepped away from the staircase and back towards the kitchen, lifting her finger towards her daughter. “Your father and I have been working day and night to make sure everything goes smoothly for you these next couple of months, and you can’t even trust me by telling what happened last night!”

Machiko huffed, finally stepping down from the set of stairs. “At least I know where I get my obsession with time from.”

“Unbelievable!” her mother screeched out, forcing her daughter to momentarily put her hands over her ears. If there was another thing Machiko hated, it was when her mom screamed out loud, no matter the circumstances, even if she was directing that anger out on someone else for berating her instead.

Tamiko flung her purse over shoulder and marched out towards the front door. She reached for the doorknob, but before she could turn it she spun around sharply, issuing out one more statement. “Don’t trust me, then! But don’t expect your father and I to bail you if you do anything more reckless than this.”

With her hand pulling on the doorknob, she flung it open only to find to her complete shock and horror, an officer of the Japanese Self-Defense force standing just outside the door with a few jeeps along with soldiers stationed by them. Tamiko’s eyes widened, her entire body tensed up as if someone had walked over her grave, keeping her eyes peeled on the stoic officer as his eyes were obscured by the sunglasses he wore.

In response she dropped her purse and nearly snapped her head backwards to face her daughter once more. “What happened to the car!?”

Machiko’s eyes widened. Her stomach turned to knots and her legs were shaking. Only one word came to mind.

“Shit…”

“Mrs. Hishimi, I presume,” the officer calmly spoke, moving his arms behind his back, keeping his gaze completely on her, never once cracking unlike the person he was now interrogating.

“Whatever my daughter did, I’m sure there is a rational explanation,” Machiko’s mother answered nervously, sweat rolling down her forehead as she started to slightly bounce up and down at the thought of her one and only child being taken away from her. Despite her sudden emergence of fear, anger still persisted in her entire body as she shifted her attention back to Machiko, glaring at her.

All Machiko could do was nervously shake her head up and down, confirming what her mother just conveyed.

“Yes…. We’ve caught wind of your car, or in this case,” the officer paused, bringing his arms out while briefly glancing over at Machiko, before staring back at her mother. “Your daughter was caught in some accident and we’re hoping she may be able to shed some light on the collision.”

“I…. um….” Machiko stammered, rubbing her hands together as she inched towards the officer. Even though it was pitch black last night, there was nothing she could relay or even her friends for that matter, but a part of her realized it was highly possible they’ll think she was lying. Then, the feeling of unease washed over as her mind flashed over her and her friends being taken away, to be held in separate cells for the rest of their lives over something they couldn’t even begin to describe.

She never liked endings, much less, ones involving their lives practically being over.

“Chiko?” her mother questioned softly, lowering her tone of voice, transforming it into one of comfort as she took a step forward. Prior to before, her daughter was being a smartass, but was now a nervous wreck. A part of her was beginning to realize why Chiko was acting the way she was, but still wanted to know what she was hiding.

“I…. all we saw….” Machiko stammered out, rubbing her hands together, slowly colliding into the wall, allowing her shoulder to rest against the wood.

“We?” The officer raised his voice up a tad, causing Machiko to tense up. Her mother moved her away from the wall and put her hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

With the reassurance of her mother, despite it being nonverbal, she knew Tamiko could begin to trust her describing the situation. “My friends and I were just driving to go to one of our spots we always like to hang out at, up in the hills that is, and that’s when the collision occurred.”

Machiko breathed, wrapping her left arm around her mother, pressing onto her for security. She paused for a moment before finally continuing on with the rest of her report. “We couldn’t tell what it was and we were about to investigate it, but then heard this roar, like it belonged to some sort of monster, and that was the end of it. We just drove off before we could even figure out what caused the collision.”

The officer’s eyes slightly widened behind his sunglasses, however, Machiko and Tamiko felt uneasy by his noticing his eyebrows raising up. What they didn’t know was how the girl all but confirmed what he had suspected just moments ago. He kept silent, but knew she discovered more than what she led on. Yet, there wasn’t any evidence to dispute her claims. He put his hands together, keeping his eyes peeled on the mother and daughter.

“Mrs. Hishimi, rest assured, your daughter and her friends are not in trouble and we’ll be covering the damages done to the car, on the condition she does not drive nor venture outside of Chichibu.”

“I can guarantee you she won’t leave the city whatsoever,” Mrs. Hishimi declared, removing her hold on her daughter, briefly glaring at her daughter before resuming her attention to the officer.

“Then, you may carry out your day as normal. We thank you for your cooperation,” the officer relayed, turning to leave as the squadron evacuated the premises, leaving the residents alone.

“You know you’re lucky that the officer decided to go easy on you,” Tamiko mentioned, picking up her purse and putting it around her arm.

“Because it was the truth!” explained Machiko vocalized, throwing her arms upwards.

“And you didn’t trust me!? That it literally took the army to magically show up on our doorstep for you to confess?” barked her mother, her eyes no longer glaring at them, but welling up over her daughter’s refusal to talk.

“What did you want me to do, lie!?” Machiko barked back, crossing her arms defensively.

Tamiko sighed, realizing her screaming was getting them nowhere, but instead making things worse. As she saw her daughter tensing up further and further. She was almost done with her childhood and knew she was about to enter a whole new world whether she wanted to or not. The older woman wrapped her arms around her daughter before letting go to face her once more. “All I want is for you to take some responsibility in life, because you’re pretty much an adult now and you can’t always rely on someone bailing you out if something goes wrong. I get it, time is important to you, I really do, but in the end, you can’t let it consume you. You have to make do with what you got and let things progress.”

Chiko almost rolled her eyes, but held herself back as she saw her mother being completely genuine with her, fiddling her hands together. Machiko almost chuckled.

“It’s like looking in a mirror.”

The teenager breathed. “I know, and I don’t want things to change. My life, my friends, me. I just want things to stay the way they are.”

“The status quo isn’t like a tv show, it’s always going to change, whether we like it or not,” Tamiko pointed out.

Machiko chuckled at her mom’s supposed advice. “I thought I was getting lectured by mom, not by Masahiko.”

Tamiko smiled.

“He can make some great analogies, but I know,” Machiko’s mother murmured as she came in for another hug. Machiko did the same. “When I get back from work, we can talk more about all of this.

“Thank you,” whispered Machiko, letting go of her mother as she turned to walk out the door.

However, as soon as she made her way under the doorframe, Tamiko turned around, hollering out, “And no leaving the city!”

Machiko snickered, watching as her mother pulled out of the driveway and left the premises. She then immediately dragged her phone out of her pocket and opened up a group chat labeled “Chichibu’s Finest”.

She pressed her thumbs down on her phone, typing away a message to her friends as she let out a hum, smiling softly at the adventure looming before them.

“Meet me in the forest at thirty.”

 

Chapter 4: Forest Followup

“Thirty minutes is the perfect amount of time to get past Act 1 and set every…..” Masahiko tried to vocalize, fidgeting with his camera before his brash, loud mouth friend, Koji, threw his hands up in the arm and sapped towards him.

“You finish that sentence and so help me god, I will drag you up the hill just to throw you off it!”

“Good, good,” Masahiko spoke softly, unfazed by his temperamental friend as he glanced up at him, analyzing his slowly turning red face. “This is also where conflicts start.”

“Son of a bitch…..” Koji muttered, tightening his hands, but soon just threw his hands downwards, once again learning there was no intimidating him.

“See! You can stand up to him all on your own!” Yukiko gleefully blurted out, playfully punching her boyfriend on the arm, forcing him to almost gag out from his camera, nearly being dropped from the playful attack. “I knew you could.”

“Actually, I just told him the basics of….” Masahiko attempted to explain, only to be met with his girlfriend wrapping her entire body around his right arm, silencing him as he attempted to hold onto his camera.

Machiko chuckled, marching deeper into the forest as she strapped the bag over her shoulder. She traversed further and further with her friends trailing behind, the veterinarian in training breathed, her stomach turned to knots. Hishiki watched as the condensation disappeared in the meager amount of snow falling down, covering the ground like a white rug.

She grinned. It felt peaceful, to the point where she couldn’t help but point something out. Machiko turned around, keeping her hand tightly on the bag, facing directly towards Masahiko, “See! Aren’t we glad we went? This is ripe for taking plenty of amazing pictures!”

“And! Inspiration for winter wear!” Yukiko hummed, bouncing forward while Machiko continued walking backwards.

“Exactly!” Machiko proudly pointed out, throwing her arms out, overjoyed at her friends starting to feel the sense of adventure and excitement over this current investigation. However, this proved to be a mistake for the veterinarian in training as her bag slipped from her shoulder.

“Shit!” she cried out, trying to grab a hold of the descending luggage, but it was of no use, her gloves were useless, sliding down away from it. Koji’s eyes widened, bolting towards his friend and attempting to grab a hold of the gear. He wrapped his hands around the bag, giving Machiko just enough time to reaffirm her grip on the baggage.

They both looked each other in the eyes, reassuring themselves nothing went wrong. With the increased amount of snow falling around them and their breaths becoming more and more visible, they couldn’t help but ignore all of it. At that moment, they just saw each other.

Koji couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling his stomach turning to knots. From day one he had always liked her, admiring her caring nature. She was a loyal friend and always knew how to brighten anyone’s day. He felt guilty for having to leave along with the others at the end of their school year, yearning for either his application getting rejected or a similar place of study opening up near her. Just so he can at least see one of his friends in person, and more importantly, her.

Machiko emulated her friend’s reaction, feeling that same kindred spirit inside of her. At times, she was indifferent towards his hot headed attitude, but once he got past that attitude or a conversation steered in a different direction, he was an absolute joy to be around. Anytime she needed to talk or a solution to her problems, he’d always have the right answer, no matter what. He was someone she can always count on and an amazing person to be around. Koji was the one she was going to miss the most even if she loved all of her friends dearly.

As if their minds shut down, only driven by pure instinct, the two slowly leaned towards each other, with only the gear between them as their grip was getting tighter and tighter. Their eyes turned to white as their faces inched closer and closer, readying to make contact.

FLASH!

“Huh?” Machiko could only stammer out while Koji snapped his head towards the culprit, only to see the flash had been emitted from Masahiko’s camera, with Yukiko grinning like a psychopath.

“You son of a bitch!” Koji roared out, turning around to lunge at his annoying friend as their grip began waning.

Machiko noticed their hold slipping as her eyes widened. She launched her head upwards and screamed, “Koji, the bag!”

It was too late as their grip was lost and with it, their footing, forcing them to crash onto the snowy surface, with the bag landing firmly on top of its owner.

“Ow…..” Machiko oozed out sheepishly, letting snow slowly fall on her face.

Koji shot Masahiko with another glare before turning his attention to the fallen Machiko. He raced over and nearly chucked the bag off of her before offering his hand to her. Machiko smiled softly at him, accepting the offer as she was slowly raised to her feet.

“That was adorable,” Yukiko pointed out, giving the two a thumbs up as her boyfriend primed the camera once more to take another photo of them.

“Do not take another photo of us!” both Machiko and Koji shouted out in unison, with blood boiling in the latter’s body due to anger, while the former did so out of embarrassment.

“As you wish,” Masahiko complied, allowing his camera to rest against his chest, but couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s embarrassment.

“Are you okay?” Koji inquired, turning back to his dear friend.

“Yeah, just that fall was harder than I expected,” Machiko breathed out, rubbing her back from the harsh fall.

“It shouldn’t be that bad, it wasn’t a serious fall,” Koji pointed out, turning back to the ground when he saw Yukiko’s eyes widened while her mouth quivered. It was then when he started to really worry as her getting nervous was something to not take lightly.

“What…. What the hell is that?” Yukiko stammered out, wrapping herself around her boyfriend, as he glanced over to what she was looking at as he raised his camera up once more.

Machiko and Koji turned around to find an assault rifle partially buried in the snow with droplets of blood sprinkled on the ground around them. Their eyes collectively widened as most of them were frozen solid except for Machiko’s. His index finger repeatedly pressed down on the capture button, taking as many photos as he could while zooming around to get a variety of angles.

“What the hell hit us last night?” Koji questioned, his breathing becoming stuttered, starting to become spooked by what could be in the forest with them.

“Whatever it is, we need to know. We deserve that much,” Machiko declared, strapping the bag on her shoulder once more, reassuring her hold on it.

“Are you crazy!?” Yukiko blurted out, taking a step forward. “I have no interest in being dinner for whatever is out there. Especially not before making a name for myself! Again, are you that crazy!?”

“Chances are it’s headed towards the Icicles, so we should be good as long as we keep our distance,” Machiko deduced. Koji slammed his palm against his face, vexing his frustration.

“Goddammit Machiko! I thought you were the sensible one!”

“And what gave you that idea!?” Koji called out, taking a step towards her.

“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s tracks leading in that general direction,” Machiko pointed, giving everyone pause as they spotted the semi visible footprints around them.

“I….. I’m at a loss, I don’t know how any of us missed that,” Koji announced, anger subsiding temporarily being replaced by confusion at their lack of perception.

“I noticed, but I was just too busy taking photos,” Masahiko pointed out, before returning his attention back to his camera.

“Jesus Christ…..” muttered Koji, lowering his head down as that feeling of anger was beginning to take form once more.

“Ideally, I’d like all of you to join me, but I realize it wasn’t the best idea for me to force you tag along,” Machiko spoke, turning her attention towards the trail before them. “I can make it the rest of the way.”

She proceeded to move forward, intending to see the source of the anomaly through. Her friends watched her continuing to march along as Yukiko glanced over at her boyfriend. “Thoughts?”

“It couldn’t hurt to get more decent photos and besides, I’m actually interested in what’s out there. It’s a good resume booster,” Masahiko conveyed nonchalantly, following his friend’s lead. Yukiko smiled brightly, as if she no longer had a care in the world.

“Eh, what the hell! An adventure does sound nice!” Yukiko nearly bolted after her two friends, leaving Koji alone, staring at his friends becoming more and more distant.

“Goddammit.”

He rested his face on the palm of his hand for just a moment, letting out a sigh of pure annoyance.

“I guess it falls to me to keep everyone sane,” Koji declared, resuming his journey into the forest, almost jogging towards them. “We could have just watched TV or hung out by the lake, but no! Let’s go play monster hunter! It’ll be fun!”

Every footstep was met with the sound of snow crunching underneath their feet, as it was the only sound heard for the next couple of minutes in their trek. It was then they saw something that gave them pause, as they all huddled together by the entrance.

Before them stood a wooden bridge, extending far towards the other side, as below them a small river flowed. The water caressed against the rock and ice that sat alongside the meager current. Then, onto the left, gigantic icicles hung from the rocky cliff just on the right of them.

“So, you’re telling me, we could have just paid the simple entrance fee of two-hundred yen just to go see the Icicles of Misotsuchi?” Koji groaned, twitching his right eye as he attempted to keep himself calm from the seemingly endless march they just went on.

Machiko turned around and offered her friend a small smile. “I didn’t want to pay and besides….” she paused, observing the area all around, planting her hands on the railing. “I had no idea it would lead us here.”

She smelled the cool air flowing past them, taking in the feeling of a calm yet exciting adventure. Yet, it wouldn’t last long when all of them heard a small roar down below them. Machiko tightened her grip on the railing, shooting her head downwards to find a brown rocky-like substance inching its way out from the almost cave-like entrance.

Koji, realizing what was about to happen, simply attempted to mutter out “Oh fu….”

But it was too late, as Machiko shot her three friends with a look of determination before bolting across the bridge. Yukiko was the first to call out “Chiko!”

The bright and bubbly girl followed right after as Masahiko did the same, pressing the record button on his camera to document the whole experience.

“Why!?” Koji screamed out, trailing behind them as they made it across the bridge and were slowly going downhill to find the anomaly. They soon stopped at the small entrance as Masahiko completely focused on capturing something truly extraordinary, pulled his tripod out and slammed his camera down on it.

They waited as they could still see the rocky-like substance peering out into the light. All of them had their own ways of resolving this situation and none of them dared to move in the off chance this ended horribly for them. Machiko, excited to see what finally hit their car and what they were searching for, felt uneasy by all of this. She knew deep down, Koji was right, but at the same time, the opportunity to create memories was enough to snap her out of her brief hesitation.

She took a step forward, reaching towards the appendage while Masahiko zoomed in closer with his camera, getting the perfect amount of focus he needed. However, unbeknownst to the group, Machiko’s footsteps agitated the object stowing away in the small cave.

A loud roar echoed through the cavern, sending shivers down the whole group’s back.

A round, spiky creature emerged from the entrance of the cave, nearly jumping out of it, sending Machiko crashing down on the icy floor. Yukiko and Koji met the same fate as well and all they could do was stare dumbfoundedly at what came to greet them in their adventure. Masahiko was the only one to remain on his feet, snapping his camera directly at the sharp saurian, intending to use every precious second to capture this magnificent creature.

The anomaly stomped his feet repeatedly, angrily honking at the four kids seemingly surrounding it, demanding them to not take another step. It circled around repeatedly, demanding they flee like everyone had done so before. He wanted them to leave, so he could enjoy the quiet serenity of the snow falling outside his new home before he met his end.

The resident’s loud, assertive calls transitioned to a coughing fit as he felt himself doubling over from his previous wounds. He fell onto his side as he watched the intruders, keeping an eye on him, knowing full well he was about to be at their mercy.

He huffed, following it up with a shiver as his body began to shake as he already saw two of them getting back to their feet. His breathing became more rapid, eliciting small whimpers disguised as growls. The spiked creature attempted to stand back up, startling the group of teens before falling back down on the icy floor.

The Ankylosaur knew all was lost, completely at the mercy of the four beings standing before him. He let out a deep breath, allowing his eyes to wander, refusing to look them in the eye as he wanted to see the beautiful snowy landscape before he passed through this world once more.

“He’s down! Let’s get the hell out of here” Koji barked out, turning around as he grabbed Machiko by her shoulder, attempting to pull her back.

His words went in one ear and out the other as Machiko kept her eye on the suffering animal as the voices of her other two friends flew in.

“Amazing…..” Masahiko murmured, keeping his camera pointed at the creature. “Getting Anguirus on camera is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“Anguirus?” Yukiko nearly stammered out, swinging her head back and forth to her boyfriend and the creature. She grabbed a hold of his wrist and began pulling him away, his grip still wrapped around the camera, never taking it off of Anguirus. Yukiko had heard the reports of the kaiju attacking and not far from her home, one that caused reality to hit in. “Eeyup. We’re leaving right now. Come on, Masahiko.”

“You said it!” Koji hollered out, turning around to follow his friends out of danger, but stopping to find Machiko still staring at the wounded saurian. “Machiko, we saw it. Let’s get out of here!”

She shook her head, knowing her friends were right in every sense, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the poor animal. The bullet wounds in his body, several of his spikes were torn off and looking entirely famished, as if he hadn’t eaten in months. Machiko unzipped her pack and crammed her hand inside, marching over to Anguirus.

“Chiko!” Yukiko screamed out, relinquishing her hold on her partner and taking a step forward, intending to go after her, but Koji had beaten her to the punch. He raced over to her to pull his friend back, but she didn’t budge

“What the hell are you doing!?” he barked out.

Machiko was completely unfazed by his demeanor, taking her eyes off of Anguirus for just a moment and onto him. “Doing what I can to save his life.” She brushed him off and slowly approached the wounded Anguirus, pulling out supplies that’ll at least ease his suffering.

“Machiko!” Koji screamed out, raising his fist up.

“I’m doing this!” she roared out, glaring at her friend, forcing him to stand down from her outburst. “You’re free to help, but I can’t leave knowing he’ll be all alone and suffering in this world.”

Without any further objection, Machiko slowly trekked over to the wounded Anguirus, who kept a very close eye on her, awaiting the fate she was about to bestow upon him. She herself had to admit she was terrified of this encounter, knowing she was at his mercy and he could end her at any second. Yet, it didn’t sway her from wanting to help him, as she pulled out a bottle of antiseptic and bandages.

Machiko took a deep breath in as she was now only a few feet away from the child of the Red Dust. “Okay… okay..”

Anguirus eyed her, expecting her to harm him in any sort of way. His energy was low and he couldn’t fight back, but he had enough to look at least briefly into the future. It wouldn’t be much, but at least he could know if she would make it quick.

His spikes shook, glowing as Machiko reared her head back slightly as her friends almost jumped in, but she raised her hand up. Flashes of moments within his reach occurred, showing him seconds of pain with her in front of him, as he almost snarled. Then, to his surprise, tranquility.

The pain subsided and he was at peace, with that human still being there in the future.

These creatures harmed him in every way imaginable, so why was this one different?
His spikes still rattled on as flashes of moments raced in his mind. Ones of the past, but not of his. What he saw surprised him, it was the same girl helping other creatures he didn’t recognize, nursing them back to health. A winged creature, much like Rodans, except it had feathers, suffered from a broken wing until she fixed it. Then, another creature, one of white and orange fur, plagued by some sort of sickness until she fed it some sort of fluid. Both, amongst others, were saved by this person, who shared the same resemblance as the beings that tried to kill him several times over.

Anguirus was at a loss. He expected to die today, but it appeared fate had other plans for him. Knowing the future in front of him, he rested his body as he allowed the girl to provide him with care.

Machiko noticed the change of demeanor in her patient, brewing over a million questions and theories in her head, but put those thoughts to rest. She slowly poured the bottle of antiseptic on the creature’s wounds, eliciting a howl of agony from the animal, causing him to thrash around ever so slightly.

“I know, I know,” she whispered, attempting to comfort Anguirus, placing her hand on its body. “I know it’s not ideal, but it’ll help.”

A part of her wanted to think that Anguirus was understanding her, but she couldn’t be sure. She wanted this to go without a hitch, as an idea popped in her head. Machiko dug into her bag once more and threw out the food she had been planning for her lunch. The assorted pile of udon, takoyaki, and vegetables landed next to his mouth.

“Dump your lunches out,” she commanded, snapping her head to the others.

“What, why?” Koji questioned, squinting his eyes at the still active creature before him.

“So he can be distracted while I patch him up,” Machiko answered.

“An excellent point!” Masahiko vocalized, lending his camera to Yukiko for just a moment as he threw his lunch into the pile. “This’ll make for a very interesting study.”

Yukiko soon followed and threw hers into the pile as Koji still eyed her. Machiko huffed, “I’ll buy you lunch when we’re back in town.”

Koji shook his head. “It’s not that….. never mind!” he exclaimed, feeling completely defeated in trying to inject reason into his best friend.

Anguirus’ nostrils flared up, sensing the overwhelming smells from the pile of food next to him. He was intrigued, never having the pleasure to acknowledge such amazing smells, as he tilted his head slightly to the pile. The Precognitive Monster rolled out his tongue and dragged some of the food into his mouth, chomping down on it.

His eyes widened as the taste was far better than the Rodans he feasted on in the past. Anguirus swallowed the current batch and took another mouthful, eliciting a giggle from Machiko. With her patient chowing down to his heart’s content, she was free to continue treating him.

The process only took a few more minutes as every was as quiet as the falling snow. Machiko threw hands up. “And done….. At least enough to keep him alive.”

“Great! Now let’s get out of here while his hunger is sated!” Koji spoke aloud, turning around to leave only for Machiko to speak up.

“Hold on.”

“Goddammit,” he muttered, turning back around, keeping his eyes on her. She approached him cautiously, still on her knees.

She slowly placed her hand on his head, rubbing it ever so gently. “It’s okay,” she whispered, feeling his rough skin under the palm of her hand. “It’s okay if you still don’t trust me, but I won’t tell anyone you’re here.”

Anguirus kept his eye on her, not entirely sure what her words meant, but he felt more at ease with her. He sensed the sounds coming out of her mouth and knew they were not of malice, but of kindness. He huffed softly, attempting to show her he was willing to at least return that kindness.

Machiko gave him a small smile, continuing to rub her hand on his face. “If you’re still here tomorrow, I’ll bring more food for you.”

His spikes rattled slightly, seeing a flash of moments occur before his eyes as he saw her dropping more of that delicious food in front of him. Anguirus murmured with joy, pushing his head forward towards the girl, earning a chuckle from her.

Machiko, in turn, caressed her hand across the top of his head. The skin was still rough, she grew accustomed to it, already thinking of adopting the kaiju as her own. Even though she knew her mother would drop from a heart attack if it ever showed up at their house.

The five of them, regardless of their feelings towards the situation, were at peace, whether they knew it or not. Time came to a grinding halt and they all lived in the moment.

***

A few hours passed as they made their way back to Machiko’s home. Inserting the key, she opened the door, with her friends immediately barging in. Koji plopped down on the couch with an exhausted sigh, rubbing his hand over his face regarding the ordeal they went through. Machiko shut the door behind her, only to find Yukiko grabbing a snack from the kitchen while Masahiko was already fast at work connecting his camera to his laptop, reviewing the footage of their endeavor.

“So,” Machiko spoke up, slamming her hands together, gaining the attention of her friends. “What do we all think? One for the books, ay?”

“Please don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of going back tomorrow,” groaned Koji, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Why not?” Machiko questioned, smiling at the discovery they made, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. Without any hesitation, she chugged the entire bottle down, before reaching for another. “Man, I’m parched right now.”

“Chiko, I am a bit worried about how long we can keep this up. It was one thing to encounter it, but to keep it a secret worries me,” Yukiko brought up. “And I want to be optimistic about this, but this could all go horribly wrong for us.”

“Nah!” Machiko countered, opening up another bottle. “He wasn’t too bad, just scared.”

Koji threw himself off the couch, glaring right at his best friend. “He was injured! It was the only reason why he didn’t bite our heads off! And on top of what Yukiko said, we could be thrown into prison for essentially harboring a kaiju!”

“And say goodbye to our careers,” Masahiko nonchalantly added, still keeping his eyes glued to his equipment.

“And, yes! That!” Koji acknowledged, throwing his hand down, appreciating his friend for bringing up a good point to close the door on their encounter. Even if he’ll say something stupid to counter it moments later.

Machiko frowned, gripping her water bottle slightly. She knew they were right, they all had things they cherished, lives they’re excited to explore once the year was over with. All she had was this last year, this one last adventure. It was the only thing that could create a lasting memory before they all went their separate ways.

Perhaps she could follow their lead and just leave Anguirus be. She hoped he’d at least survive and be left in peace. Machiko took a deep breath out, knowing just how shaken up they were from the two encounters they’ve had with him, spoke up.

“Okay, you guys are right. I’m sorry for roping you all into this….” She took a moment to compose herself, not wanting to alert her friends over her grief. “How about we go into town and grab a bite to….”

CRASH!

“What the hell was that?” exclaimed Koji, taking a look outside the window only for his eyes to widen. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“What?” Yukiko questioned, before her and the others raced over to the window. They peered through the glass to see their newfound acquaintance, Anguirus, rummaging through the trash cans behind the lakehouse.

Everyone but Machiko’s eyes widened, as they were completely shocked by his sudden entrance. All the while, Machiko grew a small smile, happy to see the kaiju paying her a visit, however, that grin went away. She then realized there was no way she could feasibly hide the small kaiju around her parents long term, muchless other people passing by.

Anguirus nostrils flared and glanced up to see the group staring at him from the structure above him. He opened his mouth and roared, not only eager to be around the first creatures that meant him no harm, but a demand they provide him with nourishment once more.

Machiko scrambled into the kitchen and grabbed a hold of as many items as she could before darting out of the house. Her friends followed suit, despite not wanting to repeat the same incident they just had hours before, but didn’t want to see their friend gobbled up.

“Woah! Woah! Wait a second!” Koji exclaimed, cutting through Machiko and placing himself between her and the stairs. “You’re not concerned that it followed us!”

“Of course I’m concerned,” Machiko said, tilting her head away from her friend, leading him to turn around to see Anguirus waiting for them at the bottom of the steps, looking them directly in the eye. “But, he’s still hungry.”

Anguirus roared out, demanding they provide him with food as Koji’s eyes shot out. “Besides, he’d do more damage if we didn’t do anything. All because we said ‘no’ to his hungry little face.”

“It’s definitely not little,” Masahiko chimed in, observing the facial structures of the animal.

“Thank you, Masahiko. As helpful as always,” Koji muttered, turning his attention back to Machiko. “Just don’t do anything stupid….. More so than usual.”

“Of course, it’s why I’m the illustrious leader of the group,” she gleefully said, walking down the stairs past him.

“You are not the leader….. None of us even voted!” countered Koji, before following her down, already wanting to kick himself for going to the gates of Hell with her.

Machiko smiled at Anguirus, waving the food around for him. “Hey, buddy. I’m glad to see you so soon.”

Anguirus let out a small howl, backing away slightly to allow her room to place the food down. “Now, I know it’s not the stuff I gave you last time, but I think you’ll like what I have to offer you,” Machiko paused, looking down at the food she plastered down on the sand, an assortment of fruits, rice and junk food. “I hope.”

The spike saurian dipped his head down to the food and inspected it, letting the smells travel through his nostrils. He paused before looking at them, causing the whole group to collectively gulp before Anguirus dug his face in, devouring every bit he could from the pile.

“Wow! He really is a hungry fella, huh!” Yukiko exclaimed.

“Glad he isn’t picky,” Machiko said, smiling proudly at being able to quell the situation once more. Then, like last time, she had the instinct to reach out to him and rub her hand across his head. She took a step closer, giving more reach to pet him as the others looked at her.

She turned around back at them, realizing they never did what she did back at the icicles. “You should all pet him.”

“What… what?” Koji nearly yelled out in disbelief. Masahiko simply walked past him and planted his hand on the saurian’s head.

“It’s not so bad, he’s pretty calm,” he pointed out, rubbing his hand on the surface of the creature.

“Aw!” Yukiko exclaimed, petting the animal on his side. “He’s so cute!”

“Crap….” Koji muttered, reluctantly walking over to the kaiju, knowing full well that if he didn’t, Machiko would never shut up about it. He slowly put his hand onto the creature, doing the same as his friends.

Despite their worries, Machiko was glad Anguirus showed up. She was able to prove to them that this wasn’t as dangerous as they thought. They were able to reach common ground with them, although it was more or less about the food she deduced. Nonetheless, they were the first people to potentially domesticate a kaiju. Something no one would be able to take away from them nor would it be something to ever forget.

“Machiko, I’m home!” Tamiko called from upstairs, nearly causing Machiko’s eyes to shoot out in complete shock. Any second her mother could discover Anguirus and freak out, alerting the Self Defense Force to his position.

“Shit!” she yelled out, eliciting everyone to turn their heads toward her. “You guys take care of him while I distract her!”

Machiko bolted up the stairs when Koji called out, “And leave us with him, are you crazy!?”

She stopped and took a deep breath. “There’s a cave nearby that should be able to house him. Take the food and lead him over there. I will meet you all there shortly.”

Before they could even retaliate against the plan, Machiko ran inside, leaving them alone with the kaiju. Anguirus honked at them as they all stared at each other. Without wasting a second Masahiko grabbed an apple from the basket and threw it towards the direction of the cave. The spiked saurian watched where the piece of fruit landed and bolted towards it.

***

“Yes, mom?” Machiko answered with a huge smile, leaning on the kitchen counter as her mother gave her a puzzled look.

“What’s going on?” Tamiko questioned, folding her arms together, immediately suspicious of what her daughter was doing.

“Just having some friends over by the lake,” she answered. “Nothing wrong with that, right?”

“Uh-huh…” the older woman murmured, before taking a glance at the missing food in the kitchen. “Where’s the food on the counter?”

“Oh…. they ate it all?” she stammered out, not knowing a good excuse to throw at her mom, even if it was a likely thing to happen in her perspective.

“Didn’t think they really eat a whole bunch of fruit, but okay,” Tamiko surmised, setting her things down on the counter.

Machiko glanced over to the window to see her friends still leading Anguirus towards the cave; albeit slowly.

“Come on, guys, hurry it up….” she muttered towards the glass.

“What was that?” Tamiko questioned, immediately causing her to turn her head back to her.

“Oh, nothing!”

“Right….” Tamiko mentioned, grabbing a drink from the fridge, traversing over to the window. “I said earlier I was willing to talk more about everything that was going on when I got back.”

“And that you did!” Machiko nearly choked, watching her mom make her way towards the window who could see what was transpiring beneath her nose at any second.

“I just worry, you know. You’re my only child and I don’t want anything bad to happen to y…” Tamiko tried to explain, but was caught off guard by a loud roar, sending shivers down Machiko’s body while her heart stopped.

It was all over.

“The hell was that?” Tamiko questioned, getting up from her chair, as Machiko prepared herself to explain the whole ordeal to her mother only to find her walking towards the living room.

Machiko’s heart started beating again as she breathed a sigh of relief only to realize what was playing on the screen. Masahiko’s footage of them encountering Anguirus. Her body went into shock once more as this was almost as bad as her discovering the literal dinosaur in their backyard.

“Is…. that you with that thing?” Tamiko inquired, squinting her eyes at the events unfolding through the recording.

“Um… yep. It sure is!” Machiko exclaimed, her voice pitching higher than normally. She was on the verge of being caught, with sweat starting to pour down her body.

“And that’s all of you out at the Icicles!” Tamiko exclaimed.

Without any further option, Machiko sped into the living room, yanking the cord connecting the camera to the laptop. She breathed in and out, immediately casting greater suspicion onto herself.

“What are you scared of me seeing!?” Tamiko blurted out. “You’ve been acting strange this whole day and it’s driving me up the walls!”

“It’s just…. Uh….” Machiko stammered out, desperately trying to find an excuse that’ll prevent her from investigating any further.

“And that looked like that creature that terrorized everyone near here,” Tamiko pointed out, now squinting her eyes at her. “Did you find it somehow?”

“No! Not at all. It’s just, um….” Machiko stammered out once more only to realize, she could use her friend’s greatest interest to her advantage. “Masahiko was so interested in the event he was trying to do a mockumentary sort of thing and he was just reviewing the footage we shot a couple days ago.”

“Okay…. If that’s the case then why did the creature look so real?”

“Yukiko! She knows a few people, the ones getting involved with one of the floats for the upcoming festival to create it,” Machiko reasoned, following it up with a cough from the lie barely holding itself together, amazed that it was working to even begin with. “Super convincing, I know. Scared the shit out of Koji.”

“The footage didn’t lie. He was screaming the whole time,” Tamiko pointed out.

“Exactly!” Machiko excitedly yelled out.

“I still don’t get why you were freaking out about me seeing it,” Tamiko spoke, moving over to the window to get some fresh air.

“Because…..” Machiko stumbled over her own words, hoping Anguirus would be just out of sight. “He’s very passionate about this and doesn’t want anyone to see any imperfections in the film.”

Tamiko turned her back towards her daughter. “Doesn’t sound like him”.

“Oh, he gets very passionate whenever most people aren’t looking,” she countered, hopping up next to her mother, almost gluing her face to the glass. Machiko fully expected to see Anguirus running amok or her friends running away in terror, but to her relief, no one was out on the coast.

Machiko breathed a sigh of relief. “Now if you’ll excuse me, they’re probably wondering where I’m at.”

“Yeah, sure, just be careful okay? I know things got heated earlier today, but you can tell me whatever’s going on,” Tamiko spoke, changing her tone of voice to comfort her daughter.

“Of course! Always!” Machiko spoke out loudly, pushing herself through the door and bolting out. “Love you, mom!”

***

Machiko ran across the beach as fast as she could and into the cave. She pulled up her phone and shined the light to find the entire group with Anguirus hidden away inside. The girl breathed a sigh of relief as her friends waltzed over to her.

“Where were you?” Koji questioned.

“Talking to my mom, mom,” Machiko countered, slightly annoyed by her friend’s behavior.

“What?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Machiko apologized, raising her hands up. “She was just on my ass and nearly discovered Anguirus anyway, thanks to the footage.”

“I apologize for that, I’ll go grab my stuff right away to prevent further tampering,” Masahiko spoke up, leaving the cave in an instant.

“And I’ll go with you to make sure you don’t say anything silly,” Yukiko added, almost skipping out.

“So,” Machiko clapped her hands together, looking up at Anguirus. “How was he?”

“Like an oversized dog!” Koji exclaimed.

“That bad?”

“We’re really going to need to find a way to get him to stay put,” reasoned Koji, as Anguirus honked once more.

The two teenagers looked at Anguirus as he roared once more, letting his body drop. He huffed, understanding the group a bit more thanks to seeing their actions not only in the near future, but in the past. The spiked saurian remained still in a gesture of goodwill to get them to understand he was willing to stay put for the time being. Not only to get in their good graces, but they were his best bet in staying alive and to acquire more of the delicious food they had on their person.

“I think he gets the idea,” Machiko proudly remarked, rubbing her hand on his snout. “Don’t you, Patches?”

 

Chapter 5: A Day Out

Pacific Ocean

“Salunga is closing in!” a crew member yelled out, keeping a close eye on the radar while several others scrambled to their positions.

The Bow of Vishnu shot his head out of the water, roaring at the battleships surrounding him. Without any warning, the Self Defence Force unloaded their arsenal at the child of the Red Dust, eliciting screams of agony.

Artillery shells pierced through his body, exploding pieces of his green flesh, with the ones that landed in the water splashed in his face, blinding him. The resulting hail of shells prevented him from seeing the torpedos charging in on him, immediately blackening his chest. His screams became gurgles as he was forced underwater, drifting downwards, trapping him under the sea from the artillery.

He snarled, bubbles racing up to the surface, feeling trapped in this aquatic dungeon. If he had his strength, these warships would mean nothing to him, but now, he was nothing to them. The thought of him being inferior to anything made him curl up his fists, his teeth grinding together as electricity formed between his fingertips.

The sparks in the water caught his attention, generating an idea as a wicked smile grew on his face. As creative as it was, he wasn’t sure if he had the energy to conduct that amount of power, but he had little option thanks to the borrowed time he was living off of.

Salunga kept his eyes still while his body went limp, allowing it to raise to the surface. The fleet took notice of the still body of the viscous beast, observing the amount of Red Dust evacuating his body. One ship approached, its crew intending to not only take a closer look at the dead kaiju, but to recover it for research in the event another catastrophe occurred.

The ship docked next to the floating body of Salunga as its crew members prepared for their inspection. Salunga sensed his plan in motion and snapped his eyes wide open!

The Bow of Vishnu shot his hands out of the water like a rocket taking over and dunked them into the surface of the battleship, casting gigantic handprints into it. Electricity coarse through his entire body and sent it circulating throughout the entire vessel. Every member of the ship felt the electricity shocking them for several seconds until their entire bodies were blackened.

Salunga briefly turned his attention to the victims of his recent attack and chuckled at his craftsmanship, feeling it was only fair he returned them in kind for their attack. That smile, however, turned into anger as he felt shells pierce his back.

He briefly turned his head back at the other ships firing upon him. As much as it brought him excitement to enact his vengeance on them, he didn’t have the luxury to repay them. His plan worked and he had a clear shot of his destination.

Slamming his hands down on the ruined battleship, Salunga leapt up from the water and jumped over it as the other ships struck the damaged vessel. The vicious child of the Red Dust dunked his entire body underwater, pushing him to the limit. His journey was almost over, he could sense the anomaly’s presence.

It was stronger.

All he had to do was run as fast as he could once he made it to the surface. It was only a matter of hours before his life could be saved and he could show all of reality who he was. No more scrounging for scraps or having to look over his shoulder for the arrival of the “Catastrophe”.

He could do whatever he set his mind to and nobody would be able to stop him.

Salunga, the Bow of Vishnu, would become it.

***

Hitsujiyama Park

“I’m surprised you were willing to come out with me and Patches,” Machiko pointed out, as she walked besides Koji and Anguirus in the forest nearby.

“I’d say no, but considering how you were gonna go out regardless, I figured I joined, because, well…. someone has to be the voice of reason here,” Koji rambled, almost scrambling to find an answer.

Machiko laughed at his answer. “The voice of reason?”

“What? It’s true!” exclaimed Koji, as Patches huffed, looking back at him before sniffing his surroundings. He was taken back by Anguirus’ reaction almost as if he knew about him, his past. “What the hell kind of reaction was that?”

“I think he understands us all, like, actually knows us,” surmised Machiko, stretching her arms out, basking her body from the sun’s rays through the trees.

Patches honked, acknowledging her claim as he marched over to a fallen tree. He inched his face closer to the hole and found nothing of note inside. Disappointed, he shook his head and continued searching around the forest as his newfound friends followed closely behind, feeling more and more comfortable with their presence.

“And why is that?” inquired Koji, lifting an eyebrow at her.

“I did some digging these past few days regarding any incident involving Angui….” Machiko spoke, but cut herself off when she caught her own mistake. “I mean, Patches, but I digress. They all noticed he had some sort of ability to see into the future and the only way they put the poor guy down was when they fired a harpoon right next to him.”

“You seem torn up about it,” Koji pointed out, but took note of how she immediately corrected herself when she called him Anguirus. He thought it was strange how she was already growing far too attached to the kaiju within the past few days.

“Of course I would be!” Machiko exclaimed, turning her attention towards Patches, observing his behavior as he was smelling everything he could find. “He’s not some monster, just an animal trying to live in this world.”

Koji breathed, as much as he hated to admit it, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Compared to the other monsters of the Red Dust, he was thankful it was only Anguirus present. Aside from him roaring at them a couple of times, he wasn’t too bad, but he didn’t want to let his guard down. For all he knew, the moment the snacks ran out, they all could be devoured by him on a moment’s notice.

“It’s nice out here, at least,” Koji spoke, taking a look around in the forest they were in, before glancing out past the trees where he saw the vast fields of pink flowers before them. “Shame we can’t take a stroll out there.”

“Right!?” Machiko exclaimed, turning towards the brief view of the pink fields outside. “It’d be nice for Patches to be exposed to that kind of beauty, but sadly….. people just wouldn’t understand and I don’t want a repeat of what happened to him.”

Patches noticed what his two friends were glancing at and walked over, placing himself next to them. He peered through the cracks in the forest to see yet another beauty he never discovered before in this world. A field filled with pink, white and red, a sight that would make any soul feel at peace. The color red was all too familiar, but not in the instance. Instead of the harsh reality he had been subjugated for years on end, this felt like serenity to him.

He let his mouth hang low, as he moved forward to inspect the vista up close, but Machiko immediately jumped in front of him, stretching her arms outward. “Patches, you can’t go out there!”

Patches stopped, eyeing her, as he honked. He was baffled at being denied entry when she spoke out once more. “There are people out there who wouldn’t understand! They would…. only end up hurting you like last time.”

The spiked saurian took another step forward, intending to look at the landscape himself whether she liked it or not, but a flash occurred in front of him. Several moments of people running away in fear played out as the same vehicles that attacked him before rolled through as he was thrown across the field, covered in blood and bruises.

With a defeated sigh, he lowered his head and turned around, going back to inspecting the forest around him. Machiko sighed, knowing she hated herself for disappointing him, but it was the best she could do to protect him for now.

Koji, witnessing the display of not only affection, but cooperation between the two, walked up to his friend. “A shame Masahiko wasn’t here. He would have caught that on film and you would have been hailed as the kaiju whisperer.”

“If only,” she chuckled out, bringing her arms against her chest. “Bummer that Yukiko was needed to help design a float and dragged him along to film it.”

Noticing her disappointment over the lack of their friends not being with them, he started to put it all together. He saw it when she asked them several nights ago while they were driving if they were still interested in moving on for their careers after school. They all had places to move on to, except for her.

Koji placed his hand on her shoulder, earning a slight shiver as she turned her head towards him. “If there was any way I could take you with me, I wish I could. I know I’m going to hate leaving you behind, all of you for that matter. But, I know I can’t.”

“Yeah…. I guess you noticed,” she murmured, turning her attention over to Patches.

“Well, anyone could have noticed, but our group isn’t actually the brightest in a sense,” Koji pointed out, earning a slight glare from her. “My point is, I should have said something a lot sooner about everything.”

“It’s… okay…..” she breathed out, trying to conceal her stuttering between breaths.

“No, it’s not. Between their hijinks and my…. bitchiness, we should have seen this and….” Koji paused, desperately trying to find the words to console her, but it was all for naught. She was right and he could understand her behavior for wanting to constantly push the envelope on their adventures. It was the last time they’d all be together. “I’m not good at this, trying to be helpful, that is.”

“It’s the thought that matters,” Machiko murmured, taking a moment to compose herself. “And yeah, it’s hard, knowing that time is running out for us.”

“It’s not any easier for any of us, I suppose,” Koji spoke, inching closer to her, wanting to wrap his arm around her, but wasn’t sure if she was okay with it. “But at the very least, I can stick this out with you. Watching over Ang… Patches, I mean.”

Machiko smiled at her friend’s gesture, wrapping him up with a hug. “Someone’s gotten less angry!”

Koji chuckled at his dear friend’s teasing. “Guess he scared it out of me.”

They enjoyed the moment with each other, wrapping their arms around each, standing side by side, watching Patches patrol the area. A series of calm, quiet moments was something that was greatly appreciated, but time itself was never on their side, especially for Machiko.

A loud roar erupted from the distance causing them to jump away from each other as Patches issued a roar of his own, anxious to know what was going on. The two teenagers scanned their nearby surroundings, noticing they were still alone while the spiked saurian marched over to the exit of the trees and poked his head out.

“Patches, get back here!” Machiko ordered, trying to prevent her beloved from being seen.

Patches didn’t budge as both Machiko and Koji trekked over to the exit where they saw several people running away in fear, but not from them.

 

Chapter 6: Flowers and Fights

The dust couldn’t even settle as Salunga continued stomping his feet into the ground, roaring at the pests in front of them. His nostrils flared, the anomaly was nearby and he would slaughter everyone for it.

The Bow of Vishnu bulldozed through the field, flattening the ground as the visitors of the park screamed at the top of their lungs. He rammed his horn into a fleeing civilian, erupting through their chest as they spat out blood. Salunga reared his jaw back and chomped down on another three, splitting their bodies in half as their bottom portions dropped to the ground. He couldn’t help but grin despite the pain raging through his entire body.

He missed this!

As soon as he found his cure, he’d be doing this full time!

Machiko’s eyes widened in pure horror at the massacre displayed before them. “Shit, shit, shit!”

“Shit is right!” Koji yelled out, grabbing her arm as he began to pull her away, taking her as far away as he could.

Patches honked, stomping his feet, causing Machiko to turn her head around. “Patches, come on! We need to go!”

The spiked saurian looked back out of the forest and observed the damage before him. The green demon was massacring everyone he could get his hands on and it disgusted him. Patches’ eyes opened just a tad when he realized what a part of his premonition was about. The people weren’t terrified of him, but of the Bow of Vishnu instead.

Patches shook his head, hating what he was about to do. He turned back at Machiko, solemnly looking at her as he knew he had to do this for her and her friends. The big hedgehog roared out calmly, thanking her for what she had done for him. He was eternally grateful for the food and kindness she provided him.

Before she could protest, Anguirus erupted through the trees and into the flowery fields. The beauty of it all was present and he wanted to enjoy it, but not at this state. He saw the culprit behind this bloodbath. Anguirus snarled at the green predator, recognizing him all too well. While others from his world hunted for survival, Salunga killed for fun and to be feared. Someone who tried to intimidate others like the “Catastrophe”.

Even if he hadn’t been wounded, he knew the odds against him winning, much less surviving, were nominal. He took a couple steps forward, making his stand while several of the creatures resembling Machiko and Koji screamed at his presence. Angurius huffed at the noises they elicited, but paid them no mind as they were only bolting past him.

Salunga’s nostrils flared once more while his teeth shredded a person like paper. He glanced over and saw with his own very eyes, a creature from his world. He licked his lips as his heart raced. The answer to all of his problems was here to greet him in the flesh!

He could now live!

Without wasting any time, Salunga lifted his feet up and galloped across the field. Anguirus prepared himself, as a sequence of events occurred before his very eyes. He saw Salunga leap up and slash him across the side, with blood and dust spilling out of him. The spiked saurian’s spikes rattled, signifying its time to evade his attack.

Just as Anguirus foresaw, Salunga leapt, grinning at his prey’s impending demise. However, the hedgehog picked himself up and soared out of the way. Salunga’s eyes widened as he felt himself crash face first into the earth. The Bow of Vishnu slammed his fist into ground, spitting out the mouthful of dirt, only to be met with Anguirus ramming his horn into Salunga’s side, eliciting a cry of agony.

Salunga growled, feeling disgusted with not only his prey, but with himself. Had it not been those insects and that machine, there’d be no way a simple Anguirus could even dream of harming him. Now, he had a greater sense of mortality and it disgusted him.

Anguirus let out another roar before slamming his tail onto Salunga’s back leg, cracking it slightly. The giant hedgehog swiped his claws against the murderous beast as fast as he, casting his entire left side with nasty scars.

Salunga looked down momentarily to his hands embedded with electricity. He shook his head, not wanting to waste his limited power, but he had little choice. He’ll get it all back when he ripped it straight out of this annoying pest.

The reptilian ape-like creature roared out, slamming his fist into Anguirus’ side, causing electricity to cascade through his entire body. The resulting impact forced Anguirus to be sent reeling across the field, his body coursing with electricity, barely being able to move a muscle.

“Patches!” Machiko screamed out, watching Anguirus crash near her and Koji. She tightened her fists and brushed past the trees, not caring about the danger she threw herself in, only to tend to his needs.

“Machiko!” Koji cursed, feeling the urge to punch anyone or anything for his friend’s idiotic behavior. “Goddammit! Get back here!”

He bolted after her, hating himself for putting himself in danger, however, he couldn’t let Patches and that thing get her killed. Koji pondered on whether he should knock her out or not, but knew there was a good chance Patches would end up biting his head before going back to fighting that green creature.

He’d only hope Patches would tell her to get out while she still can.

Machiko arrived next to Anguirus, still shaking from the electricity running through his entire body. She went to touch him, to comfort him only for her hand to be yanked back by Koji. “I know you want to help him, but he’s still a hazard!”

She went to protest only to find the current racing through his body. Machiko gritted her teeth, ramming her hand into her bag to find anything of use. Anguirus weakly lifted his head to see her struggling to help him. He huffed, earning her attention.

“It’s okay, Patches,” she murmured. “I’m going to find something to help you out of this mess.”

Salunga shook his head, feeling his body picking back up ever so slightly from giving himself a moment to rest. He scanned the area to find where he threw his prey when he found him, struggling to get up as then saw two of those insects next to him.

He snarled at first, his teeth chattering with the anticipation of tearing them to shreds, but then a thought popped in his head.

Did he find companionship with these bugs?

The Bow of Vishnu cackled, realizing this was very well a weakness he could exploit all too easily. He leapt forward, galloping across the field once more, intending to kill both of them with violent intent, hoping to leave the helpless critter to watch in horror and despair.

Patches’ eyes flashed once more, watching events fold by as Salunga ripped Koji in half with his bare hands, then followed up by shredding Machiko into pieces with his teeth. His heart raced exponentially, as his whole world was about to come down all around him. He weakly moved his tail back before finding a brief surge of energy and swung it across Salunga’s feet, tripping him.

“Machiko!” Koji screamed out, grabbing a hold of his best friend, staring deep into her panicked eyes. “I know you love your new pet, but we can’t stay here! We’ll die!”

She couldn’t help but slap him across the face for his suggestion, angered beyond belief that he suggested they leave the poor, nearly defenseless creature behind. “If you want to go, then go! I’m not leaving him behind! I’m not leaving anyone behind!”

Machiko broke free from her friend and went back to Patches, seeing he was no longer affected by the electricity. She placed her hands onto him and spoke, “It’s okay. I’m still here, I’m still here.”

Koji looked back to where several people were still evacuating to and thought about joining them. He knew it was easy after all, just pick up his feet and run like there was no tomorrow, but he cursed himself, knowing he’d never forgive himself for leaving Machiko behind, or be able to look Yukiko and Masahiko in the eyes ever again.

“Fuck!” Koji screamed out, stomping over to Machiko, placing his hands onto Anguirus’ body. “We’ll stay a bit longer, but if it’s looking like there’s no hope whatsoever, we leave, got it?”

“I….” Machiko tried to protest, but he cut her off.

“I’m not losing you!” Koji screamed out, reaching into her bag for anything useful.

Machiko almost retaliated, but knew it wasn’t the time nor the place as she applied more medication onto Patches. The Anguirus howled from the sizzle of the liquid onto his skin, as she hushed him, but it wouldn’t last long, as he saw Salunga inching his way closer to them.

This next move was going to hurt him, but he couldn’t let the two of them die. Not when they were risking their lives for him. Anguirus picked himself back up and pounced onto Salunga, banging his head repeatedly against the green demon’s face, almost bludgeoning as it roared back.

Salunga slammed his hands onto Anguirus’ carapace, grabbing onto his spikes before ripping them out without much resistance, as if they were pieces of hair. Anguirus cried out in pure agony as blood spurted out, repeating the process in an effort to get him to stop with his futile headbutting.

Patches dropped to the ground, feeling his vision go completely black. Salunga picked him up by his throat, digging one of his talons into his chest, with a meager amount of red dust seeping out of it. His nose flared up with the source of his fuel, his eyes widening in pure delight.

“Patches!” Machiko screamed out, trying to reach for him only for Koji to restrain her.

Salunga looked down at the insect crying her heart out for his prey. His smile grew even wilder as he saw just how much he could destroy her little world. The Bow of Vishnu reared his arm back, intending to stab through Anguirus’ neck and rip it clean off only for a loud echo to go off.

His ears rang when he then unleashed a blood curled cry. A large shell struck him in the side, forcing him to drop his prey. Salunga shot his eyes over to see several tanks driving through the field, firing everything they had at the two kaiju. The Bow of Vishnu intended to leap over, to rip them to shreds for their insolence, but it was of no use.

They fired another volley of shells, cascading into him and Anguirus, sending them several feet back. Machiko and Koji were knocked off their feet and into the ruined flowers. She struggled to get up, keeping her eye on the now distant Anguirus as she tried to crawl towards him. However, it wasn’t meant to be as she saw Koji lifting her up.

“Koji!” she cried out, reaching her hand out for Patches.

“We can’t!” Koji snapped back, running as fast as he could with her in his arms towards safety. “The most we can do is hope Patches is smart enough to escape from the distraction!”

“Dammit….” Machiko cried out as she watched Patches struggling to get up from the upcoming onslaught.

Anguirus struggled to get up, only able to move across the field by crawling. He breathed, hating those new arrivals and their powerful weaponry, but he was grateful at the same time, giving him the much needed distraction. He glanced over to Koji carrying off his dearest friend from danger, eternally thankful that at least something good could come from his suffering.

Anguirus then howled out once more when he felt his back being stepped on by Salunga. The Bow of Vishnu grabbed a hold of the spikes on his head and slammed his face against the earth, screaming at him once more. Anguirus growled in annoyance, beyond frustrated he couldn’t get this psychopath off of him, but it would not last as the JSDF fired another round onto both, sending them flying across the field.

The spiked saurian shook his head, allowing the dirt to fall from his face when he saw a cliff nearby. He inched himself closer and saw a river down below, entranced by the delicious liquid he could gulp down for days. Sorrow filled his body, however, wanting to spend the rest of his days with his newfound friends, he knew it was no longer possible.

He felt horrible for putting them in danger, but even more so knowing he’ll never come back to them. The only bright side to this situation is that he’d be able to escape from Salunga and submerge himself in the water, giving himself a quiet death.

Just as the tanks fired, Anguirus crawled off the cliff and let himself plunge into the river, disappearing into the body of water. Salunga nearly caught the descending kaiju, but failed as he was hit with another hail of shells, breaking apart his skin. The pain was agonizing at the highest order as more and more Red Dust seeped out of his skin, but the failure of apprehending his target worked as an anesthetic.

The pain in this very moment was nonexistent to him, as all that consumed him was rage. The dust flowing around his body allowed him an exit, one he didn’t want to take, but needed to, to avoid further injury. Then, in a moment, he was gone as if he was never here.

Hitsujiyama Park, once a beautiful beacon of nature for all to enjoy, now a desolate landscape, with its combatants no longer even present.

 

Chapter 7: The Clock is Ticking

Machiko pressed her fingers against her eyes, not wanting to look anyone in the eye while tears poured out of them. She was thankful for Koji getting her out of there, but leaving Patches to die made her feel nauseated, almost as if she would throw up at any second. It was the guilt talking, even if she knew he’d want them to flee.

She briefly glanced up to see Koji sitting on her desk chair across from her bed. He was uncharacteristically quiet, almost as if he was lost in thought, trying to process the events that previously transpired. Machiko huffed quietly, looking back down to process her thoughts as she hugged her legs tighter.

“You know why I named him Patches?” Machiko whispered, keeping her eyes on her knees.

Koji lifted his head up slightly, perplexed at where his friend was going with her question. “I don’t actually.”

“There was this orange and white cat who showed up here one day, he was drenched, covered in mud, and on top of that, he was covered in bruises,” Machiko explained, pausing for a brief moment to readjust herself on her bed, resting her back on the headboard. “And on top of all of that, it led to an infection.”

“Shit….. You never told us that story, did you?” Koji deduced, realizing it was a conversation she never had with any of them.

“My parents and I did everything we could for him and for a while it worked,” she spoke, smiling for a brief moment remembering all the times she had with that rescued cat. “I was going to invite all of you to introduce you to Patches, but before any of us knew it, he suffered a seizure and the vet told us there was nothing we could do for him aside from…..”

Machiko couldn’t even finish before breaking down in tears, as Koji felt his stomach drop at the horrible story his friend composed. He slowly got off from his bed and approached the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Koji breathed out. “I’m sorry for what happened to him, he would have been an amazing cat to meet.”

Machiko nodded, stammering out, “He was a fat boy.”

Koji simply chuckled at her description of him. “He would have been the talk of the town.”

“And the perfect fifth member of our group,” Machiko choked out, before breaking down in tears again, thinking of her cat and Anguirus.

Koji sat himself down on his friend’s bed and offered her a shoulder to cry on. She took the opportunity instantly and sobbed for several minutes before continuing on. “History has a shitty way of repeating itself. I thought I saved both of them, but they both got taken from me!”

“We…..” Koji paused, not even knowing if he should finish his thought, but from what he saw at the end of the conflict, it was certainly a possibility. “We don’t know if Ang…. Patches is gone. He pushed himself off it to escape that demon or whatever it is.”

Machiko’s sobs stopped for just a moment, as she looked up and met his gaze. “You saw him escape?”

“Just…. barely, I was focused on getting us out of here,” answered Koji solemnly.

“Goddammit!” she nearly blurted out, jumping up from her bed. “You could have told me that!”

Koji threw his arms up in response. “Hey! As I said, we were focused on getting ourselves out of there and when we got here, we needed at least a couple of hours to cool our heads!”

“And leave him all alone!?” she countered, cramming random things in her bag. “He could have several broken bones or be bleeding to death!”

Koji went to argue back, but a knock was heard at the door, forcing them to pause their argument. “What!?” Machiko screamed out, as the door slowly opened, revealing Yukiko and Masahiko in the frame.

“Hey, Chiko,” greeted Yukiko, casting a remorseful look at her best friend.

“We, uh, saw the news,” Masahiko relayed, rubbing his hands together. “How are the two holding up?”

“Fine, but Patches isn’t,” Machiko replied bluntly, throwing more of her things in her pack. “Which Koji waited hours to tell me.”

Yukiko turned her to Koji, baffled by his decision. “As I told her, I was trying to get the both of us out there.”

The bubbly designer shook her head, shocked to find herself agreeing with Koji. “He’s hot-headed, but I know he did the right thing, getting you to safety.”

Machiko rolled her eyes, feeling it was pointless to argue with anyone on this subject. She had a goal in mind, no, a promise to herself. She would do everything she could to make sure no one died under her care, and Patches was still under hers. He’d already been through enough in this world and she wasn’t going to allow him to suffer anymore.

She went up to the door as Yukiko called out to her, causing her to stop. “Wait, Chiko!”

“I’m going to find Patches, and thanks to Koji,” she nearly spat out, casting him a brief glare, before turning her attention back to Yukiko and Masahiko. “I know a good place to start.”

“Part of the reason why I showed up is to show off the new drone I got a few days ago,” Masahiko spoke up, immediately casting looks of confusion from everyone, almost forgetting about the dire situation they were in.

“Okay, Masahiko,” Koji spoke up, taking a step forward. “What the fuck?”

Any other time, Yukiko would have stared into Koji’s soul and ripped it, but for once in their entire life, he was right. “Uh, babe, I don’t see what that has to do with Chiko’s predicament.”

“Oh…. I phrased that poorly,” Masahiko explained, giving himself a moment to think as he felt excited just for a brief moment from showing his friends the piece of equipment he purchased. “It’d be helpful when we go to search for Anguirus.”

“Even with that thing out there….” Machiko attempted to convey her rebuttal but was interrupted by her tech savvy friend.

“Salunga.”

“Yes, thank you,” Machiko muttered out before resuming her thoughts. “We don’t know if Salunga is on our trail. I have reasons to go to find Patches, he’s my responsibility, my pet, but the rest of you…. I already dragged you into this, more than I should have.”

Machiko paused, annoyed as she was with Koji, she didn’t hate him for his reluctance or wanting to keep her safe. She just didn’t want to lose anyone ever again when there was a good chance one, if not all of them could die on this adventure.

And she loved an adventure, but it wasn’t always for them. She finally got that when death was approaching on their doorstep.

“You want Masahiko, then you get me too,” Yukiko said, walking up, wrapping her around Masahiko.

“What?” Machiko nearly stammered out.

“It’s going to be scary, I don’t doubt it for a second, but the goal is to find Patches, not fight some monster, correct?” Yukiko reiterated Machiko’s intentions.

“Salunga,” Masahiko corrected once more.

Yukiko sighed at her partner’s need to be technical. “Yes, babe, Salunga.”

“Yes, we find him and bring him to a secure area,” Machiko explained. “Maybe to the other side of Chichibu, a place where Salunga can’t sense him.”

“Then, we better get a move on before that asshole tries to hurt Patches again,” Yukiko declared as Machiko smiled at her friend’s determination to help them.

Koji sighed, knowing that this endeavour could very well be suicide. He still didn’t feel guilty about what he did to save his and Machiko’s lives, but he could understand her pain. He knew just how much this animal’s life mattered to Machiko and why she wanted to keep him safe. Even if she objected, he wouldn’t stay behind while they got themselves killed.

This group still needed the “voice of reason”.

“Count me in,” Koji spoke, giving them a small smile.

“I thought you hated these types of adventures?” Yukiko replied.

“I do, but you guys already dragged me in, so I thought I should see this one through, even if it’ll end up going to shit,” Koji relayed, moving past the group and out of the house.

Machiko still frowned at him, but was glad he was tagging along, knowing he still cared despite their dispute. The others followed him down the stairs and outside the house, as they were about to embark on their journey together.

***

He was right there!

Salunga snarled, clawing at his steel-like skin, attempting to rip out the pieces of metal that were shot into him by those disgusting creatures and their green weapons. His talons reached into the hole, taking no care in preserving his flesh, as he yanked the shell from his body. Salunga’s eyes went wide, screaming out in agony from the operation, forcing him to buckle over in pain.
Before his very eyes, more of the red dust from his body flew past him, disappearing into the wind. He took a few breaths to compose himself before he snarled angrily at himself, slamming his hand into the ground, dirt detonating upon impact as it struck his face.

Those disgusting vermin got in the way!

Without giving it any further thought, Salunga jammed his hand through another wound of his body and yanked out the shell. Red Dust erupted from the wound unleashing another howl of agony from Salunga.

Time is of the essence!

The escaping flow of his life force was becoming more and more apparent. What used to occur every couple hours, now materialized every few minutes. Salunga growled, forcing himself to pick himself back up and to march towards his salvation.

THUD!

The vile child of the Red Dust collapsed, eliciting great anger from him. Salunga roared out to the dark night sky, furious at the world that had cursed him with such a frail body. He was second to the world; he came from only behind the “Catastrophe”.

Salunga gritted his teeth at the thought of that creature, the one who deemed himself as the undisputed king of all life. Whether it was their homeworld or in this disgusting world they all wandered into.

No! It should be him!

Salunga growled once more, yanking out the remaining shell in his body without any hesitation. This time, however, he did not falter nor pay any mind to the additional dust floating away from him. He stood firm, planting his feet into the soil as he stared at the landscape, knowing his prey was out there in the horizon.

Time will not claim me!

Salunga screamed out, taking off, running as fast as his own failing body could allow it. Pain coursed through his entire body, but he couldn’t afford to let it bother him. Not anymore. He will look at time itself and laugh in defiance.

That wretched animal and his vermin will be the ones claimed.

The Bow of Vishnu will rip the lifeforce from the Precognitive Monster and become what he was always meant to be. What life itself will come to fear, what will actually come to fruition instead of a false promise from a false king.

The Catastrophe.

***

Red Dust circulated all around him, as he awoke. His eyes widened in pure horror, realizing he was back in the place he hated the most. Anguirus roared, demanding to be let out, but none heard him as the cinders flew past him while the Rodans squawked at him. They circled around him, each of them mocking him in their own way before they swooped down and took a piece of what remained of him.

The giant hedgehog cried out, demanding to be let out of this prison he was born in. He hated being here, he wanted to be back in the colorful land he was pulled into. Anguirus wanted to be back home.

Anguirus leapt at the circling vultures, trying to snatch one up, to cease their constant squawking. However, his body failed him, crashing back onto the surface, almost paralyzing him completely.

His breathing stuttered, barely being able to move, watching as several bugs crawled onto him. Anguirus snarled at them, but they paid no mind to them as they crammed their blades into his belly, eliciting howls of agony from him. The spiked saurian lifted arms off to swipe them off, but it was of no use, more and more came until his limbs gave out.

“Patches!” a familiar voice cried out, causing his heart to beat faster in excitement. “We have to help him!”

He looked up to see Machiko and her friends racing down the storm. Anguirus was baffled at how creatures like them could even survive the storm when he and the others native to it barely managed. Yet, he wouldn’t deny their help, he was overjoyed to see friendly faces, much less pieces of the world he came to love back in the wasteland with him.

They pushed the pests off his belly, securing him, like they’ve always done. Anguirus inching his head weakly over to Machiko as she tended to his needs. He huffed softly while she smiled back at him.

“It’s okay, buddy, I’ll get you out of here,” she whispered, rubbing his snout gently.

Her words eased the blowing storm, allowing for there to be quiet. No squawking, no pests, no particles. Just the five of them. He loved it. It was peaceful.

Anguirus allowed himself to close his eyes, to drift off once more, but a monstrous roar echoed through the newly revived storm. The Red Dust particles picked back up, zooming past the creatures tending to them, knocking them to the ground.

Rumble after rumble was heard as Salunga erupted through the storm and swiped his hands through Masahiko, cutting him in half. The Bow of Vishnu turned his eyes onto Yukiko, launching his arm forward and crushing her with his hand, turning her into a stream of blood, looking no different than the red storm. Koji attempted to scream before he was devoured by the green demon.

Machiko wrapped herself around Anguirus’ head, glaring back at Salunga. The spiked saurian roared out, attempting to tell her to run, but she would not heed his warning. She stood her ground, dedicating herself to protecting him.

Salunga stomped towards the two, chattering his teeth, eagerly awaiting to rip the girl into shreds right in front of his prey. Anguirus exhaled heavily, hating himself for knowing there was nothing he could do to protect the both of them. Not one part of his body responded to his commands to fight back.

The Bow of Vishnu extended his arm forward once more and snatched Machiko up, breaking her entire lower body. She cried out in pure agony, as she still screamed out for him to run, but there was nothing Patches could do.

It was the worst sound he ever heard in his life and all he could do was watch as Salunga was crushing her. The green demon leaned over to him, planting his right foot down on his body, snapping several of his ribs. Salunga cackled, dangling the broken Machiko over his very eyes, watching the life slowly wither away from him.

With his free hand, Salunga grabbed onto Anguirus’ neck and lifted it up. He opened his mouth and glanced at Machiko before turning his attention back to him. Anguirus realized what the Bow of Vishnu concocted, attempted to bite down, to move his face in a different direction, but it was all for naught. His grip was far, far stronger than his desire to break free.

Rearing his arm back he sent his arm forward, launching the broken Machiko towards Anguirus’ open mouth. She landed inside as Salunga then used both hands to slam the spiked saurian’s jaws shut, crushing her in an instant.

Anguirus felt his entire body spiral out of control as he launched himself off the ground and kicked Salunga off of him. The giant hedgehog stumbled with his footing, gagging on Machiko, trying to get her out of his mouth. All that came out was blood, horrifying him even further.

Then, a soft hand touched his side.

Anguirus snapped his head over to see Machiko smiling at him, tears or relief in her eyes. The giant hedgehog breathed heavily, shell shocked at what he was witnessing. It was then, the Red Dust all around him subsided as the blue sky materialized before him and he was hit with the sun’s ray.

His eyes went wide to see her friends slowly approaching him, confusion overtaking him when he snapped his head over to the now present sound of the river nearby. It was then, he realized the blood in his mouth was just water he spat out moments ago.

Anguirus’ body shook at the nightmare he was subjugated to before collapsing down on the sand, his mouth next to the watery surface. He stuck his tongue out into the liquid, allowing himself to rehydrate from the hell he just went through.

“Poor guy must have gone through a lot,” Yukiko pointed out, taking a hold of Machiko’s bag while she tended to his wounds.

Koji inspected the wounds on Patches, noticing how badly he was looking. Spikes were missing and blood painted portions of his body, with him barely standing just moments before. Despite being right, he hated to say it; there wasn’t going to be a way to get him to the other side of town.

“So, we found him,” Koji breathed out, rubbing his forehead. “How exactly are we going to get him to move?”

Machiko inspected the heavily breathing Anguirus, as she rubbed him. She sighed, knowing full well he was right.

“I don’t know.”

“My drone only has a little bit of power to keep an eye out for the military or Salunga before it shuts off,” Masahiko explained, turning his attention back to the screen of the controller.

“I know,” Machiko spoke, desperately trying to think of a solution as Anguirus huffed out once more. His whole body was tensing up as his breathing became more rapid. “Okay, okay….”

“Chiko?” Yukiko spoke up. “Can we even convince him to move?”

“He’ll listen to me, I just need a plan,” Machiko replied, knowing it was going to hurt Patches either way, but if she knew where to go, then they wouldn’t wander around aimlessly.

“The streets will be crowded. I’m not sure if we can even find him a place without at least a dozen or so people losing their shit,” Koji pointed out, pacing around, feeling more and more frustrated from the situation they were in.

“All thanks to the festival tonight,” Masahiko added, keeping his eyes peeled on the controller.

Machiko felt her entire body stiffen up at what he said as she slowly turned around. “Say that again?”

“The festival,” Masahiko answered, glancing back up at her. “You didn’t know it was tonight?”

She clapped her hands together. “Masahiko, you genius!”

“How?” Koji questioned.

“You mean how the plan is going to work?” Masahiko inquired.

“That, and how Masahiko is a genius,” Koji asked, as he saw Yukiko standing right next to as fire raged heavily in her eyes at the insult he threw at him. He gulped, before inching back slightly. “Sorry, sorry. Just how the plan is going to work.”

“Simple. We move alongside the parade in pure sight,” answered Machiko.

“Yeah, we’re all going to die,” Koji pointed out.

“I’ll be sure to film our last moments with the drone,” Masahiko added.

“No, no!” Machiko spoke up, waving her hands around. “Not if we execute this right, but first, a question.”

She turned to Yukiko while she leaned on Anguirus’ side, smirking right at her. “You think you can ask the friend who designed that float a favor?”

 

Chapter 8: The Night Festival

The night sky lit up with fireworks of all different colors, while the ground below was filled with people enjoying themselves. Drinks were spilled and food was gobbled up from people enjoying themselves at one of the biggest celebrations in the country.

It was the perfect night for everyone in all of Chichibu to come together to relax and enjoy themselves.

Masahiko stepped outside of the warehouse where the float was kept as he saw Machiko and Koji hidden with Patches in the darkness nearby. “Good news is, the drone’s battery is up to a hundred percent.”

“Fantastic,” Koji muttered.

“What about the float? Is Yukiko able to get us in the float?” inquired Machiko.

“She’s doing her best,” Masahiko relayed, glancing back at his partner conversing with a few of the crew.

“Drinks? I know the festival has some of the finest sake around,” Yukiko nearly hummed as the crew simply rolled their eyes before resuming the final touches. “It’s because I’m a min… never mind!”

She rested her chin onto her fist, trying to concoct a plan or at least a bargain for them to be alone with the float for just a few minutes. Yukiko lifted her finger up, grinning at the idea, but slowly raised it back down after realizing how much trouble it would get them all in.

“Besides, I don’t even think Patches would eat people anymore.”

Yukiko paced around, still trying to find something that’d be worth bargaining for. She let out a sigh, turning back to her friends, preparing herself to tell them that it was a bust. The designer walked towards the group when she saw the drone in her partner’s hands as a wicked smile grew on her face.

“Sorry to make you look bad, babe, but it’s gotta be done,” Yukiko said, turning back around to the float crew.

She walked up to the base and folded her arms. “Just letting you guys know there’s going to be a cameraman in here with a drone any second.”

One of them snorted, putting up another lantern. “So?”

“Yeah…. He won’t shut up when he films and he’ll not only ask you questions about how the process of building it went, but your life story,” Yukiko explained, placing her hand on the float. “And he’ll put it on his webpage and will constantly ask you to check it out to provide feedback.”

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” one of the crewmembers yelled out, as he hopped down and exited the warehouse into the festivities.

“Look, Yukiko, you can do whatever you want so long as you talk to him instead,” another said, with Yukiko playfully saluting her.

The rest of the crew left as she was all by herself. “We’re alone, you all can come in!”

The group listened to her command as they ushered in the limping Patches, eying the float. It was slightly bigger than him as it was red and brown and adorned with several paintings of boars, flying squirrels, weasels and monkeys. He was tempted to investigate it further due to its size, but realized it was nothing more than an object, not worth the attention.

“Alright, Machiko!” Koji exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Do your thing.”

Machiko nodded to her friend before turning her attention to Patches. She didn’t want to do this, to push him somewhere he didn’t feel comfortable in, but they had little choice. The float wasn’t perfect, but it matched the pace Patches was walking in for the time being.

She rubbed her hand across Anguirus’ face, exhaling as he moved his snout against her face, pushing her slightly. Machiko chuckled at the display of affection before she motioned for Koji and Masahiko to open the hatch up.

“Patches, I need you to go inside the float for a while,” Machiko relayed as she pointed at the vehicle, turning the spiked saurian’s attention to the object he viewed just moments ago. His mind flashed as he saw the future of him being cramped inside, as if he was being squashed and the noise coming from the partygoers shattering his eardrums.

Anguirus backed away slowly, shaking his head at the torture before him as Machiko ran towards him. “No, no, no, no. It won’t be bad, it’ll be okay.”

Patches honked in retaliation as she wrapped her arms around his leg, looking back up at him. “I know it’s going to be terrible, but please, it’s the only way we can get you out of here.”

The hedgehog barked out at Machiko, hating the idea as Machiko let out a sigh. “I don’t even know why I’m still talking, but would it help if I got in the float with you?”

She backed towards the float, motioning herself getting inside the vehicle as Anguirus observed her behavior. Patches shook his head, realizing there was some truth to what she was conveying, even if it was going to be painful for him all around.

Yet, she never led him astray before. Machiko risked her life several times for him before, even if he threatened her when they first met and never once felt the need to hurt him. Perhaps it was time he placed his full trust in her.

Anguirus huffed before entering the float, squeezing himself inside as Machiko slammed her back against the wall. Her eyes widened as a couple of Patches’ spikes pointed towards her, sending shivers down her spine knowing all she could do was keep herself at a meager distance.

“I’m already having regrets.”

Outside of the float, Machiko’s friends watched the display, completely impressed by her ability to command the kaiju once more. “I don’t believe it.”

“Fascinating,” Masahiko spoke, keeping his eyes on the drone controller, using the whole thing to record the footage. “If only she were here during the Catastrophe.”

“No kidding!” huffed Koji. “Could have saved the world in five minutes if she told Godzilla to just chill.”

“You’re not jealous that Machiko found someone?” Yukiko inquired, slightly elbowing Koji, with a grin on her face.

“What….” Koji stammered out, his face beat red from the accusation.

“Crap, are my feelings for her that obvious?”

“Oh nothing,” hummed Yukiko, dancing ever so slightly at messing with her friend as he was now going to overthink every interaction they ever had.

“I hate you,” Koji muttered.

***

“Okay, buddy, just a few steps at a time,” Machiko calmly spoke out as she sidestepped inside the moving float, keeping her eyes peeled on the still wounded Anguirus.

Patches huffed, feeling himself wobble with each step, barely keeping himself from being hit from the float’s interior. He glanced at Machiko, who gave him a smile before sliding to the right to dodge one of his spikes moving towards her. Beyond hiding from their predators, Angurius was still perplexed at why his friend would choose a cramped place for shelter.

He turned his head forward and continued to march at the pace of the vehicle, still willing to go with her plan even if it was a danger for them both.

The festival still raged on as fireworks continued to lighten the night sky meeting the tall brightly lit ferris wheel. Koji walked relatively close to the float, keeping his eye on his immediate surroundings.

He pulled out his phone. “How’s it looking on your guys’ end?”

“It’s looking good up here, just busy,” Yukiko answered, her eyes focused on the ferris wheel, feeling her stomach drop as a thought occurred to her. “If Salunga shows up, then I’d hate to be around that wheel in the first place.”

“Nothing in the sky from me,” Masahiko chimed in, flying his drone all around the festival, finding nothing more than the usual festivities.

“Let’s keep it that way,” Koji commanded before exhaling, thinking back to what Yukiko said. “Just, uh, stay safe, Yukiko. Run like hell if Salunga shows up.”

“Aw! You do car….” Yukiko spoke aloud, but he put his phone in his pocket before he could hear the last bit of her sentence.

“Not giving her the satisfaction of that,” Koji said, warming his hands up as he walked parallel to the parade.

***

Salunga peered his head over the hillside, watching the streets below erupt with color. His body was about to burst as he almost felt himself dropping several times over from his journey. The green demon’s legs wobbled, nearly collapsing onto the ground. Salunga lifted up his hand and slammed it against his chest several times, keeping himself standing up right.

He had only minutes left.

It was now or never, and it will not be the latter.

He will survive, he will prevail!

The Bow of Vishnu howled against the brightly lit night sky and rushed down the hill towards the lively city. He launched himself, intending to snatch several of those moving structures before him and throw them at the others to ensue chaos, but his body denied his request.

Salunga felt his entire body stiffening up while red dust seeped from his many open wounds, crashing into a float, splitting it in half. His desired intention was still a success as people all around the parade screamed out in terror. The Bow of Vishnu stirred himself up, shaking his head, growling at his botched entrance.

Through every block, the whole parade echoed from everyone’s screams as they pushed and shoved each other to escape the atrocious child of the Red Dust. Salunga eyed the people running from him as his nose began to sniff any signs of the dust nearby. His nostrils flared when he got a whiff of it, inching his head towards a nearby float. The green demon used both of his hands to lift it up only to find it to be empty.

He growled, turning his head forward at the other floats, knowing his prey alongside those vermin he’s been treating as his pets were hiding in one of them. It was the only place that could fit a creature of his size as any other place would have given his position instantly.

Salunga drooled like a feral animal while the dust flowed outside of his body. Electricity cackled between his hands, slamming it down on another float, lighting it ablaze. He then snatched up a group of fleeing civilians, their heads exploding from the electric current before he could even properly squash them.

The Bow of Vishnu coughed heavily from exerting himself as saliva was launched forward, blanketing several people with it, impending their effort to escape. Salunga stumbled, nearly losing consciousness before smacking himself on the head, allowing himself to stay awake a bit longer.

Koji snapped his head back from the screams as he saw Salunga wreaking havoc in the distance. He immediately bolted over towards the float, pushing against the fleeing crowd, struggling to get past them, watching the kaiju get closer to them.

“Goddammit! Get the hell out of the way!” Koji screamed out, shoving another person out of the way, allowing himself to place his hands on the float. “Machiko!”

Machiko slowly turned her head around to locate her friend’s voice amongst the scream crowds. “Koji? What’s going on?”

“He’s here! Salunga found us!” Koji relayed, searching around the float for the release lever.

“What!? Open the hatch!” commanded Machiko, alerting Patches’ attention, his body starting to shake with anxiety from the approaching Salunga.

“That’s what I’m trying to do!” yelled Koji, checking the back of the float, but to no avail. Salunga’s monstrous yet tired roar was heard just a few blocks from him. He saw Salunga limping his way towards his direction, barely being able to lift any of the floats along with people avoiding his swings.

The sight was still a terrifying one, but it did give him an idea along with some optimism. Koji bolted over to the front of the float, muttering to himself, “If I can get them out, then there might be a few things we can do to get us out of this situation.”

He reached the front of the float, searching it in its entirety, finding what appeared to be the lever. “Or I can be crazy for thinking it’d be a good idea to fight a wounded kaiju.” Koji pulled the lever only for the opening in the back of the float to stutter before closing back down. “Goddammit, Machiko. What have you pulled me into?”

Koji huffed out, making his way back to the side of the float. “The lever is jammed!”

“What!?” Machiko screamed out, feeling an entire sense of panic in her entire body before glancing back at Patches. Her friend was starting to breathe heavily, knowing just how poorly this was about to go for them as he wanted to thrash around, to escape. However, he couldn’t, as it would kill his most treasured friend.

“Fuck!” Machiko screamed out from the pent of fear and anxiety, breathing in and out while the two of them were about to be Salunga’s mercy. One a brief moment of clarity, her mind traveled back to Koji, knowing he was just outside. She dragged them all into it, the least she could do was tell to leave.

“Koji, get out!” she commanded.

“What?” Koji questioned, slamming his hands on the float once more, scanning the ground around him for anything that’d be of use. “There’s gotta be something I can use to get you out of here.”

“No, there isn’t!” Machiko retaliated through the wall. “Get the others out of here! Patches and I will figure something out!”

Koji went to protest, but Salunga was now a block away. He gripped his hand in anger, knowing she was right in her decision, but acquiesced. Koji took off running, but not before saying one last thing, feeling it was only right to set things right with her. “Machiko, I’m sorry about not telling you about Patches.”

“It’s okay! Just make it up by getting yourselves out of here!” Machiko commanded, feeling a sense of peace that they could leave on good terms.

Machiko looked back at Patches who stared right at her. She let out a sigh, feeling disappointed in failing to save the endangered animal. Machiko slowly lifted her hand up and placed it against Anguirus’ cheek, rubbing it gently.

“I’m sorry Patches, I didn’t come through on my promise.”

Anguirus huffed, slightly rubbing his head against her palm. He sensed the sadness in her as he felt the same. They both had a lot in this world to live for, to see what more it had to offer, but they were bound to die.

Time was never on their side.

Salunga coughed out once again, reaching the float. His nostrils flared almost nonstop, as he sensed the source of the Red Dust inside. His shaking body could finally find some relief. All he had to do was lift up the float and kill the wounded creature inside.

The Bow of Vishnu’s fist crackled with electricity as he lifted up the float, smiling devilishly at the two beings inside. The tiny creature shook in fear, while Anguirus looked defeated, hanging his head down.

Salunga chuckled. He was eagerly looking forward to this moment, wanting to savor it, but he couldn’t afford to take any pleasures with this kill.

Just clean and simple.

Salunga sent his fist forward, intending to shock Anguirus with it, but he was stopped. Anguirus sent his tail crashing into the side of his face, sending him stumbling back into a building. The collapsing pieces covered Salunga as he let out a weak gasp.

Anguirus huffed as Machiko placed her hands over her mouth in not only shock, but of pride. She playfully punched Patches on the leg, “Good work, Patches!”

Patches honked softly, going over to inspect the rubble to inspect Salunga’s lifesigns. Machiko watched him wobble over to the debris. Realizing his intentions, she placed herself in front of him, causing him to cease his movement. He tilted his head sideways in confusion.

“We know he’s not dead, but you need to get out of here now!” Machiko reasoned as Anguirus tried to push her, forcing her to place both of her hands on his snout in an attempt to push him back. “Patches, you can’t stay here! He’ll be back up any minute and the military will be arriving to kill you!”

Anguirus stared into her eyes, wanting to no longer run as knew he’d always be hunted for existing, breathed out. He took a step backwards, honking at her, demanding to know where she’ll take him.

“Right, um….” Machiko stammered, looking around the street covered in debris and fire, before glancing over at the ferris wheel off in the distance. She didn’t like the idea, cutting through it would be the fastest way out of the city. “This way!”

Machiko moved forward, leading Anguirus down another street towards the lit up ferris wheel. The two moved down the mostly quiet street of Chichibu, with Machiko keeping a steady pace, but Anguirus was slowing down. Machiko glanced over to see the giant hedgehog stalling, needing a moment to breathe.

The girl rushed over to him, fear washing over in her body. “Patches. Come on, Patches! We need to keep moving, it’ll only be a few more minutes and then you can rest all you want.

Anguirus huffed out, taking another step forward when his eyes widened. Machiko cocked her head to the side, attempting to inquire what was wrong with him, when in the blink of an eye, he leapt to the side. Both Anguirus and Salunga howled out, as Patches rammed his spikes into Salunga’s stomach, drenching them with the demon’s blood while the green kaiju dug his claws into his shoulders. The resulting impact sent them crashing down the street just next to the ferris wheel.

“Patches!” Machiko screamed out, bolting towards the fighting kaiju.

Anguirus wailed around in Salunga’s weakening grasp, biting and clawing at his oppressor. He dug deeper into his stomach with his spikes, attempting to flip themselves over, but the Bow of Vishnu’s stubbornness was stronger than his actual strength. Salunga swiped at Anguirus’ body, weakening him further and further before he could get him to lie still for his electric current.

The Precognitive Monster gasped out, feeling his consciousness fade away from his body, struggling harder and harder. Anguirus slammed his back against Salunga’s face, shoving his head spikes into his face, causing him to cry out in pain. Patches lifted his head back, pulling out the spikes from his predator’s head, unleashing a volley of Red Dust.

Salunga kept his hold on Anguirus secure despite the damage done to his head, drawing blood from his torso. Anguirus gagged out, his struggling becoming weaker as Salunga was near his victory. The Bow of Vishnu’s body started to pulsate with electricity, fully ready to see the spiked saurian be reduced to a crisp.

“This will be the shot of the year,” Masahiko’s voice called out.

His drone flew straight through the area, bypassing the struggling Anguirus and directly into Salunga’s left eye. The device shattered on impact resulting in Salunga crying out from his eye being forced to close. His hold weakened ever so slightly, but that was all Anguirus needed.

Patches slammed his head backwards once more, this time landing his spikes directly into the wounded eye. Salunga roared, feeling the complete and utter agony of his eye being slowly ripped out from his head. The green demon reluctantly relinquished his hold on Anguirus, writhing around while placing his hand over his empty socket.

Anguirus barked out once more, moving away from Salunga, and following Machiko towards their destination. Machiko turned briefly back at the wounded demon, disgusted at the sight before her, but felt pride in Anguirus defending himself against it.

“Chiko!” Yukiko called out, waving out at the two of them just across the street.

“Oh thank god, you made it!” Koji exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Machiko, a gesture she returned with no hesitation.

“I thought I told you all to leave,” Machiko said, taking a moment to breathe. “But I’m glad you guys stayed.”

“Leaving would be unwise when I get to film a kaiju fight,” Masahiko commented, pointing his camera at the still writhing Salunga off in the distance.

“Uh yeah, congrats,” Koji spoke up, rolling his eyes before he turned to Machiko. “I doubt he’s going to be down for long. Any ideas?”

“Getting Patches out of here,” Machiko explained, taking note of Patches limping towards them, huffing and puffing from the exhaustion overtaking him.

“Chiko, he’s not going to make it,” Yukiko pointed out, watching the giant hedgehog barely make it to them before collapsing onto the ground.

Machiko, without a second thought, rushed over to him. “Patches, Patches! Come on, stay with me. We’re almost out of here, we just need to move for a few more minutes.”

Anguirus concentrated with all of his might to pick himself up, his legs shaking from the strain he was putting on him, but it was too much. The spiked saurian collapsed once more, looking up at Machiko. He huffed slightly, disappointed in himself for letting his friend down, on being able to live with her.

He knew the chances of escaping were slim, it was an effort he was still proud to make, as he did it to protect his friends. At the very least, he could choose how he would go out, and he’d do it by resting comfortably with them.

THRASH!

Angurius’ eyes widened, feeling himself being lifted in the air by Salunga’s sharp claws as he lifted them over his head. Both kaiju screamed at the top of their lungs fueled by pure rage and agony.

“No!” Machiko screamed out, watching the terrifying act in motion as Salunga held him up high, demonstrating his superior strength as he laughed at his prey’s cries.

Salunga glanced over at the ferris wheel, taking note of the gaps between bars, realizing it was the perfect place to keep him pinned. There will be no more interruptions!

The Bow of Vishnu threw Anguirus as hard as he could at the ferris wheel, sending him careening against the asphalt, ripping skin off his belly. Salunga limped over to the giant hedgehog and hoisted him by the back of the neck, jamming him straight in the ferris wheel.

Machiko started to bolt towards the ferris wheel, to save Patches once and for all, but Koji pulled her back. “Get your hand off me!”

“Machiko, you don’t need to rush in blindly!” countered Koji, his grip tightening on her shoulder.

“And let him die! You know damn well I won’t let that happen!” Machiko screamed out, throwing a punch at him, but was blocked with his free hand.

“I know,” Koji spoke, turning his head over to a nearby piece of construction equipment. “See that crane over there?”

She turned over to exactly what he was talking about, next to a ruined building just across from the ferris wheel. “I’m going to use it to bring it down on that bastard.”

Machiko sighed in relief, feeling a sensation of happiness that he still had her back. However, she couldn’t sit there and do nothing, she needed to rescue Patches.

“Salunga isn’t stupid, he’ll destroy it if he knows what you’re doing,” Yukiko pointed out.

“Already on it,” Masahiko said, running straight to a bulldozer.

“Wait, I never taught him const…..” Koji stammered, before groaning. “Oh for god’s sake!”

Koji then took off for the wrecking ball while Yukiko followed her partner into the bulldozer, laughing almost maniacally at the daring act they were about to commit. Machiko turned back to the struggling Anguirus as Salunga was readying to make the killing blow.

“Not on my watch!” Machiko declared, running towards the back of the ferris wheel to do whatever she can to get him out.

Anguirus weakly looked up at his would-be executioner’s eye, glaring at him. He could barely fight back, attempting to snap his jaws at him, but Salunga moved his body slightly back. Electricity crackled between his fingertips once more, grabbing a hold of his mouth, ensuring it was kept shut.

The current raced throughout his whole body, Anguirus’ screams were muffled by Salunga’s weak grasp. It wasn’t ideal, but it was enough to do the job. He could no longer afford to be creative or as vicious as he wanted to. Salunga felt his whole body withering away, he calculated he had only a meager few minutes left.

The Red Dust must be acquired now!

The spiked saurian’s body was starting to blacken from the coursing electricity as there was no hope. He didn’t even get to choose how he died. Simply unable to escape while he suffered an agonizing death.

SNAP!

The bulldozer commandeered by the couple rammed straight into Salunga’s right knee cap, shattering it. His hold on the giant hedgehog faltered, forcing him to relinquish, unleashing a series of screams. The green demon collapsed face first in front of the ferris wheel, crying in agony as his body started to shut down even further.

Salunga snapped his head over to the culprit, seeing two of those pests slowly emerge from the yellowish contraption. He turned himself around, crawling on his front legs to rip them to shreds, knowing full well they could ram into him again. The Bow of Vishnu lifted his arm up to grab a hold of them when he felt a series of sharp teeth tear a huge chunk out of his upper back.

The barbaric child of the Red Dust gagged out at the amount of flesh ripped from his body as Anguirus howled angrily at him, demanding he left them alone. Salunga ignored his declaration and continued to crawl towards them, his mind becoming an incoherent mess.

Masahiko and Yukiko bolted as fast as they could being pursued by the green demon, but the chase was cut short.

BANG!

Salunga stopped momentarily, slowly turning his body around to see the ferris wheel starting to tumble. He glanced over to see a machine with a large ball attached to it, swinging its way over to the wheel once more. Realizing what was going on, he unleashed a monstrous roar of frustration before the ball hit the ferris wheel once more, allowing it to break a portion of it off.

The Bow of Vishnu slowly moved, before realizing there was nothing he could do but watch. The attraction collapsed on top of him, pinning him down to the ground. As he was days ago, he was trapped with no way out.

Machiko raced over to the now freed Anguirus, who was resting on the bottom portion of the attraction. He breathed out, weakly lifting up his head and rubbing Machiko with it, who giggled in response.

“Come on, buddy, we had our fun,” Machiko said, patting him on the side. “Let’s get out of here.”

Anguirus slowly lifted his legs, every muscle in his being burned like a scorching inferno, but he was still alive. He glanced over at Koji, Yukiko and Masahiko slowly gathering towards them, as he let out a decrepit roar, thanking them for saving his life.

The group went towards the forest only for a ghastly murmur to erupt from behind them. Anguirus was the first to turn around to find Salunga barely clinging to life underneath the ferris wheel.

“Oh goddammit! After all that!” Koji exclaimed, rubbing his hands through his hair in disbelief.

Machiko looked up at Anguirus, staring at the wounded demon across from them. “Patches, we need to go. Forget about him, just let it go. It’s okay to let go.”

Anguirus huffed, knowing that she meant well, but he’d only keep coming back.

This ended now.

Patches limped over to the pinned Salunga, observing the damage below him. The green demon’s lower body was obscured by the metal and lights that adorned it as his right arm was snapped, with bone sticking out of it. Lastly, his left arm was weakly reaching out for him, one last struggle to acquire his prey.

At first, he felt fear by the Bow of Vishnu, terrified of him, but now, all he saw was a pathetic animal trying to claim power no matter the cost. Anguirus scanned his surroundings once more and saw an isolated metal bar nearby. The spiked saurian pushed it nearby, grabbing a hold of it.

Salunga glanced up at Anguirus standing before him, furious at how he was bested by this pest.

No.

He wasn’t bested by him, instead by those vermin he allied himself with. Salunga fought all his life, killed all those who stood in his way to be what he was and all of that was destroyed. Anguirus’ victory was hollow, unearned as all he could do was sit there and die. Not even due to him, but of time.

Time is what killed him.

Anguirus lifted up the beam and slammed it down Salunga’s throat, eliciting a series of gurgles from him. Salunga’s eyes started to close, but Anguirus wasn’t going to take any chances. The hedgehog bit into the green demon’s upper jaw and with all of his might, tearing into the roof of his mouth, ripped his upper head off.

The Bow of Vishnu was no more.

The would be catastrophe never came to be.

The small specks of Red Dust from Salunga’s maw flew into Anguirus’, causing him to sneeze. He shook his head slightly until he felt rejuvenated, feeling himself be able to move more freely before. Anguirus was perplexed by this development, knowing it didn’t remedy all of his injuries, but enough to where he wasn’t on death’s door.

The giant hedgehog looked over to his friends and moved towards them, honking at them. With the threat neutralized, he was ready to make the escape with them, to be able to live in the world in peace.

His home.

Sirens went off!

The sound of propellers and tanks rolling into the city were heard, immediately causing alarm with the group.

“Great! We trade one villain for another!” complained Koji, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Any ideas, Chiko?” Yukiko questioned.

Machiko’s heart dropped, knowing this was the end of the road for them, but not for Patches. Her growing bond with the animal and the adventure she got with her friends were both things she never thought she would have gotten.

They saved her, they let her live in spite of time coming to take those things away. Machiko no longer feared them, but embraced it. There was value in those memories, ones she can now keep forever and that could never be taken away from her.

Machiko wrapped her body around Anguirus’ front leg. “Patches, this is where we say goodbye… at least for now, I think. I don’t know. But, you’re free! Go and live your life!”

Anguirus’ eyes flashed, watching Machiko and her friends distract the military while he successfully makes it into the nearby forest, never to be found. The sequence ended as he nodded in approval, honking at her, thanking them all for what they did for him.

He rubbed his snout against her face, earning a giggle from her. “We’ll see each other again, Patches. I know it.”

Patches honked again in excitement before running as fast as he could, disappearing into the dark forest while the JSDF rolled up in the ruined city block, finding the four teenagers standing side by side.

Machiko smiled at her friends. “Thank you all for helping me with…. everything.”

“Eh, I had nothing better to do,” Masahiko said, shrugging his shoulders.

“You wanted an adventure and we were gonna stick with you until the end,” Yukiko chimed in.

“And past that,” Koji added, turning to Machiko, smiling at her in the face of being persecuted. “Always.”

Machiko’s eyes teared up, feeling far stronger than she ever felt in life. The bonds she made with both her friends and Patches were what’s going to keep her going, she believed that. No matter what hardships time threw at her, she knew she could conquer them no matter what.

“You guys are the best.”

 

Chapter 9: Where to?

“And you have no idea where Anguirus disappeared to?” an officer of the JSDF inquired, turning his gaze from the dossier and onto Yukiko.

Yukiko put her hands together onto the table, smiling at the military official. “Couldn’t tell yah.”

“You are aware of the charges if the four of you are lying, correct,” the agent relayed, keeping his voice almost monotone, causing the girl to chuckle. “Do you take this lightly?”

She simply smiled at the officer, chuckling at how Masahiko would point out that the official’s voice perfectly matched the room they were in; cold and bland. “Of course not. This is the most serious I’ve ever been.”

“And would your friends say otherwise?” he asked, flipping through the pages, inspecting each of their records closely.

“If they did, I’m not even sure which one you’d believe!” Yukiko happily spoke, almost bursting out with laughter, lifting three fingers up before lowering them one by one. “One would just scream at you, another would suggest an adventure and the other would have you watch the best movie ever made.”

“You’d rather stick with your quirks over telling us the whereabouts of the kaiju?”

“As I said, I couldn’t tell you. You’re wasting your time interrogating us,” Yukiko stated defiantly.

***

“I assume you haven’t seen the footage I’ve recorded of both Anguirus and Salunga?” Masahiko spoke, adjusting his glasses before looking back at the military official.

The officer sighed. “We have, but you haven’t answered our questions regarding the former’s whereabouts.”

“All I can offer is what I recorded from my interactions with the creature, which you are free to use however you see fit,” the filmmaker conceded, hoping the footage would suffice in appeasing the officer.

“That is not necessary,” he sighed, feeling incredibly agitated by the teenager’s evasive behavior, slamming his hands onto the table.“All I want is a location on where to find Anguirus.”

“I do not have the knowledge of that, but might I recommend something else.”

***

“As much as I’d love to see that creature locked up or neutralized, I have no idea where he ran off to!” Koji exclaimed, placing his hands behind his head, exhausted from the extensive interview. However, he did already lie once during the session. Koji no longer wanted to see Anguirus hunted down or even locked up, but he felt it was necessary to play the villain to get them off their backs. “Besides, what does it matter to you guys, anyway? Do you have another mech to chase him down with?”

“No comment,” the officer stated, keeping his eyes peeled to the folder in his hand.

“Suit yourself,” Koji said, leaning towards the table from his chair. “Word of advice?”

“Hmm?”

“I wouldn’t provoke him again. He nearly destroyed Jet Jaguar, broke out of a facility and killed the second most dangerous kaiju on the planet. I don’t think it’d go well for you,” Koji listed off, knowing full well that if they found Patches, there’d be hell to pay and they’d be worse off than before. He knew they were coming and how to deal with them, and couldn’t help but to root for the spiked saurian.

“Thank you for the suggestion, but we’ll have it covered when the time comes,” the officer spoke, dismissing his warning with a wave.

“Naturally, but don’t come crying to me when it doesn’t work out.”

***

“Yes, I was with him for the past several days,” Machiko stated, almost glaring at her interrogator. They did nothing wrong, they not only saved an innocent creature’s life, but kept people out of harm’s way by preventing a misunderstanding between Patches and the rest of her town.

“It is impressive to see you were able to keep him under control, but he’s no household pet. He’s a kaiju who must be brought down,” the officer relayed.

“And he only did the things he did because everyone provoked him!” Machiko countered, almost jumping up from her seat from the argument heating up, however, she kept herself calm by taking a deep breath. “If you did the things I did, then you wouldn’t be hunting him down.”

“You friends are claiming no knowledge of his whereabouts, but you seem to have the most passion for this kaiju,” the officer paused, looking directly at her. “You are the best bet on finding him.”

Machiko snorted in disbelief at what the official was asking her. The end of that night was still so fresh to her. She ordered him to flee into the wilderness as the garrison arrived to secure the area. It was hard for her to do, to part ways with him even if it meant saving his life. She hoped he understood what she meant.

“And you’d think he’d somehow tell me where to find him, like we have some sort of secret hangout spot?” she almost chuckled at how preposterous the question was. “As I’m sure my friends told you, you’re not going to find them. He’s long gone.”

“I see,” the agent paused, before closing the folder and opening the door, motioning his hand towards the outside. “You’re free to go, but beware we will be monitoring this area closely for the next few months to see if your stories check out.”

Machiko smiled, getting up from her seat and walking past him to the outside world.

“You’re never going to find him.”

***

Months later

The day had arrived.

The day Machiko dreaded most had finally arrived.

The group had gathered at the train station, Machiko had wanted to see them off, to create one last memory with them.

“How do I look?” Yukiko asked, spinning around in her new brown dress adorned with red, white, and pink flowers as small figures resembling Anguirus and Salunga were clawing at each other.

“Everyone is going to have so many questions,” Machiko spoke, inspecting the newly made dress.

“That’s what I planned anyway, snobs love stuff that’ll make them come with fifty-five different interpretations,” Yukiko ecstatically proclaimed.

Machiko fitted her hands into her pockets, glancing at Masahiko as Koji strolled over to them with everything they needed on their person. “There was a sign back there saying the showdown at the festival was a hoax,” Koji said, lifting his finger back there.

Machiko chuckled. “And you guys didn’t get a picture?”

“Well, apparently Masahiko doesn’t film everything,” Koji spoke, lightly slapping his friend on the back. “Even if it would have been one of the more interesting things.”

“Art is subjective after all….” Masahiko tried to point it out, but Koji stepped up, moving his hand onto his shoulder.

“Tell me on the train ride over, I’ll need it to help sleep.”

“He really has gotten better,” Yukiko whispered to Machiko.

“All thanks to Patches.”

“Hey!” Koji hollered out, walking over to the two. “I made a choice!”

“Of course you did,” Machiko spoke, raising her eyebrows at him. “And I’m grateful for it.”

The group went silent for a moment, all trying contemplating what to say next. They were all headed into different directions in their life, some sooner than others, but this was the last time they’ll all be together. It hurt them, but knew this wasn’t the last time they’d see each other, just more of a pause in their adventures.

“Once a week,” Yukiko was the first to speak up.

“Huh?” Machiko questioned, her head perking up slightly.

“Once a week, we talk to each other online, that is,” Yukiko clarified, looking over to her boyfriend. “Your idea wasn’t so bad, after all.”

Masahiko smiled at the compliment, as she made a declaration, raising her finger up. “And y’all better sit your butts down for it, because it’s happening!”

Machiko laughed, pulling her hands out of her pocket before snatching Yukiko up for a hug. “I’m going to miss you all so much.”

“Same here, bestie!” Yukiko cried out, shedding tears as she returned the gesture.

The train signaled its departure as passengers started to pile in as the group looked to Machiko with sadness in their eyes. Yukiko was the first, albeit reluctantly, to board the station. She looked back at Machiko and shouted at the top of her voice “You make sure you take good care of him, okay!”

Machiko nodded at the request as Masahiko walked up to her and placed his hand behind her shoulder. She raised her head back slightly in confusion, as he raised his camera up, pointing it towards them and hit the button, snapping a picture of them.

“One last picture of us…. at least for a while,” Masahiko explained nonchalantly, heading towards the train. “Will send you a photo of it soon.”

“Goddamn idiot,” Koji muttered, shaking his head, walking towards his best friend. He was at a loss, he knew this moment was coming and tried to prepare himself on what he needed to say, but he just couldn’t do it. “I have no idea what to say other than to….”

“We would have made a hell of a couple, wouldn’t we?” Machiko inquired, completely shellshocking Koji, turning his face beet red with embarrassment.

Koji stumbled upon his words, for once on the edge of embarrassment as he started to fidget with his hands. “I….. uh….. Wow! That came out of nowhere! Like, really out of nowhere!”

Machiko laughed, wrapping her arms around her dear friend. “We really should have said something to each other.”

“Yeah, you think?” coughed Koji, slowly wrapping his arms around her, trying to keep his composure. “Long distance?”

“The idea is nice, but I don’t think that would be fair to either of us, especially you,” countered Machiko, always sharing a connection with him, but their timing was never good. “Time was never on our side.”

“Nah, we were just chickenshit.”

Machiko snorted, letting go of her treasured friend, taking a good look at him with sincerity. “If neither of us find anyone, then we’ll see, but for now, let’s see what happens. I won’t blame you.”

Koji wiped a tear from his face, knowing this wasn’t any easier on him either. He was going to miss her terribly and would be kicking himself for months or even years on end for never asking to be anything more with her. “I appreciate that, and same to you.”

He trekked over to the steps of the train with Machiko following him. Koji placed one foot on the train as he turned around. “Besides, you still have someone important to take care of.”

“He wouldn’t mind when the time comes,” Machiko murmured, winking at him.

“You two take care of each other, for all of us,” ordered Koji, smiling at her as he finally boarded the train.

“Anything for you,” Machiko spoke, watching the train depart the station as she stood there until it disappeared from her line of sight.

She sighed, feeling an almost empty sensation in her stomach at the lack of company. Machiko was proud of her friends going on towards the next step in their lives, but still had to contend with the feeling of isolation for a while. Nonetheless, she was on the next step for her journey and she was going to face it, both good and bad.

Machiko picked herself up and smiled, heading towards her next destination.

***

She took in the spring breeze, feeling invigorated from it. Machiko put one hand in her pocket while keeping the other on her backpack. She knew that she’d still miss them, and that’ll still be hard to get through, but Machiko could now accept it. They made sure of that and will still be there for each other if something ever came up.

Machiko smelled the amazing red, white, and pink flowers booming back up. Hitsujiyama Park was still a beauty to unfold, even after the damage Salunga conjured. She chuckled, knowing the same could be said for her friendships and the newfound appreciation of time.

The graduate gazed around her surroundings, finding no one else in the colorful fields. Machiko smiled as a low rumble shook her slightly. She turned around to find Patches standing a few feet away from her, his wounds healing nicely as he stared at her.

“Take it all in,” Machiko spoke out, delighted to see her beloved friend finally being able to roam one of the most beautiful places in her town.

Patches sniffed at the colorful flowers and felt himself at peace. He trotted past her and inspected every piece of land he could get to. The hedgehog closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back at how far he came. From being forced to trek a red storm, to fighting creatures he didn’t understand, nearly dying several times, to now, this. A land full of color and other beings he could coexist with.

Serenity.

SNAP!

With a crack of a can, Machiko poured the fish out onto the ground as Patches scrambled towards it. He dug his head and chowed down, eliciting laughter from his dear friend.

Machiko patted her hand on her friend before getting on top of him and standing on the armored portion of his neck. The two shared a glance with each other before turning to the horizon, both of them knowing a whole new adventure was waiting for them.

“So, where to?”

Winner: Anguirus (Reiwa)