Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Matthew Freese & Andrew Sudomerski

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Armageddon’s Prelude
Chapter 2: Repeating History
Chapter 3: Snowballing
Chapter 4: Thunderous Collision of Steel and Flesh
Chapter 5: Storm Clouds Swirl
Chapter 6: Across Worlds
Chapter 7: Light and Warmth of a Smile
Chapter 8: Nihilistic, Hedonistic
Chapter 9: Aftermath and Prelude
Chapter 10: Day Before Judgment
Chapter 11: Astronomical Final War
Chapter 12: Sinking Island in the Void
Chapter 13: He Is Risen
Chapter 14: Malnourished Soul Fades

Chapter 1: Armageddon’s Prelude

Crimson orbs, set within gold.

That was what he saw as he looked up, witnessing everything else collapsing around him. The world corroded away, darkness taking its place as it crawled over all with countless hands. Screams echoed in the distance, a faint chorus of agony. But all he could focus on was them, on those shining spheres filled with the absence of all things good. They had a horrid beauty as they bore into his soul, despite how they wanted to crush and devour all that was beautiful in existence. All he thought was powerful was but a mere candle’s flame next to this raging inferno, as things he once thought invincible accomplished as much as a moth hurling itself into a flame.

He reached out, not sure why, thinking he could accomplish anything against that which was beyond him.

***

Eyes snapped open, a deep gasp filling his lungs with air. Sweat ran down his skin as the muscular adolescent sat up, getting out of bed. He placed his feet on the golden floor, his eyes adjusting abnormally quickly as lights turned on and illuminated walls of the same color.

“My Keizer, you must be in the command room as swiftly as possible. The enemy is making a move.” Came the neutral voice of a subordinate, dressed in all black, who just as soon as she entered was already turning and exiting the chamber.

“Yes…” He whispered to himself, standing up. He quickly checked the surroundings again, reassuring himself he had just been dreaming. He was not powerless before a grander entity. He made his way to a mirror, quickly dressing himself in the dark attire of his faction as he looked at himself. “Never again…” He affirmed.

His door opened again, but before he could reprimand someone for attempting to rush him, a figure dressed in white and purple robes stepped in. The pale-skinned, blonde man wore a kind smile. “Keizer, your followers are growing anxious. The worshippers of the supercomputer truly have begun a power play.”

This snapped the adolescent leader out of his stupor, sending him rushing past the figure. The priest followed casually, never changing his demeanor.

***

Dual doors slid open as the Keizer entered the room, the dozens of others present turning and acknowledging his presence. “Tell me what is happening now.” He wasted no time.

“Sir, a group of saucers were sighted approaching Earth several hours ago. Computer controlled saucers, to be more exact.”

All eyes were on the monitor depicting the two signals approaching the planet below. Two ships, with a giant lifeform under each.

“How many saucers reached Earth?”

“Seven.”

Their leader smirked at this. “They lost five, how pathetic.” He chuckled.

“What do we do about the two kaiju they have obtained?” The subordinate asked with a tinge of fear in his voice, the tension in the room growing as the gathered Xiliens awaited their leader’s reply.

He looked back at the screen, looking for a further clue at what Earth kaiju they could have obtained, but something in his gut had already told him. The Keizer sighed.

The priest’s voice entered the room, reaching the leader’s ears and saying what he had already been thinking. “I think it is time we show our trump card.”

“Yes, I think it is, Metphies.” There was a collective gasp of shock and concern in the command room at what was being suggested, but the Keizer was quick to rebut any objections. “We know what kaiju they have, let us not kid ourselves. We must resort to similarly drastic measures.”

“But sir,” the same Xilien who had been briefing his master spoke up, “we risk revealing everything we have with this!”

The Keizer’s smile made the subordinate step back. “We will still have secrets of our own, I assure you, thanks to our scientists.” His next words lacked the upbeat tone. “Do not question me again.”

As his gathered followers found themselves taking a few steps backwards, the adolescent commander raised a hand into the air, looking as though it were just in a random direction. But they all knew this was not the case, and that instead he was reaching across hundreds of thousands of miles.

***

Ganymede was a desolate place. The landscape was dark and lacked much in the way of anything remarkable, being bumpy but lacking any sort of mountains or the like. Not a single lifeform crawled or walked across its surface.

Because he had taken to curling up in a ball and slumbering for the past few months. The black flesh of the humanoid reptile, combined with the bleach-white bones covering his head and torso, blended in with the barren place. A tail was curled around his stomach, splitting into two at its end.

His mind was blank, a dreamless sleep seizing him, until something pricked his mind. Consciousness flooded through the brain yet again, snapping open four eyes of scarlet. Muscular arms extended out, stretching, the sound of popping joints being lost in the oxygen-lacking environment. His legs did the same, bringing him to a standing position. The tail uncurled, kicking up dust as it swept across the ground. A mouth filled with sharp teeth opened in a yawn, exhaling smoke. Cracking his neck, Monster X looked up.

The blue and yellow world he shared a name with hovered in sight in the dark void of space. The voice of the soul he was linked to compelled him to come to Planet X, for tasks needed completing and bodies needed breaking.

Something the destroyer would be all too happy to aid with.

Curling his legs in, he sprang upwards with a powerful leap, sending rocks flying. The moon’s light gravity combined with his own powers to manipulate such things carried him miles into the sky, the dislodged stones rising up with him. He twisted in midair, firing down golden bolts of energy from his eyes, which smashed into the ground. The explosions ripped away large chunks of debris, a gravitational anomaly carrying them upwards towards himself.

In a flash of light, the floating rocks all coalesced around his body, forming a meteor. Like it was a bullet whose gun just had its trigger pulled, the mass launched forth at blinding speeds into the depths of space.

***

In a room of cold, steel walls, he watched on a video monitor as the two ships approached. He looked to the technicians, dressed in the same silvery, one-piece outfit as himself and bearing the same visors over their eyes, as they observed emotionlessly.

The only sound in the room was the ventilator hooked up to his nose.

The aged Xilien felt sparks of multiple feelings flare upon seeing the two kaiju ensnared in the saucer-shaped vessels’ tractor beams, but he quickly tamped them down. The Controller instead looked upon just the facts as his forces were soon to be greatly bolstered.

Seven ships reached Earth. Five were destroyed, suggesting that whatever still existed on the planet was capable of putting up a fight. A concern for another time, so the computer embedded into his brain filed that information away. The two that had survived had obtained two kaiju that the Xiliens had used before, to great effect as well.

On the day that everything came crashing down for them, the event that—

The Controller stifled the straying train of thought, forcefully rerailing it. On the failed invasion of Earth that terminated his brother, the former Controller. A defeat inflicted by a rebel of their own kind and humanity. Humanity was not here, they may not even exist in the cosmos at all anymore, and the rogue Xiliens were not within their own ranks anymore. There would be no more betrayal.

The upgraded supercomputer would ensure that.

“Send out ships to control them immediately, any moments with them able to act independently are dangerous.”

***

Breaching the atmosphere, the twin saucers lowered their payloads onto solid ground. The two curled up colossi unfurled themselves, groaning as they arose in confusion. The first, a towering theropod of dark scales, with spines running down his back all the way to the end of his mighty tail. He flexed his claws as he looked at his surroundings with reptilian eyes, growling as he remembered this place. The second, a pteranodon of light-brown hide, with mighty wings stretching from his sides. A sharp hiss left his beak as he too realized where they had been brought.

Godzilla and Rodan let loose mighty roars of defiance to whoever would hear them.

***

Elsewhere on the planet, floating within the thin atmosphere was a pyramid-esque ship. Inside it, thousands of Xiliens scuttled about, performing their assigned tasks.

In the control room, a vast chamber filled with monitors and machinery, an orange light fell over everything. The visage of a man’s face, one lacking distinguishing features other than a cold gaze. He floated, surrounded by what resembled fire, overseeing all.

This was the Giant Dark Emperor, a cruel figure cast out from an ancient land and set amongst the stars, only to turn his misfortune into gain as he began to accumulate power.

Below him were two Xilien women, one with dark hair and a composed demeanor, the other with brown locks and a wicked smile. Landes and Zagreth, respectively, observed the screen depicting the two kaiju being brought to their world.

“It seems the followers of the computer lack creativity. How droll.” Zagreth declared, faking a yawn afterwards.

Her counterpart was quick to reply. “Yes, but these two are not to be taken lightly regardless. They have gone back to them because they are powerful.”

Their overlord’s mighty words echoed out. “To have survived what happened to Earth, these two are dangerous indeed. Do not take them lightly.”

Suddenly, they watched as the skies were filled with light, a blazing fireball in the heavens rocketing downwards towards the two. Godzilla and Rodan’s rage was focused fully on it. Landes assumed that they were feeling hatred long since laid to rest be revived, violently so.

“Our foes are all unveiling their hands. What shall we do?” The emperor’s booming voice echoed out.

Zagreth grinned. “Shall we dip our fingers into this?”

Landes displayed more restraint. “We run the risk of drawing their attention to us, before our own trump card is finished.”

Before their overlord could reply, a tremendous boom blasted out from the speakers, making many of the underlings cover their ears with their hands. All eyes went back to the screen, whispers of fear and anticipation in equal measure rising.

Monster X stood to his full height, in the midst of a burning crater. Godzilla and Rodan marched to the rim of the indent, showing no sign of backing down as the skeletal nightmare hissed at them.

A fourth voice made itself loud in the room. An elderly, pale being, dressed in the same kinds of purple and white robes as Metphies. Another Exif, far older. “Their false idol of a beast must be eradicated as soon as possible if God is to grant us our victory!” Endurph shouted. “Now is the time to do so!”

The Giant Dark Emperor made his decree. “Prepare Gororin to be released, but do not do so unless I command it. Deviance from this decree will be met with death.”

 

Chapter 2: Repeating History

Six eyes gazed into four, a tension palpable enough to be physically felt building swiftly. Monster X felt somewhere deep inside himself that he remembered these two, but it was hazy, as though from a dream. Perhaps in a past life he had met them. However, what was not foggy was how he felt about them.

He hated them, with every fiber of his being. It burned in his heart and flowed through his veins like his blood, the desire to crush them both and see their gore paint the lands. What had they done to him in the past, to whatever he was when he met them, to make him feel this way? It mattered not, for what he did know was that he would not let that unknown injustice stand.

The two earthen beasts felt the same way about him, it seemed, as they wasted no time in charging down to meet him.

***

“Sire, you know what happened when these two encountered King Ghidorah, do you not?” Asked one of the Keizer’s servants.

“Of course I do.” He spat back. “Now watch a far different outcome.”

***

A fist of bone crashed against a fist of scale, neither budging an inch. Dust soared up as a shockwave raced out from the impact. The two colossi pulled back, roaring as they lunged forth at the same time. Godzilla barged his shoulder into Monster X’s chest, shoving the demon backwards, yet failing to knock him off his feet. The alien bruiser drove a knee upwards into his foe’s gut, doubling Godzilla over. Taking advantage of his foe’s stunned state, Monster X pulled a fist back, preparing to slam it into the skull.

Godzilla’s tail shot up, wrapping around the limb and restraining it. Monster X shouted as he tried to pull his arm free, snarling as his other fist crashed against the leviathan’s torso. Rearing up, the atomic beast opened his maw, firing a stream of blue mist directly into his foe’s face. The destroyer merely shut his eyes, letting the superheated fumes wash over his armored skull. When the atomic ray ceased, the eyelids peeled open to reveal blazing gold light. Godzilla’s roar of anguish echoed across the wastelands when rays of immense power lashed out and scourged his chest.

Snarling as he stumbled back, the ancient warrior looked down to see smoke rising from his burnt chest. Chunks of blackened flesh fell away, healed skin regrowing beneath them. He should have known his ray would have little effect, it did nothing against the golden terror he could not help but think of whenever he looked upon this aberration. They had the same aura, the same eyes that carried nothing but the desire to cause agony. And he now knew they had the same power.

Monster X leapt forth, leg raised high to deliver a crane kick, only for Rodan to sweep in at supersonic speeds, intercepting the extraterrestrial killer. Broken stone shot up as he slammed into it, cursing as the pteranodon circled around while cackling. He looked towards the flying beast, eyes beginning to shine once again, until Godzilla charged forth and crashed a mighty kick into the demon’s back. Monster X flew out of the crater, rolling across the ground and landing on his feet.

Rodan swept down, talons swinging. Sparks flew as sharpened bone met the alien’s armor, but the assault failed to stop Monster X from grabbing one of the pteranodon’s legs. He beat Rodan against the ground repeatedly, making the prehistoric soarer shriek in pain.

Godzilla rushed in, twisting to send his tail hurtling forth like a club. It knocked one of Monster X’s feet out from under him, nearly sending him to the ground yet again. He caught himself with his hands, releasing Rodan who immediately clapped his wings against the alien’s head. He was staggered back, allowing the leviathan to swiftly leap forth, tackling Monster X to the ground.

A punch across the face sent spittle flying from the demon’s maw, but when Godzilla went to throw the second, Monster X’s jaws opened wide. His needle-like teeth sank into flesh, shearing into muscle. The atomic guardian roared in pain, falling to his side and allowing Monster X to rise by manipulating gravity, looking as though invisible strings pulled him.

He thrashed his head back and forth like a dog, digging his teeth in deeper to Godzilla’s fingers, eventually finding their way into a knuckle joint. The skeletal dragon pulled away, taking half of one of the digits with him. Rodan rocketed downwards like a comet, howling mightily, only for Monster X to roll in midair, unleashing his Destroyed Thunder Beams.

Rodan screamed as he was sent flying miles away, all of his momentum completely halted and reversed. Godzilla, his finger already healing, began to get back up. Monster X used his powers over gravity to suddenly start spinning rapidly, cracking his tail like a whip against the leviathan multiple times in a row. Skin parted and released blood as the twin-edged appendage scourged its target.

Roaring in outrage, Godzilla grabbed the tail, stopping Monster X’s rotation abruptly. He let out a confused sound, before the atomic leviathan was suddenly fully upright. Godzilla lifted Monster X high, before yanking downwards with muscles that had casually lifted foes twice his weight.

A crater formed as the demon was smashed into the ground, roaring in shock and pain with a hellaciously baritone bellow. Godzilla repeated his attack, deepening the crater, before twisting in place. Monster X tried to utilize his powers over gravity to interrupt what was happening, but Godzilla’s immense strength held firm as he spun in place, building up speed. The Xiliens watching soon saw a rotating blur of white and black surrounding Godzilla.

The king of monsters released.

Monster X flew at speeds approaching that of sound, slamming into a nearby mountain. The structure of stone shattered, the cosmic devil being buried in the ensuing avalanche, his roars being muffled.

Rodan landed by Godzilla’s side, smoke rising from his chest. The two looked at one another, nodding their heads, then looked back to the pile of stones that had once towered above even them.

***

“Get the spaceships with the control signals in there, now!” The Controller raised his voice slightly, struggling to remain monotone. Things were getting far too murky for his liking, and the possibility of getting such a powerful force on his side did not help matters. Godzilla’s power had grown immensely since the Xiliens attempted to invade Earth.

***

“My lord, is he…”

The Keizer raised a hand, silencing the underling. His smile remained wide, as did Metphies’ when he looked to the pale priest. He knew the dozens in the room were feeling doubt and fear, but only he and the religious leader knew that the doubt was about to be purged completely.

***

“Deploy Gororin, now.” The glowing visage of a head commanded. Despite any internal objections she may have had, Landes pressed the buttons without hesitation, unchaining a distant set of gates. A sphere of plant-matter, coated in needles, rushed outwards like a raging wind.

***

Godzilla and Rodan prepared to move out, in search of the headquarters of their kidnappers, only for the pile of crumbled rock to shudder. Their gazes snapped over to it, taken aback as the stones began to rise.

There was an explosion of force that sent much of the mountain’s remains flying, the rest floating upwards as Monster X arose, roaring in fury. Blood poured from wounds in his flesh, cracks in his bone armor being visible for all to see. He rose upwards, eyes shining with golden power. Six immense streams of energy raced out, resembling miniature stars stretched into fibers, slamming into Godzilla’s body. The king of the monsters hit the ground hard as immeasurable power burnt away his biomass like fire to paper. He tried to roar in pain, but he could not as the blazing energy continued shredding into him.

Immediately, Rodan shot forth, screeching in rage. Monster X turned his power towards the flying beast, but Rodan avoided it as the golden death turned a vast stretch of the landscape into molten cinder. Turning his spike-covered chest up, the king of the skies crashed into Monster X at Mach speeds, splitting flesh and armor as it cast him out of the air.

The pteranodon looked back, recoiling in horror as he saw his closest ally’s horrid state. Godzilla’s ribcage was visible beneath blackened ash that was once scale and skin. The leviathan still lived, but barely so, his chest slightly rising and falling.

Monster X lunged forward, slamming his massive skull into Rodan’s own, cracking the armored brow of the pteranodon and sending him flying back, skipping across dirt and stone. He began to walk forward, breathing heavily and releasing vast quantities of mist as he surveyed his two opponents in their sorry states. Rodan got to his feet, then fell back over, concussed by the sudden, surprising assault.

The buzzing and humming of space vessels reached his ears. Two Xilien saucers, specifically the ones he knew from his embedded knowledge to be those of the enemy, approaching his foes. He went to leap at them, only to stop and slouch, cringing at the pain flooding his system. These two had proved quite difficult, but he would soon destroy them both. Just a moment of rest was all he needed.

Suddenly, a spherical creature with glowing, yellow eyes slammed into Monster X’s side, knocking him to the ground. Gororin let loose an odd growl, before launching needles at Rodan and Monster X, making the former fall over with a shriek and the latter bellow in wrath as they splintered off his armor.

***

“What!?” The Keizer screamed, fists clenching. He watched as Monster X got to his feet, only for Gororin to roll away quickly, launching itself upwards off a hill to soar high up. “What is that thing? Anyone?” He looked around the room, only to get confused looks and murmurs in return. A monitor flared with static, before being filled with the grinning face of Zagreth.

“I should have known.” The hybrid Regulator nearly growled.

“Do you like it? It’s something our genetic engineers whipped up recently.”

He watched as the cactus-sphere landed on Monster X’s skull, sending him crashing back to the ground. The Keizer turned back to his enemy. “What are you doing? You’re letting the computer’s servants increase their power!”

The booming voice of the Giant Dark Emperor echoed, the screen shifting to show him. The Keizer cringed, not at the sight of the fat-headed hologram, but at the split-second he saw of the third face present in that group, one which cracked open the lid of a capsule containing only painful memories.

“We fear not the computer’s slaves. We shall soon unveil the tool of their destruction, and thus we care not what pitiful things they gather. We do, however, care about that which hinders you and your ilk, and the increasing power of them does such.”

“Perhaps,” Zagreth cooed, “your grand monster will be killed by Gororin here and now, Keizer.” She cackled at the thought.

Landes spoke next, making the Keizer’s teeth clench. “Don’t make claims like that now, look!”

***

Gororin rolled like a wheel towards the downed Monster X, his head tilted to expose his neck. The spherical beast eagerly anticipated what was about to occur, his needle-coated body slamming into the throat and crushing it. To take life was his purpose, and such a thing was so enticing. The distance rapidly closed, an instant from now contact would be made…

Monster X’s arm came down like a hammer, slamming his open palm onto the cactus-like monster, stopping his momentum instantly. A low groan left the plant-beast, clear liquid dripping down his face from the top of his body. Twisting his wrist, the humanoid dragon lifted his foe up, grabbing the interloper with his other hand as he levitated back to his feet.

Saucer-shaped spaceships released blue beams of light, ensnaring Godzilla and Rodan in tractor beams and lifting them into the air. Monster X stared at them, preparing to gather energy to discharge it violently, only for needles to spear into his stomach’s flesh yet again. He looked back to Gororin, applying pressure with his hands in an effort to crush the cactus. Cracks began to spread across the plant-beast’s body, spraying vital fluids as he rumbled in agony. Mist left Monster X’s jaws as he exerted himself, awaiting the sight of the irritation being splattered before his raw might.

A needle launched forth from one of the bundles on Gororin’s body, embedding itself in the crimson gel of one of his eyes. Monster X bellowed in agony, dropping Gororin as he stumbled back. The stone was stained with the spherical monster’s “blood”, but the Giant Dark Emperor’s pawn seemed just as ready as ever to continue battle. Monster X grasped the needle protruding from his eye with two fingers, pulling it free with a squelching sound, releasing more liquid to drip forth. Before Gororin could do anything else, the dark knight threw the needle like a dart, piercing into a wound in the plant-beast. Gororin bellowed as his own weapon harmed him, but the roars of pain did not halt Monster X from lunging forward and kicking him with immense force, sending him flying miles away.

As a distant mountain lost its peak from the impact, the draconic warrior fell into a crouched stance, shaking with exhaustion. That last burst of movement was the breaking point, adrenaline draining rapidly. He breathed heavily despite needing no oxygen or gases of any kind, a subconscious reaction to his current feelings inherited from the source of half his DNA. He looked back to the previous foes, finding them to be gone from sight. He lowered his head, trying to regain his strength.

***

“Send out ships to recover him, we can’t have him out in the open.” The Regulator commanded, before turning back to his enemies. “This will not stand, I hope you realize that.”

Zagreth and the Giant Dark Emperor seemed unphased by the threats. The glowing effigy of a cosmic tyrant intoned “We fear not your pathetic threats, Keizer. Mightier things than Gororin await within our ranks, and your hybrid abomination will fall just as the computer’s servants shall, no matter how much power you gather.”

Metphies chimed in, his face still neutral. “You are the ones prodding into things you do not understand.”

“Silence, heretic! You serve defilers of God’s will, silence thy tongue before we cut it out.” Endurph scolded his fellow Exif, his anger apparent even with how far away the camera was from his face.

“Such harsh words,” Metphies responded in a tone like someone had been a bit rude in asking him to step out of the way, “we are still followers of him, dear brother, doctrinal differences should not be reason for such threats.”

“Your god has chosen I,” the Giant Dark Emperor boomed, “and none else. Tear away from the pathetic whelp pretending to be a king and perhaps you will receive some mercy.”

The Keizer was quick to respond, remaining even-toned with the undercurrent of barely restrained rage. “King. Such a meaningless title, just like ‘Dark Emperor’. I will grant you no mercy, and the day of this reckoning is drawing so near.” He held up a hand, letting electric bolts dance between his fingertips. “My power is not that of a whelp, or a king. It is mine, and mine alone. Now silence.”

He shut off the feed before any retort could come.

There was a haunting silence in the chambers of the ship, even from those not in the command room. Breaths were held as everyone awaited the next words of their leader, speakers waiting to broadcast it and instead only releasing that tension-ratcheting nothingness.

“How dare they…” he whispered. The next words were not so low. “How dare they! How dare he,” the hybrid emperor hissed the word like a hideous slur, “rob the grave of Gaia in a pathetic attempt to reclaim the glory of his brother! How dare the traitors interfere and grant the computer’s followers such a boon in the process!”

“My lord, you must-“ An elderly follower spoke up, only to be silenced by the gaze of his lord of overflowing power falling upon him. His next words turned into a whimpering clutter of breaths as he backed away.

A hand fell on his shoulder, one pale and garbed in a robe of white. “What he is trying to say, great Kaizya,” the room flinched at their leader’s actual name being spoken, but he seemed to show no reaction. “You must clear your head and overcome your wrath, for we need decisive leadership at this moment.”

“Yes… forgive me, my comrades.” The Keizer stated, earning a jumbled murmur of devoted words from his followers.

Metphies continued speaking. “Surely retribution would be preferable to stewing in anger?”

Kaziya stood there for a moment, pondering. He smiled. “Yes, and I know just what to do. We shall show more of our power, and decimate one of our enemies in the process. Release Gigan!”

***

The spherical mothership, gold enscribed with black runes, shook slightly as one of the three claw-like vessels detached. It descended towards Planet X, passing through the thin atmosphere in order to eventually be a few kilometers above the ground. Its sharp tip shined as it projected a blue beam, an entity manifesting within the light.

A powerful screech radiated outwards as the cyborg assassin stretched his arms and legs, the former having colossal scythes replacing the forearms while the latter ended in similar blades protruding from the front of the feet. His black armor glistened in the light of Jupiter, outshone by his single eye glowing a bright red. The teeth of the buzzsaw in his chest became a blur for a brief moment as they spun, his worm-like tail flexing and showing off the three-pointed claw at its end.

His orders came to him within his mind, the Keizer communicating telepathically. He accepted with a cackle, the crimson wings upon his back flexing as the rockets inside them activated, propelling him through the air at Mach speeds.

 

Chapter 3: Snowballing

A colossal chamber on the mothership was filled with a translucent fluid, Monster X in a fetal position within it. His eyes were shut, consciousness once more in slumber.

The hybrid emperor walked into a smaller room overlooking it. The scientists present saluted him. One gave a status report. “The healing process is going well, he will be fully recovered very soon.”

“Excellent.” Kaziya replied. He walked to the window, staring at the entity before him. “Leave me for a moment, if it will not hamper the healing, of course.”

“No issue, my lord.” The reporting technician replied, before moving with his colleagues out of the door.

He let out a long sigh.

Looking upon the entity in his current state filled the rebel emperor with such mixed emotions. In Monster X was their power, their might. The awe-inspiring, unstoppable divinity of a Keizer, the M-Base brought about by the crossing of human and Xilien blood pushed to its ultimate potential. Even wounded and recovering, he still gave off such an aura of strength. It was only natural he did, being the combination of his own DNA and that of the demonic ruler of the cosmos, King Ghidorah.

The golden wyrm, under Planet X’s sway for a brief time, had been labeled Monster Zero by them, but its true name was King Ghidorah. A foul beast that killed planets across the universe, a harbinger of destruction who descended upon unsuspecting worlds and ravaged them for his own wretched pleasure. Yet they had captured him, as he fled from Earth, and just in case, decided to extract DNA from him.

And now it was thus, that the strongest mortal and the strongest monster were merged by science, under the banner of Planet X’s salvation.

But it was not enough. Clearly not, if three other kaiju had accomplished such damage unto him. That was why Gigan needed to succeed, to clear the path for him and ensure victory could be attained.

His faction had come about due to a desire for freedom. The totality of Planet X had tasted it after their failed invasion of Earth, when the supercomputer guiding them like puppets was turned off and through humanity they were given a chance to experience actual emotion and free will. But they sought to chain it back down, either through returning to being nothing more than organic computer programs, or under the servitude of the fascist outcast dictator of another world.

They feared weakness, so they chose servitude. But he, he and the rest who followed him, they knew the true way was through the Xiliens being their own masters.

***

The harsh sounds of heavy machinery filled the vast chamber, steel walls surrounding a space containing a colossus. The image of the dreadful destroyer of worlds, wrapped in metal all across his form to the point that the gold was lost except for upon the twin tails. Wings like steel sails extended out his sides, green eyes like emeralds embedded in each of the three heads.

Mecha-King Ghidorah.

But where most would look upon it and see a great scion of devastation, the burning lord of this faction utterly adored it every time he checked in on it for the sheer power it would bring to bear against their enemies, Landes felt only sorrow. Her short black locks swung forward as she leaned on the railing, her eyes scanning over the mechanized wyrm.

She remembered the true identity of this one. Not the devil of the stars, but a copy forged from his stolen DNA when the Xiliens captured him for a brief time. Unlike the icon of desolation, the artificial Ghidorah was meant to be a protector, a guardian to vanquish the enemies of humanity and the Xiliens. Only for his first foe to be too much, too much for the whole world.

She sighed, looking to the ground instead. Those memories hurt just to even peek into. The peaceful, happy days when Earth offered a hand of forgiveness, grasping an olive branch after the conflict that had marred their first meeting with Planet X’s people.

Had this star system been the only one in the cosmos with life, that joy would have lasted for an eternity.

And in the wake of the horrors inflicted and their toll, she had cast her lot with one who was neither human or Xilien. A figure of might and conquest, appearing unto a world ready to rend itself apart, the flaming visage of a dictator easily swayed the lost souls of Planet X to his flock.

To her, it had been the only option. Her other choices were to either follow a killer with a god complex, or to have her soul ripped out and cast into nothing. The Giant Dark Emperor had promised stability and freedom.

Promised power, in case they returned.

Klaxons alerted her to an emergency, instantly pushing the weary feelings building up down into her subconscious. It had to be one of the other factions, but which one would dare try and launch an attack after the difficulties both had just faced?

”Alert! Alert! Enemy Kaiju spotted, identified as Gigan! All personnel to their stations immediately, any other responsibilities are to be prioritized below defense!”

Her fists clenched. Of course that fool couldn’t accept a punch to the nose without throwing one back, regardless of the consequences. She rushed quickly, joining a herd of others moving to their posts.

Soon she found herself sitting before her monitor, next to Zagreth. The two of them were in charge of examining the battlefield and strategic planning, though Landes found herself questioning somewhat what strategy there could be in a scenario such as this.

“So that spoiled brat couldn’t handle us harming his little pet project, so he immediately lashed out.” Zagreth mockingly spoke, a sadistic grin forming. “I can only imagine the reaction he’ll have when we crush this one.”

Behind them, the flaming form of their leader descended, casting an orange glow on the silver walls of the vast chamber. “Landes, Zagreth. Is Mecha-King Ghidorah complete?”

“Not yet, my lord.” Landes replied swiftly. “Nearly so, but some more adjustments must be made before he can be deployed, the teams are working swiftly.”

“Will it be ready before the enemy has arrived?”

“No, your highness. Gigan will be upon us shortly before then.”

The Giant Dark Emperor, blindingly luminant despite his title, pondered for a moment. “Then deploy Mechagodzilla. Immediately!”

With a salute, both Xilien women input the commands on their terminals to initiate the release of the artificial leviathan.

***

Towering structures like a metallic rib cage parted, freeing the object in their center. As the roof opened like a clam’s shell, revealing the perpetually dark sky of Planet X, a pair of white eyes lit up like the stars above.

Metal as black as obsidian, a refined and altered version of the rare and often sought-after Space Titanium, shifted into place. A robot in an almost humanoid shape, except for legs and a tail more akin to a theropod’s, began to move. Feet with jagged toes, actually missiles, produced roaring flames from their soles which lifted the automaton into the sky.

Its arms stiffly locked into place at its sides, the blade-like tail straightening out as Mechagodzilla took to the air. A maw of jagged false teeth, like a dragon’s mouth, opened to release a splitting, screeching call as high-pitched as it was terrifying. Black Mechagodzilla’s mind lit up with orders, advanced sensors detecting the approaching Gigan.

Another ear-rending shout, which was met with the cyberclaw terror’s own.

***

Far away, a lone figure watched through a view port as a golden beast took to the air atop his sail-like wings. Three heads waved madly, their brown manes bobbing.

The followers of the supercomputer that had guided the Xiliens before their fateful meeting with humankind. Their commander had ordered the wyrm be set loose upon their enemy, an opportunistic assault to strike at the Keizer’s warrior as it was out in the open and to destroy whatever fighter the Giant Dark Emperor let loose to counter it.

The Controller saw it off, their greatest weapon. With Monsters Zero-One and Zero-Two recovering from the battle with X, they unleashed the monster that had originally served them.

“Will Monster Zero be sufficient to complete his task?” Questioned a subordinate behind him. The Controller turned to his face the questioner, the visor over his eyes rendering his expression unreadable.

“Yes. It is the original, the one our enemies have based their great weapons upon. It shall destroy the Keizer’s cyborg and whatever opposition the Giant Dark Emperor’s forces bring out against it.”

As the subordinate departed, the master pondered, letting the thoughts of a being with free will creep in slightly like a plant growing through concrete. The demon king of the universe, who had returned with vengeance for being turned into a pawn, only to be once more seized under their control. Temporary freedom, only to fall back into the darkness of enslavement by the same forces that had done it unto you in the first place.

All because you simply could not let the past go…

The Controller forced these thoughts back into the recesses of his mind, letting the cool, calculating knowledge of the supercomputer replace them. He did not even allow for anger at himself to bloom, for that was still emotion. For the sake of his people, he would be a puppet to pure logic. And he would not cease until they all were.

 

Chapter 4: Thunderous Collision of Steel and Flesh

Mechagodzilla and Gigan detected one another, both locking on with killing intent. Their jets roared, racing towards their enemy, but the fully mechanized fighter was the first on the assault. Like a battleship’s cannon, Mechagodzilla’s arm rose upwards before it, the missiles in place of its fingers racing out with the sharp popping of their firing mechanisms. White trails followed each projectile as they approached the cyborg, who dropped before they could connect.

Ignoring the distant explosions behind him, Gigan screeched with wrath. His eye flashed as a red streak of light shot forth, closing the distance between him and his target instantly. Before connecting, it split apart like a shotgun blast, a cluster of explosions surrounding Mechagodzilla. Shockwaves rocked its frame, sending its flight into a brief spiral before the royal doppelgänger regained itself.

A myriad of colors shot out from its eyes, a duo of thin rays that resembled a rainbow. The Space Beams struck true against Gigan’s chest, sparks and smoke flying as the living weapon cried out in pain. Suddenly, he vanished with a pulse of purple energy, confusing Mechagodzilla’s systems.

They realized the truth when the cyberclaw terror appeared behind his foe, swinging both bladed arms across the pseudo-saurian’s back. Dents formed at the points of impact, Space Titanium holding firm under the assault. Before Mechagodzilla could counter, Gigan was swift to fire cables from his scythes, which wrapped around the machine’s midsection.

With a shout of great joy, intermixed with the distress signal of a roar from his artificial foe, Gigan spun like a top. Mechagodzilla swung with the momentum, sensors in overdrive trying to gather rapidly shifting data. Unfortunately, the cybernetic assassin was not just staying in place, instead slowly descending all the while. A sudden stop, joined by the hefty impact of steel on stone, gave Gigan immense satisfaction.

A large hill was pulverized, his cables sticking out from a towering cloud of dust. He clapped his scythes together, laughing as he planted his feet on the ground. Gigan mocked a foe he assumed was now a smashed scrapheap.

A jagged bolt of yellow energy, like a cartoon lightning bolt, pierced the cloud of debris and tore into Gigan’s chest. He screeched as he fell backwards, steel and deadened flesh flying. To his concern, he did not actually hit the ground, his cables holding taut just before.

The Space Beams soared forth again, parting the falling dust to reveal Mechagodzilla with a gigantic dent on its side, sparks flying from torn metal. The arm was twisted out of alignment, but as Gigan quickly learned after the eye rays severed his Hooking Anchors with a sweep, it was not out of commission. Raising its arms and letting the wires fall to its sides, Mechagodzilla stared directly at the now grounded Gigan. The cyberclaw terror got to his feet, rockets igniting as he attempted to get back into the air, but it was too late.

A bombardment of missiles from the hands, knees, and feet of Mechagodzilla descended upon their target. Gigan screamed as he hit the scattering dirt, body awash with explosions. Dust and smoke were kicked up like a tornado had arrived, but the war machine kept up the onslaught. A panel on Mechagodzilla’s chest flipped downwards, revealing a red sphere which spat out the Cross Attack Ray once more, the lightning-like bolt racing into the conflagration to scourge the cyberclaw terror.

A red beacon shone through the black of smoke, a prelude to a laser. Unlike the first, this one did not break apart, staying whole as it burned into Mechagodzilla’s face. This made the robot stagger backwards, metal heating up where the Laser Knife struck.

A mixed cry of pain and anger erupted from Gigan’s beak as he leapt upwards, scales falling away en masse as craters coated his form. Cracks had begun to form on his scythes, not significant but noticeable. He vanished in a flash once more, prompting Mechagodzilla to suddenly turn and fire a volley of missiles.

They struck nothing but distant ground, just before Gigan’s feet crashed onto the pseudo-saurian’s shoulders. Screeching madly, the cyborg assassin jammed one of his scythes into a gap in Mechagodzilla’s damaged arm, sparks flying as he attempted to wrench it off. The other arm shot up, but the cyberclaw terror’s tail wrapped around it and yanked down, keeping it from firing upon him.

With no other options, Mechagodzilla’s head began to spin rapidly, mouth open to release a geyser of orange fire. Gigan cried out as he staggered from the burns on his already wounded legs, falling over his foe. His scythe still stayed wedged in, despite his anguish he refused to relinquish. But the war machine kept its head rotating, the flames no longer spraying.

A blue cylinder formed around the hunched over machine, Gigan screaming as it seared everything it touched. His head was wedged against it, smoke pouring upwards as he tried to pull it away. His tail’s steel was red-hot, the necrotic flesh underneath searing.

Giving up on his opportunity to disarm his foe, in favor of literally saving his skin, Gigan ripped his claw free and flew up like a rocket. He landed before his foe, smoke pouring from his body. The Neo Defense Barrier faded as Mechagodzilla stood up, its damaged arm nearly limp. Both braced themselves, ready to continue their fight.

Until a golden ray of energy tore into Mechagodzilla’s ravaged limb, blasting it away. A high-pitched roar resounded out afterwards as the automaton staggered. Gigan laughed while rearing back in shock, torn by the sudden development, until it affected him as well. For a moment later, a golden foot slammed into one of his arms, worsening the cracks on the scythe to the point that it looked critical. The impact sent him spilling over.

King Ghidorah cackled in wretched glee as his wings slowly beat, lowering him onto the ground near his targets.

Both cybernetic menaces turned their ocular weapons upon the new arrival, who folded his wings before him as a shield. The Laser Knife and Space Beams struck, only succeeding in leaving slight scorch marks on the golden flesh. Their sensors detected a magnetic field weakening their rays, which intensified as Ghidorah opened his wings and let loose a screech.

Their feet dragged against the ground, the metal of their forms being grasped and pulled in by the anomaly erupting from the dread wyrm. Mechagodzilla took advantage of this, firing its missiles blindly into the air and watching as they were snagged by the invisible waves. Gravitating towards Ghidorah, they detonated on contact with his scales, making his three mouths cry out in pain. The magnetic pull ceased, allowing Mechagodzilla to properly turn and prepare to engage.

Only for a scythe to slash across the back of its skull, sending sparks flying as Mechagodzilla staggered. Gigan laughed, before flying backwards into the air and turning his head towards King Ghidorah. Stopping, he vanished in a flicker of purple luminance.

Blood flew from the bases of the dread golden one’s wings, Gigan’s scythes skidding down them as the cyberclaw assassin appeared behind him suddenly. They did not cut deep enough to sever the limbs, but they had succeeded in drawing Ghidorah’s rage, exemplified as his tails were thrust back.

Lancing into exposed flesh, the mace-like ends of the twin limbs were soaked in dark blood and oil, Gigan’s screams of pain being music to the demon king’s ears as he took off into the air. Swinging his foe beneath him, King Ghidorah dropped the cyborg beneath his feet as he crushed him against the ground. Ripping his tails free, the golden dragon jumped into the air, ready to land once more, only to have a barrage of missiles assail both him and his foe.

Mechagodzilla screeched, its black armor glistening in the light of its attacks as it fired rays from its eyes and chest to join the assault. Missiles erupted from where a tongue would be, detonating against Gigan’s body, only for an orange ray of fire to shoot from the throat and burn against the falling King Ghidorah’s scales.

Rising to his feet, the destroyer of worlds withstood the assault as he leaned down, bunching his trio of heads together. Like a golf club he swung them into Gigan’s side, shattering the cracked scythe in the process as the assassin was sent flying. A cacophony of screeches echoed as the two metallic warriors slammed into one another, rolling across the burnt stone.

The ringing laughter of King Ghidorah echoed as he began beating his wings and firing gravity bolts with mad abandon at his targets, catching them in a storm of devastation. The winds picked up the shards of Gigan’s blade, sending them at the duo like razor blades.

Despite the suffering both were undergoing, the golden rays carving burn marks like trenches into them, they continued to attack one another. Gigan’s beak opened to unleash a geyser of flames, bathing Mechagodzilla’s head in it. The automaton replied with a chop to the throat, making the fire sputter as the cyborg coughed.

King Ghidorah leapt up, keeping his wings beating in order to stay aloft, as straighter bolts of energy shot out from the claws of his toes. They burned into the sides of the mechanical menaces’ skulls, prompting a wrathful counter attack from both. Mechagodzilla’s hand twisted, replacing the missiles with a much stronger kind. As he did so, Gigan leapt up and teleported once more.

Despite their hatred of one another, the two executed a combined attack perfectly as Gigan landed atop his golden foe’s back, making the demon king writhe in shock yet remain in the perfect position. For as he thrust his heads back to make the cyberclaw terror fall away, he was unable to defend himself from the missiles that tore into his gut, blasting him out of the sky with a great burst of blood and smoke.

As Ghidorah writhed, a massive crater in his stomach now, Gigan proved to be as petty as he was deadly, getting in close to one of the flailing heads and releasing a short range burst of red energy with a laugh.

Mechagodzilla prepared to attack once more, only to suddenly stop.

***

Moments prior

“Mecha-King Ghidorah is ready, sire!” Zagreth shouted, receiving the notification from the technicians. “What shall we do?”

“Recall Mechagodzilla for repairs. Release Mecha-King Ghidorah and destroy these two invaders.”

“Yes, your highness!”

***

Gigan shouted as Mechagodzilla turned and flew away, taking off into the air to pursue him, only to have teeth clamp onto his tail and drag him back down. Rising back to his feet, King Ghidorah bit down with his other two jaws onto the red sails, locking Gigan in place. Protesting shrieks became painful yells as electrical energy was pumped into the cyborg’s form, making him spasm.

The cyberclaw terror freed himself by driving his remaining scythe into the wound on his enemy’s stomach, making King Ghidorah cry out in anguish. Slouching as he landed, the cyborg scurried away to gain some distance, then turned. Six eyes met one. Neither was willing to back down.

At least, not to each other.

Three bolts of spiraling purple and white bombarded the aliens and the area around them. Both screamed in a mix of shock and pain, staggering as their gazes went to the new arrival.

King Ghidorah reared back, eyes widening. A mechanical duplicate of himself, how could this be? Especially as he got a better look and saw the organic tails and legs, bearing the same golden scales as him. It was a cyborg made in his image. He shouted at it, wings spread wide in an intimidation display.

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s tails moved forward, crackling projectiles launching from between the sharp points at their ends. They sank into the organic dragon, making his demeanor change in an instant as he spasmed with an agonized roar. Electricity ran through his body, siphoning his energy and rendering him helpless for a moment.

Gigan’s eye shot forth its Laser Knife once more, but his foe was ready. A translucent barrier appeared around it, the red beam being absorbed into the sphere and failing to leave even a mark. In fact, it seemed as though it only gave the mindless cyborg more energy, for another round of its breath weapons came out, tearing into the duo.

Flashes of memory sparked in Gigan and King Ghidorah’s minds as they fled at once, lost but now unfortunately found for the former. It only made them hate each other more as they parted ways, returning to their masters.

***

“Should we pursue them, your highness?” Asked Landes.

After a moment of thought, the glowing visage spoke once more. “No, it is not worth the risk. Not yet.” A smug smile adorned his face. “But let us see what our enemies will have to say about that.”

 

Chapter 5: Storm Clouds Swirl

“Prepare the healing chamber for Monster Zero!” The Controller commanded, sending his subordinates in the featureless, white command room into a working frenzy like ants. “They have surprised us yet again, but with our full strength they will fall!”

The main monitor buzzed to life, a signal coming towards it to be transmitted.

***

“Prepare to repair and upgrade Gigan!” The Regulator shouted with emotion that was almost joy. His words echoed throughout the control center. “His power, alongside Monster X, will render them helpless!”

A call came in, the monitors filling with static.

***

“Accept it.” The cybernetic elder said emotionlessly.

***

“What the hell do they want?”

***

“Is bragging really the right move?” Landes questioned as they waited for an answer.

The face that looked as though it were made of flames looked down towards her. “Psychological warfare is just as important as the physical.” He intoned.

“Besides,” her comrade leaned over to her. “Don’t you love seeing their faces twitch? That old bag of bones trying to remain emotionless while the kid hoots and hollers like a damned baboon?” Zagreth couldn’t stifle her cruel laugh.

Fortunately for Landes, her crestfallen face was only the source of Zagreth’s attention for a split second before the two opposing factions answered their communicative summons.

“What babbling do you have to subject us to, you bloated skull?” Kaziya was quick to begin the conversation with hostility, his subjects behind him with solemn faces. Except for Metphies, who kept up a calm smile, like a friend at a party.

“The fact that the only thing sustaining you two is the fact that an attack on one would allow for the other to strike us later. We have Mecha-King Ghidorah, in peak condition, while none of your monsters are fit to fight.” He replied smugly, his voice bouncing off the walls of his vast auditorium of a control room.

“You think we’re out of monsters?” The Keizer replied with just as much pride. “You know nothing of what we truly have.”

“Then where is it?” The Controller chimed in. “Monster X and Gigan are the only two colossi you have unveiled despite the length of this war. Surely if you had more, you would have revealed them.”

“Not when Monster X and Gigan have been more than enough to triumph.”

“Hmph! Monster X was nearly killed, and Gigan is currently missing an arm! They’ve triumphed over nothing.” Zagreth interjected. “If they’re all you have, you’re defenseless now!”

Kaziya’s fist clenched. “Not only has Monster X nearly slain both Godzilla and Rodan, putting him far above that worthless wyrm Monster Zero.” He pointed towards the elder, awaiting a crack in the wall. There was none, so he continued. “But Gigan has damaged Mechagodzilla and made it so he now lacks an arm.”

“Monster Zero is not the same as when Zero-One and Zero-Two fought him. Time has made him greater, as has his anger over his previous failures. He wields new powers and far more strength.” The old fashioned Xilien leader boasted. “Zero-One has also become far stronger than when Planet X encountered him in the past.”

“And yet, Mechagodzilla put a hole in Zero’s gut and Mecha-King Ghidorah sent him running for his life.” Landes finally spoke up. “We have superior versions of your two greatest monsters. And Rodan can’t keep up.”

“The Black Mechagodzilla that also currently lacks an arm. Just as your cactus monster currently nurses great wounds. Your version of Monster Zero only drove the true one away due to the timing of its arrival, without interference, you will see your inferior clone,” his voice rose subtly at those words, nobody but Kaziya and Landes picking up on it, “vanquished.”

“Doesn’t save Rodan from getting shot out of the sky.” Zagreth chuckled.

“Zero-Two holds secrets that none of you are prepared for. When he has recovered, you will bear witness to a new beast, one far greater. And the Mechagodzilla you possess is one that Zero-One has already dealt with, twice.”

“Not the one we have. Black Mechagodzilla makes the efforts of the Black Hole Aliens seem paltry.” The Giant Dark Emperor boasted, his ember-like eyes gazing intimidatingly into his two opponents. Neither backed down, not offering even a flinch.

“But what does this conversation matter?” Metphies spoke up, surprising everyone. “We are in a deadlock, are we not? What does this boasting and posturing matter if nothing is changing?” His tone was calm as always, not like a reassuring parent, but like ice.

A far cry from his fellow holy man. “Silence, heretic!” Endurph shouted. His wrinkled skin flexed with his angered ranting. “What matters is knowing that you are doomed, and festering in that fear before you pay for your crimes of aligning with the Keizer!”

“If your God is against me, he’s a damned idiot!” Kaziya cackled. “The power of the Keizer is the power of the divine!”

“Your hubris will damn you, worthless cur!”

“You cling to gods and the unknown,” The Controller cut in. “And you call yourselves Xiliens? Logic shall crush all else.”

“And clinging to the old ways will save us?” The Keizer replied, true venom seeping into his voice. “The ways that led to humanity defeating us?”

“They are better than your so-called freedom.” Landes replied. “The kind that led to our destruction at the hands of the Garoga.”

“And yet you use the clone who failed us, while serving a different kind’s leader? You sicken me, sister.”

“Not her fault, it was the best option.” Zagreth shouted, leaning over to wrap an arm around her comrade. Landes flinched at the surprisingly friendly gesture, knowing it was a sham just to aggravate others. She didn’t think Zagreth could actually feel things like camaraderie. “Better than hooking herself up to a dusty computer or trusting a dumbass screaming about how he’s a god.”

Kaziya stared daggers at Zagreth, raising his hand and letting sparks dance between his fingers. “Silence.”

As Zagreth returned to her seat, waving her hands in faux-fear, the Giant Dark Emperor spoke once more. “This is bigger than religious squabbles and family quarreling. Your kind holds themselves back by resisting me.”

“You are a vulture.” The Controller replied. Anger crept into his tone slightly. “You will only lead our people to a degenerate existence, a scavenger tearing into the weakest prey.”

Endurph laughed. “Says a man who rejects all but what is right in front of him. But I suppose that is better than the heretics.” He glared daggers at Metphies.

The fresh-faced religious leader replied, not to his fellow, but to all parties. “Are we going to babble until the Sun expands?” This drew confusion. “For all this talk of superiority, none of us have proven it, have we? Only small fights fraught with extenuating circumstances.”

Tension grew further, even on his own side. But still, he kept speaking. “Talk is cheap, and I understand the irony of that coming from a man of the cloth, but actions speak far louder. Do they not?”

“What are you getting at?” The Controller slammed a fist on his table. “This is why I despise you men of belief. Circuitous language is the only one you know.”

Kaziya smiled. He picked up on his ally’s path. “Let us cease this hiding in the shadows! Jabbing at each other before retreating!”

Zagreth and the Giant Dark Emperor took on similar grins. The latter spoke up, laughing deeply. “Finally, we agree on something!”

Endurph let out a wheezing cackle. “Our full might, once recovered, shall crush the heretics and nonbelievers!”

The Controller’s mouth twitched, but he retained his stoicism. “Monsters Zero, Zero-One, and Zero-Two shall all be released at once once they have healed. If they meet forces not ready for combat, there shall be no mercy.”

“Oh, we’ll be ready. Our monsters shall crush you all! It will be the final chapter of Xiliens against my reign!” The Keizer clenched his upheld fist.

The solemn faces of all the other Xiliens were melting away, on all three factions. It was not clear to most watching, focused on the speakers, but two sets of eyes framed by pale flesh glanced across the screens and at their surroundings to see it. Soaking in the fear and anticipation.

“Our next meeting will be on the field of battle! And it shall be the last!” The Giant Dark Emperor shouted.

“So be it!”

“And let this struggle finally cease.”

With that, the feeds were cut off.

***

Kaziya already shouted to his followers, the glow of the screens not even faded. “Bring me the vial of Hedrium! It is time to finally bring about our full forces!”

“But my lord,” questioned a woman. “What if they attack while you and the group are out?”

“There will be no group, just myself. And if it were not for kaiju, I would be able to win this war by my lonesome.”

As an Xilien handed him a glass bottle, he turned to Metphies. “You know, I didn’t take you as the type to do something like this.”

A slight giggle left the prophet’s mouth. “I simply grow tired of this posturing without results. I did not realize my words would have such an effect.”

“Well, I’m glad. It’s no fun talking to your enemy unless they’re beneath you, begging for mercy.” He turned his head, “prepare to drop me on the planet’s surface!”

“I wish you luck, friend. I must retire to my quarters for now.” Metphies bowed, before walking away, leaving behind a chaotic scene akin to a bee’s nest in full force.

***

The door closed behind him as he entered his room, featureless except for the standard bed attached to the wall on the opposite side of the entrance. Metphies smiled as he walked over to it, kneeling on the white mattress and closing his eyes. They had offered him a room of luxury, but he turned it down, both to avoid drawing attention and from a genuine rejection of such things.

“Endurph, can you hear me?” He projected his thoughts outwards.

“Yes, my brother in God. I must apologize for my harsh words earlier, but you know that I must keep up appearances.” The elder priest replied back in the mental channel they established.

“Worry not, it is all part of the plan. I must commend you in actuality, a lesser mind would have snapped under the pressure of the Giant Dark Emperor’s ego.” A sly smile crept onto Metphies’ face, and he could feel a much toothier grin forming on his fellow’s visage.

“I will take great pleasure in that fool’s meeting with oblivion. There is great fear surrounding me, terror that will be ripe for the sacrament.”

“As is around me too. And more importantly, the Keizer’s desperation to win. It swells like a boil in his mind, and I know when the battle begins it will become even worse.”

“Perfect,” Endurph replied. “Do you think his creature is the one? The one who will bring the will of God upon the very universe?”

“Yes. I sense in both him and in it a power like this cosmos has only seen in our lord. When the Golden Demise emerges, he will show them both the path.” Metphies mentally spoke with nothing but confidence.

“Prepare your flock. I shall do so with mine. We will know the proper time to begin the ritual. And all will fall into place.”

Both smiled, teeth showing. Their god had called them back to this world, the world that their ancestors had once lived upon before making a mass exodus millennia ago. It had predicted an unfolding conflict, blossoming into a tragedy of utmost violence and terror.

And from that blooming madness would fall a seed. One which would grow into a tree that blotted out all life, its roots draining the very universe dry.

***

In the cover of dark, far away from any other eyes, a lone figure marched over craggy ground. A vial was grasped in his hand, containing a black mass. A clump with what resembled a tail trailing off of it bounced slightly with each step, hitting the walls of its glass prison.

But as the figure reached his destination, that seal would soon be broken. Kaziya looked over the vast crevasse, his nostrils burning at the stench that rose up from it.

Embedded in the surface of Planet X was a landfill, filled with garbage and pollutants. For most of its lifetime, the Xilien civilization had not produced much waste. Such was the result of a society that was focused entirely on optimization, where the individual had no worth and thus no potential for excess. Humanity had introduced luxury to them, resulting in the creation of leftover filth. Better technology than humankind had allowed for it to still be minimal, but here it was nonetheless.

“I would rather a thousand of these exist than let my people exist as hollow shells.” The Keizer spoke as he extended his arm, holding the glass tube over the pit. “Or to have them feeding off the scraps of another.”

With his thumb, he cracked the vial in half, letting it and its payload fall several hundred meters into the landfill. As the glass shattered even further, the black tadpole hit the stone with a small splat, staining the ground with a slight bit of its fluid but otherwise remaining unharmed. Like a worm it crawled into the nearest pile of junk, nestling itself in.

“The computer’s servants abandoned this place, claiming it was proof of an inferior civilization. The foreign emperor’s flock did the same, saying only a race as weak as humankind could produce such a thing. Perhaps they were right.”

Absorbing the sludge and filth around it, the tadpole grew. Red eyes forced their way out of the black mass, harsh in their luminance. Rudimentary legs grew out from its undercarriage, allowing it better movement as it hurled itself into another pile, messily consuming it like a man who had just emerged from near-fatal starvation.

“But it was the true us! The Xilien mind able to finally think freely, the heart able to beat for its own body and nobody else’s! We could finally live! So let the excess spill its poison!”

Smog which lingered in the air moved towards a single source, vents in the now gigantic entity suctioning it all for the sake of sustenance. Where any other life would die from intaking such foul material, this was a being that fed off that toxicity. Its slick, black flesh swayed with its movement. A foul gurgle of contentment emanated from the colossus.

“We will take that poison and pour it down our enemies’ throats!” Kaziya thrust his hand out once more, exerting his genetic gift of power over those with M-Base. Hedorah looked back to him, raising its arms in anticipation of what was to come. The smog monster was eager to serve, if it meant inflicting devastation.

The Keizer laughed to the black heavens.

***

The Controller stepped onto the balcony overlooking their third monster, as of this moment, their weakest. But if this worked, that would no longer be the case, an elevation making all three of their warriors forces to be reckoned with.

Rodan’s ravaged body, slowly healing in the vast tank of rejuvenating fluid, subtly shifted as new tubes were inserted into his flesh. Old information obtained from Earth, supported by what they could see from their analysis of his DNA, suggested that something was lying buried. In that genetic code was a transformation.

And they would force it out.

The tank glowed, Rodan spasming as gargantuan levels of radiation were pumped into his biomass. It was as if a nuclear reactor was being shoved down his throat. The green light illuminated the Controller’s stone-like face. He bore no sorrow for the pain the creature was feeling, not when they would benefit from it.

Rodan’s eyes shot open, wings spreading and sending the countless wires pumping healing fluids into his system falling away. He roared as his flesh turned from brown to crimson, sparks bouncing amongst his crown of horns. His surface level wounds sealed shut, but he was clearly in great pain nonetheless. The internal injuries were only aggravated.

“Return him to slumber once the transformation is complete. Prepare for war in the next few days.” The leader of the supercomputer’s emissaries commanded, before returning to his quarters.

***

Sparks fell like rain to the steel floor as the remnants of Mechagodzilla’s ruined arm were carved off, the first step to replacing it. Next, the joint connecting it to the body would be removed, allowing a new one to be inserted.

Zagreth watched it from a distance. Even from kilometers away, the shining of the plasma torch being used still illuminated her brown hair. Her eyes caught a worker peering at her from the corner of his own, to which she responded with a smile and delicate wave. She chuckled as his head snapped away, his feet scurrying slightly to gain distance.

The distinct sound of footsteps on metal drew her gaze back to the approaching Landes. “What’s so funny?” The dark-haired Xilien questioned.

“Oh, nothing. Just these men who dance like a puppet on strings for a pretty girl like me.”

Landes said nothing. The two most significant men in her life were currently on opposing sides of a war to her, and she increasingly believed it was in large part over a specific woman. Though, in that regard, she was not quite innocent herself.

She still saw that smiling face in her dreams sometimes, only to be harshly reminded as she awoke of the truth. How could she expect it to be any different for them? Especially for her father…

“Speaking of boys,” Zagreth continued, snapping Landes from her brief daze, “how’s the little cactus?” She questioned, as though Gororin was not still a towering giant.

“Almost fully recovered. He’ll be fine in short order.” She said almost monotonously.

“Good. I want to see that stupid pile of bones get frustrated fighting him again.”

***

The rebellious Xiliens watched in awe as Kaziya returned to the mothership, followed by the towering mass of pollutant sludge. Monster X, body almost fully healed, observed with his restored eyes of crimson. The most significant damage was fixed, so now he simply waited for his natural restoration to work. He looked to his master, who was being picked up by a ship to return to the main base. The Keizer met his eyes, a smile forming.

”You look wondrous, my dear friend. The time of reckoning draws near, and I know you shall bring us the glory we seek. I have ensured you the finest reinforcements.” He telepathically communicated to the draconic knight, tilting his head towards Hedorah.

Monster X and the other colossus shared a glance, linked in their allegiance. The smog monster was a wretched thing, but so was he, the skeletal ghoul figured. And so was their third, nearly at full capacity once more, a walking flurry of blades and sadistic impulses. They were cruel things, but that was simply the universe’s order.

A low growl was met with a shrill gurgle, a dark pact to bring devastation.

The ship containing the Regulator lifted him into the sky, then into the waiting fold of his subordinates in the landing bay. Planting his feet on the golden floors, he was quick to silence any potential questions.

“I saw nothing of import. Our enemies are shoring themselves up, they have no need to be out and about, just as I anticipated. Now tell me, how go Gigan’s repairs and upgrades?”

The crowd parted for a technician to step forth. “Wonderfully, my lord. His other scythe has been removed, the damaged one already replaced with the improvement you requested. His armor is repaired, and the Bladed Slicers in place. He will be more than ready to battle.”

“Excellent. See to Hedorah being placed within a hyperspace stasis room in a UFO, they must not be able to even anticipate him.” After an affirmation, he continued. “Now, leave me! I must rest, as must you all. Be prepared, for soon, our victory!”

Cheers and chants, akin to religious devotion, followed him as he made his way out of the landing bay. Kaziya walked through winding halls and corridors, eventually coming across his bedroom once more. He returned to his bed, laying on the delicate mattress. But sleep did not come swiftly.

His conversation with his enemies played on repeat in his head. Not because of a folly he made, but because of a past wound that was permanently open as long as two waged war against him.

“Father…” he wanted to call him by his real name, a sign of disrespect, but some part of him could not tear that away. Could not see ‘Yoshamura’ in that emotionless expression, but just his father. “You must know this is not what she would want. So why? And sister… the same of you. Is the Muan outcast who mother would cast her lot with?”

He repressed the memory of better times. Now was not the time to dwell on those. Not when the future of his people was at stake. He was right. He knew this, and knew she would feel the same. That was all he needed. To bask in that past warmth, it would only distract him on the eve of battle.

***

Silence. An absence of sound. How interesting it was that absence only exposed the truth of the soul.

Yoshamura’s withered soul, that he tried with all his might to reject. That he liked to believe his son and daughter were also trying to reject, in their own ways. For it was too painful to keep. He looked at the monitors displaying his three monsters, all nearly at peak condition. Zero, Zero-One, and Zero-Two.

King Ghidorah, Godzilla, and Rodan.

His fist clenched as those names forced themselves into his mind. Was that spark of humanity so undying that he could not even refer to his pawns by their numbers? The supercomputer was supposed to blot these things out, but it only did so when tactically necessary. In this downtime, he could not fall back on it, allowing the vines to ever circle his shriveled heart.

Were his followers feeling this same thing? Did they also struggle with their emotions and doctrine?

“It will fade in time.” He said to himself, the decree bouncing off the cold metal walls. But deep down, he did not believe it.

Time heals all wounds. It was a saying humanity had. But the light of her presence, it still stuck in his mind even after so long, illuminating the festering wound left by her absence.

“Nicole…” he lamented.

 

Chapter 6: Across Worlds

Decades ago, mere days after the Human/Xilien War

“You are approaching Planet X. We detect no abnormalities, do you?”

“No sir.” Replied Glenn, his chiseled face locked in concentration. “They aren’t dumb enough to try anything other than listening.” Almost subconsciously, he felt the small device in his space suit’s pocket, a circular machine that would emit a high-pitched whine when activated. If the Xiliens did not listen, he would force them to.

“Then we leave it to you two. Good luck, Glenn and Fuji.” The radio cut off, leaving the friends of different nationalities to only talk to each other in the cramped cockpit of the spaceship P-1.

The silence of a few moments was heavier than tungsten.

“Are you sure we should do this? Force them to turn off their computer?” Fuji Kazuo asked his fellow astronaut, trepidation coating his words.

Humanity had just come off the heels of a battle with another species, the brutal assault of Planet X being weathered and countered by human ingenuity. A species controlled by electronic signals released from a supercomputer, seeking water even if it meant shedding blood. But the computer was not all they were. At some point, they had locked themselves in those chains. Glenn knew this, for a simple reason.

“Yes. It’s the only way they’ll be able to live, be able to cohabitate with us.”

Fuji was not fully convinced. “But, think of the consequences! They’ve lived their whole lives under this, you can’t just cut them free and expect everything to go well!”

“They already can feel emotion! Think for themselves. I saw it, and they killed her for it. All we’re doing is freeing them.” Glenn spoke, with more resolve behind his words than he’d ever held before.

“Glenn…” Fuji was never one who was able to handle the more volatile aspects of the human emotional spectrum. He wished his sister was here, this was something much more in her wheelhouse than his. The astronaut, thinking it over, realized that she was always better at reading people than he had been. Her boyfriend, who he had brushed off as a failure, had been a key part of saving humanity.

“Namikawa was one Xilien. This is an entire species. You can’t be sure that they all feel the same way she did, you can’t be sure-“

“I am not leaving this planet until that damned computer is shut down.” Glenn had not shouted or even particularly raised his voice, but there was a coldness and venom to that sentence that carried more power than any fist slamming onto a table.

That silence returned, their blue barren destination drawing ever closer.

Glenn knew the Xiliens were more than the computer because it had been revealed to him. Through that overwhelming force, transcendent of all boundaries, even the ones between worlds.

“You loved her, didn’t you? Truly?”

Glenn let out a sigh, one filled with pain that came from the depths of the heart. “More than I’ll ever love again.”

***

The Xilien across the sleek desk shrunk under Glenn’s gaze. In their base, their metallic underground sanctuary, he was supposed to be in complete control. But the truth was far from that. Not when his race’s army had been vanquished by the world that was now making demands of him. Not when the Controller had been slain, and he could only desperately try to pick up the pieces.

“Look, be glad about this. Humanity being willing to extend an olive branch after the shit you pulled? Rare for us.” The blonde-haired emissary spoke. “You should see what we did to the Mysterians.”

Fuji took note of how the new Controller recoiled. The cold confidence of the former was lost despite the nearly identical appearance, and he had a feeling it was not quite just from the recent events. “So, explain briefly, just so we’re all on the same page.” He began, in order to break the tension. “Why have you in particular been made the new leader?”

“As the former Controller’s younger sibling, I have also been given the requisite teachings and programming in order to lead.” He replied without emotion.

“So you’ve got a fancy supercomputer and it just makes you pull the same succession shit we’ve been doing for centuries?” Glenn replied with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you want? Is it not enough to deprive our people of your water despite our demands?”

“Your demands that we become your slaves?!” Glenn shot up to his feet.

“That you follow our orders and be welcomed into our superior culture.” Despite the lack of change in his tone, Fuji was keenly aware of the Xilien’s face scrunching up in anger.

“Well we have demands of our own, and you will gain access to Earth’s water if you follow them.” The calmer of the two astronauts cut in, trying to ensure things did not escalate. “Are you willing to listen?”

“Continue.”

“First. The people of Planet X are to accept and accommodate numerous human visitors, and allow them complete access to all your facilities and data in order to ensure complete transparency.” No reply, which Fuji took as a signal to keep speaking. “Second. The Xiliens will share all of their technological advances with humanity.”

“We were not being truthful when we spoke of a cure to all diseases.” The Controller replied. “Our bodies are partially mechanized, and the landscape is too barren to produce bacteria and viruses regardless. We have no reason to create cures.”

Glenn drummed his fingers against the desk. “We still want whatever you do have. Are these terms agreeable,” he put a sardonic emphasis on that last word, “enough for you so far?”

“Yes.”

“Oh-ho, just you wait.” The American responded, before turning his head towards his comrade. He turned back, a smile adorning his face that bordered on sadistic. “Third. Shut down your supercomputer. The one that controls your species.”

“What?” Left the new Controller’s lips after a brief pause. Confusion filled the exclamation, genuine emotion emerging.

“You heard me.”

“That’s ridiculous.” The monotone speech was back, but Fuji could swear he heard a subtle shakiness to it. “Our kind relies upon it. It makes all of our decisions and guides us, you cannot seriously expect us to shut it down.”

“It told you to attack humanity instead of bartering with us, so the bigwigs back home want it shut down.” Glenn replied. The two humans knew that to not be the full truth, for while that had been a decree by the United Nations, the seed of the idea was planted by Glenn himself.

“It makes the most logical decisions based off the stimulus given. In the scenario where we cannot deceive you and you are our equals in technology, there is no point in shutting the computer down when it will demand compliance of us.”

“Shut. It. Down.” Venom dripped from the words.

“What are we to do without it? You are suggesting our kind is cut off from the guidance we have abided by since before any of our currently living members were born.” Desperation seeped into the new Controller’s speech, tinging them away from their supposedly required soullessness.

“What will you do? Live! You people will finally be able to live, feel emotions, have hearts! Is that not enough? For God’s sake, we’re doing you a favor!”

“Casting my people adrift into your kind’s tumultuous nature is not a favor!” The Xilien slammed a gloved fist onto his desk, rising to his feet. “Change that term and we will have a deal, our people will co-exis-“

“There is no coexistence with that goddamned computer still functioning!” Glenn pulled out the disk, his finger pressing down onto the button. Fuji cringed as a horribly high-pitched sound rang out, sending the Controller to the floor. He writhed as he curled up into the fetal position. The ruler of a mighty kind, reduced to a pitiable ball on the tiled floor.

“Turn it off!” The tormented alien shouted.

Glenn screamed back. “Not until you swear to turn that damn supercomputer off! I don’t care if I have to hold this until your head explodes! Turn it off!”

Fuji could only cover his ears and watch. He wanted to step in, stop what he knew deep down was wrong, but he could not bring himself to do so. It felt like weights were on his feet, but they paled in comparison to the one on his heart.

“Alright, alright!” The Xilien screamed from the depths of his lungs. “I’ll do it, just please, make it stop! Please!”

And thus, the American astronaut did so. A maddened smile revealed his teeth, and looking upon it was the most horrified his companion had ever been. As the Xilien struggled to catch his breath and rise up, Fuji mused on the nature of love. A beautiful thing, yes, but it could dredge up the darkest parts of the soul that were normally buried deep within. Glenn was one of the kindest men he knew, and so it was like he was looking upon a complete stranger.

***

He’d had a hollow pit in his chest the entire time he was on this planet since Namikawa’s passing. As Glenn watched the Xiliens maneuver about the colossal construct of black steel coated in varying lights and buttons before him, working to cease its operations, it only deepened.

He saw how Fuji looked at him, and he could not blame him. His treatment of the new Controller disgusted even him, but he pressed onwards regardless. This would benefit them in the long run, that was what he kept telling himself, even as he sank deeper. That leader stood close to him, expression hard to discern, but he could feel the fear radiating off him.

Glenn remembered Namikawa’s fear, as she pleaded with him to marry her and faced her demise for his sake. It hardened his heart and strengthened his resolve.

The lights dimmed, leaving the computer a dull mass. Silence was only broken by intense breathing from every Xilien present, faces contorting in anxiety. They felt a new hollowness, as if part of their brain had been torn away. What was replacing it was new and uncertain, and they feared it gravely. They could barely think of how to describe it, the feeling of the computer’s perpetual hum in the back of their mind being now gone and allowing these strange sensations to creep in and take its place.

“Turn it back on!” One screamed, rushing forwards.

Glenn moved like a man possessed, ripping a gun out of a nearby Xilien’s hip holster. He pointed it at the computer, squeezing the trigger. A blue ray of light shot forth, crashing into it and boring into the metal of the device. The workers upon the computer fled as an explosion rippled across it, tearing the outside asunder and revealing now wrecked innards. Glenn kept firing, causing more bursts upon the centerpiece of Xilien civilization until it collapsed under its own weight, bursting into flame.

Despite a chorus of panic and roaring fire, Glenn could only hear his heart thudding in his ears and the sound of his heavy breathing.

***

Damage control. Those two words were all that could be used to describe humankind’s actions after Glenn’s deeds in the following weeks and months. Desperate apologies and the astronaut’s imprisonment were like trying to apply bandages to a severed limb, but any retribution the Xiliens wanted to undertake was impossible. They truly were under humanity’s foot at this point.

First, resources. The most important of all for the people of Planet X, water, was entirely up to humanity’s discretion. They needed it, and the people of Earth had it in droves. Taking it by force was not an option, the invasion had destroyed most of their weaponry and taken away their trump cards. They had been horribly weakened.

Secondly, even if they had the strength necessary, the will was gone. Their computer’s destruction left them feeling aimless and lost, like a child whose mother and father had both departed. Unfamiliar thoughts and feelings paralyzed the Xiliens. Individuality beyond numbers, ideas that did not solely benefit the totality. Worst of all was the growing sensation that they deserved this.

Empathy could finally sink its talons into their hearts, and the realization of their atrocities was worse than any high-pitched screech. How many of their kind had they killed for asserting themselves, for willingly stepping into this dreadful territory? Perhaps this was due punishment. And that was not even considering their attempted genocide of the Earth.

As the Controller looked at his hands, carefully looking at their movements as he flexed his fingers of his own will, he wondered just what his people’s future held. Yoshamura wondered if humankind would guide them, or trod upon them. Or, in short, he wondered if they would be better than his kind had been, or sink to the same depths.

 

Chapter 7: Light and Warmth of a Smile

Another day of walking down steel corridors, Yoshamura’s autonomy having revealed to him the monotony of his daily life. Fellow Xiliens, alongside their new “roommates” in the form of migrated humans, moved past him like ants in a nest. Feelings among the natives on their new brothers and sisters were mixed. Some welcomed them with open arms while others secretly wanted their demise. Such was change, a difficult process. The controller himself had no clue how he felt about them.

Before he could ponder his older brother’s part in this, his shoulder hit another. The spilling of papers across the floor snapped him out of his dissociative state.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” The other person, a human woman, replied. “Sir!” She tacked on once she realized who she was now facing.

Yoshamura was struck by her beauty. Blonde strands of hair fell over eyes like emeralds. Xilien women had been enforced into a homogeneous look, so an appearance so different grabbed his attention immediately.

“I should be the one apologizing.” He replied, his voice its usual tone. “I was lost in thought.” The controller took the courtesy of helping her gather up the papers, being able to tell from a glance that she was one of the people devoted to keeping contact with Earth.

“So was I.” She said with a giggle. “But you’re in charge while I’m one of a whole team, so, again, sorry.” She smiled, and the Controller felt like the dark exterior of his heart had had a pick taken to it, revealing what lay underneath. “I’m part of the team that keeps communication with Earth, in case you didn’t know.”

There was such kindness in that smile. Slightly crooked teeth which, while clean, did not glimmer would turn away a more shallow gaze, but he was mesmerized. Perhaps that imperfection was why he was grasped, and how it did not diminish the soul within. She began to walk away, “I need to get going, sir,” she said as her files were reorganized in her hands once more.

Fortunately, though his heart was beating quickly, the Xilien Controller was not a fool who would trip over his own words at such a time. “Of course. As must I.” He said, still subdued but not robotically. It likely remained awkward sounding, but he pressed on with “before you go, what is your name?”

“Nicole, Mr. Controller.”

“Controller is an outdated title.” He admitted, more to himself than to her. “Call me Yoshamura.”

She took a moment to respond, a result of the difference between this interaction and how he had projected himself to the people until this point. “Mr. Yoshamura. I like it.” Nicole stated.

“So do I.” He replied, a genuine smile gracing his face for the first time since he was born.

***

The same hallway slowly scrolled past his vision as the leader of Planet X walked down it. But the droll nature of his passage was no longer present, schedules aligning such that he saw her approaching. A week had gone by since their first meeting, and it had dwelled in the back of his mind the entire time.

“Morning, Mr. Yoshamura.” Nicole said with a wave, balancing a stack of papers in her other arm for the moment it took to do so. Others, both human and Xilien, had taken to using his actual name in addressing him since he gave the go ahead to her. He was still getting used to it.

“Morning, Nicole.” He replied with a similar wave, no need to adjust given he carried nothing but what was stored in his brain. Before they passed, he spoke again. “I wanted to talk with you more, actually.”

This made her pause. “Now what could the leader of a whole planet want with little ol’ me?”

A brief silence, the Xilien Controller’s measured heart picking up speed once more. “Nothing in particular. I just feel… comfortable around you. I would not have so freely given out my name like that if I had bumped into anyone.”

“Oh,” Nicole replied, “I’m flattered.” She smiled brightly, face becoming a shade redder. “I’d love to, unfortunately I can’t right now, big things going down on Earth.”

“Of course.” Yoshamura said, fingers rapidly drumming his side as a result of his nerves rising.

She began to walk past him, trying to keep looking at him to make sure he knew she wasn’t ditching him, talking quickly. “In fact if I don’t get there soon, I’ll probably get yelled at, Godzilla’s shown up again on a remote island and taken down a terrorist group, but I’d love to meet up after I’m done!”

The mental haze of romantic aspiration was cleared for a moment by the scope of what she’d just said. “What?” He was genuinely baffled.

“Right?” She was still moving, in hopes of avoiding a scolding from her superior. “But yeah, uh, we can meet…”

He verbally stumbled, before getting out “you know where I am most of the day. I’ll let my guards know you’re coming.”

“Sounds good!” She turned a corner, giving a thumbs up before disappearing from sight.

Yoshamura breathed in deeply, then let out a long exhale. He kept walking his way, heart and mind racing. It was unknown territory he was delving into, for both him and practically his whole species. Love.

With a human. Just like Namikawa and Glenn.

It was like a dark cloud settled over his swirling emotions at that revelation.

***

Nicole was always a woman who tried to look at the bright side of life. Born and raised in the United States, she’d been instilled with the belief that humanity could accomplish anything it set its mind to. When the Xiliens had invaded Earth and subsequently been driven back, she was one of the first to volunteer to go to their homeworld as part of the effort to integrate Planet X into humanity’s conglomerate. Yes, they had caused great strife, but she knew that people were just as capable of cruelty and yet could still live side by side with each other. After all, this venture was primarily a collaboration between America and Japan, two nations that had just been at war barely over two decades ago.

But, her propensity for positivity could still be dampened by her surroundings. And Planet X was a dull place, a lifeless surface that made the most inhospitable biomes of Earth look like a rainforest along with a maze of identical metal tunnels. She was currently in the room of the leader of this world, and yet, it looked the same as every other chamber. The colorless table was built into the floor, resembling a block more than anything she’d eaten off of back home.

The plate in front of her held rehydrated food, a slab of meat alongside noodles that, although now edible, did not exactly stir her hunger. Although it was worlds more appealing than what the man across from her was consuming. Yoshamura did not have a plate, instead what resembled an IV drip stood next to him, funneling a dull-orange fluid into the veins of his arms.

“So, what exactly is that? If you don’t mind.” Nicole asked, attempting to break the ice as she poked at her meal with a fork.

“Mitochondria. Our species does not eat like yours.” Yoshamura replied. “Instead we gain all the sustenance we need from intaking Mitochondria.”

“You don’t even eat for fun? I get what you’re going for with that,” she waved her fork in the direction of the bag, “but none of you have ever sat down and ate like, a burger?”

“Unfortunately, the supercomputer did not avail us such things. That and our planet is not exactly fit for the agriculture your kind is blessed with.”

Nicole sucked air in through her teeth, cringing at her perceived faux pas. “Right. Sorry. Well, when we can get better food than this up here, I think you’d love something proper to eat.”

“There is no need to apologize. I should be the one doing so,” The Xilien Controller shifted awkwardly in his seat, his voice betraying his swift regret at arranging this.

“How come?” Nicole responded as she finally took a bite from what she now realized was beef. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but she’d had better at a fast food joint, and a high bar, that was not.

“This is… all of it, it is not exactly…”

“Romantic? Eh, I’ve been on worse dates. I’d already be planning an escape route if this were a ‘normal’ date, but I’m willing to give you more of a chance.”

“How come?” He replied, confused.

“Like you said, your supercomputer didn’t let y’all do anything fun. I don’t expect the first actual date your species has ever had,” she was aware that Glenn had been in a relationship with an Xilien agent, but she was not counting someone that had been specifically trained to seduce in that statement, “to exactly go great.”

A few seconds went by as Yoshamura found the words he wanted to say next, letting Nicole eat some more of her food. The steady flowing of the Mitochondria solution was the only other noise in that brief pause.

“Then why did you accept my offer? If you knew this would be awkward?”

“I’ll be blunt. There’s not a lot to do around here, it was either this or play chess with Randall and lose for the fiftieth time.” She chuckled, something which prompted a smile from her date. It was an odd expression, as he was not used to such a thing. “That, and… I guess it’s like you said earlier, I just feel ‘comfortable’ around you.“

“The honesty is welcome. I have felt that most of the humans here have kept their true feelings obscured from us. Not without good reason, I suppose.”

“Yeah, it’s more mixed than you’d imagine, though. Nobody here is outright opposed to peace between our species, like a lot of people back home.” She grimaced at that. “I think a lot of us just don’t quite know how we feel about the Xiliens.”

“Then it seems we have more in common than I thought, as we are struggling with how we feel in general. I noticed you reacted to those opposed to this arrangement in a particular way, as though you’ve gotten a more direct taste of that.” He looked over at his meal, seeing the bag slowly getting empty.

Nicole sighed deeply. Yoshamura put his hands up, “you don’t need to-“

“No, it’s fine. I haven’t talked to anyone else about this, but I have to get it off my chest. My mother nearly cursed me out over my decision to come here.” Her eyes shut tightly. “She was furious that I’d even dare to try and bridge the gap between our species, that anyone would come up here and make it so humanity can’t just bomb out the remaining Xiliens.”

“That is troubling. Did our invasion affect her?”

“Rodan blew our hometown down, but nobody we knew got killed.” She wanted to mention that her father had already been long dead from his alcoholic tendencies, but she was already dropping a lot on her date. “I can’t imagine how she’d react if she saw me right now.” Another chuckle, but one without mirth.

“Having dinner with the enemy of mankind. I can empathize, as there are members of my kind who would like me vaporized if they knew of this. Those who still whisper of needing to overtake humanity for your water and Mitochondria.”

“It goes both ways, huh?” She sighed, taking another bite of her steak. It was no different on Earth, she supposed.

“It appears so. But you are here because you believe that one day, it can be better, correct? That one day, humans and Xiliens will be together as allies, building something better?”

“That I am.” She perked up at this.

“Then I shall work towards the same. I had felt guilty earlier, after asking you for this meeting.” He saw her curiosity be piqued. “For I was reminded of Glenn and Namikawa, and how we had torn that relationship asunder. But you, Nicole, have made me realize that I cannot just sit there in those feelings. You, you push forward always, I can already see that.”

“I- I don’t know what to say.” She blushed brightly at the compliment, it was the most genuinely nice thing she’d ever been told. Despite the oddness of her date and the suddenness of it all, she could feel her heartbeat rising. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. I wish this conversation could continue longer, but for now I must unfortunately call it short, a meeting scheduled earlier is soon and I cannot risk too many knowing about even this simple dinner.”

“Of course,” she understood, knowing that she too needed to keep this information sparse even among her colleagues. Some could, and likely would, know, but there were others she did not trust in the slightest. “Same time next week?” She added, hopeful.

This made a genuine, full smile grace Yoshamura’s face. “Of course.”

“Though next time, we’re having a much lighter conversation. I’ll think of something, you probably don’t have a lot to talk about like that.” She laughed, an awkward reciprocation spilling from the Controller’s lips that only made her happier.

***

And thus they did meet again. Week after week they met, their hearts growing closer as time ticked ever onwards. Subtly, they pushed their kinds together, fostering a better relationship between human and Xilien as their own relationship blossomed. Offhand comments complimenting the other species to their peers, suggesting that help be given to the opposite side, and myriad other ways that slowly but surely bridged the gap. It was an arduous process, months bleeding into years, but by the time Yoshamura and Nicole revealed their love, they found they were no longer the only interspecies couple.

***

The two giggled as they embraced, the door to Yoshamura’s living quarters shutting behind them. The Xilien controller picked her up and spun them around once, the lovers kissing once they were still again.

“It’s been way too long, having to keep this secret.” Nicole wistfully said. “It feels like a weight off my back.”

“I feel the same.” Yoshamura smiled, a properly formed expression as opposed to the rigid awkwardness etched upon his face in their first meetings. “But it’s far from perfect, I know that-“

A finger over his lips stopped him. “Can’t we just bask in the good feelings for now? I know, ‘there are still humans and Xiliens that are against this’” she intoned in a faux-deep voice. “But that’s for the future. Right now, it’s all well. Right?”

A chuckle rolled from the pale ruler. “You’re right.” He pulled her closer. “Our love will endure regardless.”

They kissed once more, a deep, passionate expression of their love. For that brief moment, pressed against one another, there was nothing else in the cosmos but the love between them.

As they parted and met eyes, the inclination that this was what they had stolen from Glenn and Namikawa crept into his mind. But as Nicole’s smile, the most precious thing in creation to him, filled his gaze, he put that aside.

That was a mistake of the past. Now, that love would bloom, with him and Nicole, and with numerous other Xiliens and humans.

“Sooooo, now what?” She asked.

Yoshamura stumbled over his words a bit. “I- I don’t know. The revelation of this was always the goal, I never thought of what we would do after it was done.”

Nicole laughed. “Mr. Always thinking about the future and what could go wrong, doesn’t know what to do next?”

He laughed in turn. “Of course, I’m always thinking of what could go wrong. So things going right was a surprise.”

“Well, we don’t need a goal. I’m tired of striving towards something super specific and building my life around it. I want to go with the flow.”

“Whatever just comes next?” He paused for a moment, thinking. “I’d like that.” Yoshamura smiled, a sight that filled Nicole’s heart with joy every time she saw it.

***

1980

The shade fell over Yoshumura’s face as he looked up at the liquid-filled tube, its contents breaking up the fluorescent lighting of the laboratory. Curled up in the translucent fluid was a humanoid with skin as black as night, a splitting tail protruding from his backside. White armor covered his upper half, closer inspection revealing it to be bone. Right now, he was small, but in due time he would tower up to the mountains.

“You must understand my hesitation.” Yoshamura, age having changed his appearance in subtle but noticeable ways, turned to a scientist. “On multiple levels.”

“If you mean the time as one of those, then don’t worry, the second King Ghidorah will be done far faster than Project Keizer.” The older Xilien replied, not even looking up from his clipboard as he examined the gestating monstrosity.

“It had better, it’s been half a decade since Earth went through multiple alien invasions in rapid succession, but that only means people are starting to unwind. We need to be ready to protect it in case any more aliens arrive.”

“Or return.”

The implication of those two words made the Xilien leader’s mind race briefly. Where most of the invasions of Earth had ended in a dramatic fashion that ensured there would be no further attacks, one had simply petered out in a way that left the threat hanging over everyone’s heads.

“We’ll be ready.” Yoshamura promised, to himself at least.

“Well, once Project Keizer is complete, none will be able to stand before him. I know that for sure.” The scientist replied, before suddenly putting his hand to a device in his ear. A grin graced his aged face, as he turned to his superior.

“Speaking of Project Keizer, you have some guests, my lord.”

“What?”

A door behind him opened, prompting him to turn. A wise decision, as two small figures raced through the opening and nearly leapt into him.

“Daddy!” Shouted a young boy and girl, crashing against their father and making him stumble a bit before wrapping them in his arms.

“What are you two doing here?” He said with a laugh, one which hid fear.

Looking up, he saw Nicole entering through the same door, which slid shut behind her. “I tried, but they just wouldn’t stop asking to see their dad, you know?” She joined the family embrace, kissing her husband on the cheek. Then, she moved to his ear, whispering. “Plus, Kaziya needs to know at some point, does he not?” A bit more urgency in those words.

Yoshamura sighed as his wife and children separated from him. She was right. Looking over to the elderly scientist, he asked “you don’t mind, do you?”

“There’s nothing they could touch in here that would cause problems, so no.”

“What is it, dad?” The girl questioned. “Does it have something to do with that?” She pointed to the fetal monstrosity.

“Yes, Landes. That is going to be our guardian when he grows up. I’m calling him Monster X, after our homeworld.”

“He’s awesome.” She said with a big smile, something which made her father chuckle.

But where Landes was awestruck, her brother was transfixed. Kaziya stepped forward slightly, staring at the fetal dragon. His father placed a hand on his shoulder, crouching down to be level with his young son.

“Do you feel a connection to Monster X, Kaziya? Like there’s something unseen, tying you to him?”

“Yes,” The boy said nervously.

“Good. Because there is. Your gifts, we wanted to use them.” Yoshamura could hear his daughter pouting behind them, moving towards her mother’s side.

“That Keizer stuff?” The child asked his dad, who nodded affirmatively.

The combination of human and Xilien DNA had potent results, creating hybrids who were physically superior to both species. None had reached adulthood yet, Kaziya being the oldest of them, but it was predicted that once they did they would be able to perform feats of grandeur once thought impossible.

However, it was the son of Yoshamura and Nicole, their firstborn and the first hybrid of the two species to ever be born, who had demonstrated something even higher. A mutation, or perhaps a fated position, that granted powers beyond mortal limits.

“The reason you almost gave me a heart attack lifting your toys without touching them?” Nicole laughed, patting her daughter on the shoulder. “Don’t worry sweetie, your dad has something for you too.”

At that, the child’s head perked up. “Does he?”

“I was getting to it.” Yoshamura defensively replied, putting his hands up and standing tall, as he could hear the slight accusation in the tone of his wife. “But yes. Give me a moment, dear.”

“Ok!” Landes responded, chipper than before.

“That’s connected to me?” Kaziya replied, still trying to wrap his young head around all of this. “How, why?”

“Well…” Yoshamura paused for a moment, before deciding to just outright say it. “Your DNA has been incorporated into it, combined with the cells of King Ghidorah.”

Kaziya verbally stumbled for a moment before forcing out a “huh!?”, his sister doing something similar.

“Isn’t King Ghidorah bad?” Landes asked, her brother nodding along.

“That’s me?! Or, like, my brother? Or-“

“A clone. And yes, dearie,” he turned towards his daughter, “King Ghidorah is bad. But that does not mean his genome is such. It’s his mind and heart that are cruel, not the DNA that grants him his power. We have a chance to make something out of that power, something good!” He walked towards her, lifting her up to his face. “Does that make sense?”

“If you say so.”

“Well I hope it does, because your present is even more blatant. Come on, Kaziya you come too, Monster X isn’t ready for anything but developing yet.” Putting his daughter on his shoulders, the Xilien Controller walked his family out of the room and onto the balcony of a massive hanger. It was empty, only steel walls awaiting them, until he gave a command.

“Bring them out!”

Steel doors the size of skyscrapers slid open across from them, making the kids put their hands over their ears. Subconsciously they shut their eyes as well, until heavy thuds prompted them to look.

They jolted back as a colossus in King Ghidorah’s image trundled forward, the only major difference being a lack of hair upon the heads. It marched up to the family, the firm but gentle hands of their parents being the only thing keeping the kids from fleeing. It was only when the monstrosity peered closer to them, the center head taking up Landes’ full vision, that she understood.

“Dorat?”

“Dorats.” Her father corrected her.

The face of the false king of terror was frightening, but when Landes looked closely at it, she could tell there was more to it. That it was the same as the golden pets that Planet X had cultivated, the ones she had always loved being around. A kindness buried underneath the menace, as it inched closer to her and put its nose down just before her.

“Go ahead.” Her father nearly whispered, the go ahead for Landes to put her hand up and rub it against the golden scales. She giggled, a sweeter song to Yoshamura’s ears than any symphony.

“Dorats are made from King Ghidorah’s DNA?” Kaziya asked, his father nodding affirmatively in response. The boy was silent for a moment. “Awesome.”

“Do you see why all is well, with both this and Monster X?”

“I’m gonna get to… be connected, with something like this?” The boy responded with wonder in his eyes.

“That you will, son. That you will. Happy birthday, even if it’s a few days early.” Yoshamura put a hand on his son’s head, ruffling his hair.

Nicole put an arm around her husband as their son and daughter feverishly thanked him, heaping praise upon him for giving them gifts any other child could only dream of. The couple chuckled, taking the moment in and letting it settle in their hearts.

Life was good. And in that moment, they foolishly believed it would stay that way forever.

 

Chapter 8: Nihilistic, Hedonistic

The day of fate arrived like any other.

Almost like any other. There was one difference before unfathomable horror fell like a plague of locusts, blanketing everything in black as they chewed apart everything in sight.

The celebration of Kaziya’s birthday, a muted affair for humble “royalty”. Down in the underground layers of the Xiliens’ collective home, a family simply enjoying each other’s company, the gifts having already been given days prior. A serene peace.

The last they’d ever know.

Siren klaxons blared across Planet X’s populated area, sending the inhabitants into a panic as they raced to discover the source. Yoshamura, having told his family to stay behind, burst into the command room.

“What’s happening, someone tell me now!” He commanded the chaotic room of Xiliens and humans alike running back and forth to gather as much information as possible.

“Something’s suddenly appeared in the solar system! We don’t know anything else, sir!” A screen depicting a simplistic diagram of the solar system held a gigantic red mass, distinct from anything that should be there, between Saturn and Jupiter. Closer inspection revealed it to be countless dots, bundled together so closely as to look like a tumor on this radar.

“It’s an invasion, contact Earth and release our King Ghidorah!” He mentally cursed at the fact that Monster X was undeveloped, in no condition to battle. Before action could be taken in response to his order, static filled the room. The display screen flickered, audibly and visually correcting as the signal reached it.

Dozens of hearts sank at once.

What greeted them was a blinding gold, the light reflecting off it in a glare. A ghoulish face, twisted into a perpetual sneer filled with long, thin teeth like a monstrosity from a child’s storybook. A wrinkly skull like an exposed brain birthed twin antennae which rose before falling down to frame the cruel visage. Ruby eyes, resembling the clustered eyes of a fly, stared daggers into the room.

“Xiliens.” The baritone voice of the demonic alien began. “I will cut to the chase, as I and my followers are not in the mood for delays. We, the Garoga, mean your kind no harm. It is humanity that we seek.”

“Then why have you bothered contacting us? Why bother approaching us at all, you could have avoided us entirely on your way to Earth.” Yoshamura rebutted, ignoring the shocked looks he got from some of the humans in the room. He had no intention of throwing Earth under the bus, but he needed answers immediately to protect his own.

The golden Garoga laughed as he leaned back. “Why? Well, look around you!”

The Xilien Controller did so briefly, not understanding what he meant, until it suddenly sank in like a surprise dagger to the stomach. “No…”

“HAHA, yesss!” The imperialistic insectoid cackled, holding the end of the word like a serpent’s hiss as he clapped his hands together in glee. “You have humans with you! They’ve nestled their way into your species like rats in the walls,” he wiggled his fingers dramatically amidst the metaphor.

Yoshamura’s breath grew heavy. This was the worst case scenario he had always envisioned, but never truly believed would actually occur. The Garoga had invaded Earth in the early 70s, between the attacks of the Seatopians and Simeons, but unlike those, they had simply vanished one day. The testimony of the Zone Family’s older members, of the Garogas’ true capabilities, terrified any who had access to the secret documents those records had been stored in.

“So, you have two options.” The cruel invader continued, putting up that number of fingers. “Turn over all humans in your captivity to us, or,” he held the word for a second, his smile somehow seeming to grow wider, “we take them.”

“We’ll never turn them over, you bastards! Release King Ghidorah and prepare all ships for combat!” He dramatically declared.

The Garoga emperor sighed, resting his cheek on his fist. “I really don’t get what’s so appealing about these apes, the Peacelanders were so adamant about their protection as well.” With the press of a button, he ceased communication, then pressed another to bring up a silver Garoga on the same screen. “They’re sending ships and a clone of King Ghidorah. You know what to do.”

The scientist nodded, and with that the ruler cut off that communication as well, just leaning far back in his chair to kick his feet up onto his desk. “I try to be peaceful, and this is what I get?” He threw his hands up indignantly.

A vast armada of spinning stations drifted through the vacuum, hues of white and blue making up their bulk. In the midst of them, and a sea of smaller ships, sat a hulking vessel. A dark red sphere, like a ball of coagulated blood. An uninformed observer would be forgiven for thinking it was a planet, and they would not be entirely wrong, for this mothership was crafted in the visage of their homeworld. An artificial world, fitting given that their ambitions had turned their actual planet into a hollow shell incapable of sustaining life. The Garoga Empire’s ambitions were universal, so a throne that moved across the stars was a necessity in their wicked eyes.

A panel slid open, revealing the rock to be nothing more than falsehood hiding steel, and a missile was discharged. They could have shattered the entire moon the Xiliens called home like glass, but they chose not to, with this missile not being of the type that destroyed Peaceland. Instead, it detonated above the world, releasing an ear piercing screech that rattled outwards and stayed as such for several seconds. Every Xilien fell over, clutching their ears as their human fellows tried to help them. The hybrids screamed as well, their young ears unable to handle the genetically-embedded weakness.

The golden serpent rising from the planet’s underground would be all that would protect Planet X, King Ghidorah screeching at the approaching storm of steel and hate. As the sonic missile’s assault faded, every eye looked up, either directly or through a screen, to see their golden guardian prepare to battle.

Landes, her ears still ringing, clutched her hands together and hoped for the monster given to her would succeed. Her heart pounded, the young girl praying for salvation to a beast cast in the image of a destroyer. The irony was lost on her.

Before King Ghidorah could leave the planet’s atmosphere, something intercepted them. The three brains in one body flared their wings and tails outwards as a crimson beast descended from the stars, a bulbous body with scythes protruding from its arms and a face bearing a silver beak. One eye, a purple visor, pulsed as King Ghidorah beat their wings and flew forwards with a mighty shriek.

Gigan Rex swung an arm out, the blade breaking apart into numerous sections connected by a red, glowing whip. The serrated energy weapon sliced across the upper section of the golden wyrm’s body, folding back into a scythe as soon as the motion was completed.

King Ghidorah fell like a bag of stones, their three heads detaching in showers of blood.

***

Yoshamura’s heart felt like it was about to explode. A deep ache spread throughout his chest, the feeling of hopelessness. His brain was thundering with countless possibilities to attempt to navigate a way through this storm, but none had any feasibility.

“Have you alerted Earth?!” He shouted, more intensely than he wanted.

“Yes sir, but they’re not sending anyone here. They’re preparing for an attack on the planet.”

The Controller’s fists clenched. They were leaving them to hang. Planet X had to fight for itself, when it had nothing to fight with. Rationally, he understood, but rationality was swiftly leaving his mind. Yoshamura’s family was at risk, people who he considered friends were in grave danger, and Earth had no intention to do anything but save itself? After all the technology that the Xiliens shared with them, decades of partnership and coexistence, all down the drain the moment a major threat had arrived?

The display screen buzzed with life once more, the sight of the golden Garoga blighting their eyes yet again.

“We’re landing.” Muted thuds, which sounded like gunshots with how silent the Planet X colony had become after King Ghidorah’s demise, confirmed the statement. “And I truly did mean what I said, about not wanting to harm your kind. The Xiliens have done nothing to us! Which is why I wanted to throw you another chance, with an added bonus! Turn the humans over,” the Garoga paused for a moment, letting the tension build before his next words sank in like a dagger.

“And we’ll spare the half breeds.”

“What?” Yoshamura’s voice was weak, a struggle just to get the word out.

“Put up no fight as we do this, and not a hair on one of the hundreds of those little munchkins’ heads will be harmed. I know you’re the proud father of two, so surely the offer is tempting.”

All eyes were on Yoshamura, both human and Xilien. They saw his face contort in pain, sweat beading down it. “If I refuse?”

The demon cast in an insect-like skin leaned forward, face taking up more of the screen until it was like he was all they could see. “Then little Kaziya and Landes, alongside all the rest of those chimeric whelps, die alongside their primate parents.”

“How do you know their names?” Yoshamura shouted at the top of his lungs, scaring everyone present except the cruel source of this torment.

“You think we would just wage war on Earth without crawling into the cracks in their foundations? Xilien, we don’t just know their names. The man on Earth who first received the news that a crossing of human and Xilien was born? No man at all.”

The next words out of the Controller’s mouth sent a similar sensation through everyone else in the room. “You give me no choice, not even any time to think… what am I to do but something that will rip my soul apart for the rest of my days?”

“You’re in no position for anything else. Make your choice now, we’re just about to breach the dead rock of your decrepit homeworld and begin. Surely Nicole would understand? Surely they’d all understand, and would prefer this to us killing the Xiliens who try to fight back, and to,” once more, a pause, the leading Garoga absolutely relishing every moment of this nightmare he was inflicting.

“Their sweet children being killed before them, every high-pitched scream out of little Landes’ mouth-“

“You won’t touch a hair on her head! I won’t let you!” He felt his throat aching at the rage spilling forth from his mouth, his hands trembling as he slammed them onto the desk before him.

“Then you do accept. Wonderful. Be sure to tell everyone else, would hate for a misunderstanding. You have three minutes. Ta-ta!” The Garoga replied with a kitschy wave, before shutting down the screen.

Yoshamura wanted to vomit. His vision was blurry as he looked over everyone else there, seeing the looks of horror and fear on their faces, the stunned shock of betrayal etched into the humans’ visages. No one said anything, the words not rising to the surface of their minds, but their silence was worse than any statement.

There was no going back now.

***

Weeping and lamentations filled the air of Planet X as the Garoga marched out every human they could find in a single-file line. The spirit to fight, to resist, had been broken by the dual strikes of King Ghidorah’s demise and Yoshamura’s capitulation. Now the immigrants from Earth, many having been born and raised on this world, merely walked in step as the cruel gazes of their evictors fell upon them.

Yoshamura watched, his heart still feeling like someone grasped it and was trying to wring it out. He saw Garoga jeer and prod at people who weren’t walking fast enough, he saw fellow Xiliens walking beside the line to try and be with their beloved, and he saw humans turn towards him with looks of hatred.

“Damn you, Yoshamura! Damn you and your whole fucking race!” A younger man, too young to have come from Earth, cursed him before being jolted forwards by a whip strike to the back. The Garoga watching the procession closely had their antennae in their hands for such a purpose, a barbed whip which hurt just to look at.

The implications of a man born and raised here still harboring such hate in his heart for the Xiliens gnawed at his already aching heart, like a wolf chewing the last meat off a skeleton.

It paled in comparison to the pain he felt when he heard a familiar shout.

“Mom!”

The Controller’s head spun to find the source of Kaziya’s yell, finding the young boy rushing up and down beside the line, behind the Garoga. “Mom!” He exclaimed again, tears running down his face. He held his sister’s hand, whose face was awash with sorrow, her cheeks swollen and red from having wept since King Ghidorah’s death.

“What are you two doing out here!?” Yoshamura rushed over to his children, focusing on them to block out his world falling apart around him.

“Why aren’t we fighting?!” Kaziya screeched to his father. “Why is nobody doing anything! We can’t just let them take mom and everyone else, can we?”

The Xilien Controller’s fingers twitched. An arm fell onto his shoulder like a guillotine blade, a golden limb ending in a white glove, which conducted itself like it belonged to a friend. “Oh, has your father not told you?” Mockingly spoke the Golden Garoga. “That he gave up humanity, your mother?”

Kaziya and Landes looked up at the two, unable to speak. Their faces said it all, a primal despair over their young visages.

“For your sake.” He added, high-pitched like a children’s entertainer before his audience. “Isn’t he such a good father?” The Garoga pat Yoshamura on the chest with his free hand.

“How-“ Kaziya began, voice a tormented squeak, before a shout caught their attention.

An Xilien man walked beside the line, a human woman close to him as a red Garoga held an arm between them.

“Please, my wife, she’s pregnant! You can’t do this!” He begged and pleaded, weeping.

The red Garoga looked at her, putting a hand up to stop the death march briefly. He stepped closer, glaring at her bloated stomach, leaning down. “You’re right. Technically, that is a hybrid.” He poked her stomach, making her flinch. Standing back up straight, he spoke into a communication device.

A silver Garoga stepped up after a brief wait, the silence and tension on all observers like an avalanche’s aftermath. The new arrival’s lab coat swung as he sauntered up to the pregnant woman, inspecting her briefly. He looked to the red Garoga, who nodded, then at the expecting father.

The scientist grabbed the woman’s arm, gently lifting it up. He looked at it for a few seconds, before swiftly pulling out a syringe filled with an unknown, pale substance and jamming it into the vein.

“What are you-“ the husband began to shout, only for his wife to scream in agony as she fell to the ground. Her pants were suddenly soaked from within, the truth hitting the man like a sack of bricks.

“She’s still got several months, the baby can’t-“

“If it can’t survive, that ain’t our problem.” The red Garoga replied cruelly, his smile seeming to widen as the husband frantically kneeled down and undid his wife’s pants. Planet X had been terraformed to be breathable on the surface, but that did not make the harsh rocky terrain any better, especially for an impromptu birth to be performed. The utter lack of dignity, Garoga and human alike leering at the display, was not on the Xilien man’s mind as he witnessed the head of his child emerge.

A pale, horribly thin baby was forced out, screaming an agonized song in her father’s arms. The scientist Garoga loomed over them. “Congratulations, it’s a girl.” He said as he cut the umbilical cord. “Get the hell up.” He kicked the woman, the red Garoga pulling her up to her feet and handing her her pants.

“My baby… let me see my baby…” she groaned, too agonized to say much else. The person behind her was kind enough to lift her up somewhat, helping her as much as they could when the Garoga resumed the procession.

The Golden Garoga slapped Yoshamura on the back as he stepped away, laughing. “Never say we’re not a people of our word!” He almost sang.

“How could you let this happen?!” Kaziya screamed as hard as his lungs would let him. “How!”

“What would you have me do?!” Yoshamura yelled back, his anger finally breaking through the dam. “They rendered us defenseless in a moment’s notice! Earth isn’t coming to help us!”

“I’d rather die than just let this happen without a fight!” Kaziya screeched, both men ignoring Landes sit down and curl herself inwards, burying her head in her knees. She slowly rocked back and forth as Kaziya continued with “I’ll never forgive you for this! Never! Mom!”

He began to run, Yoshamura grabbing his son’s arm roughly. “Get inside. Now.” He hissed as he pulled.

“You’re hurting me!”

“Get inside!” Yoshamura hoarsely shouted, finding another Xilien watching from a distance. “Take them both back underground. And don’t let them out until I say they can leave.” He commanded as he dragged his struggling and screaming son towards the pale-skinned woman.

As Yoshamura ran after the golden Garoga, the woman began to walk the two hybrids inside. Landes walked with the same resigned gait as the humans soon to die, while Kaziya futilely struggled.

The woman looked down at him, her face hard to read. But her words were as clear as crystal.

“I’ll never forgive your father either. The only light in my life is in that march too.”

Kaziya stopped fighting, the words sinking in like a stain. He joined his sister in resignation, but both child’s hearts had embers buried deep down. They still glowed, it would only take an upheaval to ignite them and begin a horrendous fire.

The Xilien Controller caught up to the lord of the fiends, looking past him to see all the gathered humans being corralled into a massive circle, where they were forced to stand practically shoulder to shoulder.

“What the hell are you even doing with them?”

“Just wait.” He replied with a raised finger. The death march ceased as the last person filed into the circle, Yoshamura cringing at the sight of the previously pregnant woman who could only be kept on her feet by the two people at her sides.

A red Garoga ran up to the two, Yoshamura still looking at the sea of people. Thousands of humans rendered as one wave, indistinguishable unless notable. He could not see Nicole, though as he watched Garoga surround the circle and hold guns up to it, he was not sure he wanted to.

“Everyone is gathered, sir!” The scout exclaimed with a salute.

“Excellent. Let’s begin.” He pressed a button on a remote, and waited.

All eyes went to the sky as another missile broached the atmosphere, the Controller cringing as he expected a sudden and violent ending. However, it would not be so. The projectile detonated in midair, releasing a wall of smoke which was soon parted by a colossus.

Next to the human lake, a massive construct of steel crashed to the ground, a parachute being the only thing that stopped the impact from cratering the stone. It looked humanoid in its build, but a massive pseudo-reptilian head stuck out of the front of the torso, where a head would have been bearing a crimson antenna. One of its arms bore an array of guns at its end, and that limb was the one slowly lifting up towards the gathered masses.

Yoshamura desperately tried to stop what was coming. Deep down, he knew it was like trying to grasp a waterfall, but he just could not let it happen.

“Please, I’ll do anything, the Xiliens will do a-“

“You could slit your own throat and I’d just still give the execution order while you bled out.”

The Xilien Controller found himself just stammering, his footsteps halted. His brain felt as though it were being crushed in a machine, he could not even think properly. Coherent thoughts failed to arise in the face of such an awful event.

“Keep bothering me, and I will extend this to the half breeds.” The Garoga leader proclaimed, almost singing the threat of even more death. “Do you even want them to be spared at this point? They’d kill you for this.”

Only one sentence could bubble up from the mental mire and reach the soon to be widower’s lips. “Is nothing precious to you?” Yoshamura asked with utmost horror.

At that, the Garoga leader turned, facing him head-on. “All we are is crude matter. Meat supported by bone and filled with fluid, hallucinating and claiming it to be truth.” The golden being replied. “The idea of something precious is the invention of weak minds, grasping at ephemeral things and refusing to accept truth.”

Jikiro raised its arm, pointing the barrels of its guns at the gathered crowd. People broke out, only for beams of light to ripple from the Garoga’s weapons and burn holes through them.

“Life is meaningless. We all die. Nothing is permanent. We, the Garoga, are the only ones to truly realize this. And with it we have made the only choice one could reasonably make. To squeeze every bit of pleasure out of this ever entrophing universe.”

“Why like this? Why through bloodshed and horror?” Tears flowed from Yoshamura’s eyes, all the walls of nobility and stability crumbling.

“It entertains us.”

With that, the calamitous din of gigantic machine guns roaring to life filled the air, the Xilien Controller’s eyes locked onto the grotesque results as a minute of carnage felt like an eternity. For a split second, he caught Nicole’s face, whose eyes found his. He never knew what her expression was, so swift was the end.

Far away, staring at the atrocity with eyes that had seen very little of the world, two children could barely comprehend the sight. Their father powerless as somewhere in a mass of flying blood and bone was their mother, the mothers and fathers of so many of their friends as well.

The young boy looked upon the emperor of wickedness, laughing with a malice that seeped into everything it touched. He could not hear the vocalizations, but he knew, in his soul he heard the rhythm of joy at stealing life echo out. But the Garoga’s face didn’t change at all, locked into that sneering gaze.

Crimson orbs, set within gold, blazed themselves into the Keizer’s mind for the rest of time.

***

It was like the previous world was a sweet dream, and what was now was the harsh reality of waking up. Kaziya numbly walked through the steel halls, subconsciously drawn to a specific figure. Chaos churned around him, the Xiliens screaming at one another over the sudden and brutal upheaval of their way of life, but he ignored them as he marched. He had overheard whispers of hatred for the humans throughout his years of life, some who clung to the old belief that the inhabitants of Earth were inferior. Some part of him figured they must be happy.

That same part wanted to choke the life out of them, watch the soul depart their eyes as they weakly struggled.

As he approached his destination, those thoughts flourished like spreading flames. He wanted to massacre the Garoga, every last one, bathe in their blood and watch them tremble in horror. He wanted to besiege the Earth, make it pay for abandoning them to this terrible fate.

A door slid open, no one stopping him from approaching the gestating form of Monster X. The fetal monster writhed slightly, acknowledging the young boy’s presence. Their minds connected, the spawn of the world destroyer reading the desires for carnage and responding positively. Blind rage became clear and focused, the visage of the complete, towering form of the draconic knight punishing all the targets of the Keizer’s wrath.

Jikiro became scrap in his clawed hands, the twisted clone of Gigan torn asunder by golden bolts of unmatched power. The Garoga being mashed to a pulp beneath taloned feet like grapes made into wine. Earth’s governments bowing down fearfully as Monster X shouted into the heavens. The Xiliens who hated humankind put to the firing squad, the imposing form of the matured Kaziya giving the order.

Yoshamura’s heart torn from his chest, his insides excavated by the hand of the Keizer.

That last vision spasmed, the happy sight of the family together, mother and father smiling as they held their children, intruded upon it. The two contrasting sights cycled between one another, fighting for dominance.

A pair of smaller arms than even his own wrapped around him from behind, breaking him out of his haze. Landes held her older brother tightly, the latter shifting to put an arm around her. She buried her head in his side, no longer crying, but only because she was losing the strength to.

“We’ll get through this.” He told her, his voice raspy and lacking confidence. “Me and you. I’ll always be there for you, Lan. And I know you’ll always be there for me.” She lifted her head to nod, revealing a face still twisted into a despairing look.

The two had been irrevocably scarred, and they knew that, despite the older having only just reached a decade of life. Perhaps they could make it by leaning on one another, but that was something they were deeply unsure of.

A familiar shout, of primal anguish, reached their ears. Kaziya went to investigate, but his sister still clung to him. The young man, for it was hard to call him a boy anymore after what he had witnessed, lifted his sister up and carried her.

They soon entered another room, one where an Xilien man paced back and forth, barraging a scientist with questions. The siblings recognized him, as the man who had been forced to witness the apex of Garoga cruelty firsthand, dealt upon the woman he loved. And in a clear box set atop four thing legs lay the fruit of their love, plucked far before her time.

A monitor next to the incubator beeped with text and charts neither child understood, except for the primary line flowing up and down across a straight path. A heartbeat, a tiny and inadequate pulse.

They walked as close as they could get, transfixed on the pallid, weak offspring of a human and Xilien. A hybrid, like them, the last to ever be born. There were hundreds of such children, now forced to survive without one parent. Just like them, a part of their life, their soul, carved out without them having a chance to do anything about it.

But this child would not have to live with that. A neck as thin as a twig swiveled to look at them, the tiniest slit opening in her eyelids as incomplete eyes looked upon the siblings. Fingers which clung to the bone flexed, the premature baby’s arm trying to lift towards them.

She wheezed, a sound that would remain in their minds for the rest of their days, then went limp. The heart rate monitor flatlined, confirming that the spark of life had faded before it could properly begin. Her father noticed, turning away from the scientist and rushing over with whispered cries of “no,” before reaching the incubator.

He fell to his knees, hands pressed against the glass, and screamed. Not to the skies above, for he did not lift his head away from his child. “No! Please God, no! Not her too, no!” His hands slid off, his body curling up on the ground. “Not you too…” he lamented. “I didn’t even have a name for you, neither of us did. You can’t go…”

Kaziya stared at the scene before him, absorbed every detail. His sister was looking away, once more burying her head in his chest, but he watched. The last hybrid of human and Xilien, dead before she could experience life.

Before she could experience life’s pain.

He walked away. And in the back of his mind, he envied the last hybrid.

 

Chapter 9: Aftermath and Prelude

Planet X watched from a distance as the Garoga moved over them and towards the Earth. They watched as the Pale Blue Dot became a black and red husk, especially as the false planet the Garoga constructed was shattered and fell upon the home of humanity as countless shards.

There were many nights where Kaziya stared at the scarred, ravaged world, mind drinking in every inch of the devastation wrought by the Garoga. He hated its leaders, but the billions who had no say in Planet X’s abandonment had his sympathy.

Yoshamura distanced himself from his children, unable to face them even as months became years, his servants taking care of them as the children became teenagers and then adults.

Planet X was peaceful after the initial chaos of the Garoga attack, but not a proper peace. The kind of stillness that settled over the Xiliens was thin, barely hiding the anguish and misery roiling beneath fragile shells, waiting for the opportunity to spill out.

***

Landes walked down the corridors that had become ingrained into her mind, the monotony wearing on her as the days passed. She had heard so much of Earth’s beauty from her mother, pristine skies of blue and fields of green as opposed to the silver of the Xilien settlement.

She fanned her face with a bright pink hand fan, the fuzzy item of decadence kicking up small bits of wind that swayed her now long hair. It had been over a decade since the Garoga descended, meaning that the Xilien heiress was a grown woman. Although, she barely felt like an adult or someone in line to the throne.

Yoshamura’s absence from her and Kaziya’s life made the idea of either of them being granted power over their people a hazy prospect. And as for her maturity, she knew she was an adult now, she had grown smarter and wiser, and received fawning letters from admirers prattling on about her beauty; but something just did not feel right.

As she held the fan in her hand, waving it even though the temperature was controlled down to the tenth of a degree, Landes did not feel like an adult. There was no sense of accomplishment from an achievement, no feeling of progression or a goal. Just as when she was a child, she drifted through life like detritus down a river.

It was why she was currently going to see her brother. To ask if he felt the same.

“Heyyyyy,” trailed a voice that made Landes cringe. “How’s it going, Landy?”

It was Zagreth, the pure-blooded Xilien rushing to walk side-by-side with the heiress. She put on a wide smile and continued to speak. “Going to see Kaziya?”

Landes pouted, then spoke. “Yes, what’s it to you?”

“Oh don’t be that way, even if you’re so cute when you pout,” Zagreth replied, poking her cheek. “How do I look, by the way?”

“Same as you always do.” Landes sighed, waving her fan harder. Despite her feelings of immaturity, she knew exactly what Zagreth was all about. She would do anything to push herself up, even if it meant ass-kissing.

“Oh, of course you think that, miss heiress. Some of us ladies need to be very precise with our makeup.” She puckered her lips, bringing to Landes’ attention that she had slathered them with lipstick.

Unfortunately, Zagreth was as close to a friend that Landes had outside of her brother, so she tolerated her presence as they entered a large room lined with gym equipment and mats.

And in the middle of it stood Kaziya, arms moving as blurs to block strikes from two fellow hybrids. He looked almost bored as they put in immense effort, their own arms like pistons.

Zagreth was still shocked by the capabilities of the hybrids. “Can you move like that?” She asked Landes, who replied with a nod. She did not display it much, but as a hybrid her physical strength was higher than average. “Wow, I wish I was a hybrid.”

There were so many things wrong with that statement that Landes failed to process any of them before Kaziya lunged forwards, crashing his fists into his training partners’ solar plexuses. The two men wheezed as they fell to the ground, sucking in as much breath as they could. The Keizer lowered his hands, allowing them to grasp them in order to pull themselves up.

His gaze shot towards the two women when the sound of Zagreth clapping reached his ears. Kaziya patted his sparring partners on the back, telling them to depart before he walked over to his sister and her “friend”.

“And what brings you two wonderful ladies here today?” He said, voice as confident and assured in itself as a fortress wall.

Zagreth began to speak, “well, she was coming here to see you, so I decide-“, only to be cut off as Landes pinched her ear. “Ow! What the hell?”

“Zagreth. Leave.” Landes stared daggers at the other woman, letting go of her ear.

“Ok, god.” She began to leave.

“No worries, Zagreth, I’ll be sure to find you afterwards, and we can talk about whatever you needed.” Kaziya added on, prompting the full-blooded Xilien to turn and give a big smile with her perfectly whitened teeth.

Once she was out of earshot, the younger sister was quick to speak. “You know she just wants you for the status, right?”

“Obviously. But if I can have some fun along the way-“

“Don’t.”

Kaziya laughed. “Come on, there’s worse women to go for.” He said with that same confident smile he always wore.

“I don’t think there are.” Landes bluntly replied, before continuing. “Anyway, I just wanted to talk. What are we doing?”

Kaziya was confused. “What do you mean?”

“What are our goals, what are we even living for? We’ve spent the last decade spinning our wheels, we’ve accomplished nothing.”

“Hey, we?” Kaziya replied, offended. He stuck a hand out, aiming his open palm at a dumbbell. As if grabbed by invisible fingers, it was lifted and pulled towards him, being caught in his actual hand. “I have accomplished very much.”

“Oh good for you,” Landes immediately retorted, sarcastically. “But for what? What do you intend to do with that power, huh, Mr. Keizer?”

“To lead our people once the old bastard’s gone, what else?”

Landes’ mood shifted down immediately, her face falling. “Oh. I see.” It seemed her brother had not felt the same as her. But that opened up a new string of thoughts, one that he picked up on.

“You haven’t thought of a life without dad, even if we haven’t seen him in forever, have you?”

“No, not really. It’s just…”

Kaziya gently grabbed his sister by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “He let mom die. He’s been too guilty to see us since then. Why shouldn’t I look forward to the day he’s gone?”

“Because,” she felt her eyes began to water. It was hard to dwell on the topic, but she felt she had to. “Because he’s still dad. He still cared for us even if he didn’t see us. It just doesn’t-“

“Feel right?” She nodded. “I know, but, we need to. One day, he’ll be gone, and we need to be able to-“

An alarm rang, cutting him off. ”Unidentified spaceships approaching, prepare for any scenario. Repeat, unidentified spaceships approaching, prepare for any scenario.”

“Goddamnit! We’ll talk later, I promise.” The older brother stated, before running out the door. He was the planet’s best warrior, so he was expected to be on the front lines.

As he did so, Landes thought about how, for all his power and bravado, he had never even implied he would hurry up the process of their father’s death.

***

Green light illuminated the ash-choked darkness as a group of flying saucers, formed of black metal arranged in the shapes of cruel stars, descended into Earth’s atmosphere.

The leading ship’s passengers observed the desolate state of the planet’s corpse with cold indifference. Dirty thunderstorms raged all around them, but they were assured in their technology’s ability to withstand it.

“Do you think any humans remain?” Questioned one of the inhabitants, a pale-skinned woman wearing a simple white robe adorned with purple at its trim.

The elderly leader, standing at the front of the ship to overlook everything below, replied. “With what we know of humankind, yes. They are stubborn and the Garoga were never a careful lot. But they will not hamper us.”

Their destination, an unassuming island in the midst of what was once called the Pacific Ocean, was in sight. Tsunamis and tectonic activity had ravaged it, but that did not halt the descent of the visitors.

They knew what they sought was intact. Their God had said so.

***

The same kind of vessels that tread upon the dead Gaia made themselves known to the Xiliens, descending in front of gathered soldiers. A communication had been sent declaring that they came in peace, but the people of Planet X were not quick to trust. Beams of light shone down, teleporting emissaries onto the barren earth of the Jupiter moon.

The one to step to the front was a young-looking man. He wore a gentle smile, his light-blonde hair matching his holy garments. The array of guns, each capable of vaporizing a human-sized organism in a few seconds, did not seem to bother him as he gracefully held his hands out.

“Hello, cousins.” He calmly said, as though he had known the Xiliens his whole life.

The guns lowered in confusion, though the soldiers still remained on edge.

“We are the Exif. Though, you may know us, if your knowledge of ancient history remains intact, as the Xiliens who left centuries ago. My name is Metphies.” He added, bowing his head.

“Step aside.” An old, weary voice rose above the Xiliens. Yoshamura, his hair now grey and his skin wrinkled, slowly walked past his subordinates. Age had seized him like a lion to a gazelle in the past decade, such was the cost of one’s soul being torn asunder. Although Planet X’s technology meant he needed no cane, it still had its limits.

“You must be the Controller.” Metphies began to slowly walk forward. He held his hands up when guns were aimed at him, prompting Yoshamura to signal his followers to stand down with the raising of his hand.

“Indeed I am.” The elder man replied as the priest shook his hand.

***

Ashen soil crunched beneath the elderly Exif’s feet as he led his group into the underground chambers of the island once called Monsterland. Endurph clutched a black rock in his hand, shielding it from the elements. It flickered with green light, a communication on a signal that nothing else could pick up but their brains. Though, one may have heard a high-pitched, bell-like cackle if they held their ear close.

The Dark Galactic Empire’s sovereign lurks below. Place my Garbetrium at the gate, and I shall release him. Swear to him your loyalty, though I always lurk in your heart. He who so desperately seeks meaning in supremacy will be easily swayed by false acquiescence.

Subtly, they nodded, not slowing down. Soon, in the depths of a ravaged cave, the only light being the flashes of electrical chaos outside, they found their goal. Towering above them like a great monolith was two silver spires, stained with ash.

Most would be awed, but the Exif cared little for the extravagant structure. They had seen wonders which utterly dwarfed it, the device nestled in the palm of Endurph’s hand outstripped the warp gate in advancement tenfold. As would be made clear when he lowered the Garbetrium to the base of the gate, touching the black stone to the silver floor.

It began to flash brightly, emerald runes dancing across its front as it interfaced with the ancient Mu technology.

In a few seconds, the empty space was replaced with a shimmering portal of purple, illuminating the cave.

***

“What brings you back, wayward travelers?” Yoshamura questioned Metphies. He recalled hearing something of a rebellion long ago, too many Xiliens breaking away from the supercomputer to all be executed, so they were allowed to leave for a far off planet.

“Well, it is simple. Our kind has been split down the middle, half of us swearing fealty to a cruel tyrant not even of our race. Those of us you see before you are those who did not follow that path, did not believe it was our god’s desire to do so. And who lived, which many of us did not.”

The elderly Controller groaned. He already did not like a bit of what he’d heard. “God? Religion doesn’t really fit our kind.”

“Perhaps on your world, which had embraced a supercomputer’s dictations, but we Exif found divine providence. It is what led us to your world, seeking help from the strife befalling us. Our God informs us in addition to guiding us.”

“Well,” Yoshamura paused, unsure how exactly to proceed from then on. The fact that this stranger knew of the Xilien computer told him that there was something close to truth in his words. But, he had no desire to help them. The Xiliens were struggling enough. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. We have no desire for conflict.”

Metphies’ smile curled upwards ever so slightly more. “I’m afraid you will not have much of a choice. If I had the power to stop it, I would, but even if we did not appear to you, they would still come here seeking recruits. We’re only here to ensure they do not claim the Keizer.”

The stoic face of the elderly leader cracked, the confidence drained from him. The computer control of his people was one thing to know, but to specifically name the term for his son’s mutation alarmed him.

But not nearly as much as when a figure hurtled through the sky over his head, flipping through the air until landing with the utmost grace. Kaziya stood tall, turning to face Metphies.

“I believe I am the one you seek?”

***

From the portal emerged a flaming visage, a golden head of light shrouded by fire. His hard gaze, a perpetual scowl, fell upon the Exif.

“After so long in a dreamless sleep, I return!” His voice boomed, rattling the cavern. “I presume you to be servants of mine?”

“Yes, my lord,” Endurph began, “we are part of the Dark Galactic Empire. After years of searching, we have finally found your prison.”

“Wondrous. How is my empire?” The Giant Dark Emperor was jubilant, but that did not last long after the words he received in reply.

“In shambles. Without you to guide it, the always tumultuous universe has stripped it to pieces.”

“What?” The head of fire and cinder bellowed, sending stones tumbling. “Who dares to devastate my dynasty?”

“There is no singular enemy, great one. The Garoga, the Kilaak, the Millennians, the list stretches through the stars. We may be all that is left, but our God has guided us to you!”

“Your god?” The Giant Dark Emperor inquired. Religion was not necessarily banned in his regime, but it did not often take root.

“Yes,” Endurph shakily held up the Garbetrium, his unsteadiness a facade. “It is what allowed us to undo your shackles.”

The Exif were bathed in brilliant radiance as the outcast tyrant descended, getting a closer look at the black stone. A technological god, it seemed to the Giant Dark Emperor. How perplexing.

“I see. An artificial intellect so far advanced that you’ve given yourselves to it like a god. I truly have been gone a long time.”

“Yes, my lord. And it continues to say we must follow you, but there are those who do not agree.”

“How can you disagree on a machine’s instructions?”

“The Gematron, it is complex, ever shifting and changing, decrees can be vague. The heretics, they don’t even believe it’s an AI anymore, that it has reached to a higher being and merely speaks their words instead. It is why a faction of the Exif have mobilized to oppose you!”

His blazing fire seemed to shine even brighter. “How dare they! Where are they so that we may crush them?”

***

“You must be.” Metphies spoke with awe, approaching Kaziya with wide eyes. “I can feel the power practically emanate from you.”

With a dramatic flourish, Kaziya outstretched his hand. “Finally, someone with sense on this world. I presume your god informed you of me?”

“Indeed he did, for the Giant Dark Emperor will surely wish to claim you as a member of his army.” Metphies replied as he shook his new ally’s hand.

The Keizer, eyes shifting to meet his father’s gaze, continued to speak. “Well he will find nothing of the sort. Although perhaps he may find strength in this coward’s stead.” He stepped towards Yoshamura, who flinched back.

“How dare you-“ The Controller began to raise his voice, but the priest stepped between them.

“Gentlemen, you must not fight. The Giant Dark Emperor is an outcast of Mu, an ancient civilization of Earth,” that last word made both men flinch, buried feelings partially dredged up, “who achieved technology beyond what most could even imagine. His empire once stretched from here to another galactic supercluster, and although now it reels and has shrunk, he will ensure it grows even larger if he gains the proper foothold. And whether with you, grand Keizer, or with you, wise Controller, he will use Planet X as that first step. What we need is unity.” Metphies’ voice was calm, yet strong, anyone in earshot was almost supernaturally compelled to listen.

But not necessarily to follow. Yoshamura scoffed, turning away. “You’re welcome to stay here for now, but do not drag my people into war. That goes for you too, Kaziya.”

A blur of movement, and the young Keizer was before his father. Although the Exif priest outwardly grimaced, internally he was delighted by the rage molding the young adult’s face.

Perfect to manipulate.

“A decade, and that is all you have to say to me?” Kaziya’s words dripped venom, his arms shaking as if he were holding them in place against their wishes.

“I have nothing to say to you.” Yoshamura replied, trying to walk past his son. His face was as still as stone, and just as unreadable. He could not get far before Kaziya’s hand landed on his shoulder, the shaking having subsided.

“Do you have nothing to say to her, either?” He spoke into his father’s ear, confusing him for a moment before a voice that Yoshamura had hoped to never hear again reached him.

“What is going on here?” Landes yelled, pushing past guards. They tried to stop her, but she continued. “Oh come on, I’m not hearing anything exploding, so I’ll be fine, damnit!” She broke through to see her father and brother, the former’s face falling upon seeing her.

“Dad…” She morosely spoke, unsure of what she felt or if it was the right thing to feel.

Yoshamura let out a pathetic, wheezing exhale, too silent for anyone to hear but his son. Kaziya felt the old man try to break free of his grasp, but it was like an iron bar was pressed against his shoulder. The smug, boisterous countenance of the young man had melted away to reveal a darkness.

“You will not run away or wash your hands of atrocity this time.”

“Kaziya, let go of him!” Landes said as she grabbed her brother by the arm, pulling him back. The shock at her words made it possible, the paranaturally strong warrior yanked away from his father like a drunkard being pulled from self-inflicted danger.

“But, he-“ He stammered, swiftly being cut off by his sister.

“I don’t want to hear it,” she replied with a harsh jabbing of her finger at his chest. “What the hell is going on?” She asked, fanning herself.

The sight of the fan made Yoshamura sigh. He remembered Nicole giving her the accessory long ago, a childish thing for her little princess. “These… gentlemen,” he gestured towards the Exif, who put on their kindest smiles, “are relatives of the Xiliens, or perhaps it would be better to just call them Xiliens. They’re here seeking refuge from a rogue faction of their own people, trying to destroy them and gather troops for…”

“The Giant Dark Emperor.” A woman of the pale-skinned religious practitioners replied.

Yoshamura rubbed his temple and almost groaned at the name. He’d had more than enough of emperors for a lifetime. “Yes, and your brother-“

“Wishes to aid these poor souls!” Kaziya loudly cut in, putting his hand over his heart. “A small group away from their home, left to be preyed upon by the cruel who stalk this universe in search of the weak. How could I, how could we, not help them?” That last line was delivered as he glared daggers at his father, the meaning practically smashed over his skull.

He growled in response, getting out “You-,“ before a horridly bright light fell over them, accompanied by a booming voice.

“What can you do, child?”

All eyes fell upon the Giant Dark Emperor, his radiance like a roaring flame. “I once commanded an empire larger than a feeble mind such as yours could even imagine. It was not a fluke, not luck, it was I and I alone who made it so.”

Exif ships arrived from above him, soon beaming down his followers. He continued to speak. “But I do not come to you to force you to serve me, I hold no leverage to do so.”

This was both truth and lie. He truly sought their consenting cooperation, but he did not lack for power over them.

***

Far away, hurtling through space at speeds eclipsing light countless times over, the last remnant of a species that once served him was approaching. Although Earth had driven them off and the toxicity of their polluted homeworld in conjunction with opportunistic raiders had claimed their lives, their assassin still lived.

Though the Garoga had sent him to his death for the sake of an unrelated mission, Gigan still lived. And when the signal reached his mind, one predating his existence, he listened. For it told him to do what he always loved.

Decimation.

***

But his arrival would not be instantaneous. So the Giant Dark Emperor sought a more peaceful means first.

“Xiliens! I have been told of your struggles, the wretched Garoga tearing away the ones who had pulled you into the light of emotion and free will! Despite my reputation, my terrifying presence, I am no monster. I crush those who defy me, but those who follow my will, I bring prosperity beyond compare! Do not trust the Exif who speak of my evil, trust those who sing my praises! You will be the cornerstone of my new empire! You are weak now, but I know you possess the capacity for strength none can match! Follow me, and I shall lead you to a new dawn!”

His decree carried for miles, reaching every ear on Planet X.

Landes found herself entranced, being broken of it when Kaziya shouted back.

“HA! Then how did it fall in the first place, if you are such a perfect lord?”

Yoshamura began to leave, walking past his daughter. She saw tears rolling down his face, which he tried to hide.

“Betrayal, at the hands of my own people! The Muans were cowards who sought my downfall due to jealousy! They sealed me away in an alternate realm, leaving my empire to rot! The fact that it collapsed is proof of my grandiosity, for such an immense power to falter can only mean that I was all that held it together!”

“Then you are a fool! Only a fool would build something up with no intention of what to do when he’s gone! And you’ll lead our people? You’ll only lead us off a cliff, you shortsighted clown!”

“I am shortsighted? Look behind you, he who cannot even keep his family in check!”

“What,” Kaziya turned around, to see his father hurrying back underground. His fists clenched as he moved to pursue him. “Where are you going, you old bastard?”

Metphies and the “rebellious” Exif followed the rushing Keizer, acting as though he was a shelter. They cowered before the great tyrant and his followers in the same robes as them, their souls grinning as their mouths frowned.

Landes felt like cold water had been thrown onto her. Her brother moved past her so swiftly he was like a blur, the wave of Exif behind him making her back away as they nearly bowled her over.

Unbeknownst to her, a chirp from the pearl in Metphies’ hand prompted the priest to shove his leg out, clipping her own and sending her tumbling to the ground. It happened so fast the Xilien heiress had no clue it had been deliberate, her overwhelmed mind swiftly turning to blame herself.

She whined, the fan flying from her hand and bouncing across the ground.

What was she doing? Her father and brother acted on their own but she was always just clinging on, being dragged along. Yoshamura was the Controller who led their people into the new era after their crushing defeat, making humans and Xiliens able to join hands. Kaziya was a supreme mutant, the winner of a cosmic lottery turning him into a being untouchable by mere mortals.

But Landes? Landes was just a child in a grown woman’s body, surrounded by false friends and blocked from the light by her family’s shadow. She was pathetic, there was no other word for it. At least, that was from her perspective.

Luminance surrounded her, the fires of the looming Giant Dark Emperor making her shield her eyes. He had other words for what she was.

A potential convert. Fitting, given his new association with men of the cloth.

“The headstrong are the worst, are they not?” He asked her, confusing the heiress for a moment. She understood when he continued his speech. “Those who barrel forth, uncaring of what anyone else has to say? I may have come off the same initially, but I assure you, I am no fool. My empire was so strong because I did listen, did take into account others, their strengths and weaknesses.”

“I won’t join you.” Landes replied as she got to her feet, brushing dust off herself. The conviction in her brother’s words was not present, instead her speech was shaky like a man trying to walk down a slick path. “Not if Kaziya won’t.”

A third voice cut in, “Ignore your foolish brother’s yammering!” Endurph marched forward. “He understands nothing of what he’s stepped into.”

“Endurph.” Rumbled the ethereal lord’s voice like thunder. “I did not give you permission to interrupt.”

“Yes, my lord, a thousand apologies!” The old man bowed, before hurrying away.

“I know your brother will not follow me. Not without being forced to, and even then, he will plot my downfall all the way. I could tell that from the moment he opened his mouth. But, is it best for you to follow his path?”

“We promised each other to always be together. To hold the other up.” Landes held a bit more confidence in those words. “And we’ve drifted apart somewhat, but that promise still holds true.”

“Hmmm,” The Giant Dark Emperor pondered. Despite common belief, a hardened human heart could not always be unlocked like a safe through a specific combination of words. But he knew there was a weakness to be exploited here, even if it was not clear. Landes turned and began to run inside, the action clicking an idea into place like a gun’s firing mechanism in the ethereal tyrant’s mind.

“Do you still love your father?” This made the heiress nearly trip. “Did seeing your brother and father’s simmering wrath discomfort you? I know what happened to your people, the Exif were kind enough to inform me. Do you still look upon that simmering ruin called Earth and loathe Yoshamura, or do you wish you three could join hands once more as a family?”

She kept running, not answering him. Landes was crying, trying to choke back vocalization.

“Both will lead you to devastation! A man who refuses to look at the world and one who sees himself immune to it shall both collapse and wither away! I will bring you and your people to a new dawn!”

An elevator rose from the stone, Landes practically hurling herself into it as it sank downwards. The emissaries from the empire saw her fall in a heap, hands over her face, before disappearing from their sight.

The Giant Dark Emperor returned to his flock, looking up with a cruel smile as he awaited his warrior. The seed had been planted, and he knew that whatever was about to occur between father and son, it would nurture that seed and grow a wondrous sapling.

***

The door opened and Landes stumbled out of it, before resuming her frantic run. Her head swirled with the conflicting emotions. The past decade had felt like the whole world was waist-deep in sludge, everybody keeping their tongues held about their true feelings on the destruction of humanity. But she had not needed to hear the words to know people’s feelings.

Some Xiliens wanted Yoshamura’s head on a pike for his perceived failure. Others thought she, her brother, and all the other hybrids were abominations who should be purged, humanity an illness and them wretched spawn. Xilien society for as long as she knew had been two tectonic plates slowly pressing together, the day of a fracture that would lead to a horrendous quake always on the horizon, and it was only now that she let herself properly absorb that thought.

She loved her father. It was her brother’s seeming reluctance to kill their dad that had given her some joy at the start of this day. Yoshamura had not seen them for years, but she knew he still cared for them. He’d made sure they had everything they needed, taken care of them from a distance. One day, she expected to see him again, to hug him once more after he’d finally worked up the confidence to face them.

Kaziya was angry at him, and she understood why, but she’d never felt that way. King Ghidorah’s demise had made it abundantly clear to her, through her tears and sorrow at her promised pet’s decapitation, that Yoshamura had held no more power to halt the Garoga than he did the sunset.

Like bugs upon a rotting fruit, the Giant Dark Emperor’s words crawled over her thoughts. Her father had not really done anything in the last ten years but keep the gears turning, she heard nobody talk about him like they’d seen him for more than a passing moment. A society could not run like that, something would have to give. And she had believed it would be in a good way, that now farfetched dream of him and her embracing once more after he’d overcome the pain grasping his heart.

She pushed her doubt aside. Landes would find her family, and she would pull them back from the brink of something worse, and they would face this looming darkness together. The Xiliens would be united, and move forth into a new day of glory and prosperity.

A heavy, dull thud echoed throughout the halls, followed by a cluster of yells. Just before she turned the corner, the last moment of her old life, she was able to make out the words “get him to a medical bay!”

The sight that scourged her eyes was Kaziya, arm outstretched, staring at a Yoshamura flailing on the ground, clutching his chest as he wheezed. Bodyguards tried to help him as others stood between the father and son. Metphies stood nearby, showing little reaction. Landes screamed, Kaziya twisting his body and turning his head to see her.

His gaze chilled her to the bone.

“Landes!” He shouted, voice cracking. “What perfect timing, come on father, tell her what you just told me!”

Yoshamura groaned as he tried to inhale as much breath as possible. A bodyguard thought quickly, pulling the trigger on her blaster. A thin blue ray shot out towards the Keizer, who swatted it aside with psychic power. As the wall was peeled open like a can, the physical pinnacle of Xilienkind launched forward, grasping the woman by the throat.

“Tell her!” He frantically screamed. “Tell her before I crush your hollow chest like a dead bug, you worthless fucking rat!” At the last word, his grip tightened, filling the room with the crackling sound of the bodyguard’s cervical vertebrae shattering. Her neck distended, head swinging around with an agonized expression permanently etched onto the immediately dead soldier. He dropped her, limply smacking against the floor.

“You probably broke his solar plexus, you stupid bastard, he can’t!” Another bodyguard replied, an older man, who also went for his gun.

“I am no bastard.” Kaziya responded, tone like a serpent about to strike, as his hand shot up to discharge a bolt of electrical hatred. The word had been deliberate, the rogue heir knew it, by an Xilien who hated his kind. That’s why he felt no regret when the flesh of the man’s chest burst like a meaty foam, flash-boiled muscle spilling out of the falling carcass and mixing with burning leather from his uniform.

Metphies stepped forward as the guards unwilling to challenge the prodigy began to lift up their sovereign. “Allow me to elucidate the matter for the Keizer’s sister.” He spoke kindly and calmly, as though two souls had not just been snuffed out in the span of half a minute. Landes was like a deer in the headlights, barely registering the denigration implied in his words. “Your father has been rebuilding the supercomputer which guided your race before human interference in secret, aided by traditionalist Xiliens.”

“What?” Landes practically whispered, only audible due to the sheer silence that had filled the room.

Yoshamura nudged his guards, commanding them to set him on his feet. He stumbled, chest burning with pain, but he stayed tall. “Yes.” He struggled with each word, but he needed to speak to them. “Ever since the humans died, I had considered it, but it was only in the last few years that a faction had managed to build itself up enough to actually make headway.”

“The humans.” Kaziya spit.

Landes’ breathing was getting heavier as everything was sinking in. Not just this, but the fact of how callously her brother could treat life. Two carcasses, one a ravaged mess that was assailing her nostrils, and he did not even care.

“You must understand.” Yoshamura was crying, from both pain and the sorrow of what he was telling his children. “I… I don’t want to do this, but we have to.”

Kaziya was about to speak again, but Landes beat him to it. “Why? Why do we have to?” Tears were welling up in her eyes too. She knew of the all-encompassing computational machine, snuffing out everything in the mind but progress of the whole. It terrified her in the abstract, but now faced with the real thing, she began to feel like she did on that day long ago.

“We’re stagnating as a species. I know we are, if something comes back, I mean-“ he coughed, a gross hack as he tried to walk back the implication he’d accidentally dropped.

The Garoga. Ever since that horrid day, every last Xilien, from the traditionalist to the progressive, feared their return. Yes, the center of their power had been shattered, but the Garoga were not so easily dealt with. That was not the totality of their empire, and the evil incarnate insectoids were practically untouchable throughout the universe. If they set their sights on the Xiliens themselves, there was, as of now, not a single thing they could do to withstand it.

“But… What about Kaziya?” She asked, sounding like the child she was when he had last seen her. It made the Controller’s chest hurt even more. “I thought he and Monster X were supposed to be unstoppable.”

“We are. If the Garoga return, they will be crushed. Especially if I take over and can properly build ourselves back up instead of you,” he clenched his fists, his eyes sad but producing no tears. He refused to let them flow. “Holding us back.”

“You are a young fool.” Yoshamura wanted to shout, but he could barely get above murmuring. “You’ll lead us to ruin in your vengeance-driven madness. I have not seen you but I have had it reported back to me, you are like boiling pot with a lid over it. And you’ve only shown that clearly now.” He watched his son’s fingers twitch. “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

“If it prevents you from defiling mom’s memory I will!” He screeched, his true emotions billowing out for a moment as his arm was about to become a weapon, only to be halted.

The underground halls shook, followed by a piercing shriek, like metal clanging together. Even through stone and steel, the muffled call immediately dredged up the memories of the Garoga’s flagship killer.

“That lying piece of shit!” Kaziya cried out, crashing his fist through the wall to expel the pent up rage. Yoshamura and Landes both noted that that had been intended for the old man’s already ravaged chest.

The Controller’s guards carried him away swiftly. As they did so, the Giant Dark Emperor’s voice rang out again. “Now is the time to pledge your loyalty to me. Lest the Cyberclaw Terror earn his name again.”

Landes looked at her brother, who pulled his now bloody fist out of the steel wall. That hand shook as he looked at her, the gaze in his eyes more like a rabid beast than the sibling she knew.

She ran away wordlessly. Kaziya knew exactly what it meant.

The shaking of his hand ceased. His mind reached outwards, deep underground. A second rumbling began, a growl from the darkness like the devil himself.

Metphies behind him curled his mouth into a large smile, teeth barely showing between his thin lips. The gem in his hand flashed and chirped, but not in command.

”It is time.”

***

Landes was followed by a flock of other Xiliens, hybrids and purebreds, rushing out to the surface. She led the pack, Zagreth just behind her. Word of what happened between the royal family had spread like wildfire, meaning that battle lines were swiftly being drawn.

The surface was graced by them in due time, seeing Gigan stall tall. His yellow back fins waved as he swayed, thick hammer claws hanging at his sides. Green skin shined in the dim light of a Planet X day, his red visor scanning the growing crowd. He laughed to himself, his orders clear to wait until all those who would join had done so.

“I see you have made the right choice, Ms. Landes.” The Giant Dark Emperor greeted her. “And how fitting that you lead the pack.”

“Yes, sir.” The word came out of her mouth awkwardly, but she pressed ahead. “My father… he cannot be trusted to lead our race, nor can my brother who so casually executes those who displease him. I will follow you.”

“Now you see the light. I welcome you, and the rest of the Xiliens who have grasp the truth of your circumstances.”

“I’m just on the side of the guy that isn’t batshit crazy.” Zagreth whispered to her perceived friend, prompting the glowing lord to laugh and her to jump back.

“I understand I may just be the lesser of three evils, but I accept it well.”

As Zagreth wiped sweat off her brow, the ground’s shuddering intensified to the point that everyone on the surface could feel it.

Although the Muan outcast was above it, he could tell the quake was occurring. “What is that?”

Landes’ eyes widened. She had forgotten of the draconic nightmare lying deep within the chambers of Planet X, slumbering after having reached maturity years ago. Of course he would call upon it now.

The speakers that had first alerted humankind to the Xiliens’ existence blared to life as Kaziya spoke through them. “Any who would remain in service of the Giant Dark Emperor after what you will soon witness has willingly forfeit their lives, and will be killed with impunity by the true children of Planet X, alongside the regressive clowns.”

Gigan braced himself as the ground several hundred meters away burst upwards, a skeletal hand rising up into the air. It slammed into the rim of the newly formed hole, being soon followed by its twin, before both mighty limbs pulled up the form of Monster X.

He floated through the air, slowly floating to land just before Gigan. Lifting an arm, he beckoned the cyborg. With a shriek, the assassin charged forward.

***

Yoshamura watched his home become a battleground once more from a hospital bed. Machines stitched him together internally, but he knew they would not be able to fully heal his body. Part of him was fine with that, for he did not think he deserved a healthy form.

***

The Dark Empire’s new recruits scattered as Gigan lunged, swinging a claw which smacked against the side of Monster X’s face, making him stagger with a spray of sparks. The cyborg laughed, only to let out a choked cry when the cosmic demon smashed him in the neck with a swift punch.

Screeching, Gigan sprayed fire from his maw, prompting Monster X to put up a hand to shield himself. Shooting forth like a spring, the humanoid destroyer’s arm closed the assassin’s beak with a metallic clap. Cutting off his flamethrower before it melted his own mouth, Gigan revved up his buzzsaw and thrust forward.

Monster X growled as he stepped back, no blood flowing but his skin marked by the blades. Gigan cackled, ceasing his Universal Cutter and returning to swinging his arms. The deathly knight blocked them with his forearms, but a red streak of light from the Cyberclaw Terror’s visor burned his wrist, making him cry out in pain before the hammer claw that it had blocked cracked against his skull. Thrown off by the impact, he was unable to protect himself when Gigan’s arms repeatedly swung at him, driving him back.

***

“Ha! This is supposed to be his mandate of leadership? Pathetic.” The glowing warlord smugly stated. His followers beneath him held a similar attitude, other than one.

Landes turned to Zagreth, putting her hands on her shoulders. “You need to take a group and go back underground, to hangar 98. There’s a massive ship there that’s heavily armored, called the Vabaruda, it’s shaped like a pyramid but with a rounded base and a-“

“What are you panicking about, look at that thing.” The beauty-obsessed Xilien mocked her ally, pointing to Gigan fly into the air and kick the humanoid monster in the chin. This impact sent Monster X falling to the ground, catching himself barely.

“No, no, you don’t get it. That thing’s like my brother,“

“A overly arrogant dipsh-“ Zagreth was about to continue her dismissiveness when the look on Landes’ face scared her out of it.

“Endless power barely being restrained from wiping out everything in sight. I see that now with him, and I should have seen it with that… monster. We need to be ready to escape, at any moment.”

“Go.” The Giant Dark Emperor commanded. “I will defer judgment to Landes.”

Zagreth threw up an over the top salute before yelling at the nearest several dozen Xiliens to come with her. As she did so, the Xilien heiress watched as Monster X’s tail wrapped around Gigan’s leg, dragging the cyborg to the ground with a burst of broken stone.

***

5 years ago

“Excellent work, Kaziya.” The same scientist who had accompanied Yoshamura on the day the children learned of Monster X stood near the young Keizer, who sat with legs crossed on the floor before a colossal chamber. The adolescent Monster X, not nearly as jagged or monstrous as he would one day look, sat in the same posture. Thick glass separated them, though the floors and walls of both their rooms were the same shade of chrome.

Landes stood nearby, watching half-heartedly. She didn’t understand much of the connection they held, how he could telepathically commune with a monster even if it bore his DNA. They were working on trying to get Monster X fully in line with Kaziya, so it would follow his every command to the letter.

“Why isn’t dad here?” She casually asked, not having even seen him in passing among the numerous personnel present for this experiment, even if most were observing from other rooms.

The scientist stammered a bit, “eh, Mr. Yoshamura is…” he noticed the brain signal of Kaziya, displayed on a monitor, spasm as the mere mention agitated him. “Busy.”

Monster X stood up. The EEG readings hooked up to the teenage Keizer spiked as his fingers dug into his legs. “Please, calm down young-“

The colossus threw his head back, roaring in rage. The glass shattered, psychic waves from Kaziya stopping them from lacerating himself or his sister. The researcher overseeing the experiment, on the other hand, fell to the ground bleeding. A thick blade of glass split his eye in two. Landes screamed, rushing over to Kaziya and hugging him tightly.

“Please calm down.” She begged him. She heard the beeping of the reader cease, her eyes slowly opening. “Thank you. Please don’t do that again.” She heard her brother hum in affirmation, making her frantically beating heart slow down.

A glimpse of leathery wings protruding from Monster X’s back, now retracting back into his flesh, made Landes’ blood run cold.

***

The Xilien heiress shuddered. Even if it did not look as though her brother’s monstrosity was winning now, it was only a matter of time.

Monster X went to stomp on Gigan, only for the murderous space dinosaur to vanish in a blur of purple light. As the foot of the dragon knight crushed stone, Gigan reappeared behind his foe with a screech as he brought his claws down. Monster X was forced to a knee as he struggled with the pressing weight, the heinous beast trying to fully push him to the dirt. Lowering his face, the cybernetic menace’s visor glowed and discharged a shotgun-like burst of crimson energy into the back of the hybrid destroyer, giving him a faceful of shattered stone.

Gigan clapped his arms together, laughing at his grounded foe. Oh, how he missed this! It had been far too long since he’d dirtied his claws, felt the rush of combat.

The assassin’s foot came down on the skeletal beast’s back several times, his eye sparking with light as Laser Knives danced across the fiend.

***

Kaziya growled as he watched the fight unfold, rubbing his face. “What’s happening, why is he losing?” Sweat beaded on his brow, being swiftly wiped off, the chair creaking as he shifted uncomfortably in it.

He’d staked everything on this. Threw himself headlong into declaring war on both sides, hoping that he’d draw others in with his sheer might, but now it was cracking.

As he watched Monster X roll to his feet, he grit his teeth. A powerful kick from the arbiter of his will to Gigan’s side made him smile, but that expression faded as the scythed killer took off into the air. A spray of sparks flashed as his spinning buzzsaw grinded against Monster X’s armor, stumbling the warrior back.

“I didn’t see you use any technology to summon that monster.” Metphies said, startling the prodigy. “Was it with your mind?”

“Yes.” Kaziya replied. “Monster X is connected to me.”

“Are you controlling him?”

“No. I guide him, but I can’t choose his actions for him. They had wanted me to do that, but he did not take to it, and after the incident that claimed his creator, they did not want much of anything to do with him.”

“Hmm,” Metphies hummed, walking up closer to get a better view of the battle on an ancient screen. Gigan flew down feet first, Monster X barely ducking, but the Nebulan superweapon was swift to pivot immediately upon landing and blast his foe in the back. The dark knight screamed as flesh smoked.

“How exactly are you connected? If you say you are not controlling him, but you hold a special bond?” The priest questioned.

Kaziya took a moment to think. “He’s made with my DNA, merged with King Ghidorah’s. When he fights, I can feel him, and vice versa. We’re not the same being, we have no control over the other’s actions, but we’re linked.”

“Perhaps then, Keizer, he is losing because your mind is clouded and torn.” The young man looked up to the priest, confused. “If you and him are truly so close, then look at yourself. Your father who you reviled has shown that you were nowhere close to understanding the true depths of his loathsomeness. Your beloved sister abandoned you, saw you as nothing but a monster. Your people are splitting apart, and though you seek to shepherd them, you feel you cannot.”

Kaziya hung his head, crestfallen. “You’re right. Landes is disgusted by me, she’d rather trust a complete stranger than her own brother. Father, Yoshamura,” he growled in frustration, unsure of how to refer to or even see his patriarch. His next words were quiet and bitter. “I did not truly hate him before. I knew he was capable of nothing, but some irrational part of me refused to forgive him. But now, now I understand how much of a disgusting wretch he is.”

Metphies stepped closer still, putting a hand on the young man’s shoulder. He leaned down, speaking softly into his ear. “Then crush them. Part the fog in your mind, and show your people that their only future is under your leadership or under your heel.”

This caught Kaziya off guard. “I thought you were a religious man? Why do you care so much of what I do, what happens to anyone when your God will ferry you and the rest of his flock to whatever paradise awaits you?”

“God sent me to find you. Kaziya, great and mighty Keizer,” Metphies continued, lifting up the Garbetrium bead, a pearl-esque object which flickered with emerald radiance in confusing runes. “He wants your power. He will carry us all to a beauty unparalleled, with Monster X as our blade to cut through the brush.” Kaziya stared at the gem-like computer, transfixed. “Now show them what I have already seen in my dreams. Show them your absolute might, and let your father and sister weep in the wake of it.”

Kaziya’s heart had been beating like a drum before, but now, at those words, it began to slow. His breathing regulated, eyes turning back to the display of Monster X.

“Yes.” He spoke calmly like the holy man had. “You’re right. I’ve always known it to be so, now is the time for everyone else to know as well.”

***

Gigan clamped his arms onto his foe’s sides, the colossus in skeletal armor having just stood still for a few moments. He took it as a sign of forfeit, an acceptance of death. With the spinning of his Universal Cutter, he prepared to act as executioner, already daydreaming of the sight and sensation of the obsidian stomach being slit open and spilling organs everywhere.

Monster X’s skull came down like a hammer onto Gigan’s face, the sound echoing across the landscape. The impact sent waves of fear rolling through the Giant Dark Emperor’s subordinates, the ethereal tyrant’s own face displaying his shock for all to see.

Landes just knew it had been coming all along.

Gigan staggered backwards, screeching. His visor was shattered, beak heavily dented. He tried to open it, but that only hurt more. A jagged tooth in the roof of his mouth, designed to be a hidden blade when biting foes, now impaled his own tongue. Blood and oil dripped from numerous lacerations in his face, and he could tell from the lightness of his head that several spikes of his mohawk had been shattered.

A single thud on the ground was all the warning Gigan had before a horrific punch smashed into his stomach, directly into the blades of his deactivated Universal Cutter. They shattered as a hand grasped the thin apparatus, akin to a chainsaw conveyer belt, and ripped backwards. Gigan screamed as he could only feel, not see, the tearing and mutilation of his internal mechanisms. Slick, cold fluid was coating his stomach now as sparks erupted, the Universal Cutter torn apart in the middle. In a panic, he opened his beak and let loose his flamethrower.

The Dark Empire’s new acolytes watched in horror as Monster X ducked beneath the stream, flattening his hand and thrusting it into the cyborg’s throat. His claws punctured the scales and flesh with ease, causing a miniature explosion as the fumes and flames erupted from the wound. Gigan coughed violently as he tried to survive in anyway he could, both hammer claws swinging towards his foe.

Monster X grabbed them, squeezing so tightly his hands shook. The Giant Dark Emperor was confused for a moment, only to understand with great horror as cracks began to race out from the points of contact. “That’s Cosmo-Steel, a living being should not be able to-“

With a horrendous crash, Gigan’s claws shattered near their bases, the heavy chunks of steel smashing into the stone as their former wielder stumbled back. He screamed in horror, taking off into the sky. Gigan needed to run, flee, live. There was no concern for how he would survive so badly crippled, nothing but the primal urge to continue holding the spark of life. The draconian knight looked at his bleeding hands, torn by the metal shards he had created. He craned his head up, his red eyes focusing onto his fleeing foe.

Then, they were overtaken with a golden blaze.

Footage of Godzilla and Rodan’s battle with King Ghidorah on Planet X was a frequent topic of study for the Xliens, alongside numerous other videos of the king of the monsters battling. The Giant Dark Emperor had seen countless titans waging war, it was the only way to properly battle another civilization in this cosmos. So the onlookers knew full well that some Kaiju could discharge energy, to explosive and frightful results.

But Godzilla’s stream of burning mist, Gigan’s thin laser, even King Ghidorah’s fearsome streaks of gravitonic energy, they all paled in comparison to this.

To the shimmering strands, so bright that eyes were averted, which erupted from Monster X’s four eyes. Thick bolts of power which scorched the air as they raced up to meet Gigan’s flying form, the ruined killer only noticing at the last moment from the heavy thrum they gave off. He screeched, but that call of fear and plea for mercy was swiftly silenced.

As Gigan’s entire body was swallowed by a calamitous explosion, the Destroyed Thunder Bolts filled the sky with their cruel bliss. A burnt, skeletal corpse plummeted from the cloud, smoke trailing it as Monster X turned towards the Giant Dark Emperor.

The ground opened up as a colossal spaceship, the Vabaruda as Landes had called it, emerged. Landes led a panicked charge towards it, the hanger doors opening as guns were trained on the Kaiju.

But not everyone fled towards it.

Hundreds of Xilien, mostly hybrids, fell to their knees. Thousands more still in the underground similarly pledged themselves to the Keizer, the display of power cowing any thoughts of defecting to either the traditionalists or the Dark Galactic Empire.

Monster X did not fire. Perhaps Kaziya’s blood prevented him from directly killing Landes. But he ensured they would understand just what those who fled were choosing.

The Demon of the Galaxy howled into the heavens, a rumbling, raspy bellow that shook the world. Landes watched with tears in her eyes, knowing that there was no going back. She’d chosen her side, and there was no going back. The Vabaruda lifted up into the sky, racing away over the horizon rapidly.

The Giant Dark Emperor looked at the scene before him, callously regarding the explosion of ashen biomass that occurred when Gigan impacted. He vanished, following his legion, but not before declaring “You have seen nothing of what I will bring to bear against you, Keizer. And you as well, Controller.”

***

Kaziya laughed, hands to the sky as he basked in the power at his fingertips. Metphies couldn’t help but notice that he and his monster struck the same pose.

The Keizer leaned over the microphone once more, setting it to broadcast within the halls of the Xiliens’ home. “Everyone who follows me, go to Hangar 04 and prepare the golden mothership. That shall be our base of operations. I will be there soon, so any who still cling to foolish old ways, do not interfere or you will die.” He laughed more, his berserk joy spilling out from him.

“Shall we go, grand Keizer?” Metphies asked his leader.

“Of course. Thank you, priest of God. You have shown me the light.”

Metphies smiled as they left the room. “You and your knight are that light.”

An unheard chirp from the Garbetrium affirmed the holy man’s statement.

***

Yoshamura sat alone in his office, having given the order to turn on the supercomputer just moments before. It had only been a few hours since Kaziya and Landes both rejected him, fled to their own factions. A breathing tube was hooked up to his mouth and nose, necessary after the brutal strike his son had lashed into his chest and the time it took to get it treated.

His eyes rolled down to look at the portrait of his family, Kaziya and Landes as children held in his and Nicole’s arms.

He tried to maintain composure. But his heart pounding in his chest would not allow for that, not in the slightest, as each thump was agonizing against his battered chest.

Yoshamura screamed as he pushed everything off his desk, the papers fluttering through the air as the rest clattered to the floor as detritus. The Xilien smashed his fist into the space he had just cleared, making pain shoot through his hand. It did nothing to distract him from his internal anguish.

Fingers dug into the palm, muscles tensed to their maximum. His teeth grit together, feeling like they were going to burst.

He was weak. He was powerless. And, he was alone.

Yoshamura remembered her smiling face, that serene beauty which made all the world’s problems melt away. But his mind warped it away, replacing it with the vision of her body becoming a slurry of gore under the bullets of Jikiro.

Another crash of his fist against the desk, leaving blood to drip onto it. Impotently he beat both clenched hands onto the flat surface, making it begin to crack. “Damnit, damnit, damnit!” He screamed.

His son and daughter’s joyous expressions flashed in his mind, but they were just replaced by the utter destruction of light that was apparent on their faces after that day. Then the sheer disdain they both had looked at him with when he revealed his plans.

Yoshamura’s whole body shook as he screamed, clawing at the sides of his face. It was an embarrassing display, but he cared not, he found himself unable to care about anything. No tears flowed, just anger and hatred welling up and bursting forth like a broken pipeline.

He had nothing. If it were not for wishing to preserve the future of his people, he would have jammed a blade into his own throat and freed himself of this pain. He knew, deep down, that the suppression of emotion would be an awful fate. After having tasted the beauty of these things, he and his people would suffer greatly. Perhaps even worse than he suffered now.

But he had dug his grave. Now was the time to lie in it.

 

Chapter 10: Final Day Before Judgment

Months later, shortly after the agreement to a final battle.

Curled in on himself, sitting atop the barren stone of Planet X, King Ghidorah stirred in his slumber. His darkest urges were restrained, but they still burned in the depths of his three-pronged consciousness. Visions floated through his mind, but they were not dreams.

They were memories.

His life played like a tape before his closed eyes, the highlights the only time it was not a blur. In the void of space, a dark portal opened wide, hurling him out of its abyssal swirl. It was the beginning of his consciousness, the demon king of the cosmos’ birth. He knew not what had facilitated this, the tear in reality sealing shut before he could get a proper look into it. He flailed, screeching as his fresh mind took in its surroundings. Numerous limbs shook and writhed as a command in the center of his being rose to the surface.

Kill.

Horns atop his head pulsed as they detected life, that order driving him to beat his wings and fly towards the nearest source. A primitive world was what he found, huts going up in smoke and spears breaking against his scales. The devastation was fulfilling, the same as filling the stomach. King Ghidorah screeched to the burning heavens, before instinct took over and let him summon the shattered rocks of his surroundings to form a shell. Launching off into space, he continued to do what he desired.

Thousands of worlds fell to him, becoming a slurry of madness and death in his perception. Millions of years passed by in a few moments to the sleeping observer before that fast-forward slammed to a pause.

A world of blue seas and green plants all across the ground. Earth. As the King Ghidorah in the moment delighted in the fires spewing from burning buildings, the king of terror remembering this day growled. It was the first time he tasted failure, and unfortunately, this planet would ensure it was not the last either.

Other giants, three to be precise. A leviathan with ivory spines, a colossal pteranodon with brown wings to blot out the sun, and a larva with sapphire eyes. They battered him, threw rocks and sprayed adhesive silk, smashed their bodies against his with the fervor of cornered animals fighting to taste life for another day.

With his three heads bound together, the sea beast, Godzilla, tossed him off a cliff with a display of strength he thought only he possessed. Making no progress against the determined trio, King Ghidorah made a decision he’d forever regret.

He fled.

With his sail-like wings beating, he carried himself back into space, growling at the triumphant roars he heard below until the vacuum silenced them. His pride and body bruised, he detected yet more life in this system, a moon crawling with far less life than Earth. To nurse his wounds he descended in a hail of Gravity Bolts, scouring the dusty, blue rock for what lay beneath.

They found him first. Silver saucers released beams of azure light, enveloping his heads. He thrashed, tried to fight them off, but his beating at the hands of Earth’s guardians had rendered him too weak. Soon, his mind was theirs to command. A year passed, and Godzilla and Rodan stood before him yet again, a ploy by his new masters to destroy Earth’s defenses. They battled once more, but despite raging against the bars of his mental cage, he could not stop the rigged fight from proceeding exactly as planned. Then, he and his two former enemies were upon Earth, tearing into it. A high-pitched screech, artificial siren, broke his masters above and let him control himself for the first time in so long.

Godzilla and Rodan smashed into him, casting all three to the seas below. King Ghidorah was the first to rise, and he had no more desire to ravage this planet. He hated it so much he would rather never see it again then spend the time to destroy it. Had he been the master of his fate, it would have been so.

But he was not. Years later, another species snatched his mind from him, paired him with a boorish cyborg and sent him back to the pale blue dot he so despised. Godzilla awaited him once again, this time joined by a beast coated in spikes. Although victory seemed assured, just like last time, his masters were vanquished. The cyborg fled when the tide turned, King Ghidorah cursing him as the Earth’s ancient warriors once more battered his hide, his golden wings carrying him back to the stars the first moment he could do so. Had he the will anymore, he would have torn into the wretched cyborg, but he just wanted to depart from the accursed world.

A year later, yet again, yet again, talons sank into his brains and puppeted his actions. Disgusting insects, lavishing him with praise as an engine of destruction and nihilistic supremacy. Rows of monsters followed their command, pathetic and twisted creations that he could crush in short order if he was set free. But instead, they set him loose to destroy a single facility on Earth, an insult to his might. He was met with a humanoid warrior, cast in blue and silver skin with glowing eyes of yellow. King Ghidorah battled the hero, initially overwhelming him but still falling short even as his new masters set a prism in his chest to blot out the Sun’s light. The golden wyrm was so enraged by this farce that he broke free of his chains, hurling himself away from Earth and racing to the nearest planet just to breathe.

But the humanoid chased him there, why, why! What business did he still have with him? On a planet that stirred ancient memories for the destroyer of worlds, he was blasted and beaten once more, driven away to the depths of space.

The years dragged on, King Ghidorah always looking wherever he went, always anxious and on guard for another conqueror seeking his power. Another fool with a bone to pick with that damned world. One day, he came across a world being beset by the Garoga yet again, some hideous beast with two heads looking up and firing a crimson ray at him.

King Ghidorah eviscerated it, then set his sights on the insects. Not just those on this world, but all over the universe. Across the cosmos he crusaded against his former captors, killing every single Garoga he could find amidst the galaxies. They tried to seize his mind once more, but he was wise to their tricks, his wrath never being abated.

He never found the Nebulans, but one day, he returned to Planet X as part of his revenge tour. Earth smoldered in the distance, a sight that gave him great pleasure while he descended to begin the carnage on his first slavers. He knew not who had done the act, but he would be grateful to them for the rest of time.

Even greater was his mirth at the sight of Gigan’s severed claws, the blades recognizable no matter the circumstance. A massive black mark on the ground, clumps of ashen meat and scorched metal on it, painted a delightful picture for the three-headed dragon. He cackled loudly, eyes shut as he threw his heads back in laughter.

His mind was suddenly assailed by psychic waves once more, the sensation oh so familiar. King Ghidorah’s eyes flew open, his jaws parting to shoot down the saucers, but he could not do so in time. He had learned from his previous failings, grown more powerful in the nearly two decades since, but what he had not accounted for was that the same could be true for his enemies.

With a hideous shriek, his mind was once more locked down and put under the will of uncaring masters. The vision ended, the wyrm’s sleep restless as he twitched and snarled but could not rise. Not until he was given permission to.

He hated it here, in this life.

***

Below the golden wyrm, floating limply in a colossal glass casing filled with pale blue fluid, was Rodan. His skin had shifted from brown to red, a mutation enforced by the surging of radiation into his form. Unfortunately, sleep did not claim him, a numbing in-between state settling over his mind instead. Pain coursed through the king of the skies’ body, an ever present ache from his healed wounds at Monster X’s hands and from his forceful transformation.

Rodan knew the situation he and his closest friend were in. They had been in it before, under the control of the Xiliens, but this time was different. There was no Earth to conquer, nor to return to. He barely remembered why that had occurred in the first place, what catastrophe had plunged the world of his birth into the desolation it now languished in.

A feeling of doom settled over him. All he could think about was the past, for the king of the skies saw no future. But there was little pleasant in that direction either.

When the hard shell of his egg broke from within, his beak piercing through to shout his arrival into life, he expected light. Rodan anticipated his mother’s presence, standing over him like a sentry.

He found no such thing. Only darkness, noxious fumes and heat in the depths of a collapsed volcano. When his eyes adjusted to the dark, he found only two colosssl corpses, his mother and father slain in a battle before his birth. The insects which fed upon their carcasses were his meal, agonizing silence and loneliness all he felt until he reached maturity. In rage he then burst forth, screeching to the skies, cursed to carry the burden of being the last of the Rodans.

And here he was now. On a cold, alien world which only saw him as a weapon.

***

Curled up on the harsh steel floor of a chamber that could fit a skyscraper, Godzilla slept. Unlike Rodan, the king of the monsters had not given up. He knew he was trapped for now, but he would not be so easily broken. When this war ended, he would be alive, and if he had to brave the depths of space on his own to return to Earth, he would.

Somewhere on that devastated world, a child in his image waited. And he would be reunited with him, no matter what he had to endure. The golden dragon he would be forced to side with in this upcoming battle, the cybernetic assassin, the brutal god of a lost civilization, the legions of the wretched Garoga pawns, his mechanical doppelgänger, and a ferocious dinosaur from the depths of the ocean. All those things he had faced and triumphed over, been torn open by and bathed in flame and blood, all to ensure Earth endured. He would do it all again for Minilla’s sake.

Godzilla twisted and turned in his sleep as he remembered the last battle he had gone through. For all his bravado and resoluteness, it shook him regardless.

The sky writhed with countless Garoga ships and Terro-Beasts, that horrid planet hanging over the Earth like a guillotine blade. He and Zone Fighter stood side by side, drenched in the gore of the alien bioweapons. The humanoid with blue and silver armor looked forward with his glowing eyes of yellow, fists clenched as bracelets filled with missiles faded into the ether. This extraterrestrial blitzkrieg had pushed the world to its limits, just as it had Zone Fighter’s home, and the two could feel that the end was near, in one way or another.

Overhead, a cylindrical ship with a drill at its front flew through the armada. Godzilla understood it as humanity’s final charge, knowing the planet’s primary civilization well enough to know that something immense was hidden up their sleeve. But he had little time to dwell on it as a terrifying monstrosity dropped from the sky, resembling an old foe whose mere appearance made Godzilla remember his blood being spilled.

Gigan Rex screeched, before launching forwards. Godzilla bent down as the mechanical terror swung a blazing whip, the weapon carving off the tips of some of his spines. The monster king grimaced, then tackled his shoulder into the crimson killer, stopping its charge with a heavy impact. Red flesh parted to reveal a dark eye in the midst of Gigan Rex’s chest, which blazed with a yellow light. A potent laser struck Godzilla and sent him careening backwards, screaming as his scales burned away. The cybernetic commander of the Garoga army retracted its whips, then flew towards the reeling monster king with its scythes primed.

Zone Fighter halted the attack with a similar ray of light, dark blue in color and produced by the antenna atop his head. The Meteor Proton Ray speared into the closing eye upon Gigan Rex’s abdomen, a moment before the eyelid sealed shut. Vitreous humor, as black as the hearts of the scarlet slayer’s masters, burst outwards and boiled. Gigan Rex screeched, shaking in pain as its feet crashed to the earth and carved trenches into the dirt.

Godzilla and Zone Fighter exchanged a quick glance, communicating without a word as both barreled forward. Getting to either side of the fiend, the warriors of justice began mercilessly beating the alien weapon. Fists moved like blurs, bouncing Gigan Rex back and forth between them as it screamed for aid from its allies. Armor dented and broke under the hail of strikes. The meteor man leapt up, crashing his knee into the crimson colossus’ chin. The creature’s beak was dislocated, being worsened as Godzilla’s fist came down like a hammer onto the cyclops’ eye, sending cracks across the glass aperture.

Flailing, Gigan Rex’s whips came flying out, forcing the two heroes to backpedal as glancing blows sliced open their flesh. Blinded, the alien superweapon could only madly swing its weapons. Godzilla thrust his arms up, Zone Fighter’s hands touching the top of his antenna, and the two unleashed their respective beams into the open wound where a fleshy eye once sat.

With a hellacious screech, Gigan Rex detonated.

The heroes practically fell over as they panted with exhaustion, that victory only possible due to a stroke of luck and perfect timing. Zone Fighter touched his chest, the light affixed to his belt shifting to a flashing red as he looked at his now bloody hand. Godzilla could tell his ally was reaching his limit, and the battle looked far from over.

A catastrophically wrong assessment.

Zone Fighter suddenly tensed up, as though he had just learned of something horrible. Godzilla was confused, especially when the meteor man took off straight into the sky as fast as he could, the monster king only able to raise a hand and step forward. Looking into the sky, he saw the clouds part as a shining light pierced the clouds. Focusing his eyes revealed that it was a colossal missile, far larger than either of them.

Godzilla was able to figure out that his friend had likely just heard something from his family, radio communication that the leviathan was not privy to. His heart thundered in his chest as he watched the hero stand in the missile’s path, thrusting his arms forth and conjuring a mostly invisible barrier. Only the multi-colored flashing edge of the shield was visible as it expanded outwards, the hulking weapon smashing against it. For a few seconds, Zone Fighter held strong, slowly crawling his Zone Barrier across the missile’s length to envelop it.

Then it exploded.

Godzilla had been in the midst of the nuclear bomb, but the difference between that and whatever horrid weapon the Garoga had sent down was like comparing water dropping off a leaf to a tsunami. Everything was white, an ever present and horrendous heat as all sound was replaced with a great rumbling.

When the leviathan awoke, it was to a scene of utmost devastation. The Garoga’s artificial planet was torn asunder, descending in a burning rain upon a world that was already lost in endless smoke and fire as far as the eye could see. Godzilla, amidst his horror at the sight before him, the pain spearing into every cell of his regenerating body which had been scoured down to bone and organ, figured that drill-ship had accomplished whatever its task was.

Eventually, he gained the strength to walk. Only the telepathic call of his son guided him, the child distressed beyond imagination at the Earth’s evisceration. The planet still lived, but barely. Once he found Minilla, he hugged his child, and the two once more drifted off to hibernation in a thick precipitation, only it was ash instead of snow.

He did not know how long it had been since that day and when he suddenly awoke to find himself on Planet X, next to Rodan yet again. The two were barely able to appreciate one another’s survival before they were beset upon. All he knew was that he would return to Earth, to his son, if it was the last thing he ever did.

***

In its hangar, Mechagodzilla sat motionless. Fully repaired, it played back its battle with Gigan and King Ghidorah over and over again in its mostly shutdown state. Advanced artificial intellect studied every frame, outlining the successes and failures of each action Mechagodzilla undertook and suggesting new strategies. Footage of other battles, what could be gathered of its other potential foes, joined the roll and received similar treatment.

***

Mecha-King Ghidorah was as still as a statue. Somewhere in that cybernetic form, memories dwelled like wisps. Of a warm touch, a smiling face, but they were mere drops glistening on the surface of cold, hard steel, unable to reach deeper inside. Whatever was left of the shared brain within the dragon’s chest was too filled with wires, too pumped full of numbing drugs, to be anything but a mindless follower of whatever commands went its way.

***

Gororin slept, looking like a normal cactus except for in scale. He dreamed of crushing the weak under his rolling form, impaling his foes upon his needles, and snapping the neck of that damned Monster X.

***

Hedorah gurgled in delight, descending upon another landfill. Its master wished for the smog monster to be in peak condition, so it fed on yet more waste and pollution. The chance to display its dominance, its invincibility, would be soon. Such a thing would be wondrous, even more than the taste of aged oil which currently stimulated its taste buds.

***

Gigan twitched in his attempt to sleep, scratching at where his arm’s new extension connected to the body. The dual-chainsaw had captivated him when he first saw it, but as he thought over it more he preferred the simplicity of the scythe, at least grateful he kept one. The sight of King Ghidorah had knocked loose metaphorical scales from his eye, the clearing up of a haze he did not know existed only being hastened by fleeing alongside him.

He dived headlong into his memory, trying to find out what else he’d forgotten. First was his life before his enhancement, a beast who ruled over all he surveyed with humongous claws. Even his might could not shield him from the planet of his birth being overtaken by a black smog, the resources he depended upon for life withering away under the poison which burned his lungs. He finally fell over dead, or so he thought, for he awoke to find his hands and feet gone and his eyes replaced with crimson glass. Huge blades of refined steel were being attached to the stumps of his limbs, insects looming over him as they observed and commanded their machines to do their work. Becoming more and more aware of his body, he realized that his organs intermingled with mechanical systems, his abdomen opened wide as a chain covered with blades was fed into it.

Where any other would scream at the sight, he was transfixed. Gigan was becoming something better, something which transcended the death which had claimed everything else he knew. When this process was done, would anything be able to stop him?

For a long time, the answer was no. Across the cosmos he was a tool of war, tearing apart everything he was commanded to with reckless glee. His masters, the Nebulans, worked for the Giant Dark Emperor in exchange for their rotting world being kept going for as long as it could. The previous civilization was the ones responsible for Space Hunter Nebula M’s poisoned state, and the Galactic Dark Empire’s technology held back the tide of complete desolation.

Then came a sudden, violent shift. The overlord of the empire was gone, betrayed by his own people and removed from this reality. Without the head, the body fell as the followers of the empire turned on one another. Gigan was triumphant over anything the others threw at them, but there was something even he could not fight. Space Hunter Nebula M eventually became uninhabitable, the air poisonous even to the cockroaches. All that could survive were horrific monsters of sludge, who attacked any other life form on sight.

Gigan’s insectoid masters set their sights on another world, a pristine blue gem sitting at the perfect distance from its sun to be ideally inhabitable. They settled on Earth, and set up a master plan to destroy its current occupants, eventually calling him down alongside King Ghidorah. He had doubted the need for another monster to aid him, his hammer claws undefeated throughout his long life.

That belief was shattered, along with his flawless record, once his masters’ plot was foiled. The blazing fire of Godzilla’s atomic ray casting him from the sky, how could he have forgotten it? Burning anguish as he plummeted to the unforgiving earth, just thinking about it made him furious all over again. He fled alongside his “ally”, the wyrm’s expressions making it clear that his own exhaustion with the world below was all that prevented them from battling in the heavens.

Next year, the cyberclaw terror found himself back on Earth. His masters sought to aid another group of the planet’s inhabitants, ones more sympathetic to their goal. And thus, he was sent down to join a beetle-like colossus, with drills for arms and an antenna which spewed lightning. Gigan and Megalon battled a robot built by humankind, swiftly bringing it down as they laughed. He had met a kindred spirit, finally found someone he could call a friend, and was loving every moment of it. When Godzilla returned, the cyborg was itching for a rematch, his new ally close behind.

Phantom pain shot through his arm as he recalled Jet Jaguar driving its knee up into his elbow, snapping bone with a grotesque crunch. Once more, he took to the skies, leaving his friend behind. It was the first time he’d felt a pang of regret, but his desire for self preservation overrode any other feelings. In the moment, it was easily crammed down, but afterwards, back on his homeworld after another failure, it was harder to look past.

Was it mere common sense, or was he a coward? He had not faced a proper challenge until Godzilla, perhaps he could not actually take on an equal in might? Could he have salvaged either battle if he had not fled?

It was not a question he’d have time to dwell on, for the black skies were pierced by unholy hordes. His masters, on the brink of death, sent him out for the final time. Gigan fought valiantly for them, tearing through Terro-Beasts with his numerous weapons, but he could do nothing to truly stop what was coming.

Standing atop a mountain of corpses, drenched in the innards of the Garoga’s foul servants, he shouted to the station raining down artillery on the last bastion of the Nebulans. He knew his masters were dead, but for those who had pulled him back from the brink of death, Gigan would finally fight until his true last breath.

Two Terro-Beasts stepped forward, one with an ant-like head atop a long neck and the other bearing a robotic head and diodes upon his rotund abdomen. With a screech, he hurled himself towards them, blades drawn and ready to kill both in one stroke.

The bloated Terro-Beast threw his arms back, searing light spraying out from his chest. Gigan’s defiant shout became a scream of shock as he plummeted, digging a trench in the ground with his body. Slamming his claws into the earth, he pulled himself up, only for the insectoid to extend a cannon from between its mandibles. With a thunderous crack, it fired, piercing Gigan’s scales and making blood geyser. He tried to counter with a Laser Knife, but another flash of light into his unblinking eye sent the ray off in a direction holding nothing. Like a drumbeat, the cannon fired repeatedly, tearing holes in the assassin’s hide. Every time he tried to fight back, he was blinded, eventually his foes descending upon him and physically beating him once he was too weak to swing his arms. His cries faded with his consciousness, and once more he expected to die, never to return.

Unfortunately for him, the Garoga had no intention of killing him.

Gigan awoke, unable to move his limbs. The sky above was a harsh kaleidoscope, like nothing that could be found in the natural universe. For this was another dimension, where the Garoga stored their weapons. Gigan now fell under that category, his mind blurred into a haze that did not let him properly think. He vaguely recalled them scanning his body, tampering with his innards and changing the perfect work of the Nebulans. Before they deployed him, he had a faint idea of a figure being carved in his image, only blindingly red all across its form and somehow both more simplistic and complex.

Earth once more, parachutes carrying him down for he was not even fit to fly after what they’d done to his body and mind. A brutalizing at Godzilla’s hands, what had once been a heart-poundingly close battle now reduced to a thrashing. He barely understood where he was, no preparation or planning, as though an unrelated plan had failed and he’d been tossed out in desperation. Once more, his end came, but the break between death and rebirth was mere moments as new mechanisms revived him to battle a humanoid warrior. In his haze he laughed as explosives installed in his claws detonated against the back of the hero’s skull, seemingly ending the meteor man. Unfortunately, or perhaps quite the opposite, Zone Fighter’s vitality was more than anticipated. Proton missiles forged by a civilization only vanquished due to their lack of appetite for war bored into the golden scales and green flesh of the cybernetic assassin. The high was dissolved, sobriety striking Gigan as he fell to the dirt with foam spilling out of his mouth and his organs pulverized.

Silence would not find him yet, however. He awoke on a barren world, far away from Earth, as though he’d never suffered under the Garoga’s torment. The only clue the cyborg had to his new saviors was the fading sight of dark, star-shaped ships which glowed green with their propulsion. He would have pursued them, but they vanished before he could properly grasp his continued life.

A signal reached him after some time of aimless wandering, a psychic command Gigan thought he would never hear again. The Giant Dark Emperor! So that was who had saved him, holdouts from the empire who had sought to revitalize it. He followed his old master’s order without hesitation, hurling himself towards Planet X with the same vigor as in the old days.

The events that occurred next fell over Gigan’s memory like a spreading stain. He had endured pain before, but that… that thing. The skeletal knight, draconic terror, had inflicted agony he never thought possible. Fury and power spilled out from Monster X like an exploding star, carrying Gigan away and breaking him against the rocks.

And yet again, he was salvaged, pulled out from the abyss that should have greeted him. Now he would have to fight against his old master, alongside the beast whose presence fills him with dread. He wanted to rebel, but his new controllers had placed something inside his very DNA that made that impossible, unbreakable puppet strings being pulled by a single man.

Gigan supposed that was all he ever was. A puppet. For the Nebulans, for the Garoga, for the Giant Dark Emperor, and now for Kaziya. When was the last time he had truly exercised his own will, made a decision for and by himself?

He remembered leaving Megalon behind to face two foes at once, the one friend he’d ever had tossed aside like trash. And he recalled diving into battle against the Garoga, being ultimately subsumed by the cruel plunderers. Those had been his decisions.

Gigan let sleep seize him, no longer wanting to dwell on his life.

***

No wind blew on Planet X’s surface. Even terraformed to be breathable, the moon of Jupiter was still a barren wasteland. No plants could grow, rain would never fall, and the sunlight would always be muted and weak.

This, Monster X thought, was likely why the Xiliens had lost their minds. Curled up on the ground, still as a statue, the hybrid drake waited. When the command was given, he would rise.

Even Kaziya was insane, he knew this. The skeletal monstrosity respected his… Well, Monster X was not sure what exactly he and Kaziya were. He followed the Keizer’s commands, but it was not a master and servant relationship. There was an equality to it unlike the other monsters, a respect. They felt the same things, minds interlinked to form a bond unlike any other.

That was why Monster X knew his genetic donor was insane. He supposed the same had to be true of him in turn.

Life was a cage for them both, chains binding their true nature down and forcing them to peer at the world through cold iron bars. Once he had nearly let that truth free, taking the life of the scientist who had given him life, but that only caused more restraints to be added. The Xiliens feared him, his fellow colossal warriors as well. An endless wellspring of power existed, and they sought to throw filters and barricades over it.

Perhaps the coming battle would let him cast off his shackles. He had no clue what that would look like, but the mere thought lit embers in the cold chamber of his heart.

***

Void.

Mortals thought they knew what a void was, that they could picture it clearly in their heads. What could be easier to imagine than nothing?

A folly. The limited brain could not comprehend a true void, an endless absence. It would always subconsciously add something, a border between it and them, in truth a cushion. To soften the impact, distance themselves from it and only look at it sideways as opposed to directly.

Or, they would proclaim that there was no such thing as a void. Instead of even glancing, they would turn their eyes away, plug their ears and shout about whatever their imaginations conjured.

Eighty-one eyes peered down upon Planet X. Twenty-seven per head, thirteen per side and one in the center of the brow. They were red-gold beads, embedded in xanthic light solidified into the shapes of horned heads at the ends of thorn-coated vines. Thin jaws with jagged edges which resembled teeth shifted subtly, eager to dig into life essence.

Mortals refused to properly face the void, their minds contorting to blanket them from it, because it was inevitable. None could escape its cold talons digging into their consciousness, what they called a soul, and dragging them into itself. All life dies, all things decay, to return to the nothingness from whence they came.

Wings that had once ferried it across the universe, killing all it came across, shifted as a mental reflex as it peered closer. Twin tails waved through the all-encompassing black, spiked ends longing for the day they crashed into flesh and tore it open. A thin abdomen, glowing like a star, stretched as the transcendent prepared for its feast.

There was no perdition or paradise. Just oblivion.

And there was only one divinity.

A God of Terror.

 

Chapter 11: Astronomical Final War

No wind blew. The air, which did not exist on the barren surface a few decades ago, was stagnant. It let them breathe on the surface, but that was all it functioned for, the thin layer that humanity and the Xiliens had put on the world. With freedom and ideas other than serving a greater good, the cramped, repetitive spaces of the Xiliens’ settlement became a prison. So greater freedom of movement was desired and attained via an artificial atmosphere.

But this world could never be made something beautiful. All it got them was a larger prison, the surface of the Jupiterian moon deader than even Earth’s harshest environments.

That thought lingered in every Xiliens’ mind as they approached the battlefield, whether at the forefront or dancing in the dim halls of the subconscious. Perhaps it had once been bountiful, how else could they have even come to exist, but nobody remembered that better place if it was real. The Exif spoke of an ancient history, but were silent on any further details.

Silver saucers, blue lights upon their undersides to facilitate their flight, hovered in the air above Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. Fury was barely concealed by their mental chains, eyes burning with the desire to break free and tear into their captors. Below them, the regressive Xiliens prepared to give commands and ensure optimal operation.

The Vabaruda approached, a darker grey than the traditional ships. Like a fortress it loomed over its surroundings, impenetrable and intimidating. Mechagodzilla, Gororin, and Mecha-King Ghidorah moved beneath it, unswayed by any emotion. The traitorous Xiliens moved like ants in a colony, under the eyes of the Giant Dark Emperor.

Light glinted off the golden sphere of a Mothership as it hovered into place, claw-like protrusions staffed by pilots to take off at any time. Monster X, Gigan, and Hedorah floated beneath it, eager to begin the carnage. Just as anticipatory were the radical Xiliens, fists clenched and blood pumping as they awaited the word.

Like puzzle pieces, the three factions gathered into place. Miles separated them, but the towering colossi who would serve as the focal point of this conflict were all too visible. Silence, other than last minute diagnostic checks, dominated the air.

“I wish to say a prayer.” Proclaimed both Metphies and Endurph at the command centers of their respective factions, simultaneously despite being so far away.

“Of course.” Kaziya accepted, as meanwhile the Giant Dark Emperor to his priest merely shifted his head in a gesture meaning to commence.

Unbeknownst to the two warring powers, the holy men’s knees touched the ground at the same time, as they began to give equal praise to a higher power.

“Our lord who watches over us, we ask that you shield us and deliver us unto triumph. May your guiding light be before us, showing us the path to salvation. May our enemies tremble before us, and may you grant them mercy, for we shall show none. And let those of us who fall do so assured that it was for greater purpose, righteousness in their hearts and knowing that it was not in vain. Amen.”

As Kaziya clapped and congratulated Metphies, his opposing leader in another ship similarly heaping praise upon the words he took to bolster himself, the mood of their followers had not improved. The prayer had only further sunk in the feeling of finality that was rearing its head. Their hands would be stained with the blood of their relatives and friends, and so too would their gore possibly linger on those souls as well. Would there truly be anything after this?

Unbeknownst to them, the prayer had done its job.

And unfortunately, they’d have no more time to ponder. The Keizer, uninterested in speeches or anything else that delayed finally diving headlong into the carnage he sought, raised a hand and undid the restriction upon his colossi.

***

Monster X bolted forwards fast enough to make Gigan and Hedorah jump back. The cyborg, fully ready to blind himself to his internal turmoils with the blood of whatever his blades reached, checked his arms one last time. With the revving of his chainsaws, he cackled. The assassin pointed his blade at Mecha-King Ghidorah, and took off, eager for a proper fight with the mechanical dragon.

Godzilla charged forward as well, the sudden motion from the radicals prompting the supercomputer’s servants to similarly undo the command of standing still. Rodan chased after him, but a rainbow-colored laser burned the air between the comrades, forcing the pteranodon to stagger backwards. He turned to see Mechagodzilla, eyes still shimmering, beginning to fly.

King Ghidorah looked past his allies, seeing Hedorah flying about in search of a foe. Snarling at the disgusting aberration matching his gaze with its hideous eyes, his colossal wings kicked up dust as they carried him into the air. Gororin rolled in an unexpected direction, engaging no one but clearly awaiting opportunity.

Like the beating of drums, Godzilla and Monster X’s footsteps resounded across the battlefield, even as the roars of other monsters gearing up to engage rose. A second round appealed greatly to both, fingers curling inwards to form mighty fists as the distance closed.

An arm interlaced with black muscles drove forwards like a piston, cracking into the side of the leviathan’s face. Teeth shifted and cracked, but the atomic king rolled with the punch, his own strike sailing forward to smash into the dark knight’s lower jaw.

Both hits were like thunder, a dual ringing of bells to signify the beginning of the end.

***

It looked as though the golden orb of the Keizer’s army vented black clouds out, but in reality it was numerous smaller ships ready to engage in aerial combat. The Vabaruda similarly birthed saucers to join the burgeoning fray, all the while numerous soldiers on the lower decks suddenly shimmered with blue light before vanishing.

They reappeared on the ground, rushing away from the shade of their fortress to commence ground warfare. Meanwhile, the golden mothership dropped warriors from its underside, fewer in number but greater in might as they did not even need parachutes or teleportation.

The hybrids of Earth and Planet X crashed to the stone with their feet, legs bending into a crouch before straightening as the shock wore off. Terminal velocity was not strong enough for the mutated prodigies, allowing them to race off in all directions like specters seeking the vulnerable.

Stone split as subterranean doors opened wide, the rhythmic pounding of soldiers marching ringing as the Xiliens who sought to abandon their souls exited. Above them, the old model ships darted forwards, spraying lasers into the cloud of enemy fighters.

The sky a catastrophic lightshow, the ground soon to be a slaughterhouse, and titans, capable of traversing both, colliding like wayward planets.

Such a scene could only be described as war, complete and all-consuming.

***

Hate. Hate never ending. That was what Monster X felt looking at the beast before him, the leviathan cloaked in dark scales. He remembered a life that was not his own, of a golden serpent being defeated by Godzilla and the pteranodon circling above, currently colliding with the traitors’ mechanical colossus.

It was blurry, he did not see it. He only retained the feelings, the humiliation and the pain. He had been feared by all creation and there he was, tumbling down a cliff into cold water, fleeing like a welp. It resided like a tumor in his consciousness, fueling him as he lunged forward, swinging a fist.

Godzilla ducked out of the way, responding with two swift strikes of his own. Monster X stumbled back, but then shot forward with a clubbing overhead strike, bashing the top of the monster king’s skull. He doubled over, but the guardian of Earth showed off his experience by pivoting in place, cracking his tail like a whip against the chest of the artificial demon. Straightening up before Monster X could recover from the stumble, Godzilla released his atomic ray, curling his body in to suddenly rocket back-first into his foe.

The merger of destroyer and king let loose a shocked cry as he was sent tumbling to the ground, his now airborne foe tilting his head down to shoot straight up, bathing Monster X in atomic mist that burned at tens of thousands of degrees.

But the draconic knight was quick to adapt, his eyes flashing gold to unleash mighty streams of energy. They tore into Godzilla’s legs and tail, forcing a shriek from the monster king as he was wounded and sent hurtling from the sky like a meteor. Dust shot upwards as he landed, Monster X not wasting a second as he leapt forwards and raised a leg high, intent on bringing it down like an axe upon his target’s skull.

Godzilla’s hand shot outwards in a seemingly random direction, electricity crackling across it. Monster X was suddenly blasted in the gut by Mechagodzilla’s Space Beams, throwing off his descent and sending him plummeting to his knees as smoke rose from the impact.

The four eyes of the draconic knight traced the ray’s path to a confused Mechagodzilla, the ebony machine’s balance disrupted as its head had been suddenly yanked in their direction. Letting out a mechanical shriek that sounded like rage, Mechagodzilla tried to fire a barrage of missiles at the rising Godzilla, only for Rodan to crash against the pseudo-leviathan.

Sparks erupted as keratin spike met space titanium, forcing Mechagodzilla’s attention fully back to the pteranodon. Rodan screamed in his foe’s face, slamming his beak down into the war machine’s face, but the strike did little to prevent a hand crashing into his side with heavy force.

Claws dug into the ground as Rodan tried to keep upright, wings spreading in intimidation as Mechagodzilla realigned itself. Pointing both hands forward, the false king fired several missiles, which detonated against the king of the skies. Folding his wings in to protect the soft membranes, Rodan braced himself as pain shot through him. As another array of the projectiles slammed into him, he opened his beak.

Radiation danced across his horns in the form of orange bolts, a purple light forming in his throat. Both colors merged into a crackling ray spraying forth, sweeping up Mechagodzilla’s body in a series of blasts which knocked it back with a screech. The Uranium Heat Ray faded, Rodan shaking his head as he breathed in and out. He had no clue how his brother in arms did it so casually, let loose such a scorching power from the depths of his core and pass it through his throat.

Taking to the sky again, he saw Mechagodzilla rise to its feet, returning the favor with a yellow stream of flames from its maw. Rodan dodged to the side, letting the false Atomic Ray soar into the heavens and decimate a group of ships. Descending, the king of the skies dragged his claws across his foe’s face, nearly striking the glass eyes. Mechagodzilla’s lower jaw flapped down, the nozzle in the back of its throat discharging missiles which tore scales off of Rodan’s legs with their blasts.

Pulling back, the king of the skies considered his options, but his foe had no intention of giving him breathing room. Missiles and beams shot forth in great supply, driving the pteranodon higher and higher to escape the chaos. He spared his friend a glance, seeing Godzilla and Monster X engaged in a shoving contest, hands interlocked as they snarled in each other’s faces.

Small beams blazed against Rodan’s hide, snagging his attention as a squadron of claw-like fighter ships shot at him. With a high-pitched scoff, he blitzed forward, racing past the vessels at supersonic speeds to send them tumbling through the air with a blast of air. Twisting on a dime, he clapped his wings, sending out a blade of pressurized air to detonate them.

A familiar shriek caught his attention, Mechagodzilla flying after him. Rodan dodged another round of missiles sent his way, ignoring the ships of all factions that they found purchase in the hulls of. His wing crashed into the belly of Mechagodzilla, tearing out tiny shards of the armored colossus which fell like dropped coins. The artificial monster tried to turn, only to have Rodan fly past it again with another scraping strike. Artificial intelligence quickly calculated the issue, that the air was its opponent’s domain while it lacked the requisite mobility to keep up.

Returning to the ground, Mechagodzilla kept its head on a swivel, rotating to track Rodan who circled. The king of the skies knew that direct attack against his foe on the ground was risky, turning this battle into a standoff.

***

Red light blazed from Hedorah’s eyes, sweeping over a crowd of Xiliens in a burst of dust and smoke. Partially-mechanized bodies flew like chaff, those not immediately torn down falling in coughing heaps as they breathed in the toxic fumes. The beast of waste moistly cackled, raising an arm and condemning a group of the Dark Emperor’s slaves to damnation with a geyser of white, acidic gas. Flesh and bone became one as they all melted, a group of low-flying ships joining them as Hedorah tilted his spray upwards to bathe them in it. Their hulls dissolved like wood under a fire, fire engulfing them as they crashed into the writhing mess of bodies.

Golden bolts of power blazed into the conglomerate monster, making it cry in anguish. King Ghidorah, the one who had besieged Earth so long ago, crashed to the ground before his chosen foe. His three heads, shaking with laughter all the while, kept firing their Gravity Beams into the sludge-flesh of Hedorah. With what sounded like a bird’s chirp from the inside of a mud pit, the smog monster leapt forwards, tackling the destroyer to the ground.

Stone cracked and fractured beneath their combined weight as King Ghidorah cried out, his scales beginning to darken underneath the acidic deluge the action had released from the folds of Hedorah’s form. The smog monster thrashed, smacking its bulbous head into the three faces of the wyrm, and beating its two arms against the golden dragon’s sides.

In frustration, King Ghidorah fired more Gravity Bolts, but the results were not satisfactory. Yes, they left burning trenches in the mass of his enemy, but that did not seem to slow Hedorah down much as acidic steam billowed out from a port somewhere under its arm and sent pain shooting through his wing. With a growl, the king of terror flipped an internal switch, his open maws not discharging gravitonic energy but instead jets of blistering flame.

Hedorah shouted as it rolled away from the burning heat, dismounting its foe and moving away as King Ghidorah flapped his wings to stand tall and kept up the pressure with his fire. The smog monster suddenly reared up, firing Hedrium Rays at the wyrm’s chest, cutting off the flamethrowers as King Ghidorah stumbled back.

He looked down, seeing the black mark left by the beams, then coughed from the acidic smoke billowing into his nostrils. Hedorah gurgled spitefully, unleashing a barrage of his eye rays which sent the golden menace staggering with a series of pained cries.

Ceasing the onslaught, Hedorah went for another leap, unleashing numerous shots of slime from its front as the distance closed. King Ghidorah beat his wings, kicking up a windstorm which stopped the momentum of the projectiles cold and left them to splatter against the ground. Hedorah stumbled when it landed, but retained enough of a footing to unleash its sulfuric acid mist. King Ghidorah roared in outraged pain as it blanketed his three heads, dispersing it with another beat of his wings but still feeling the burning pain in his eyes and mouth.

Rising into the air, King Ghidorah’s body began to shine. He had hoped to save this for a greater prey, but this smog monster seemed to be worth it after all. As a sphere of crackling power formed before him, Hedorah cowered and began to shimmer itself as the breaking down of its own collected cells began.

A heavy thud stopped the Big Spark Ball before it could be released, King Ghidorah falling forwards and smacking into the ground with a shriek as Gororin sailed overhead. The cactus ball crashed into Hedorah’s face next, knocking the smog monster onto its back.

Gororin bellowed in anguish as he dislodged himself from his slimy confines, smoke sizzling off his form as needles decayed. Hedorah, now spewing its acidic blood from the freshly made wounds, rose and turned to face the spherical plant.

With a deep vocalization akin to water flowing down a partially clogged drain, Hedorah chased Gororin with a flurry of beams and sludge balls, the cactus fleeing at the realization he had found the worst possible matchup in this horrid battle.

***

Buzzsaws soared through the air like frisbees, shooting sparks into the air as they collided with Mecha-King Ghidorah’s armor. Gigan inspected the aftermath, finding no mark beside tiny dents, and hissed. The waving heads of his foe mocked him with their silence, his assault not even worth an exclamation. The Bladed Slicers returned to him, slotting back into their ports.

Green and purple bolts raced out from the cybernetic dragon’s three maws, prompting the assassin to hurl himself into the air. He returned fire with his Laser Knife, but the three-headed cyborg ceased its Triple Laser and curled into itself. A white shield formed around Mecha-King Ghidorah, the red ray fading as it struck the barrier.

Red and white faded, Gigan’s mind racing for an answer to his opponent’s unassailable nature. Mecha-King Ghidorah took to the skies, anti-gravity devices activating as it beat its wings. Triple Lasers sprayed forth, but the one advantage Gigan seemed to hold thus far was his agility. Dipping low to the ground, he swerved between the flailing bolts, chainsaws revving to life as he closed the distance. Smoke rose as he was grazed by the lasers, but the last remnant of the Nebulans pressed onwards as he tackled his foe.

The two cyborgs tumbled through the air, Gigan bringing his dual-chainsaws down onto the wing of his prey. Sparks sprayed as metal heated up, the cyborg dragon crying out as readings indicated its wing was in danger. Metallic teeth clanked against the base of Gigan’s weapon, the center head leaning down and wrapping around the arm to aid in pushing it back. In response, the assassin beat his scythe against the central neck, seeking to strike a weak point and sever it.

Feet crashing to the ground, swaying as they landed unevenly, the cyborgs continued their grappling. Gigan’s spinning blades continued their pace, but were failing to do damage as he lost the contest of strength. Thinking fast, his Universal Cutter buzzed with the hellacious sound of its activation, before Gigan thrust his body forward. Mecha-King Ghidorah’s body was sturdy, but few materials in the cosmos could withstand sustained pressure from the cyberclaw nightmare’s signature weapon.

Before the newly formed gash in its front could become something dangerous, Mecha-King Ghidorah thrust its tails forward and discharged glowing projectiles which sank into Gigan’s sides. His assault ended immediately as he seized up, screaming from electricity coursing through his body and sapping his energy. Like three battering rams, the metallic skulls of the cybernetic wyrm smashed into the stunned Gigan’s chest, knocking him to the dirt.

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s center maw opened, discharging a white mist. Gigan, still fighting through the tasers’ payload, howled as he felt his organic components begin to chill. The assassin’s pain fed his wrath, letting him rear up and unleash a ray from his eye. It split apart around his foe’s heads, a cluster of explosions surrounding them and sending the three serpentine limbs smacking into one another.

Getting to his feet, Gigan flung his arms out to the sides, prompting a barrage of his Bladed Slicers flying. Six of the whirling projectiles raced forth, biting into Mecha-King Ghidorah’s necks like swarming insects. Chunks were gouged out, especially on the center where he’d already opened a wound in the flexible steel. The cybernetic dragon cast a green light from its center maw, catching the buzzsaws in a tractor beam, but the damage had been done.

Damage Gigan capitalized on, thrusting his Bloody Chainsaws at the center head of his foe, the spinning teeth chomping down on exposed wire. With a screech of tearing metal, the wyrm’s neck severed, spitting electrical bolts from the cut wires. The other two heads cried out, Gigan continuing his onslaught with a geyser of flame from his maw. He stepped back, bringing the flamethrower down to sweep over the tails that had launched their tasers once more, popping the little devices like bubbles. Gigan had figured out all the wyrm’s tricks, and he would ensure that it paid for thinking he would be beaten so easily.

At least, that is what the beast of blades believed. The tails remained pointed at him, humming loudly. Sonic waves raced out from them, concentrated like lasers, striking Gigan and sending pain shooting through his chest. Crying out, he stumbled back, blocking the assault with his arms. Apparently not deeming him far enough back, the remaining heads fired their Triple Lasers, angling themselves so the beams would collide in the center. They combined, racing forth as a larger beam to strike Gigan in the solar plexus, nearly putting him on his ass. He took to the air, putting great distance between himself and the dragon.

Mecha-King Ghidorah stomped forwards, leaning down to grab its severed neck with the teeth of its other two jaws. Putting the ends together, unseen machinery whirred, inaudible amidst the chaos of the battlefield. In a matter of seconds, the head’s jaws snapped with life, the neck flexing as though it had never been detached.

Gigan snarled. He would need help from his allies to triumph over this foe, that much was clear.

***

Despite the ground shuddering and cracking apart from the war of titans, the Xiliens still threw themselves headlong into brutal conflict. Shouts erupted between thunderous stomps and thuds as thousands of warriors ran into battle.

Azure lasers cut through limbs and severed them, the servants of the supercomputer aiming with deadly precision and standing in perfect formation. They defended the entrances of their underground compound, silver guns in hand and not a hint of fear on their faces.

They were met with the followers of the Keizer, who attacked in smaller numbers and with far shoddier aim, but made up for these shortcomings with horrific speed. By the time the cyborgs pulled their triggers, the hybrids of man and Xilien would already be out of the way. Fists met with flesh, carrying enough power to crack open the metal underneath it.

Screams of agony rang out as a platoon of “mutants” met the defenders of a remote entrance to the underground. A finger squeezed a trigger, spitting forth a ray which cut an arm off a hybrid at the elbow, but that did not stop the halfbreed from lunging forward and snapping the offending cyborg’s wrist with his remaining hand. Emotion burst forth as tears from the one who was supposed to be emotionless, not helped as he caught one of his comrades getting her back ripped open. The bolts on both sides of her spine were pulled free, blood and machine-fueling fluid coating them and painting the ground as she dropped. The hybrid responsible just screamed in joy, letting the gore of her kill drench her like a macabre shower.

Green globs of slime rained down onto the battlefield, striking both sides of the conflict. A squadron of defectors, followers of the facist outcast of Mu, crested a hill and spit another round of foul mucus from their maws. Whoever it struck dropped, paralyzed and unable to counter the laser fire that came next.

With his broken wrist still in the grasp of his foe, the follower of the old ways tried to pull himself free, but to no avail. The rebel mutant returned his attention to him, rearing a fist back to cave in his foe’s skull. A paralytic spit struck him before he could deliver the strike, leaving him to limply fall. The cyborg just reached down, grabbed his gun, and put a shot between the helpless super soldier’s eyes.

By the time he turned to fight his other set of enemies, a barrage of lasers punched holes through his torso, leaving him to join his foe as a corpse among many more. He looked into the heavens, seeing Jupiter fill the sky, the Great Red Spot like an eye looking down at him. At all of this.

The last thing he saw was the sky dotted with ships unleashing their firepower upon each other in a chaotic dance, occasionally torn through by a colossus wreaking havoc.

***

Mechagodzilla stepped back as the Uranium Heat Ray tore into the ground in front of it, an attempt by Rodan to break the standoff. Still unused to having a beam weapon, the king of the skies had stopped in the air to fire it, allowing Mechagodzilla to strike him in the side with a quick shot of the Destro-Flame bullets. Rodan shrieked, then swept down, claws primed as he came in from directly above the obsidian mockery of his friend. Mechagodzilla’s arms lifted straight up, firing missiles which went off in all directions as Rodan folded in his wings, letting them sail past him.

As claws struck steel, the missiles fell like stray arrows, several landing on Godzilla and Monster X as they traded blows. The larger of the two took the brunt, huffing raspily as he stumbled, allowing the leviathan to rush in and drive a flurry of punches into the draconic knight’s gut. Godzilla knew the pain of those missiles all too well, so he was not too badly thrown off by their detonations.

Monster X snarled, looking over to Mechagodzilla stumbling and firing missiles wildly as Rodan stood atop his head, wings pressed against his body. A scaled fist across his face snapped his attention back to Godzilla, who smirked at him, mocking him for having taken his eyes off his foe.

Before the monster king could pull his arm back, Monster X grabbed it, gripping tightly enough to make Godzilla grunt. Looking back to Mechagodzilla, the hybrid destroyer broke into a sprint. The ground shuddered as his feet fell like hammers, Godzilla smashing his tail into the stone to try and halt the charge as his foe lifted him off his feet.

Grabbing the nuclear colossus’ other arm, Monster X leapt into the air, lifting Godzilla up over his head before hurling him down at the dueling pteranodon and robot. The Earth’s greatest defender howled as he flew, smacking into both his friend and doppelgänger with a resounding crash, sending all three into a heap on the ground.

Staying in the air, Monster X’s eyes flashed gold, arms spreading downwards. The Destroyed Thunder Beams raced forth, enveloping all three with a mighty explosion, their screams drowned out by the blast. Eager to claim three enemies for the price of one, the skeletal abomination prepared to continue firing, but Mechagodzilla responded with its Space Beams.

The rainbow-colored beams tore and burnt flesh on Monster X’s pectoral, making him roar in pain and sending his gravitonic blasts flying wide. The ground shattered miles away, vaporizing numerous soldiers of all factions and causing a collapse in the underground encampment’s edge. Landing shakily on his feet, Monster X nearly fell over. He saw Mechagodzilla rise, preparing to open fire on him again, but Godzilla and Rodan rose as well. The former swung a punch into his duplicate’s face, the king of the skies taking the opportunity to launch towards Monster X with a shout. Beak parting, energy surging, the Uranium Heat Ray scourged the air.

Thrusting his arms up, Monster X blocked the stream of nuclear might, his eyes lighting up for retaliation. Rodan was ready this time, soaring upwards just before the xanthic streaks could land. Godzilla flew backwards with his Atomic Ray, Mechagodzilla having begun to spin up his barrier before the beams were launched. As half of the Destroyed Thunder exploded into a shower of sparks against the blue cylinder, Mechagodzilla’s internal systems lighting up in warning that the Defense Neo Barrier was being pushed to its limits, the other two beams soared onwards.

Right into the fleeing Gororin, sending him flying like a soccer ball. The plant monster shrieked in terror, Hedorah beginning to crouch in order to follow him in its flying form. That would not come to pass, however, as King Ghidorah kicked the smog monster in the back. Hissing as acidic sludge burned the soles of his feet, the demon king of the cosmos cleared them by discharging electrical streams from his toes. Hedorah gurgled in anguish, fighting through the pain to shoot a ball of sludge from its back.

King Ghidorah shrieked as it landed on the side of one of his outer heads, the eye blazing with pain as he tried to blink away the searing slime. Hedorah rose, dried biomass flaking away, then turned. Roaring, the pollution eater unleashed a barrage of attacks, both eyes blazing with Hedrium Rays as a veritable shotgun blast of slime balls exited its front. The king of terror screeched as he flew back, burning pain covering his body as the onslaught landed.

Snarling, he flew out of Hedorah’s reach, surveying the battlefield. He was hating having to fight such a grotesque, aggravating foe, so he sought aid. Spotting Gigan and Mecha-King Ghidorah, he raced towards them, Hedorah taking on its flying form to pursue. Gororin returned, rolling towards both and finding an uprising that let him leap upwards. King Ghidorah hissed, firing his Gravity Beams and sending the cactus hurling away, bouncing across the ground and into Gigan.

The cyborg assassin screamed as he was sent falling, caught completely off guard by the stray combatant. King Ghidorah soon arrived afterwards, firing upon both his former ally and his duplicate. Mecha-King Ghidorah let loose a hollow shout, returning with its artificial bolts which made the golden wyrm recoil.

Hedorah descended, returning to its combat-ready form, and looked to Gigan. They were allies, but had no experience with teamwork. In fact, the way the enhanced dinosaur flinched at seeing it, there was clearly an issue he had with it. Likely another of its kind, the Hedorah species was notorious across the cosmos.

The smog monster cared little, as long as Gigan did his job, they would both come away from this happy. Both turned to their gathered foes, Gororin rolling up beneath Mecha-King Ghidorah’s wing as the original King Ghidorah circled overhead.

***

Kaziya sat in the command room, surveying the battle across numerous screens. Despite murmurings of fear among his subordinates, he was confident. So confident, in fact, that he stood up from his makeshift throne. Walking past the coordinators of the war, he exited the room.

“My Keizer, where are you going?” Asked someone sitting before a monitor displaying Monster X backhanding Mechagodzilla, both being bathed in the beams of Godzilla and Rodan.

“Stepping out. What kind of a leader would I be if I sent men and women to their deaths without setting foot on the same battlefield?”

“But that’s dangerous, sir!” Declared another, his screen showing body cam footage of an enemy soldier being smashed into the ground, blood staining the stone.

“It will only be dangerous if I encounter one of their monsters, who as you can see are far too preoccupied with each other.” He gestured to another screen, showcasing Gigan’s Bladed Slicers being sent off course by a barrage of Gororin’s needles.

They locked onto King Ghidorah. With a shout, the king of terror let out a magnetic pulse, holding the buzzsaws in place. Mecha-King Ghidorah spasmed as his predecessor twisted the polarity to repulse, feet digging trenches as it was moved too.

Metphies chimed in. “Allow him, he must show why he is the superior path for the Xilien race to follow.”

“Thank you, friend.” Kaziya smiled, his subordinates relenting at the priest’s condonement. Racing out of the room, the prodigious hybrid felt his bloodlust begin to flare.

***

Gororin rolled, kicking up a cloud of dust. He approached Gigan, eager to dig his needles through the steel of the cyborg. The assassin fired his Gigarium Cluster, but the spherical beast kept up his path, unswayed by the shockwaves. He leapt up, crashing into Gigan’s gut, making him double over. Landing, Gororin continued his assault with a spraying of needles into the cybernetic dinosaur’s face, making Gigan rear up in pain.

Growling, the cyberclaw menace thrust his tail forward, jabbing its prong into Gororin’s side. He had aimed for the cactus’ eyes, but the strange foe had managed to pivot in time, only being sent on a roll once more. Swerving suddenly, Gororin doubled back and careened into Gigan’s calf muscle, nearly breaking his knee.

Snarling, Gigan raised his Bloody Chainsaw and brought the flat-side down onto Gororin. Stone cracked under the strike, partially embedding the orb of plant matter into the ground of Planet X. Keeping his weapon atop his foe, pressing him down, Gigan gathered power in his eye, crimson light intensifying.

As the two warriors of spikes collided, Hedorah found itself struggling against Mecha-King Ghidorah. The smog monster had begun by firing balls of sludge into the mechanical carapace of the cybernetic wyrm, discoloring and dissolving steel. However, registering the danger, Mecha-King Ghidorah simply sent a cascade of frost down its front, rendering the smog monster’s projectiles worthless. As they shattered and fell down the war machine’s body like snowflakes, the superweapon of the empire turned the freezing cold up onto Hedorah.

This made the smog monster screech, leaping backwards swiftly. Its body was heavily dependent upon moisture, and the ray of chilling power was instantly brutal. Frozen biomass fell in droves from its front, shattering against the earth. Hedorah blinked, portions of its eyelid cracking away. Hedrium Rays followed suit, an attempt to make the frost cease. Mecha-King Ghidorah stepped back as the toxic smoke rose up, chipping away at its armor and seeping in.

Hedorah’s triumph was short-lived as Triple Lasers burned into its flesh, bursting apart large portions of the smog monster’s form. Steam rose as the dark fiend turned and leapt away, desperate to escape, only for King Ghidorah to blast it out of the sky. Cackling, the golden dragon tore into Hedorah with numerous electrical bolts, intent on killing it. The smog monster cried for help, begging Gigan to do something as it shrank more with each passing moment.

Gigan cursed, on the verge of unleashing a charged Laser Knife that would have pierced through Gororin’s form. He would have been more than fine with letting Hedorah die, but had no intention of fighting two Ghidorahs at once, so he lifted his head. The red ray meant for the cactus burned a hole through the king of terror’s wing, making him shriek in pain and cease his onslaught. Hedorah shifted into its flying form and fled, the now thawed chunks of its flesh growing stumpy legs and crawling towards biomass that had been cast to the earth as dried ash.

A needle shot from between Gigan’s chainsaws, nearly hitting the seam where his beak met his face. Instead it bounded off his lower jaw, prompting him to lift his implement and send a kick crashing into his aggravating foe. Gororin crashed into Mecha-King Ghidorah, anti-gravity thrusters kicking into gear to keep it upright as the impact sent it tilting backwards.

The former allies locked gazes, hatred burning in the collective seven eyes.

Gigan opened with his crimson ray, the beam splitting apart as King Ghidorah closed his wings to act as a shield. As the cyborg expected, his attack dealt no damage, but that had not been his goal. Thrusters roaring to life, he rushed forwards, Bloody Chainsaws revving up as his scythe glistened in the sunlight.

King Ghidorah cried out as his wings were carved into, thin membranes being torn away and sent flying by the grinding teeth. The demon king of the universe spread his wings wide, letting out a magnetic burst which forced Gigan backwards, but the cybernetic killer was not so easily swayed. The Laser Knife danced across King Ghidorah’s chest, burning away scales and earning another roar of pain.

Gravity Beams met him in turn, tearing into his black armor. Stumbling back, Gigan fired an array of Bladed Slicers, aimed at severing his foe’s wings. Detecting them, King Ghidorah’s left and right heads shot them down with their rays. Only being scorched by one gravitonic stream instead of three, Gigan was able to leap up and vanish with a flash.

King Ghidorah was ready this time, twisting in place and unleashing electrical bolts from his wings. They only blazed the air, confusing the wyrm. A shriek and whirring machinery behind him gave the golden dragon an instant to respond, bending his necks back and firing Gravity Bolts at the descending Gigan. They struck nothing, the assassin teleporting once more, this time standing just before his foe. King Ghidorah’s foot lashed out, slamming the cyborg back, but the momentum of his swinging arm still carried a chainsaw across the golden-scaled chest of the serpent.

Blood sprayed out, painting Gigan red. He cackled, stepping forward to finish the job as King Ghidorah flailed in pain. Suddenly, something latched onto the Nebulan superweapon’s arm, his vision picking up that it was a metal brace. A similar one had attached itself to his foe’s outer neck, confusing King Ghidorah as well. With a subtle click, the same attachments on their corresponding legs.

They looked in that direction to see a colossal metal pincer racing towards them, the sight baffling enough to halt their reaction for the tiny span of time before seeing it and it slamming around them. Gigan and King Ghidorah’s chests collided, a golden wing and crimson sail being pinned back as the Machine Hand grasped them.

Then came intense electrical shocks, making them both cry out in agony. The former allies tried to fight back, but could only flail as enough energy to power a great city flowed into their bodies. Mecha-King Ghidorah let out a rhythmic chirp like a laugh, the cables and plier-esque Machine Hand originating from its abdomen. Gororin rolled around his ally happily, before racing over to the other side of their enemies and firing needles into them, only making their pain worse.

Seconds felt like hours, but the duo would not be trapped for long as with a gleeful gurgle of its own, Hedorah dropped onto Mecha-King Ghidorah’s back. Once more in its final form, the smog monster discharged a tide of acidic slop onto the mechanical wyrm’s back, warping and discoloring its pristine chrome hide. Mecha-King Ghidorah tried to turn its heads to attack its foe, but Hedorah anticipated it this time and wrapped its tendrils around the bases of Mecha-King Ghidorah’s necks, toxic slime seeping into the grooves.

Flesh sizzled as Mecha-King Ghidorah tried lifting its tails up, intent on using the tasers on the pollution eater. Internal systems warned that those limbs would soon fall off if Hedorah wasn’t stopped, so ignoring the sensation of skin splitting as scales sloughed away, the gold and silver colossus fired.

A great mistake, as Hedorah screamed out and fell backwards, directly onto said tails. The thin points sank through the outer layer of the grotesque monster’s body like a finger into a rotten apple, exposing them to the most potent portions of Hedorah’s caustic biology.

As the cybernetic serpent’s tails dissolved, the smog monster fired balls of sludge up at its foe, letting gravity take hold and bring them down onto the Machine Hand. They splattered against the long, thin sheet of metal and immediately began to dissolve it.

Wires severed as the acidic orbs ate down to them, shorting out the internal mechanisms. Tiny explosions ceased the Machine Hand’s function violently, letting Gigan screech as he brought his spinning blades down into the base of the actual pincer, nearly severing it. It detached, racing back towards its owner to avoid greater damage. After a swift usage of its frost ray neutralized the caustic blobs, the mechanism slotted back into place.

Mecha-King Ghidorah flew into the air, twisting to enact its wrath upon Hedorah, but the smog monster was still one step ahead. To the cyborg’s confusion, the smog monster was nowhere to be seen. Sulfuric mist falling onto its heads revealed the truth, turning to see Hedorah in a smaller form still attached by the stumps of its tails. Shifting back into its final form in a burst of pink light, the living colony leapt away, the force making Mecha-King Ghidorah shudder in midair before correcting itself.

***

“That damned pile of shit!” Zagreth cursed as she slammed her desk with a gloved fist. “Look at what that disgusting thing did to our dear dragon.”

Landes carefully analyzed every detail she could on Mecha-King Ghidorah. Even if the cybernetic dragon was only a shell in the shape of the monster she’d cherished, she still felt inclined to ensure its safety. “Sir,” she spoke up to the Giant Dark Emperor, glaring down with frustration at one of his monsters being the first to receive damage like this. “Gororin is not enough to protect Mecha-King Ghidorah from Hedorah with Gigan’s presence aiding it.”

“That is becoming painfully obvious. What would you have us do?” He replied, tone an odd mixture of condescending and genuine. Landes could tell he was only asking her due to any suggestion being better than leaving things as they were.

As she pondered, checking back on the other battle between giants, she overheard part of a conversation.

“A ritual?” Someone spoke, her eyes tracing the words to an Xilien speaking to an Exif.

“Yes, we need God’s aid. Look at Mecha-King Ghidorah, the moment any faction loses a monster, they will be torn to shreds, and as it is, we’re looking the most dire. Either Mecha-King Ghidorah goes, or that worthless cactus-“

“Hey!” Zagreth snapped at the holy man, someone Landes did not recognize. “He’s doing his best! It’s not his fault he’s been stuck against such unfair foes.”

Landes turned back to her overlord. “Sir, permission to command Mecha-King Ghidorah unite with Mechagodzilla? We need to congregate our firepower, our foes are too tricky to keep them separated.”

The burning head’s lip shifted in thought, such that she could practically picture him resting his face in the crook of fingers he lacked. He checked on the false leviathan, seeing it struggle as its three foes maneuvered around it gracefully, landing strikes on it as it struggled to do so in return. “An excellent suggestion, Mechagodzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah need to cover for each other. Relay the order!”

Landes input the command, her mind dwelling on what she had heard before Zagreth gave her this idea. A ritual? God’s help? They sounded ridiculous, this was a war, a place of only hard facts and cold logic. Prayer was for winning a bet, not triumphing in a collision of ideology.

But she could not stop herself from dwelling on it. The Exif unnerved her, ever since Metphies watched the fracturing of their kind with all the emotion of a weather report, the pale devotees made her spine tingle. If they were planning something immense, she doubted it would do any good for anyone.

***

Amidst the carnage on the ground, there was a particular concentration of it, like a whirlpool in a rough sea. A platoon of the machine’s servants aimed at a single target, who stood before them in a leather cloak of black. Kaziya spread his arms, a wicked smile adorning his face. Their fingers pressed the triggers of their laser guns, but by the time they had fully triggered the firing mechanism, he disappeared.

The azure beams of light from their rifles still soared forth, striking nothing but the dirt. The twenty soldiers were confused, which swiftly became a paralyzing shock as one of them had his head lopped off from his shoulders. Blood sprayed out from the neck, painting the ones surrounding the unfortunate victim.

The Keizer, grasping the pain-stricken visage of their comrade, crushed it like an overripe watermelon. He lunged forward, and drove blood-soaked hands through two more chests, fountains of viscera erupting from their backs. Exposing his palms to the rest, he smiled from between the seizing bodies as streams of lightning streaked out of his hands.

Flesh became vapor and bone became ash, screams echoing out as the whole platoon became one as a gruesome puddle of melted bodies mixed in with dust.

A small squad of the cyborgs aimed their weapons at Kaziya from behind him, trying to supress the revulsion at the sight of their comrades’ fate. This prompted him to twist his body, carrying the two unfortunate souls still impaled with him. They slid off his hands, hurtling towards the still living soldiers who had already fired their sidearms, blasting into the flying bodies. Momentum carried a burst of vaporized flesh over them, causing them to scatter, screaming as they burned.

Kaziya laughed as he rushed towards the nearest one, driving his foot into her torso with enough force to shatter her ribs. She fell backwards, bone shrapnel driven into her heart and lungs. Breathing in deeply, shaking with exhilaration, he lunged towards the next one, fist reared back.

Throughout his life, ever since his mother’s passing, he had felt a burning wrath within him. But he had been forced to tamp it down, smother it under civility and douse it with false pride and narcissism. But now, with all those things cast aside and only the true darkness of the soul’s depths left to rise up for everyone, he had never felt better. This cathartic release was wondrous, better than any he had ever experienced.

A night with the most sensual lover paled in comparison to the raw thrill of driving his fist through another’s skull, watching their brain spray out the other side.

***

Mecha-King Ghidorah received a command from its masters, and followed it to the letter. Scanning the battlefield, it swiftly found its fellow artificial king, and took off towards it.

Gororin rolled away from the shower of acidic globs, Hedorah seeking to drown the aggravating plant. Gigan and King Ghidorah sailed through the air, circling while waiting for the other to make a move. Tiny lasers from fighter ships struck them, but even in their damaged states, they were unaffected. It was only the presence of the other keeping them from retaliating.

Needles sank into black sludge, dissolving in streaks of smoke. Hedorah gurgled in frustration, releasing a tide of gray, pulpy liquid from its underside which rushed outwards in all directions. Gororin’s eyes widened, the ground cracking as he rolled swiftly across it to escape the foul attack. Neither could accomplish anything against the other, the cactus monster too swift for the sluggish smog monster to adequately fight, while in turn Hedorah was immune to anything Gororin could do.

Hedrium Rays lashed the ground where the strange plant once was, forcing him to constantly be on the move. It was clear to him that this was a war of attrition, one he could not win, so his mind dug through options.

Looking up and around, noticing his ally having departed, he hatched an idea. Chaos was where he would thrive, so he found an outcropping and hurled himself at it, bouncing upwards. A flurry of needles shot out, driving themselves into King Ghidorah’s feet. Howling in rage, he looked down to see Gororin, now rolling off into the distance.

The demon king of the cosmos shrieked, wings releasing bolts of lighting in all directions. Gigan held his arms up, yelling in anguish as his metallic limbs did nothing to stop the electrical storm. Golden devastation trailed itself through the sky, hopping from ship to ship, casting down a storm of fire and steel. On the ground, those who had avoided being flattened by Gororin looked up to see the sky falling, the death toll skyrocketing as hundreds of fighter ships crashed.

The titans were uncaring of the side effects of their raging battles, King Ghidorah pursuing the cactus as Gigan and Hedorah followed.

***

Purple and green streams of power fell upon Godzilla and Rodan, making them cry out in pain. Twisting, they were greeted by Mecha-King Ghidorah descending with a powerful kick into the leviathan, sending him rolling away. Rodan lunged forward, driving his beak into a discolored patch of steel, creating a massive crack in the armor. His efforts were rewarded with a metallic skull crashing down on top of his with a resounding clang, making the king of the skies stagger backwards.

Mechagodzilla, who had been fending off Monster X with an all out onslaught, turned its head to spot its ally. Amidst a sea of explosions, the draconic knight leapt into the air, smoke curling off his form. He floated in the air, seeing his two allies approach behind Gororin and King Ghidorah.

His teeth were revealed with a wicked smile. This battle was about to descend into utter madness, and that pleased him for reasons he could not quite explain.

Godzilla got to his feet, leaping towards the cyborg dragon with a clubbing fist, making it stagger back. Before he could follow up, Gororin smashed into his leg, putting him on his other knee as the afflicted limb was torn open. Crying out, Godzilla tried to rise, only to have Space Beams spear into the back of his neck, splitting it open and spraying blood like a fountain. Monster X charged his eye beams, preparing to end the monster king then and there, but he was unable to as King Ghidorah’s gravity bolts blazed into his chest.

With an outraged roar, the hybrid monstrosity unleashed his gathered energy at his genetic predecessor, knocking King Ghidorah from the air with a loud shriek and a massive detonation. Monster X laughed, only for his chortling to morph into a roar of agony when missiles crashed into his gut, violently exploding. He landed before Mechagodzilla again, the false king rotating its hands again to load another volley of special missiles. Before they could be fired, a Gigarium Cluster rocked the pseudo-leviathan back and forth, sending the Rotating Finger Missiles flying wildly off course. Monster X sprang forwards, driving his horns into the chest of the obsidian machine, splitting space titanium and knocking Mechagodzilla onto its back.

Gigan revved up his Bloody Chainsaws, descending towards a Godzilla who was just now recovering, but he was intercepted by Rodan tackling him in the side, sending both twisting through the air. Swinging the spinning blades, the assassin landed a nasty blow onto the pteranodon that carved through chest armor and spilled blood, but Rodan held firm. Spreading his wings, the king of the skies pulled back, expelling a Uranium Heat Ray that bored a glowing hole into Gigan’s steel hide. Screeching in a mixture of pain and rage, the cyberclaw terror spread his arms to fire a Laser Knife.

A harsh radiance illuminated the battlefield as the thin streak of crimson struck a second column of nuclear might from Rodan’s beak. The clashing beams shifted back and forth, fighting for dominance, but neither found it. Gororin rolled up Mecha-King Ghidorah’s back like a ramp, slamming into the pteranodon’s stomach like a cannonball and ceasing the energy collision. Gigan raced forward, hoping to slice Rodan in half before he could regain his balance, but an atomic ray from Godzilla sent him spiraling out of the air too.

Smoke trailed behind Gigan as he crashed into the ground, but Godzilla could not admire the fruits of his labor for long as Mechagodzilla approached. Swinging its arms swiftly and with lethal precision, the king of the monsters was forced to block the assault from a familiar foe. Monster X bounded across the ground around them, clearly seeking an opportunity to strike both at once, but Mecha-King Ghidorah halted that with a barrage of Triple Lasers. Before the draconic knight had even hit the ground, Godzilla gave his doppelgänger his full focus and swung multiple punches into its chest. Mechagodzilla screeched, knees and toes unleashing explosive shots which made the leviathan step back. He reared back for an Atomic Ray, only for something cold to splash onto his back.

Memories flared up alongside pain as Godzilla recalled Hedorah, a similar creature currently stalking behind him with a gurgling laughter. Trapped between duplicates of his two deadliest foes, the monster king did not favor his chances. He turned, smacking his tail against the side of his duplicate’s face, and unleashed an atomic breath against Hedorah. Like when he battled the smog monster before, it sparked off the black hide and did little else. With a grotesque laugh, the sludge colossus raised an arm and jettisoned acidic mist over Godzilla, making him backpedal with a screech. Flesh sizzled as he backed into Mechagodzilla, who slammed a chop into the side of his skull with bone-cracking force.

His vision went hazy, but the monster king could tell from what did dance across his sight that Hedorah was about to attack again, so he grabbed Mechagodzilla’s arm and flung it forwards. Crimson rays danced across the black steel as the pseudo-leviathan soared headfirst into Hedorah, making the pollution eater stumble back. Steel warped and burned within the smog monster’s gut, but with a flash and a burst, Hedorah was disemboweled by Mechagodzilla’s Space Beams.

Screeching, the living colony fell backwards as the mechanical saurian stood tall. Smoke rose off its head and armor flaked off, immediately registering as a problem. Mechagodzilla heard the rumbling of its organic counterpart charging, prompting its head to spin backwards, letting it see Godzilla rearing a fist back.

Suddenly, the cactus monster barreled into the leviathan’s chest, sending them tumbling end over end as Godzilla tried to throttle Gororin. Needles speared into his body, making the monster king roar in pain, but he replied with a nuclear blast which burned needles away.

Ignoring its ally’s screech, Mechagodzilla turned back around and fired missiles into Hedorah’s body. A moist scream rolled across the battlefield as dark muck flew in all directions, prompting another volley of explosives being shot into the lumpy biomass. Lasers from Mechagodzilla’s eyes, a jet of fire from its nostrils, and a jagged bolt of lightning from its chest speared into the smog monster, worsening its pain.

Unfortunately for the obsidian machine, doing this so up close was a mistake. Huge globs of acidic mucus splashed onto it, immediately triggering emergency responses. Screeching, Mechagodzilla backed up, lowering its head to spray Desto-Fire onto its body in order to neutralize the acid eating away at its armor. Red streams of toxic energy crashed against the war machine, driving it further back as caustic smoke threatened to leak into its inner workings.

Hedorah turned into its flying form and ran away, leaving scattered remnants all across the area. Mechagodzilla wasted no time, stopping them from reforming into a new organism with a sweeping duo of rainbow-colored lasers. Its attention returned to the fleeing aberration, but was cut off when King Ghidorah smashed into its side with a heavy kick.

The golden wyrm screeched at the machine, prompting it to begin rapidly spinning its neck. King Ghidorah lunged forwards, jaws open wide, but only bit down on a blue barrier. Screeching as his teeth and gums burned, the destroyer of worlds pulled back and spread his wings. Electrical energy spilled from them, coalescing into a pulsating orb in front of him.

Mechagodzilla’s sensors immediately revealed that the Neo Defense Barrier would not hold up under that attack’s pressure, so the false king responded quickly. Gigan was not the only one on this battlefield capable of teleportation, as Mechagodzilla revealed via vanishing and reappearing behind its golden foe. The Big Spark Ball was set loose, flying past where the war machine had just been, striking the ground miles away with a devastating explosion which shook the battlefield.

King Ghidorah screeched in rage at having missed his foe, who made its presence known again with the ceasing of its barrier and clicking of its hands. Rotating Finger Missiles smashed into the dragon’s back, spraying blood and smoke alongside pulverized scales. King Ghidorah screamed as he fell forwards, writhing in agony.

Mechagodzilla prepared to unleash hell onto its downed foe, but Gororin smacked into its side and sent it spilling over. Godzilla marched forwards, needles in his hands. Pulling the pins out, he sprayed azure fire onto his two foes, causing an explosion which made both shriek.

King Ghidorah got to his feet, hissing at his ally. He despised having to have been saved by the one he hated most in this universe, and Godzilla made it clear with a sneer that the feeling was mutual. Regardless, they were stuck on the same team, so the xanthic destroyer unleashed Gravity Bolts against the two servants of the Giant Dark Emperor. The monster king did the same with his beam, creating an explosion from the mixing energies that sent Gororin flying and put a massive gash in Mechagodzilla’s armor.

Cackling, King Ghidorah prepared to finish the aggravating duplicate of his arch rival, but the ebon war machine was not so easily put down. Rockets propelled it into the sky, prompting the golden dragon to chase after it.

As King Ghidorah saw, out of the corner of his eye, Godzilla be assailed by Gigan’s explosive bursting laser, he took to the chaotic heavens. Ships continued to wage war despite his outburst earlier, even as Mecha-King Ghidorah and Rodan fired their rays at each other while soaring. Gravity Beams left his maws, racing towards Mechagodzilla, who swerved out of their paths.

Hissing once more, King Ghidorah exerted his magnetic power, pulling his metallic foe closer. Fighter ships were pulled towards him, shattering against his scales, but he ignored them as Mechagodzilla drew closer. Eyeing the wound he and Godzilla had torn into the war machine, he eagerly anticipated tearing into it further.

Unfortunately for the wyrm, he would get no such chance, as his six ears detected a sharp click. Suddenly, the bladed tail of Mechagodzilla shot out, accelerated by the magnetic pull directly into his chest. Blood sprayed out as King Ghidorah plummeted from the sky, screaming all the way down. Mechagodzilla sputtered in the air, unstable from the loss of the Unisot, but it was of little comfort to the demon king of the cosmos as he slammed into the ground on a torn open back.

Mouths agape as he writhed, King Ghidorah’s mind was burning. His vision was hazy, but a heavy impact near him managed to gather enough of his wits to make out Monster X descending towards him, leg outstretched to hammer the space titanium blade like a nail into his heart. Screeching, he released a magnetic pulse outwards, launching the Unisot up out of his body and into the skeletal humanoid’s foot. It bounced off with a spray of sparks, failing to halt the brutal kick from still cracking King Ghidorah’s sternum. His heads, wings, and feet lifted straight up, falling pathetically as Monster X pulled his foot back and stood over his genetic predecessor.

He thought he was pathetic, and thus he gathered power into his eyes to end the destroyer. Adrenaline burned through King Ghidorah’s agony, letting him save his skin by wrapping a tail around his descendant’s ankle and pulling suddenly. Monster X was yanked off balance, the Destroyed Thunder Beams sailing off into the distance instead of into the golden dragon’s body.

As the king of terror got to his feet, bathing Monster X in beams from his wings, mouths, and feet, the skeletal monster’s rays continued soaring, until they crashed into the Mothership of the Xiliens he was serving under.

***

Screams and panic filled the spherical vessel as they tilted heavily, loose objects tumbling like marbles as Xiliens struggled to stay on their feet. In a few moments the colossus of a spaceship righted itself, only causing further chaos until everything finally settled.

But without their Keizer onboard, their hearts were not settled.

“Where is the Keizer?”

“Our ships are dropping like flies!”

“Shields at fifty percent power, we’re doomed if they focus on us!”

“Hedorah is still vulnerable and taking time to return to its final form!”

These proclamations of fear, among many others, rolled across the command center in a panic. They had joined this faction due to the power of their leader and his monster, thinking that they would be safest beneath that might. A single pillar, no matter how sturdy, could not support a structure as complicated as thousands of sapient minds once pressure was actually applied.

“Everyone. Please, listen to what I have to say.” Metphies spoke softly, somehow quieting the chaos. “I understand your fear, but have faith. God has picked Kaziya for a reason, and thus he has picked all of you.”

The Exif arose, faces stoic. They might as well have worn masks with how well they hid the truths of their hearts.

“I would like for us all to partake in a ritual.” Silence gave way to confused murmurs, but the priest kept speaking. “If you are afraid, then let God aid us. Truly aid us.”

“Why haven’t you done that already, then? Why has God not already helped us?” Someone yelled.

“Why, because he needs you all to be fully faithful. To trust in him completely. Are you willing to do so?”

As though coordinated, a colossal explosion resounded, shaking the ship again. The fearful silence in the command room was clearer than any answer.

“Perfect. Follow us.” Metphies gestured as he got to his feet, heart beating in perfect calmness despite what he was about to do.

***

Gigan’s arms swung towards Godzilla, who grasped the weapons by their bases. They pushed against one another, the cyborg staring daggers at his foe. There was nothing in this universe he wanted more than to slit the monster king’s guts and watch them spill across the stones. Godzilla was the first being he ever lost to, and that was an unforgivable sin in the cyberclaw terror’s mind.

Thrusting his skull forward, he slammed the spiked mohawk atop his cranium into the leviathan’s brow, earning a grunt from Godzilla but failing to lessen his grip. The mighty tail of the Earth’s grandest defender beat the ground, lifting him up to drive his feet into Gigan’s gut. The last trace of Space Hunter Nebula M shrieked, losing his focus and being lifted off his feet as Godzilla remained on his tail and straightened it upwards.

Godzilla prepared to slam his foe into the barren foundation of the alien moon, but Gigan was not so easily overcome. Thinking fast, he drove his tail towards the leviathan’s arm, clamping the claw around one of Godzilla’s wrists. Jet thrusters kicking on to maximum strength, Gigan raced upwards as he forced one of his foe’s hands away, leaving the monster of justice dangling as they ascended.

His scythe now freed, Gigan aimed it at Godzilla and fired the Hooking Anchors, the cables wrapping around the nuclear colossus’ throat. The assassin pulled them in tight, choking the hero, who could only flail as they rose further.

Steel constructed a rigid mouth for Gigan, but if he could smile, he would as ports on his chest opened. The Bladed Slicers flew forth like cards dealt at a blackjack table, locking onto Godzilla and adjusting their flight-paths accordingly. Flesh and scale parted, freeing blood to geyser out and rain down upon the battlefield below as Godzilla thrashed in his restraint. He tried to grab at the cables suffocating him, but letting go of the chainsaws would leave them free to be brought down upon his skull, and his other hand could not overpower Gigan’s tail. Another passing by of the buzzsaws, another shower of visceral crimson.

Godzilla’s dorsal plates flashed, but the energy could not pass through his closed throat. Gigan laughed as another flyby of his tortuous discs nearly severed his victim’s tail, and he began to channel power to his eye. Finally, vengeance, the sweetest taste of them all.

The gathering power in the monster king’s core hurt as it grew and grew without a place to go, but he still charged it, willing to gamble on a result he could at least survive as opposed to a million degree lobotomy. Scarlet light practically oozed out of Gigan’s visor as he prepared to unleash a supercharged Laser Knife.

Blue radiance shrouded Godzilla for a brief moment, confusing both of them, before it erupted from his body in the form of a circular pulse of nuclear might. The king of the monsters bellowed thunderously, feeling like every pore in his body had had hot needles driven into them. Gigan shrieked in agony as the rippling blast shredded his Hooking Anchors into dust, his tail detonating like a chain of explosives had been threaded into it. The Laser Knife he had been building up soared straight into the sky, visible from other worlds like a beacon of the horrors occurring on this moon.

Godzilla, every cell in his body now burning from that display of power, fell backwards as Gigan examined the damages dealt to him. Daunting cracks crawled through both of his arms, infuriating and terrifying him at once. In his wrath, he shot down like a bullet towards Godzilla, Universal Cutter spinning into a blur to bifurcate the monster king. A moment before contact could be made, a billowing stream of purple energy crashed into Gigan’s side, hurling him off course with a shout of misery. His buzzsaw still grazed the leviathan, putting a hellacious gash into his thigh.

Before Godzilla could hit the ground, a familiar set of claws grasped his shoulders, halting his plummet and reversing his course into the air once again.

Rodan looked down towards his friend, who gave him a thumbs up and a thankful roar. He’d come soaring over when he heard Godzilla’s agonized shout, and it seemed good he had done so. A shriek grabbed their attention, Gigan back on his feet and looking up at them both with as much malice as his expression could muster. Before he could soar back towards them, Mechagodzilla showered the cyborg in missiles, thrusting the attention of the cybernetic dinosaur squarely towards the artificial colossus.

Rodan and Godzilla flew away from that battle, surveying the chaos for an opportunity to jump in. Fire billowed like a great field of horror, titans tearing into one another as mortals were smashed into paste beneath their feet, killing each other with no regard for the madness around them. It was a vision of Hell, but the pteranodon strangely felt no fear. Not with Godzilla nearby. He had given up hope before this battle even started, but those sparks of desire to see another day still danced in his comrade’s eyes, and they ignited that urge in the king of the skies. They would see this through, and they would return home.

Needles dug into the flesh of both ancient warriors, making them howl in pain. Gororin rolled underneath them, eyes filled with bloodlust whenever they could see them. Rodan spread his wings wide, letting the air slow them down. Without any communication, both nuclear reptiles opened their maws and let loose their respective atomic rays, blue and purple mixing into a single stream which struck Gororin dead on.

The cactus monster screamed as explosions ravaged his form, sending him flying like a bullet from the point of impact. Smoke trailed behind him along with yellow pulp, a gigantic split in his form obvious.

Godzilla and Rodan landed, the pteranodon letting go as he hopped off his friend’s shoulders and stood next to him.

***

Monster X leapt back, willing a lightening of gravity so that he sailed further. King Ghidorah cackled and flailed, mocking his clone. Both could sense the connection between them, that the draconic bastion of the radicals was derived from the essence of the demon king, but it established no familial bond. It only made them despise the other more.

Smashing the ground with his fist, Monster X pulled up a boulder and hurled it with enough force to make a sonic boom. King Ghidorah blasted the projectile to dust with his Gravity Bolts, shrouding him in a dark cloud, which he blew away with the beat of his wings. By the time his vision was clear, Monster X was already hurtling towards him, fist pulled back. King Ghidorah pushed himself back with his mighty wings, avoiding the punch, but the hybrid humanoid was resourceful. Twisting in the air with the momentum of his swung arm, he brought a heel into the top of one of the wyrm’s skulls, cracking the antlers.

King Ghidorah staggered, a third of his vision hazy as the secondary brain rattled in the skull. Monster X landed on solid footing, then launched forward to grab both of his predecessor’s outer heads. Bashing them against one another, an antler breaking off the head he had just kicked, the skeletal colossus charged energy in his eyes. Before he could explosively remove two thirds of his foe’s heads, King Ghidorah drove a clawed foot into Monster X’s gut, then scourged the flesh with electrical discharge. The humanoid howled in pain, letting go and backpedaling, but still retained his charged might.

Destroyed Thunder Beams and Gravity Bolts collided in the midst between them, seven different rays merging into a golden singularity. It swiftly shifted towards King Ghidorah, who responded by adding more fuel to the fire with streaks of lightning from his wings, pushing the miniature star back into the center. Both dragons of desolation sent pulses of power into the deadlock at the same time, rupturing the center point in an explosion that enveloped both.

It seemed as if all of Planet X shuddered as the spherical explosion hurled the two backwards, cracks spreading for miles and splitting open the ground. All eyes gazed upon it for a brief moment, but only one bearer of sight made their way towards the battle.

Monster X’s hands and feet dug trenches through the stone as he came to a halt. Beating the ground with his fists once, he stood tall, eyes peering straight forwards. He saw King Ghidorah standing as well, torn but still functional wings outstretched wide as they could be.

Rocks bounced as the earth shuddered beneath Monster X’s pounding feet, the genetic superweapon charging like a football player. All he saw before him was a pathetic relic, a mere worm that’s greatest contribution to existence was serving as a building block to his perfection. Tearing him in half would bring Monster X great pleasure, a perfect proclamation of his ascendancy over all others.

Bending his wings back, King Ghidorah chose to run as well. Although he lacked his foe’s speed, seeing such an imposing figure in a full tilt charge was still an intimidating vision. The skeletal abomination had engendered a particular disgust in the demon king’s heart, and it was now that he understood why. The way he carried himself, as standing above the rest of life, made King Ghidorah sick.

Monster X had never left the orbit of the gas giant looming over them. He had seen not even a percent of a percent of what the destroyer of countless worlds had, experienced nothing like the endless sights that decorated his memory like a tapestry. To proclaim superiority over him, the one who had given the hybrid that power, it drove a burning iron into the parts of King Ghidorah’s brain that processed wrath.

The distance almost closed, the two dragons ready to rend each other’s flesh and break each other’s bones, but that anticipated clash did not arrive. With a trio of mechanized screeches, Mecha-King Ghidorah smashed into Monster X’s side feet-first, sending the humanoid tumbling like a ragdoll. Not wasting his momentum, King Ghidorah crashed into his metallic doppelgänger, teeth coming down onto metal.

As six serpentine heads flailed at one another, snapping and twisting around, Monster X got to his feet. He stumbled, still hurt from the devastating force of the impact, but soon was fully upright. Seeing Mecha-King Ghidorah prompted a hollow sensation in his chest.

He recognized the cyborg dragon’s original identity, his “brothers”, for lack of a better term. The gift given to Landes like he was to Kaziya, both forged from the same DNA, which was currently being sprayed out as blood onto the steel frame that puppeteered their corpse. That was where the hollowness came from. He could not help but imagine, no doubt from Kaziya’s influence, a world where he and the cloned King Ghidorah fought side by side. But that world would never come to be. Because they were fighting against one another, because the cloned King Ghidorah was a corpse tugged along by metallic strings to do whatever its master sought.

Because his siblings had failed.

Lunging at his genetic family, Monster X drove the sides of his fists into both their chests. They staggered, then reflexively doused him in their respective mouth beams, forcing him to guard as skin burned and bone charred. King Ghidorah took the opportunity to sweep a ray up his cybernetic duplicate’s body, denting and blackening steel. Mecha-King Ghidorah responded in kind, ceasing its lasers and driving a foot into its organic counterpart’s stomach. The golden wyrm doubled over, hissing as his jaws shot up and grinded their teeth against the bases of the steel throats.

Monster X leapt above them both, thrusting both feet down and increasing his gravitational pull in order to hasten his descent. Both three-headed monsters were smashed into the ground, cratering it beneath the combined weight of the three colossi. Rising into the air, Mecha-King Ghidorah’s center head breathed more of its frozen mist, enveloping the humanoid dragon’s leg with it.

Swiftly, Monster X jumped away, not wishing to lose a limb. The action cracked the ice encasing it, making him wince as his flesh split too. He chose not to land, hovering in the hopes that a slower defrosting would be less agonizing. Mecha-King Ghidorah rose to its feet, opening its central jaws once more. Instead of a laser or azure frost, a green ray shined, ensnaring Monster X. The one who thought he mastered gravity found himself being dragged in against his will, eyes widening as he found himself unable to overpower the tractor beam. This technology had been part of the Vabaruda, but was transferred to the Giant Dark Emperor’s ultimate weapon.

Triple Lasers from the outer heads swept over Monster X’s body, making him bellow in pain as the ice was rapidly shattered, taking chunks of his skin with it. Outraged, he released his Destroyed Thunder Beams, but the mechanical serpent was ready. The moment his eyes had shined, the tractor beam ceased as Mecha-King Ghidorah curled inwards, putting up that energy shield which took the overflowing power of Monster X and transferred it into the cyborg’s reserves.

Landing on his feet, the fusion of Xilien and dragon snarled. How many tricks did this mechanized mockery have within its circuitry? Mecha-King Ghidorah let loose a digitized howl once more, standing up. Before it could release another barrage of Triple Lasers, King Ghidorah launched into the air behind it, thrusting his tails forth to wrap them around the mechanical necks of his doppelgänger. Three metallic skulls clanked together, the golden wyrm charging another sphere of immense power before him as he restrained Mecha-King Ghidorah.

Four thin streaks of light ripped into the thin tails of the golden dragon, severing them instantly and sending him floundering backwards in the air. Monster X stood before him, preparing to unleash another volley, but the Big Spark Ball had not dissipated. With a shriek, King Ghidorah launched the projectile like a cannonball, crashing right into the skeletal knight and sending him flying with a calamitous explosion and a roar of agony.

Triple Lasers tore into King Ghidorah’s gut a moment later, dropping him from the sky. Mecha-King Ghidorah took to the air, dropping feet first onto its organic duplicate’s chest with a bone-cracking landing. The center head leaned down, jaw lowering in preparation to douse the three heads in fatal frost.

Monster X’s feet smashed into his “sibling’s” back, sending it spilling forward onto its belly, the humanoid then dropping elbow-first into King Ghidorah’s ravaged stomach. Sparks erupted from the colossal tear made in the alien steel, exposing dead flesh beneath, but it did not stop Mecha-King Ghidorah from rising back to its feet. With a surprising flexibility, it delivered a backwards kick, smacking into Monster X’s face and pushing him away.

King Ghidorah kipped up with a strong wing beat, pushing both his foes back as he sprayed beams randomly to harm them.

The three bearers of three skulls looked back and forth between their two enemies, trying to decide on a next move.

***

A broken carcass hit the ground in a heap, flesh and leather mangled together as bone jutted from the amalgamation. Kaziya, soaked in the blood of his own kind, prowled like a wolf. He considered descending into the base where his father was and ending him then and there, but the entrances were all blocked from him by colliding kaiju.

The ground rumbled beneath his feet, subtle at first but quickly intensifying into a quake that a normal Xilien would be unable to stand through. The Keizer’s eyes shot towards the source, the towering mass of Gororin barreling towards him. Crouching, the prodigy leapt high, sailing over the cactus ball. A hand extended downwards, casting out a bolt of lightning from gloved fingertips.

Gororin roared in pain as the electrical stream lanced at his open wound, making his roll stutter like he stumbled. Kaziya landed on the other side of his gigantic foe, smiling wide at the opportunity before him. Turning, the plant monster spat needles towards his tiny target, who simply rushed forwards.

A needle the size of a bus speared into the ground where the Keizer had just stood, failing to strike him as he flipped out of its path. He dashed towards the colossal spike, jumping onto it and running up its length. Once he reached its apex, he pounced off it, using his telekinesis to subtly maneuver his body through the air and avoid the needles soaring his way. His foot came down on one in midair, springing off it and into another one’s side, ricocheting across the discharge of cactus spines in his approach.

Gororin’s eyes widened in shock as he felt the human-sized being land on his face. Kaziya made for the monster’s yellow eyeballs, but found himself shifting as Gororin sought to crush him. He managed to find enough of a foothold to start running, the ground racing by below him as the colossus rolled. Although he kept pace well enough to avoid immediately being reduced to a fine paste, it was clear to the Keizer that he could not keep this up forever, especially on a battlefield as chaotic as this. With a mental signal, he commanded a monster to come to his aid.

A few seconds passed before Gororin suddenly ceased rolling, the Keizer falling to his hands as the harsh stop was too much for even his astounding biology. Looking under his arm, he saw his kaiju foe’s path blocked by black mucus sizzling against the surface of Planet X.

Hedorah marched towards Gororin, its crimson eyes bearing an immense desire for the death of the cactus that had aggravated it so. Needles raced out from Gororin’s form, a reflexive action in the hopes of at least giving itself an opening to escape. However, to the cactus’ shock, one of the spines simply hovered in the air after being ejected.

Then thrust itself back into one of his eyes, blacking out half his vision.

Kaziya laughed as he leapt off of Gororin’s body, watching the yellow fluid gush out of the ocular organ as the pawn of the Giant Dark Emperor screamed. His power was immaculate, this had proven that so, even the giants were not immune to his might! Turning back to admire his handiwork, he gave Hedorah another command.

The smog monster stood over Gororin, casting its hideous shadow over him. Liquid sprayed from Hedorah’s body with rancid squelches, surrounding the cactus monster and leaving him unable to escape. He could only look up, terror etched onto his one remaining eye.

Hedorah fell forward, crushing Gororin beneath its mass. The ground fractured, exposing a metallic tunnel, the computer-bound Xiliens within only able to look up in shock before a tidal wave of rancid filth drowned them. Gororin screamed as his epidermis was partially swallowed by the black sludge of his tormentor’s flesh, rapidly decaying and becoming lost within. Caustic slime oozed into his open wounds, dissolving his organs. Needles shot out randomly in a panic as the rolling cactus tried anything to survive, but it was futile. Hedorah gurgled in wicked pleasure as it subsumed him, the flattening form of the plant beast being further swallowed up by the wretched titan.

Soon, there was nothing left, the yellow blood and needles embedded into the landscape the only proof Gororin had ever existed. Hedorah stood tall, then leapt away, seeking another victim. Kaziya walked as close as he could get to the bashed open entrance to the underground, pondering if he should try to venture within, only to jolt.

”Keizer, return to the ship, please.” It was Metphies, speaking directly into his mind. ”It is more urgent than anything else.”

”What could it possibly be? I can tell the mothership is fine from down here.” He thought back. What he also wanted to know was how the Exif even had this telepathic power in the first place.

”I cannot possibly describe it. You must see it firsthand, Kaziya. You will understand once you do.”

”What the hell are you talking about? Metphies? Metphies!” Kaziya shouted, then gritted his teeth when he received no further reply. Growling, he drove his fist into the ground, fracturing a large chunk of rock which he then stepped upon. Telekinetically lifting it into the air, the prodigy hybrid began to ascend.

The feeling that something horrible was about to occur suddenly occupied his mind.

***

“Gororin! My baby, what did they do to you?” Zagreth mourned, her favorite of their monsters claimed first and in such brutal fashion. “Mechagodzilla, kill that bastard Hedorah!”

Landes, who had been watching Mecha-King Ghidorah’s battle intently, blinked as if broken from a trance by her comrade’s shout. She turned to question the idea, but something more pressing caught her attention.

“Where did everybody go?”

The Giant Dark Emperor and Zagreth were confused by her question, until they too looked around the control room and found themselves the only ones in it. No other Xiliens or Exif, they had all departed. Their fiery overlord’s visage immediately shifted into a scowl, his words rebounding off the walls. “Where have they gone? I have given no permission to leave!”

Landes’ heart skipped a beat. She turned towards her superior. “Sir, I overheard talk from the Exif of a ritual, and them trying to convince others to partake.”

“What?” The Giant Dark Emperor shouted.

“Yes, my lord. I think that that is what’s going on, the Exif-“ she was unable to finish her sentence as the flaming head suddenly vanished. A small, golden robot fell to the ground, making her and Zagreth jump.

”Endurph!” Came his voice again, from outside the Vabaruda, as loud as thunder.

“He’s here in person?” Zagreth asked her friend in a panic, the brunette nodding in fear. Not just from her boss’ overwhelming presence, but also from whatever this ritual entailed. The overwhelming sensation of dread grasped her heart, squeezing tightly.

 

Chapter 12: Sinking Island in the Void

Metphies and Endurph were miles apart, communing to entirely different groups, but once more they moved in sync. The Xiliens they had swayed to join them in ritual kneeled in front of a makeshift altar, a large bowl placed upon a table. A pale fluid sat in the pot, still as a calm pond as the Exif priest stood before it. The other Exif stood arranged like commanded soldiers at their post, awaiting the order to commence.

“My brothers and sisters,” spoke the priests. “It is time. To bring forth God, so that he may aid us in our time of need.”

***

Mechagodzilla received the command to pursue and destroy Hedorah, but cast it to the back of its priority list. The task would begin when its current mission was fulfilled.

Gigan’s chainsaws scraped across its chassis, shredding open space titanium. Despite the damage dealt to them, they still served as lethal weapons, forcing Mechagodzilla to put its full attention on the cyborg. Space Beams blazed into Gigan’s throat, tearing a burning hole into it which made the assassin stagger back with a choked scream.

The Gigarium Cluster fired, forcing Mechagodzilla to backpedal. Warnings blared in its head as the missile factory all throughout its form was at risk of detonation.

***

“May I ask a question before we begin, father Endurph?” One of the Xiliens sheepishly raised their voice.

“Of course.” The elderly man calmly replied, his disdain hidden flawlessly.

“I thought your god was an artificial intellect, how is this going to help us?”

The sides of Endurph’s mouth twitched. “I’m afraid we did not tell you all, or the Giant Dark Emperor, the whole truth. That artificial intellect did reach a higher being, but we hid that for the sake of not being seen as fools. But in these dark times, we see no reason to hide it.”

Murmurs rolled across the gathered, but Endurph continued. “And do you have a reason to doubt us? With what beats at our door?” His tone was calm, like a father gently convincing his son.

The roars of monsters capable of ending entire civilizations echoed, scaring the dissent silent. “I thought so.”

***

Godzilla and Rodan moved in opposite directions as Hedorah leapt towards them, acidic globs of slime falling off its form. Hedrium Rays scourged the pteranadon’s back, making him drop several hundred feet, barely catching himself before hitting the ground. The smog monster turned its gaze to Godzilla, clapping its tendrils together in sick glee.

The King of the Monsters threw a rock at Hedorah, splattering away a portion of the foul beast’s biomass. Curling its legs in like a frog, the pollution eater showed that it did not care about the attack with a jump that Godzilla only slightly avoided being floored by.

Rearing up, acidic mist poured out of a tube on Hedorah’s torso, making Godzilla scream as it made scales shrivel up into tiny black specks and fall away. Of all the enemies he’d faced in his life, the smog monster was the one he least wished to face again.

A Uranium Heat Ray poured over Hedorah’s form, sparking off the Hedrium due to its radiation-nullifying properties. Rodan shrieked and flailed in the air, firing another ray to little effect. The sludge kaiju turned, mind dreaming up ways to make the king of the skies suffer.

Godzilla, recalling his battle with another member of this grotesque species, looked around rapidly. He saw the battle of the Ghidorahs off in the distance, trading electrical rays and gravitonic streams that would have far better effect on Hedorah than his and Rodan’s powers.

Bracing himself, he reached down and grabbed Hedorah’s tail. The smog monster gurgled, back splitting open to unveil orifices which belched rancid fumes and balls of sludge. Godzilla endured as his arm muscles tensed, lifting his foe off the ground.

He turned, tossing Hedorah away.

***

“Are you ready?” Metphies asked his flock. “Remember, you must hold no doubt. Give yourself fully to God.”

“Will our Keizer be ok?”

“Yes, my child.” Metphies smiled peacefully. “God wills that he shall be, for he still has a purpose to fulfill. Just as you all do. May we begin?”

“Guide us, please.” The older woman, whose husband had been claimed by the Garoga all those years ago, spoke for her faction. There was no disagreement. “Show us the way to make this all worth it.”

“Wonderful.” Metphies gestured to the other Exif, who went to the bowl and began to scoop the liquid out in cups. They drank of it themselves, then began to pass it to the Xiliens and had them drink the soup as well. The priest was silent, as though thinking deeply, in truth ensuring with Endurph that everything was going to plan on his end. Then, he spoke again.

“This ritual is being done in a slightly unorthodox fashion. Not only are there more of you here than we typically would have, but more importantly, you all already know the name of our God. So instead of whispering it to each and every ear, you will all learn it at once.”

The urge to demand an answer tried to crawl through the fear in their minds, like the struggling embers of a fire trying to take shape into another blaze from the ash. A heavy explosion, one which resembled a nuclear bomb, made the flickers of flame fade.

***

Six jaws snapped and tore at Monster X, half organic and the other mechanical. He snorted and bellowed as they tried to pull him apart, but with a burst of strength, the skeletal warrior pulled his arms free and smashed his hands against the serpentine necks. As the two Ghidorahs stumbled, Monster X backflipped away, eyes glowing. Destroyed Thunder Beams swept across both his foes, making them roar in pain.

Once the chimera landed, he winced. Blood oozed out of numerous tiny wounds, the countless teeth having made their marks. He looked back to his foes, who fired beams at one another, but one head from each moved his way and forced him to thrust up his arms. As the gold and purple streaks danced across his armor and flesh, movement in the corner of his vision snagged his attention.

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s center head began to release its freezing mist, but could only release a small spray before a blur raced past it, nearly severing a head with a shower of sparks. Gigan shrieked as he turned back towards the cyborg dragon, arms spread wide, only for twin lasers which sparkled with numerous colors to crash into his scythe, shattering it like glass. The assassin screamed, firing several Bladed Slicers at his approaching enemy. Mechagodzilla’s eyes discharged the Space Beams once more, disintegrating most of them, Mecha-King Ghidorah destroying the remaining with its Triple Lasers.

The two mechanical duplicates stood side by side, aiming their weapons at Gigan. Monster X watched, one of his extra eyes also detecting Godzilla and Rodan tossing Hedorah over towards this cacophonous battle. He had little care for either of his allies, but he at least bothered shouting for Gigan to not barrel towards certain doom.

The cyborg assassin did not seem to care. Revving up his Bloody Chainsaws, the action alone casting off several teeth from the implement, he charged towards Mechagodzilla with the intent to sever its head.

Missiles crashed into the spinning blade, tearing chunks out of it and causing a chain reaction which resulted in the whole weapon detonating. Gigan screeched, continuing his charge with the activation of his Universal Cutter. The prospect of facing his permanent death here did not seem to register, or if it did, not enough to be noticeable from an outsider perspective as he tried to end this foe.

Triple Lasers shredded his back fins like paper in a flame, sending him crashing to the ground. Smoke pouring off him, he jabbed his stumps into the stone of Planet X, pushing himself to his feet and continuing his approach. A Laser Knife raced out from his visor, tearing into the wound he’d made on Mecha-King Ghidorah’s neck earlier.

Wires snapped under the heat and force, severing the throat and leaving it to fall. As the other two heads reached down and grasped it, Gigan shrieked at Mechagodzilla.

In it, he saw his first and greatest failure embodied. A false copy of Godzilla, armed with hidden weapons. Mechagodzilla’s mere presence, the factors of its existence, reminded Gigan of the base of his masters when they sought Earth. He knew he would not make it off this battlefield, but he would at least die having gotten rid of this tumor in his conscience.

A Gigarium Cluster made Mechagodzilla stumble back, letting Gigan close the distance. Monster X made to aid his ally, but ceased when Hedorah was thrown before King Ghidorah, gurgling in rage as Godzilla and Rodan tried to wipe caustic slime off their bodies.

***

A port opened on the mothership, Kaziya entering and leaving the rock to sit on the floor as he stepped off. The feeling of encroaching horror still gnawed at his mind, growing by the second.

Telepathically, he received the location of where this all-important event was, a chill crawling up his spine for reasons he could not explain.

***

The Giant Dark Emperor scanned his ship, searching it for Endurph. A ritual? What ritual could they possibly be doing that involved going under his nose? What could they even be doing at all, he had claimed their “God” was merely a computer!

“Endurph! Reveal yourself now, or else I will shock the entire ship! My followers will not be swayed from me, even if I must torment them too!” Electrical bolts sparked off of him threateningly, a precursor to a lightning torture method.

”You’re already too late.” The elderly voice of the Exif holy man rang in the overlord’s mind. This let him immediately zero in on the priest’s location, seeing him surrounded by followers, his followers.

“Do you hear him? Do you hear his true feelings for you, as nothing more than extensions of his will fit to be tormented when you do not comply! Our God is not so cruel! Our God will bring you the ultimate mercy! True peace! Chant his name, with all your heart!”

The blazing visage of the tyrant grinded his teeth. Lightning raced out from his glowing form, crashing into the Vabaruda. Electricity crawled through the metal frame of the vessel, seizing everyone in its painful embrace.

“Ghidorah! Chant the name of our God, Ghidorah!”

Despite their muscles locking up, agony surging through them, the Xiliens complied.

“Ghidorah! Ghidorah! Ghidorah!”

***

“Ghidorah! Ghidorah! Ghidorah!” It was music to Metphies’ ears, the Garbetrium in his hand humming along with their chants. He placed it down next to the emptied bowl, and then pulled out a bead.

“Wings of Death, come forth, destroy the followers of falsehood.” He intoned.

“Wings of Death, come forth, destroy the followers of falsehood!” They repeated.

He placed the bead into the stone, causing a yellow glow to overtake it. Metphies began to speak again. “The soup you partook of is now part of you, just as you shall all become part of God. Of something truly greater than yourselves. You already believed you were part of something like that, your culture. But that was a falsehood. All civilizations destroy themselves, by spawning monsters like what wage war below our feet. The rotted fruit of sick trees. Some control them, but that is only delaying their destruction, casting it off to a different source. How can you truly take solace in something so ephemeral, so self-destructive? How can a construct like that grant you the feeling of being one with a greater presence? Give yourselves over to God, and you will finally understand.”

Metphies began to walk away, to go and greet the approaching Kaziya. “Close your eyes.” He spoke softly, like a mother putting her child to bed. Then he departed the room.

From the Garbetrium, shadows shifted and lengthened. What looked like three vines coated in thorns emerged from the dark blot, writhing like snakes.

***

Monster X went to aid either of his allies, but a voice in his head halted his step.

Do not waste your energy. They are worthless, stepping stones that may now be left to weather away.

He did not recognize the voice, but the genetically engineered dragon had no issue obeying. Following it felt natural, not like a servant to a master but…

As though it were his own voice.

Gigan tried to drive his Universal Cutter into Mechagodzilla’s chest, but the pseudo-leviathan planted its hands on his sides, keeping him pinned back. The cyborg snapped and thrashed, beak spewing fire as his eye glowed with gathered energy, but Mechagodzilla simply lowered its chest panel.

The Cross Attack Beam tore into the spinning saw blades, eviscerating them in a torrent of fire and shredded steel. Gigan screamed, swinging his skull forward, trying to crack Mechagodzilla’s head open. Space titanium dented and split, but the war machine simply raised a foot and drove it into Gigan’s mutilated abdomen. Oil and blood sprayed out as the cyborg was shoved back, landing on his back. Viscous lifeblood sprayed out of his mouth in a series of coughs, Gigan feeling his body shut down rapidly.

Mechagodzilla stood over him, casting its dark shadow over the feeble form of the once feared cyberclaw terror. So this was it. Gears whirred as machinery clicked, the mechanical saurian’s hands twisting. The end of his life. Mechagodzilla’s fingers retracted, a new set of missiles emerging in their place. A long history of bloodshed, failure masquerading as triumph until finally casting off that mask in the later years of his life. The hands of the war machine completed their rotation, locking back into place. An entire species, now dead, their last legacy about to be annihilated on a world they never knew of, in service of the master who never saw them as anything but pawns.

Gigan did not even have the mercy of closing his eye, his vision forced to contain his demise.

The Rotating Finger Missiles launched from their chambers, spearing into the cybernetic warrior’s torso. With ten simultaneous explosions, he was split in half, his upper and lower sections being violently shoved in opposite directions. Cascades of innards, both scrap metal and viscera, flew like leaves in the wind. The light of Gigan’s visor faded instantly.

Mechagodzilla announced its victory with an artificial shriek, Mecha-King Ghidorah joining it after having reattached its severed neck.

***

Kaziya was bolting down the hallways of his own ship, sweat pouring down his face. He could feel death creeping through the vessel, an invisible hand closing over the whole world.

He believed himself the holder of the greatest power in the universe. He was stained with the blood of hundreds of soldiers, having turned himself into an engine of carnage on the most brutal battlefield the universe had seen in a long time. Even a Kaiju had not been able to extinguish his might.

But in this moment, he felt like the scared child watching his mother be pulled away all over again, as powerless as a leaf caught in a storm.

He turned a corner, seeing Metphies standing before him with a serene look on his face. Kaziya had trusted Metphies more than any other in the last few months, believing him his closest friend. But now, he did not know what to think, as his heart thudded in his chest at the cold claws brushing over his shoulder.

“What have you done? What have you Exif done?”

“Great Keizer, you have arrived just in time, as I knew you would. Your people have been waiting for you.” The priest responded like he was asked about the weather.

“Answer me dammit! What are you summoning?” Kaziya demanded, rushing forward and grabbing the priest by his collar.

“God.” Metphies replied without discernible emotion.

“What kind of god? Many would say those beasts out there are gods.”

“Not a god. The God. The omega.”

This took the Xilien leader aback. “I thought it was alpha and omega?”

A chuckle left the Exif’s mouth, an exhalation bearing nothing but cold malice. “I know not what created this existence, but I hope I get to see it perish by the supreme’s jaws.”

“What?” The Keizer was completely confused. The next words to leave his ally’s mouth made him long for that ignorance.

“Our religion is founded on the truth that existence is nothing but anguish and misery. That the best thing for life is death.” The cold facade was beginning to crack, a smile stretching across the priest’s face as he espoused further. “Do you not get it, you who have suffered so much?”

The hybrid Regulator was lost for words. Dozens of seconds had passed, the tension growing to the point where he felt like it would strangle him, before he managed to find a continuation to the discussion. “Then why have you and the rest of the Exif not just cut your own throats and be done with it?”

“Because of the way we learned this truth. Our empire had attained technologies that made the most advanced of yours, our long lost relatives, look like a primate hammering two stones together to make fire. We peered into realms that we needed to invent entire new systems of mathematics to wrap our heads around, saw the edges of creation, and even looked into the future!”

“What did you see?” The Keizer was enraptured, both by the story itself and by Metphies’ complete shift in personality.

The priest laughed. “We saw nothing. A void. Then, we looked deeper, determined to find something, anything! And we did. A glorious beast, the remnants of reality crushed between its teeth, the souls of quintillions swirling in its infinite guts. It glowed brighter than any star.” The Keizer had never heard anyone sound so overjoyed, so overwhelmed by beauty. “We found entropy itself, the one immutable truth of existence. And it looked back to us, and blessed us for discovering it.”

“Blessed?” The hybrid Regulator felt his head swirling with mixed emotions.

“Our planet, gone. Only a tenth of a percent of our race left alive. And inhabiting our supercomputer,” he pulled forth the Gematron, “the voice of the only being in this existence with meaning, with purpose.”

Kaziya’s advanced senses allowed him to hear bodies hitting the floor, gave him the deep-seated feeling of encroaching doom with the entity currently gnawing away the walls between realities. Those were his people, the ones who had trusted him.

“The savior of all these sufferers. The void consuming us all.”

Gloved fingers clenched. “Why shouldn’t I just vaporize you here and now?”

“Think about it.” Metphies said with a slight smile, unphased by the tangible threat to his life. “What happens after you win? Say you destroy me, and Monster X is then able to slay the rest of the monsters. What do you do next?”

“Reign over Planet X, bring it back to the era of-“

“Having a human soul? Without humanity?” The priest cut the emperor off, a grand gesticulation with his hands fading into them returning to his sides as Metphies continued. “With a whole host of remaining Xiliens who fought against that?“

“I’ll-“

“Force them to accept it? Or kill them? What then if any of your own followers go against that?”

Kaziya reeled back like he’d been punched. Lightning danced between his fingers as he snarled. “I’ll force them into line, then! I am the Keizer, my power is absolute and total! No matter how many bodies need to be piled up for the foundation of my new rule, I will make it happen!”

“And then you will kill the Garoga.” The subtle nod from the bastion of mortal power only made the emissary of the divine smile wider. “Then?” The electrical surging ceased, Kaizya’s face falling. Metphies pounced like a tiger at the moment of weakness. ”So you have no future beyond one soaked in blood? Leading your people, who you claim to love, into a genocidal crusade that will surely end in nothing but their own devastation?”

“We would win! Those bastards-“

“Would take countless Xilien lives even in the best case scenario. Would you even have a species left by the time you ‘claimed victory’?”

Kaziya’s breathing grew shaky. Seconds dragged on like hours as he pondered. “No. No I would not…”

Metphies stepped back to the sacrifice room, where the bodies all laid motionless. He beckoned his compatriot to walk with him, and almost robotically the Keizer did so. “I want to tell you why exactly I say we were blessed by God. Will you listen?” He questioned as he stood over the bowl, uncaring of the gouged apart bodies surrounding them like trash.

They did not leave a single drop of blood, the glowing wounds as though the matter that made up the Xiliens had been erased.

Kaziya nodded, shivering at the sight, as Metphies held the bead at the end of two fingers before his face.

“Your life has been miserable, would you not agree? Brought into such a peaceful and loving family,” the last few words were said with a falsely sweet tone. “But then, you had it all torn away from you. The Xiliens themselves had that beautiful life ripped from their grasp. At a moment’s notice, by an enemy the vast majority of humanity did not even know existed. Is that fair?”

With his free hand, the priest spread his right eyelid.

“Of course not. But that’s just it, there is no such thing as fairness. Life is an endless cycle of cruelty and misery. Instead of banding together in that tragedy, your people split themselves apart. Your father, your sister, and you lost the star you all revolved around and drifted into different voids. But do not blame yourselves, that is merely the curse of sapience. All intelligent life, anything in possession of free will, will damage everything around them in due time. In small ways for most, but it still occurs nonetheless, a subconscious urge to destroy.”

Kaziya flinched as Metphies jammed the Gematron into his own eye, hard. The squelching of the organ being crushed was hard to hear over the distant sounds of war, but the Keizer could hear every bit of it.

“My friend, you wish to destroy everything you know. Your people, you want to kill them.” Despite red blood pouring down his face like a burst pipe, the priest of nihilistic divinity continued his decree. “But not because you hate them, no, because you love them! Because you did not need God to commune to you what he did to us so long ago! That life should be ended instead of dragged out, only made more bitter by the falsities of joy and hope!” The Gematron began to shine brightly, taking on the symbol of the Exif religion.

Metphies’ voice dropped back to its usual tone and cadence. “So let’s you and I commit the greatest act of mercy in the history of the universe.”

Kaziya wanted to vomit. Not because of the death surrounding them, though the surreal sight was far worse than the bloodshed he had inundated himself in beforehand.

But because he found he could not disagree with a single word Metphies said.

***

Hedorah screeched as it spread its arms, spraying fumes and fluid everywhere. Its three foes backpedaled, tired of the disgusting existence before them.

King Ghidorah’s wings sprayed lightning, breaking through the assault of filth and making Hedorah scream as its flesh dried out. The smog monster reeled, then countered with its Hedrium Rays. The crimson streaks tore at King Ghidorah’s scales, burning and breaking them as black smoke rose up, making the golden wyrm cough. Godzilla rushed forwards, slamming a fist into the pollution beast’s hide, breaking dried flesh open and spilling moist innards.

An expelling of destructive gas bathed Godzilla, making him cover his nose and screw his eyes shut, but it did not stop him from further ripping open Hedorah. His fingers burned, but he waved enough of the mist away to roar at Ghidorah to demand he continue electrocuting the foul monstrosity.

Golden devastation rippled from the throats and wings of the destroyer, sending the wounded Hedorah to the ground. Godzilla grabbed the organs he had torn out of the pollution feeder, lifting them into the path of King Ghidorah’s onslaught. The pulsating innards shriveled up and turned into dust under the unimaginable electrical force, which was noted by the golden fiend. He understood now.

Godzilla charged towards Hedorah, bracing himself as the lightning scourged his body too. Despite his built up resistance to electricity, King Ghidorah’s might was still agonizing. He drove fists into Hedorah’s shriveled form, pulling out orbs which became dust once they were exposed to the xanthic madness.

A tendril wrapped around his leg, trying to halt him, but he moved like clockwork in dismantling Hedorah. The punishment he had endured in his first battle with the sludge monster’s kind had engraved that entire conflict into his mind, meaning he knew exactly where to look and what to pull out.

Light flashed on Hedorah’s carcass, a flying form lurching out in a desperate attempt at survival. It did not get far before a boulder fell down upon it, Rodan soaring overhead with a screech. A wheezing, pathetic screech left the saucer-like monster as it succumbed to the onslaught. Godzilla called out for his temporary ally to stop, then walked over and stomped Hedorah’s face in.

The smog monster crumbled into black powder, not a trace of life remaining.

The three monsters shouted in triumph, their usual animosity towards each other muted in the wake of what they believed to be encroaching victory. Rodan surveyed the battlefield, seeing that there were only three of their enemies left, one of which was not allied with the other two. The king of the skies let hope fill his chest once more. They had almost won! His and Godzilla’s pre-existing bond had carried them to this point, and soon, the only issue would be breaking free of their masters’ control.

Machinery whirred and clanked as the false dragons stomped forwards, prepared to eliminate their enemies for the glory of the Giant Dark Emperor. The three monsters of the traditionalist Xiliens were together, making them a prime target for devastation. Mecha-King Ghidorah looked towards Monster X, who was simply staring up into the air. Sending this information to its fellow war machine, the two artificial intellects considered eliminating him first then moving towards the three.

Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah also noticed the skeletal knight’s odd behavior. While the former two laughed, joking between themselves that he had given up after losing both his allies, the demon king of the universe felt something pricking at his mind. His heartbeat began to pick up in its pace, eyes drifting towards the black heavens.

***

The Giant Dark Emperor was no longer electrocuting his followers, but he still floated before his ship, shouting at the Exif within. “You will not live to see another day, Endurph! You will die by my hand once this war is over, the first victim of my crusade through the stars!”

The elderly priest, slumped over and barely moving, could not help but let out a hoarse laugh. It was against the teachings of his people, it was far from what he would typically do, but the blazing tyrant had truly aggravated him to the point that it still happened. He supposed no amount of religious indoctrination could truly stifle the mind’s base wants.

“Too late,” he coughed. “You were nothing but another pen with which to write the story of the lord’s birth.”

“What?” The burning overlord screamed, outraged beyond belief. So outraged he missed two more pods he launched out of the top of the Vabaruda, his female assistants fleeing. “I am atop this universe! I am the grandest force in the vast cosmos, and I shall rule over it! I am no part in a larger operation, I am-“

He suddenly stopped. His telepathic capabilities, a mind expanded beyond the typical perceptions of a mortal consciousness, detected the change in reality’s fabric moments before it manifested. The Giant Dark Emperor was unable to internalize and properly respond to the stimulus before suddenly, the sky changed.

Three black circles manifested in the heavens, like windows to nothingness. The great red storm of Jupiter was blocked out, that imagined eye replaced with a gaze all too real. Stars which shined in the distance were blotted out, the black holes defacing the curtain of the cosmos.

All motion stopped, every eye looking up to the anomalies. From the mightiest titans to the dying and wounded soldiers, their hearts beat as one in a thunderous chorus. Monster X raised his arms to the sky, in reverence. He knew not the specifics of why he felt this way, but it was an overwhelming sensation.

That combined heartbeat skipped when something emerged from each portal. Golden serpents of pure light, covered in thorns like crystalline vines, slithered from the abyss. Numerous eyes like crimson gems, unblinking and all-seeing, covered each head of the transcendental being. They twisted and contorted about, moving with perfect synchronicity as they surveyed the world below.

***

“And thus it ends.” Metphies proclaimed as he took in the full splendor of his God. “The final piece of this puzzle can now be slotted into place.” He turned towards a silent Kaziya, the mighty Keizer staring with wide eyes at the monolithic abomination looming over his planet. It took a moment for the words to sink in.

“Is that not the final piece? That…” he trailed off, lost for words in the horrid grace of the true King Ghidorah.

“No, Keizer. You, and your monster, are.” Mentally, he beckoned the pilots of the ship to go towards the battlefield, his mind enhanced by the might of God overriding any survival instinct the remaining crew held.

***

Silence reigned like a tyrant, the mere presence of the golden demise enough to make even Godzilla’s blood run cold. The capacity for the mind to always seek hope tried to claim that these few moments would last forever, but it was not to be. As one, the three lashed out.

The first descended upon the battlefield, driving its jaws into the ground and vaporizing numerous soldiers. Bolts of extra-dimensional power rippled off the divine body, reducing screaming masses into nothing. Their energy flowed into their killer, more being added to an infinite furnace as it crawled over the landscape, claiming every life in sight. Remnants of Hedorah, too small to threaten the titans but still coursing with life, tried to hop away, but the thin jaws slammed shut around them regardless.

Meanwhile, a second contorted around the skies, twirling to create a gravitational field which drew ships in like flies to flypaper. The Giant Dark Emperor watched in horror as its gaze fell upon him, striking like a viper from across miles in an instant. He screamed, casting bolts of lightning from his gaseous form, but the blue streaks of power sank into the ethereal form of Ghidorah and were rebounded in all directions.

Fangs sank into his shining form, puncturing it. He screamed as it proceeded to wrap around the Vabaruda while draining his energy, twirling around his prized mothership multiple times as gravity amplified. Those who had not been dragged into the Exif’s activities were forced to panic as the ship crunched inwards as though invisible hands grasped it and squeezed.

“No, no, no!” The Muan tyrant cursed as his orange projection faded and flickered. He continued trying to blast at God, but it was as effective as the flailing of a baby gazelle in the maw of a lion. “This can’t be how it ends! My empire, my legacy! All destroyed by being led into a trap by the honeyed words of false prophets!”

Sparks erupted from the Vabaruda, steel puncturing wires as the pressure grew too intense. The Giant Dark Emperor just screamed, his blazing visage reduced to a barely visible ghost. What he hated most, staring into the eyes of the supreme, was the utter lack of emotion.

“At least say something! Do not treat me as a mere meal!” His anger had been overtaken by raw fear.

The Vabaruda imploded, then detonated violently. Fire and force raced outwards, but was sucked back into the singularity being crafted between the coils of the celestial dragon. The Giant Dark Emperor faded away, replaced by a falling figure. A human, or more accurately, a Muan. Elderly, thin, he plummeted from the skies. This was his true self, the flaming face a psychic construct to stand superior to all others. He stared into the skies, at his empire being destroyed. Somehow, despite having seen it explode while in the dragon’s jaws, now separated from it he saw the ship still in the process of being crushed.

Filthy robes, unwashed in thousands of years due to the neglect of his physical form, fluttered as he watched the Vabaruda explode again. Ghidorah turned towards him, eyes drilling into his soul. The imperialist wanted to shout, but his throat was dry, cracked. He had used his psychic voice, transformed into real audio, for so long that his actual voice could no longer emerge.

This was mortality, the curse he had tried to escape for so long, developed his mind to do so. Brought back to him by a being who had truly surpassed it, stood beyond physicality.

Ghidorah did not even bother snapping him up, instead just letting his decrepit body crash into the ground at terminal velocity, breaking it upon the rocks.

***

As the outer two heads wreaked havoc and fed to its heart content, the center head descended slowly. Its gaze was firmly locked onto Monster X, who lowered his arms and waited. Godzilla and Rodan fired their respective beams at the transcendental one, but like the Giant Dark Emperor’s might, they were merely redirected. The two heroes recoiled as their rays struck each other, Godzilla turning to shout for help from King Ghidorah. The golden wyrm did not respond, however, staring up at the absolute with an expression neither Earth kaiju could parse.

Mechagodzilla fired a barrage of missiles at Monster X, its artificial mind uncaring of the change to the war. They never landed on their target, the head crawling across the ground sweeping by and sending the missiles flying randomly off course. Mecha-King Ghidorah fired upon it with Triple Lasers, but only succeeded in burning trenches upon it and its ally, sending both staggering back. A discharge of lightning bolts from the true Ghidorah nearly knocked them over, making metal peel away.

Monster X began to float, not of his volition but as a result of the serpentine neck twirling around him to form an impregnable barrier. The extradimensional void continued its slow descent towards him, gingerly and carefully in contrast to the madness being sowed around them. As beams and projectiles assailed and were turned away, the other kaiju desperately trying to stop whatever was about to occur, Monster X’s hand lifted into the air.

His finger touched the visage of God, thin streaks of electricity racing between them.

Kaziya fell to his knees, clutching his head as he screamed. Information flowed into Monster X’s mind and into his own, an overwhelming sea of madness that threatened to break his consciousness in two. Mathematical formulas describing higher dimensions, the casting aside of the physical form like a serpent shedding its skin to reach them and become something supreme, all of history laid out like a line on a board.

Metphies put a hand on his shoulder. ”Focus on what is foremost, what he wishes you to know.”

The Keizer did as he was told, focusing on the nodule of data that stood out the most, blotting out everything else in this cacophony of information. Reaching out, he “grasped” it, and understood it and it alone.

”Transfer your power to your monstrous scion. That Keizer energy, grant it unto him through the ship. Feel no fear, I shall let you pass over.”

With a deep, shaky breath, Kaziya got to his feet. He sweat heavily, hair greasy and clinging to his brow, but he looked outwards via monitor at what surrounded the ship. As the true Ghidorah promised, the three heads simply watched as the vessel approached, having lowered Monster X to the ground.

They parted, letting the golden orb come to halt directly above the draconic knight. The other monsters stood back, knowing that any movements they made would be halted by the all-seeing eyes above. Long term thinking, how to escape this alive, that did not dwell through their minds. Only the here and now mattered, every instant a goal.

Kaziya planted a hand on the floor, digging deep within himself. A white luminescence began to radiate off of his form, intensifying with every second. Metphies watched with awe, the bead in his eye socket transmitting the information to a pleased void god.

Monster X looked up, awaiting his ascendance. While his mind too had been overwhelmed by his contact with the absolute, it had held stronger than his genetic predecessor. In that communion he had seen the truth within himself, the beast hidden away. Where before he only had glances, the wings emerging from his back in that fateful moment so long ago, now he knew what it truly was. He had seen its full glory, his true splendor.

Monster X was thankful. To God above, and to Kaziya, for finally undoing the chains around his soul.

Metphies watched as the monitors around him were taken over by a golden infinity symbol against a radiant background, the machinery’s only response to the power flowing through them. He supposed it was an attempt to calculate it, but that energy of supremacy was beyond their comprehension. All they could do was direct it, the entire ship shimmering along its patterns with that resplendent glow. Kaziya shouted, forcing his might downwards. The three prongs of the golden mothership emitted deific beams, meeting in the middle and launching downwards as one. The ray bearing endless might bathed Monster X, disappearing into his humanoid form as he let it soak into his flesh and bones. After a few seconds, it faded, Kaziya slumping over as he took in deep breaths. Metphies helped him to his feet, commanding the ship back away.

“You’ve done your part. Now simply watch.” Kaziya complied with the priest’s words, heart feeling like it was about to jump out of his chest.

Monster X stood still for a moment, an instant that felt like eternity. Smoke billowed out of his mouth as he began to shake, the half-formed visages upon his shoulders jittering as new flesh bubbled out from them. He crouched down, hands slamming into the ground hard enough to crack it. Secondary eyes formed opposite those that already existed in his side skulls, turning them into true heads. A glowing heat radiated off his brow like lava, forming crisscrossing lines.

Far away, on the ground, Landes watched the wings erupt from his back. Gold and black limbs which expanded with leathery fabric, stretching out to cast a horrendous shadow upon the world. She averted her eyes, not wanting to see the true face of what had haunted her nightmares for years, then ran into the pod emerging from the ground.

Armor of a similar color to the wings formed, racing down his limbs to coat them. Hands morphed into clawed feet, thick like trees and bearing sharp blades fit to slice through any armor like paper. The same occurred to his pre-existing legs, transforming the humanoid into a quadruped. A thick, barrel-shaped chest took form, as twin tails like whips extended behind him.

Godzilla tried to run forward, but his feet would not move. He felt like he was witnessing something inevitable, the culmination of events set into motion long before he was born and that would resonate into the future long after he died.

Monster X’s now three heads stretched upwards, elongating into serpentine forms. The horrid crimson glow of his eyes remained, but now they were being surrounded in that thick, stained armor. It was like gold coated in oil, dark blue veins running down the necks. On the left, a trio of thick, short horns protruded from the brow, forming a wicked crown. The right, twin spikes rose up and curved backwards. And finally, the center, neck longer than the others and towering above all, bore pristine antlers.

A horrendous screech left the trio of maws, not the deep bellows of Monster X, but a raspy wheeze. The last air being forced from the universe’s lungs, the cry of a vulture ready to feast upon existence’s corpse, the cumulative death knell of all life. Those rancid cries grinded against the heroes’ ears and caused whatever Xiliens remained alive to bear witness curl into themselves in fear.

Godzilla broke past his fear, charging forward. He had never run with such determination, eyes narrowed as he rushed at the abomination before him. Terror filled every vein in his body, pressed down on every scale, but that pushed him forward harder. Whatever had just come forth needed to die, for the sake of Earth, for all worlds. The king of the monsters pulled his arm back, swinging it forward with all his might. A war cry rose from his lungs as he threw a powerful punch.

A crack echoed, loud and clear.

Godzilla’s breathing quickened as he lifted his hand, seeing his fingers broken and bent in differing directions. Then he looked up, six eyes staring down at him, an ocean of oblivion bolstered by malice.

Kaziya stepped forwards, eyes transfixed on what Monster X had become. He understood it now, his role in the machinations of the Exif and the god of the void. It was to birth this uncontested might, the strongest monster in the universe. He had brought about the rise of a nihilistic messiah to reap the cosmos clean. A dragon of desolation superior to King Ghidorah; the emperor of terror.

“Keizer Ghidorah.”

 

Chapter 13: He Is Risen

With a hoarse call of damnation, Keizer Ghidorah reared up, front legs lifting into the air. His thick feet crashed down upon Godzilla’s shoulders, ripping them out of their sockets with a deafening pop, and continued pressing down. The leviathan screamed as flesh and muscle tore like paper, viscera spraying from where his arms once were. The chest of the new dragon bashed against his skull, casting him to the ground where he flailed and writhed.

With a shriek of horror, Rodan bolted forwards, the winds kicking up as he raced to aid his friend. Keizer Ghidorah stared at Godzilla’s agonizing body, watching the blood spray lessen as his regeneration worked overtime. The monster king’s severed arms twitched, prompting the beast of the apocalypse to crush them underfoot, bone crumbling into dust.

The king of the skies arrived, rapidly pulling up his body and clapping his wings together. A blade of compressed wind shot forth, aimed at the throats of his foe. The crescent of air crashed into the armor, dispersing like the waves against the shore. All the pteranodon had succeeded in doing was pulling that heart-palpitating gaze in his direction.

Lunging forward, the center head of the desolation’s apex crashed into Rodan’s stomach, shattering the armor like dried wood. Torrents of ichor sprayed from the sky monster’s beak as he was hurled from the sky, crashing to the stone floor of the world rapidly becoming a tomb. Keizer Ghidorah prepared to charge forward, but a pair of feet crashed into his chest. Godzilla, tail straining against the ground, tried to lift his foe up.

Jaws sank into flesh, the outer heads of the strongest dragon lurching down and biting Godzilla’s legs. Whipping upwards, he tossed the monster king over himself, the strongest monster of Earth howling in fear as he was sent flying for miles. Galloping forward, Keizer Ghidorah approached the rising Rodan, who screeched as he unleashed a Uranium Heat Ray in desperation. It glanced off the dread armor, scorching the ground below as the approach of death inexorably continued.

Keizer Ghidorah let loose a joyous screech, a foul proclamation, as he swung a foot up and into Rodan’s face. Claws punctured keratin and bone, the force sending cracks rapidly moving through the pteranodon’s beak. Rodan’s face sprayed gore as his bill was shattered like glass, shards sent flying down his now open throat. The culmination of God’s machinations cackled as he watched his foe spiral through the air, coming to a harsh and ungracious landing far away. That laughter, so wretched, only grew as he finally heard Godzilla land like a bomb in the distance.

King Ghidorah, finally stirred into action by the commands of the Xiliens, soared into the air and conjured a Big Spark Ball. His heart pounded in his ears as he gathered power into it, Keizer Ghidorah acknowledging his actions with a glare but doing nothing to stop him. With a shout, the demon king of the universe let the surging orb of electrical devastation fly free, the air crackling as it soared.

And with three golden rays from his mouths, the inevitable extinction of the cosmos caught it with his Destroyed Keizer Beams. His six eyes scanned the mightiest attack his inferior predecessor could output, a field of antigravity suspending it in the air. Then, he sent it back, the orb growing from the energy added to it from his beams.

King Ghidorah’s eyes widened as he hurled himself higher into the air, only narrowly avoiding the xanthic singularity due to his lost tails. The horizon was filled with light as it detonated, tremors rattling the moon as all sound was replaced with an omnipresent rushing of wind.

***

Kaziya stumbled as his ship tilted from the blast, Metphies standing perfectly still despite it all. This moment of chaos, although swiftly fading already, served to bring the prodigy a bitter clarity.

“The Exif organized this war.” He said to his… Well, he was not sure what to consider the priest at this point.

“Indeed we did. The Giant Dark Emperor’s presence, at least.” Metphies replied, no longer hiding anything. “Your father’s reconstruction of the supercomputer, and the Garoga’s assault which begat the idea, we played no part in. Perhaps Ghidorah did, but if so, he did not inform us.”

“Why? You told me I am the final piece, but for what purpose? What role do I and Keizer Ghidorah play in God’s schemes? And how could it have organized this all?”

“Our God inhabits an extra-dimensional space, mostly incapable of interacting with our world except for in specific circumstances. As I said, we saw the future, and there was nothing but Ghidorah. Yet, he still acts now, outside of time. Past, present, and future are all the same to him, the flowing of time is a river which he sits by the side of. He can alter the course of events, see how those changes germinate, and respond accordingly. Which leads us to you.”

Kaziya’s blood chilled as the gaze of the entropic deity fell upon him, through the gem where one of Metphies’ eyes once was.

“You bear a power unique amongst mortals, a perfect rolling of the genetic dice to tap into an energy signature even the most advanced sciences struggle to comprehend. You have labeled it as being a Keizer. It gives you unlimited potential, and as you can see, when transferred to a fitting kaiju, it results in a devastating might unmatched in the universe.”

***

Missiles fell upon Keizer Ghidorah’s body, Mechagodzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah springing into action. Explosions tried to scar his immaculate form, but failed to leave even slight marks. The cyborg drew closer, expelling freezing mist as the full machine hung back and lowered the hatch on its chest. Before anything they were doing could actually connect, Destroyed Keizer Beams flew forth once more.

The two machines cut off power to their weapons, flying in opposite directions. The golden rays on the outskirts split off, moving through the air to follow the robotic warriors. Artificial screams resounded as the false dragon and leviathan were driven downwards, their backs melting and fraying apart under just one of the beams he could now discharge.

Keizer Ghidorah scanned the battlefield, hoping for resistance to be able to test his new power some more. Rodan had only managed to turn himself over onto his ravaged stomach, avoiding drowning in his own blood. King Ghidorah stood on the ground, fighting the commands being sent by his masters with every inch of will he had. Mechagodzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah were slowly climbing back to their feet, movements stuttering from both mechanical issues and due to their computer brains struggling to calculate a means of victory.

A series of rapid thuds alerted the final destroyer to the approach of his remaining foe. Curling his tails in opposite directions, he whipped them backwards, earning a cry of pain as they clamped down onto Godzilla’s midsection, shredding flesh. To the dragon’s shock, he felt hands grasp the appendages, pulling hard.

***

“What could that thing possibly want with me?” Kaziya demanded. “What have I done to earn the attention of such a being?”

“I just said, your power. It is the key to ascension, the bypassing of physical limitations. Keizer Ghidorah is awe-inspiring now, this is true, but understand something vital. What you are seeing now is merely the beginning.”

“Physical limitations…” That choice of words stuck with Kaziya, his mind turning them over.

“He shall journey all across the cosmos, destroying and devouring. His energy shall grow like a raging fire the more kindling is funneled into it, until eventually it breaks free of the shell that is his flesh and bone to spread its wings over the cosmos.”

The young man’s eyes widened. He understood now. The twisting of time, the orchestration of war to bring about Keizer Ghidorah, everything became clear with those words. “No,” he stumbled back, leaning against a wall as he slumped down it. “No, no, no.” He practically whispered.

He wanted to be mad, to spring up and drive his fist through Metphies’ chest, but the energy to do so just would not arise. Everything he thought he knew had been dashed against the rocks. He was not the master of his own destiny. Kaziya, the great Keizer, the first union of human and Xilien DNA, was merely a gear in a celestial machine dedicated to a single goal.

***

Godzilla, arms still forming muscle and skin, tried to lift Keizer Ghidorah off the ground. The destined end turned, eyes blazing into the determined expression of the leviathan. That visage was a screaming void, a black hole with teeth, but the monster of justice stood before that nightmare and kept pulling.

Keizer Ghidorah shrieked in genuine surprise as Godzilla lifted him into the air, prepared to slam him into the ground like a hammer. However, the second pull hit resistance. Looking up, the hero of Earth saw the emperor of terror floating above him, unmoving against gravity and the might of the monster king.

The twin tails pulled their way out of his grasp, sending Godzilla staggering a step. He twisted on one foot, firing an atomic ray into the underbelly of his foe. Keizer Ghidorah stood motionless in the air, letting the stream of superheated gas burn against him, slowly spreading his wings.

Realizing that this was failing, Godzilla turned again, pointing his beam at the ground. Leaping, he let its pressure send him flying, intent on crashing against Keizer Ghidorah like a missile. With the beat of his wings, the quadrupedal dragon avoided the body of his foe, jaws opening to fill with light.

Godzilla’s howl of pain echoed across Planet X as he was sent flying, golden power tearing apart his abdomen. With exposed ribs and organs, he smashed into the ground at high speeds, rolling across the barren rocks for several hundred meters. Wheezing, he planted his hands on the ground, pushing himself up. He had just finished repairing his arms and now his cellular replenishment needed to heal his midsection, a film forming over his wounds to keep in and out what should be which.

Keizer Ghidorah landed before him, watching him intently. Breathing heavily, Godzilla got back to his feet. He put up his fists, and spreading his feet slightly, he took a martial arts stance. The strongest monster in the universe took note of the fire still burning in his foe’s eyes.

Did he not understand the scope of his predicament? That he could not win?

Godzilla did understand. He knew full well that this was his final battle. That he would never see his other allies again, nor his son. That their fates were sealed too, Earth surely this monstrosity’s next target.

But that would not stop him. Godzilla, the king of the monsters, would never stop fighting until he was forced to. Before God, before inevitable fate, he would stand tall and make it known to the entire universe.

The spirit of Earth and her children would never die.

Lunging forwards, Godzilla threw multiple punches into the chest of Keizer Ghidorah. He made sure to swing them with the right amount of force to avoid breaking his own hands again, the strikes ringing like gunshots. The destroyer’s left head swung down like a pendulum, dislocating Godzilla’s shoulder with its impact. Stepping back, the monster of justice grabbed his disjointed limb with his other hand and forced it back into place. Jumping back into battle, he twisted, sending his tail cracking like a whip against the perfect evil’s heads. They bashed against one another, rasping in frustration.

Three sets of jaws came down, but Godzilla launched himself backwards with his atomic ray once more, leaving them to bite superheated air. He kicked a boulder at Keizer Ghidorah, which shattered like pottery against his armor. Oblivion’s scion hissed, growing tired of this pitiful resistance.

What good did a final stand accomplish? To proclaim that he would never give in, that was not bravery, it was stupidity. A pathetic flailing against inevitability. Who would care but him, and how could Godzilla care after he was dead?

The monster king leapt up, grabbing Keizer Ghidorah’s center head and yanking down. Feet firmly on the ground, he thrashed the antlered visage, trying to break it in some way. Straining his neck muscles, the emperor of terror lifted Godzilla back into the air, then launched his other two skulls into his gut like fists.

Keizer Ghidorah’s outer necks rolled as they repeatedly crashed into his foe’s abdomen, pushing him up and keeping him suspended as he refused to let go of the central face. Feeling his organs become pulp under the hellacious barrage, he charged power through his body, spines illuminating with light.

Nuclear fire blazed from his maw, spilling over Keizer Ghidorah’s visage as he poured everything he could into it. The heat made him thrash about, throwing Godzilla back and forth, but still he held firm even as the skin on his fingers peeled away, continuing with his onslaught.

Screaming in pain as his eyes burned, Keizer Ghidorah reared up, forelegs clamping down on Godzilla’s sides and pulling him down. A crater formed as he was sent crashing into the surface, the engine of universal calamity stumbling back as he flailed. He blinked rapidly, the other two heads cringing from the shared ache.

Godzilla got back to his feet, and he laughed. He clapped his hands together, bouncing up and down as he mocked the supreme devastation.

His mirth ceased as a beam ripped through his kneecap, vaporizing it and a large stretch of ground behind him. The leviathan screamed as he plummeted, looking to the hole burnt clean through his leg with shock. A chorus of wheezing shouts filled the air, drawing his eyes back to the approaching destroyer. Hatred was etched on every face, the shadow of the void falling over him. The original Ghidorah peered over the shoulder of his past self, eager to relive this moment all over again.

He would show the monster king what his noble foolishness earned him.

Golden beams shot forth from all three maws once more, but instead of ripping into his victim, they encased him in a golden field. The monster of justice tried to flail, but it was like a vice had been placed over every inch of his body, meaning he could only grunt as he was lifted up.

Keizer Ghidorah moved Godzilla to look him in the eye, drinking in the agony frozen onto his face. Unseen mechanisms shifted inside the lord of death’s body, initially having no visible effect. As the seconds passed, the leviathan’s skin was being visibly pressed down from all angles, every single inch having increasing pressure applied.

Rodan’s eye shifted towards his friend’s predicament, but an attempt to move just caused another surge of blood to spew out from the shattered ruins of his beak.

Scales and flesh tore apart, sinking into Godzilla’s innards as bones creaked in protest. He tried to break free, but his muscles did not budge. As blood began to spray out, being captured by the gravity field and sent splashing across his swiftly degrading form, he could only look ahead. His eyelids would not shut no matter how much he tried, leaving him to stare into the crimson pools of hatred and death before him. Godzilla saw horror unrelenting, a wrath to burn creation down and stomp on the ashes. The eyes of King Ghidorah had been filled with madness, a lust for chaos and destruction that bordered on mindlessness, but Keizer Ghidorah’s mind was focused and clear. Every nerve burned with agony, all the pain he had encountered up until this point in his life combined falling short of this torment.

His last coherent thought was of a being that looked quite like him, gazing up from the ground with eyes that were still adjusting to the world.

Even the most wicked of the spectators cringed when Godzilla’s ribs all snapped like twigs at once, embedding themselves into organs which were now being liquefied. The king of the monsters could not even let loose a sound as the breaking point was reached, the crushing gravity imploding him all at once. Geysers of gore escaped the golden field, painting the barren rock with viscera. A grotesque sound echoed out, a moist echo with shattering bones barely audible. Keizer Ghidorah’s Antigravity Beams now held a mass of crimson, a colossal lump that had once been Earth’s savior. The emperor of terror held it above his heads, and released his hold.

Bathed in the remains of a being he held indescribable hatred for, the nihilistic messiah let loose a wretched scream of absolute pleasure. The liquid remnants of Godzilla dripped off his form, seeping into the cracks in the ground. Intestines were draped across his back, which one head reached around and seized in its jaws, tossing it to the other two to rend apart. They ate not a morsel of it, letting the shredded remains all fall to the dirt.

***

On Earth, a lone figure walked through the ashen fields. A small, grey figure whimpered as he moved across the wastelands, a spark of life driving him.

For the past few months, he had been forced to survive on his own. The child struggled for every meal. He had been battered, bruised, sliced, and so much more in his battles with the other monsters who prowled the wastes. Pain was no stranger, especially emotionally.

His father had been pulled away in the midst of slumber, leaving him alone. In a dying world, where the Sun did not shine and the maddened weather tore apart everything in its path, he was a child clinging to life. He believed that his father would return one day, as he always had. Against demons from the stars, the cruelties of the universe descended to Earth in order to claim it. No matter how bad the threat was, his father would always return, taking him in his arms to embrace and reassure him.

That was why he kept going, to see him again.

Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air. The child looked up into the sky, guided by senses humanity had never fully understood. His mind registered a loss, a single demise in a universe of infinite lives. But to him, that one life was everything. That one death…

Minilla fell over, curling into himself. Tears flowed from his eyes, falling onto the ashes below. The winds picked up, a storm that began to bury the monster prince. He recalled his father’s embrace as snow fell over both, the rough beast keeping alive a tiny life in the freezing cold.

The ash overtook him, obscuring him from all sight, never to rise again.

***

Rodan let out a choked cry of sorrow, trying to force himself to his feet. He watched as Mechagodzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah stepped forward and fired their respective lasers, but Keizer Ghidorah met their assault with his beams. The harbinger of the end gathered the five beams into one bundle with his three and pushed the combined attack back, Rodan’s eyes flinching shut as the harsh luminance of their collision radiated over his limp body.

Artificial cries of pain rang out as the two robots were hurled back by a terrible explosion, the shockwave sliding Rodan’s body across the rough stone. Blood and pain erupted from his savaged mouth, but as an armored foot stopped his movement, the king of the skies understood that it was about to end.

Unfortunately, he also knew that that end would come after an apex of anguish.

Keizer Ghidorah reached down with his jaws, lifting Rodan by the wing. The pteranodon wanted to throw up at the sight of his best friend’s remains scattered over the sovereign of obliteration’s wretched form. The threefold mind of the emperor pondered for a moment what to do next, then settled on it with a sharp exhale.

Taking both of the sky monster’s wings in his jaws, Keizer Ghidorah ripped them off with the ease of tearing paper, the bones moistly popping out of the joints. Rodan was not allowed to hit the ground, the pain leaving him unable to scream, as the messiah’s center maw caught him by the throat.

The memory of Rodan slamming into King Ghidorah’s stomach hard enough to make the destroyer plummet to the dirt of Earth flashed in the dread one’s mind.

Flipping Rodan around like a sack of potatoes, Keizer Ghidorah had the pteranodon’s neck in his right jaws and his thin legs in the left. Rising his central skull high like an executioner’s axe, the strongest monster in the universe let out a foul scream before bringing it down onto Rodan’s spine.

The action broke the former king of the skies in half, sending a mass of guts plummeting to the ravaged stones below, splattering upon impact. Rodan died instantly, a single moment of absolute pain the last thing his mind felt before darkness seized it.

And with that, the Rodan species was extinct.

***

“It is no surprise that you are reduced to such a state.” Metphies stated, standing over Kaziya. “I wish I had more properly aligned you to the Exif belief over our time together, but you are both smart and impulsive. I could not risk you sniffing out the truth of my goals, lest it all come crashing down.”

“How could I have stopped it if this was all orchestrated since before I was born? Before my entire species was born!” His voice dripped with dread and sorrow, eyes wide between his fingers as he held his face. “This is it, isn’t it? My purpose is done, and thus I will not leave Planet X except as part of the energy coursing through your lord. Do I have that right?”

Metphies was silent for a moment, eye twitching slightly. “This moon, along with the gas giant it orbits, will be devoured by Ghidorah, yes. You will not leave this world alive. Did my words before not resonate with you? Do you still wish to cling to life despite everything that has occurred, that has been done? What do you have left?”

Kaziya paused for several seconds. “I-I don’t know.” His voice lacked its power, its bravado. He tried to speak further, but the words would not properly form.

“I see.” Metphies said, still as unreadable as ever. Whether it was genuine sympathy or condescension, Kaziya was unsure. “To sever yourself from the base instinct to survive, it is difficult, especially for one as vigorous as you. But what is done cannot be undone. I will grant you one last request, then. Go and see your family.”

Kaziya shifted, looking up at the priest. “Did your god not destroy the Vabaruda?”

“Yes, but Landes is still alive. She escaped, and now moves towards your father. Go and see them, if that will make your death more,” he halted for a brief moment. “Comfortable.”

The prodigy of two soon to be dead races got to his feet. Unsureness was still etched upon his face, but he began to walk anyway. He said no words as he left, Metphies able to tell that he was only going because it was all he could do.

“I wonder how comforting you will truly find it.”

***

Keizer Ghidorah, foot crushing Rodan’s remains, looked around. Mechagodzilla and Mecha-King Ghidorah were his only foes left, King Ghidorah still standing in place. He did not appear to be under mind control anymore, which the oblivion messiah attributed to the true Ghidorah beginning to wrap around the planet, slowly but surely. In normal circumstances, he knew this world would already be dead, but the golden demise seemed to be drawing this out for his sake, which Keizer Ghidorah appreciated.

A massive Triple Laser Beam burned against his side, making him flinch. Tracing it back to its source, he saw the cyborg dragon combining the rays of all three heads into one stream of power. Cutting it off, his “sibling” turned and ran, wings carrying it away. With a snarl, he prepared to shoot Mecha-King Ghidorah down, only for a Cross Attack Ray to strike his other side. By the time he turned towards Mechagodzilla, the obsidian machine was already fleeing, Unisot having been recovered and placed back into its proper position.

Hissing, he levitated off the ground, pursuing Mecha-King Ghidorah. He knew not what trick they were trying to play, but it would be pointless.

***

“Excellent. Just keep him distracted for as long as possible.” Zagreth commanded into a radio, a wicked smile across her face as she stepped into an entrance pod to the old settlement.

She examined the gun she carried one more time, putting it back into its holster.

***

Kaziya landed, legs bending to minimize shock as he rolled. He had been drained of much of his energy, but he retained enough to still be beyond any other Xilien. In fact, as he arose and began to walk, he felt that drawing out so much of it at once had made him feel more attuned to it in some way.

In contrast to how the surface had been when he first dropped, it was quiet now. The crunching of stones beneath his boots was audible, nearly echoing across the desolate landscape. Where once fighting had filled the air with explosions, screams, and the whirring of ships, now there was only the perpetual hum of the wings of demise overhead, slowly encircling the world. Fires crackled from the ruins of vessels taken down before God’s arrival, but they failed to break the monotonous noise that settled over Planet X.

It was fitting, for his mind rang too. He shambled over the wastes, thoughts billowing through his brain like half-formed clouds. The only point of focus was seeing his father and sister again, but for what end was hazy. Kaziya did not know how they would react to him, or even how he would react upon seeing them. His fractured heart and mind may be willing to forgive his father in the last moments of their lives, or perhaps he would die in rage, using his final thoughts and breaths in a display of violence.

After a span of time, unclear to him how long in his disoriented state, the ground rose up to reveal an elevator. Stepping in, he turned to look back at his world.

The golden ship he had declared his command center crashed in a wall of flames off in the distance, a massive chunk taken out of it by the jaws of the end. As the elevator descended, he barely regarded the sight.

Soon the silver of the walls gave way to a hall, which Kaziya stepped into. He walked for a few minutes before a duo of soldiers approached him, guns drawn. “Halt! We will be taking you to the Controller, so put up your-“ one of them had spoken, before his limbs suddenly bent in numerous places they should not have. Bone split and shattered as Kaziya walked past him, the other shakily raising his firearm while trying to focus past the screams of his comrade.

He suddenly was hurled straight upwards, smashing into the ceiling hard enough to snap his neck. The dead Xilien fell like a dropped sack, next to his comrade who was swiftly losing life in anguish.

The Keizer would see his father on his own terms. Rage at being spoken to in such a manner had burned some of the fog away, quickening his pace from a slow shuddering walk to something brisker.

***

Mecha-King Ghidorah continued to fly, internal radars detecting the approach of its foe. The cyborg knew it had no chance of eliminating its enemy, but it had been given a task, and so it would fulfill it.

Golden decimation tore its wings apart like paper sails, casting the cybernetic wyrm from the sky like Icarus. The crashing of over a hundred thousand tons of steel against the rocks echoed for miles, Mecha-King Ghidorah screeching as it attempted to rise. Keizer Ghidorah hovered above, staring down with contempt for the pale imitation of the universe’s pinnacle.

Landing before Mecha-King Ghidorah, who had just pushed itself to its feet, the final destroyer marched forwards. They had been trying to do nothing more than waste his time.

With a shout, the cyborg dragon lashed out at Keizer Ghidorah, but the ultimate dragon tore into its mechanical throats with ruthless fury. Shards of steel flew as his teeth sank into all three necks, wires severing as he flailed his jaws back and forth. The machine screamed as it tried to bathe him in freezing cold, but that only succeeded in making him pull back, nearly severing all three of its necks then and there.

Rearing up with a howl, he slammed his front feet into Mecha-King Ghidorah’s chest, the steel being crushed under the hellacious force. Oil and blood sprayed out from the cracks as dead flesh was visible under crumbling metal, the cyborg dragon smashing into the ground back-first. Mecha-King Ghidorah flailed, screeching as its broken wings beat the ground.

Keizer Ghidorah scoffed. Machines provided no joy, the satisfaction of destruction came from the pain and sorrow of the victim, and an artificial life provided none of that. It was as good as smashing rocks. There was not even any joy to be derived from the slaying of his “sibling”, for in the state he had attained, such quibblings were pointless to him now. What did he care of the past, when the future was filled with endless possibilities?

Mechagodzilla fired upon him, having tracked him down to aid its ally. Missiles harmlessly detonated against his armor as the false leviathan descended, landing and taking up a stance to unleash everything it had. Keizer Ghidorah turned to face the walking fortress, making no move.

Missiles erupted from the fingers, toes, mouth, and knees of the war machine. Flaming bullets erupted from its nostrils. Beams in all the hues of the rainbow launched from the eyes, as a jagged bolt of dark yellow danced out of the machine’s chest. The first version of this machine had brought Godzilla and his mightiest ally to their knees with an assault such as this. The second nearly killed the monster king with its firepower. And this, the third, the strongest version, upgraded immensely…

Was overtaken as Keizer Ghidorah unleashed his golden declaration of finality. Aureate rivers raced through the onslaught, shifting to tear apart the missiles in midair. A cluster of explosions trailed them as they went, two spearing into Mechagodzilla’s hands and tearing them apart as the third took its head off. As the missiles in its fingers became its downfall, detonations raced down its arms as the munitions factory in its body was going up in flames, a spherical glass casing sat where the head had been. It unleashed a blue beam from the black dome, a final attack.

Golden rays left Keizer Ghidorah’s mouths once more, meeting in the middle in front of him and crafting a xanthic circle. The last command Mechagodzilla’s computer sent proved meaningless as the beam struck it, failing to break through as a shower of sparks signified its dissipation.

Mechagodzilla shattered from the inside out, shrapnel of black space titanium flying in all directions as an explosion ruptured the air. Keizer Ghidorah ceased his barrier, then began to fly into the sky, body twisting to face the helpless Mecha-King Ghidorah.

Sitting directly above his mechanical counterpart, the dread messiah began to gather power. It looked as though stars formed in his open jaws, the Destroyed Keizer beams being charged to their maximum. If he could get anything out of the useless machine, at least he could see just how powerful he had truly become.

From a distance, it looked as though a single lance made of pure light had been cast down from Heaven. The surging column of supreme might tore into the ground, vaporizing its target as almost a side effect. Stone was pulverized into dust as unimaginable pressure cratered the ground, cracks rippling out in all directions.

The entirety of Planet X shuddered, not lightly like in a tectonic event, but violently. The face of the moon was torn asunder, as though a great asteroid had impacted. Walls of debris and dust, miles high, rushed over the battered landscape like a tsunami.

Keizer Ghidorah simply surveyed the damage and cackled. He had almost broken it in half! The idea of what he could do to a healthy planet danced throughout his mind, only intensifying his wretched jubilation.

***

The whir of a door opening raised Yoshamura’s eyebrow, prompting him to turn to see Landes escorted by two soldiers. “Here is your daughter, sir. We’ve made sure she has no weapons.” As the man spoke, the heiress simply stood there, staring at her father.

“Yes, very good.” The elderly man, voice hoarser than she remembered, waved them off. “Leave us.”

Nodding, the duo departed, leaving the room quiet as the father and daughter remained. Landes wanted to speak first, but she could not bring the words up as she took in her father’s appearance. He was astonishingly pale, even for their species. Wrinkles marred his skin, shifting as he breathed heavily from the machine hooked to his nostrils. His eyes were hidden by a visor, but the prodigal daughter did not need to see them to know he fundamentally hurt.

“So you have finally returned.” He began. “After rejecting the Xiliens in favor of another kind’s dictator, you finally come crawling back.”

“Our planet is dying, and this is how you greet me.” She replied, disgusted. “If I have to justify myself, it’s because you left me no choice. I’m your daughter, and you treat me like this? How could I align myself with such a philosophy?”

The old Xilien arose from his chair, shaking. “Such a philosophy? The Xiliens flourished for centuries under the influence of the supercomputer, how can you declare it to be something wrong? We were far better off than we were with humanity’s tainted ways in our souls! We wanted for nothing! There was no reliance except upon ourselves!”

Landes started to tear up, making the old man shudder more. “You know that’s wrong.” Her voice cracked. “I know you don’t believe that, I remember you and mom, how happy you were! How much you loved me and Kazi…” She trailed off at his name.

“Do not say his- his name.” The Controller choked up. Swallowing, he continued. “What is the point of happiness that doesn’t last?” Landes could tell he had wanted to yell that, but his voice lacked the strength. “When all we can do with it now is look back upon it with bitterness and pain?” He stepped forward, making her flinch back.

“One of those men that escorted you here?” He continued. “The one who spoke? That was the man whose daughter you saw prematurely born. He came to me after that horrible day and told me that he would rather be plunged back into the coldness of the calculations than have to hold that pain in his heart.” The sides of his visor were leaking tears as he wavered. “I agreed with him. Oh god, I agreed with him.” A raspy whimper rolled out of his throat, which he breathed back in.

“She wouldn’t have wanted this, I didn’t want this!” Landes screamed, crying by this point. “You’re the one who brought this all upon us! Because you couldn’t live without her!”

“I wasn’t living before I met her!” He found the wrath to shout. “What was I supposed to do? Every time I looked at the portrait of you and your brother, I was reminded only of my failu-“ he coughed, violently. A hacking cough which made him stumble, Landes rushing over and bringing him back to his chair. Upon his desk she noticed a picture frame turned face-down. Lifting it, she saw the image of their family, far happier expressions than what they bore now.

Landes sighed. She was not sure how she truly felt, and was simply letting emotions flow to whatever conclusion they would reach. It was all she could do.

“The supercomputer’s stopped working.” Yoshamura admitted, head lulling to the side. “It went haywire when that thing arrived, and now that it’s wrapping around Planet X, the computer shut down. It could not calculate whatever that abomination is, and so the more it acted, the worse things became.”

“It’s the Exif, they summoned it.” Landes revealed. “I did not hear much, but I know it’s their God. They played us for fools. It’s all been them, this war was their doing.”

“They did not tell me to rebuild the master computer. All they did was separate you and your brother, and for that I will never forgive them.” His voice was weak, pitiful. “I loved you both, more than I ever did myself. You two and Nicole were my world, and I decided after she died that I would rather not live in a fractured world then drag you both down with my pathetic existence.”

“Then why did you intend on connecting us to that awful machine?”

“Because I did not want you two to feel any more pain. No more strife or heartache, I believed that would be for the best.” He removed his visor, putting his hand over his weeping eyes. His voice shook with every word. Yoshamura finally met his daughter eye to eye, showing her the window to his tormented soul.

“I realize now, far too late, that you and Kaziya would have never wanted that. That’s what makes you human, like your mother. That light of a heart and free willed mind, I was merely illuminated by it like a lizard in the sun. You two,” he put a hand to her face, wiping away the tears that poured from her eyes. “Truly hold that radiance. I shoved you two away because I did not want to be reminded, but-” he coughed again, his internal turmoil having run roughshod over his health.

Landes hugged her father, who took a moment to return the embrace. “I was afraid.” She said, sounding like the child he remembered. “Of you and Kaziya. I heard so much of how evil the Xiliens used to be, saw how bleak the hearts and lives of those who still wanted to be part of the master computer were. And Kaziya, I saw him as a monster. I’ve been afraid of him ever since I saw a glimpse of Monster X’s true self, and what he did on that day only reaffirmed it. I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. I should have been there for you two the very next day after Nicole died, but I failed as a father. I failed as a leader. I know you can never forgive me, but please at least know that I have regretted everything I’ve done except for loving Nicole, and bringing you two into this world.” He was sobbing by this point too, words nearly illegible, but still as clear as crystal to the only person who needed to hear them.

The room, alongside the whole facility, shook as though in an earthquake. Landes clutched her father tighter, letting loose a terrified screech. It felt as though the place would collapse, but as the seconds dragged on, it stayed strong.

“I wish Kaziya was here.”

“Me too, Landes. I need to speak with him one more time, and then I may die with some semblance of peace.”

***

The tapping of Metphies’ boots against the steel floor was only audible against the distant, muffled thudding of the outside world’s collapse due to the absolute silence hanging over what was once a living space. He calmly, almost gingerly, walked through the settlement he’d been in to convince the Keizer of his divine purpose when they first met.

Torn apart bodies decorated the floor, their viscera painting the walls and ceiling. The priest of the end met the gaze of a smashed open visage, his single eye locking with the perpetual stare of eyes detached from their sockets.

He questioned why the man had even tried, bothered engaging Kaziya. Was the supercomputer’s hold so iron-tight that basic self preservation did not flare up in the mind? No matter which way Kaziya came in from, Metphies could see that the Xilien would have had to watch his comrades be butchered before his own fate descended like a hammer.

The priest continued his march, uncaring as his feet dipped into the sticky, acrid mess that coated the floor like a cake’s icing. Philosophers across creation spoke of free will, sapient life was viewed as having it universally, but Metphies disagreed. Could one really call it a free choice to stand before death in service of a greater power? Not just the supercomputer’s slaves, but the Giant Dark Emperor’s followers too, and even those who had called him an ally a few short hours ago. They all threw themselves into the maw of death for the sake of something grander than themselves.

And that was free will? The pressure from his footstep made an intestine spurt its gathered fluid outwards, staining a torn Xilien uniform with shit and blood. All these things were the result of choice, of beings in control of themselves?

Surrounded by death, walking towards what he knew would be a truly grotesque scene, he was only more affirmed in his philosophy. In his race’s decision to follow their religion.

Free will did not exist. The intelligent lifeform was still a savage beast of instinct, with only the mental power to realize that fact and languish over it.

A living figure turned the corner, making Metphies tilt his head in surprise. The female Xilien looked at him, wielding a laser gun which she pointed in his direction. Realizing it was an Exif, she went to pull the trigger, but found she could not.

“Zagreth, yes?” Metphies calmly asked, staring into her eyes. She just kept trying to fire her weapon, but no matter how hard she willed it, her finger would not depress the switch. “You must be, if you survived the Vabaruda’s destruction.”

She finally noticed the gem where one of his eyes had once been, cringing at the sight. “Why can’t I fire!” She cursed, before breathing in. She prepared to unleash her paralytic spit, but the genetically engineered trait would not activate. “What the hell is going on!?”

“What do you seek here?” Metphies asked her, voice still like a pristine lake, but the words thundered in her head. Zagreth found herself unable to break her vision from his eyes, which dug into her soul with a piercing gaze.

She understood the scope of her predicament when the swaying heads of the true Ghidorah seemed to manifest from his shadow. “What’s it to you?” She spat, trying to retain some sense of control.

Visions of apocalyptic devastation rippled through her mind, countless worlds being devoured by the void. Civilizations sinking to their darkest depths and inviting him to feast. Zagreth screamed, falling to her knees as she clutched her head. Monsters of all shapes and sizes being dragged into Ghidorah’s maws, torn to shreds and drained until all that remained were empty husks. Infinite death, endless fear, inevitable annihilation. She was curled up in the fetal position by this point. The very universe, not a sphere, but a swirling funnel with God’s waiting jaws at the bottom.

“Stop, stop! Please!” Her mind felt like it was about to shatter like glass. “I want to kill those jackasses who started this war!”

“Us?” Metphies asked.

“No, that goddamn family!” The mental assault ended as swiftly as it had begun, Zagreth breathing heavily as sweat coated her face. “Yoshamura, Kaziya, and Landes. They’re the reason everything’s going to Hell!”

The priest was genuinely stunned. “Do you not realize that we Exif orchestrated this all?”

“Yeah, but you’re the only one left, and you wouldn’t have been able to do it anyway if they weren’t so goddamn stupid.” Zagreth hissed as she got to her feet, holstering her weapon. “I know we’re fucked, but I don’t care. I was supposed to be the richest, most beautiful woman in the universe, but they ruined it, and so I want to ruin them.”

Suddenly, she knew where they were in the facility and how to get there. “Huh-“

Metphies just smiled. “Go. I am eager to learn something.”

***

When Keizer Ghidorah returned, his lesser counterpart waited for him. The king of terror and the emperor locked eyes, the former unsure of how to proceed. The shimmering god above them looked down, peering through their souls. Keizer Ghidorah marched forwards, stepping right up to King Ghidorah, towering over him.

And lurched down, sinking his three sets of jaws into the throats of his genetic predecessor. The former demon king of the cosmos let out a choked shriek as teeth punctured his windpipes, his muffled cries fading as the dark blue of the strongest monster in creation began to glow brightly. King Ghidorah’s energy was being pulled from his form, imbibed by his replacement as the universe’s source of fear.

For a moment, he kicked his feet futilely, wings beating in an attempt to free himself. But the vine-like necks of the oblivion god shifted as all three heads moved to meet the flesh and bone King Ghidorah’s gaze. Eyes of pure crimson pierced into his very core, the sight reigniting the memory of his birth.

And in that moment, he understood everything. Amidst his flaming incarnation upon the mortal realm, those same eyes peering from the black portal. The true King Ghidorah was his “father”. And the beast that currently drew sustenance from his encroaching death…

Keizer Ghidorah met the same gaze, realization dawning upon him as well.

The golden demise was beyond time. The construct mortals were trapped within did not confine him, he sat above it. He saw all things, could descend at any point, for he walked beside the river of time as opposed to being carried by it.

Even before his own birth was accessible.

The three scions of the eternal void basked in the same knowledge, the sublime truth finally reaching the two still bound by three dimensions. King Ghidorah was merely the stepping stone, placed to sow discord and havoc in order to culminate in Monster X’s birth. The Exif were King Ghidorah’s agents as well, to pull the strings and bring out Monster X’s true power, the merging of the mortal zenith with divinity to create something new.

And now the loop was completed. As Keizer Ghidorah drained the last fragments of King Ghidorah’s life, the pale golden scales falling off like dust clumps as flesh was shrink wrapped around the bone, the destroyer of a thousand worlds had no complaint.

One day, Keizer Ghidorah would ascend even further. Consume enough energy, turn enough galaxies into barren voids and drain the life from them, to attain an apotheosis. To attain the true form of their wretched kind, the ideal and absolute.

And then, the new God would reach back in time, and birth him. In an endless cosmos devoid of meaning, one being had clawed their way out of the prison and grasped purpose. And he got to be part of that. Was vital in the sole reason existence had given to justify itself, a part of that divinity ensuring it would exist.

King Ghidorah carried that with him as life faded, his body crumbling into ash as Keizer relinquished his grip.

The emperor of terror, now truly understanding his purpose, shouted up to the universe. Whatever life still clung to Planet X heard his voice, his decree, felt it in their very bones.

God’s three faces twisted into crooked smiles.

 

Chapter 14: Malnourished Soul Fades

The door to the command room slid open, Yoshamura and Landes’ hearts jumping as they looked towards it.

Those same hearts began to beat rapidly, like the heavy falling of rain, when they saw who was standing at the entrance. Kaziya, head and shoulders slumped, blood and viscera staining his body. He lifted his head, revealing wild eyes which made his family feel like a beast was staring at them.

It was an accurate emotion.

“It’s been so long, traitors!” He screamed, voice cracking as life suddenly seemed to fill him. Rising to a fully upright posture, he stepped forwards. “How have you been, as you defiled the spirit of our race and memory of mother!”

The portrait shattered, making Landes jump backwards with a shriek as Yoshamura fell off his chair. She tried to go to help him up, only for wires to rip out of the floor between them, rising like angry tendrils. “Kaziya, please! At least listen to-“

“To what he has to say?” He shrieked, the wires rising up as more of the steel peeled back. “Why should I?” The Keizer’s voice had suddenly dropped to a much calmer tone, but one that still seethed like a boiling pot about to overflow. “What possible justification could he have? Which excuse will you use?” The cables fell flat as Landes’s arms were pinned to her sides. Her breathing became short but swift, like a great hand was squeezing around her abdomen.

“Such a wondrous lord, that Giant Dark Emperor, huh? Another pawn to those damned Exif, but merely a stepping stone unlike me, the one who handed them exactly what they wanted,” he muttered to himself, brushing blood and sweat caked hair out of his face. “Brought them their God because I was too-“

“Son,” Yoshamura pleaded. “They’re not here. It’s only us, who love you. Not for your power or whatever the Exif wanted, but for you. Please-“

Kaziya bolted over to his father, standing over him like an executioner. “Love? Is it love to condemn your children to an existence of heartlessness? To drive them into the arms of a dead race’s tyrant, to cast them directly into the plot of religious madmen who seek the end of all life?”

“It was, I swear it was, a horribly misguided attempt,” Yoshamura shielded his face with his hand, fully expecting agony at any moment to spear into him. “I’m sorry, son, I’m more sorry than any man has ever been!”

“Sorry doesn’t bring mom back!” The Keizer screamed, the wooden shards of the family picture’s frame being lifted into the air, slowly being pulled over to float above his dad. “Sorry doesn’t undo anything,” he whined. “Not being responsible for the demise of your whole race.” His eyes screwed shut as he looked away, tears trying to break free.

“What happened?” Landes asked, feeling the psychic grip on her loosen. “What did they-“

Her telekinetic vice returned, twice over, making her scream as her bones felt like they’d break. “Don’t talk to me, promise breaker! I know you’ve feared me, what I could do, but still you stayed by my side as we promised!” He was crying at this point, unable to restrain his emotions anymore. “Until you saw me fighting, until you actually got to see what I was capable of, then suddenly I was a monster! We’ve been all we had for a decade, but one moment ruins it?”

“How could I know you wouldn’t kill me?” She screamed back, making him reel as though he’d been punched. “Seeing you just so easily take lives, it scared me, because I know you’ve been thrashing under the surface of your mind for the past decade! Waiting for the time to lash out! When you hit dad, I knew something had changed in your soul, that nobody was safe.”

“I would have never harmed you! Landes, you are my sister! My only connection to this godforsaken world!” He let her go, tossed the wooden shards to the side of the room. He breathed in, tried to swallow, but he could not. “And I’ve still doomed you.” He morosely stated as he sat on the desk. “Doomed everyone.” His hands went over his eyes, the mightiest mortal in the cosmos crying bitterly.

Landes stood there, considering the words for a moment. “What is that thing? The golden serpents, and Monster X? What did he become?”

Yoshamura struggled to get up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall. “When we combined your DNA with King Ghidorah’s, it caused a reaction that we had to stifle. Monster X was never the true form of the being we created, instead it was a shell we crafted to contain whatever endless wellspring was born of the combination.”

“Keizer Ghidorah.” Kaziya quietly proclaimed. “He has become Keizer Ghidorah, and one day, he shall shed even that cocoon to become the end of all existence. The Exif-“ he grit his teeth. “Metphies. He wanted me to facilitate the birth of their God, a being they witnessed in the future who has swallowed all light and darkness to replace it with himself. That is what is wrapping around Planet X right now, condemning us all to an execution. I have doomed us all.”

Telekinesis lifted Yoshamura to his feet as Kaziya went silent. “I cannot,” the Keizer tried to speak, but could find no words. His father limped closer, as the prodigy continued. “Any hatred I feel for you two, it is eclipsed by what I feel of myself.” He sounded dead inside.

“We’ve all been fools, son.” Yoshamura stated as he placed an arm over his shoulders. Kaziya flinched, but made no other move. “I wish I had the right words to make you feel better, but there are none, for I would have told them to myself long ago.”

The warmth of his father’s embrace filled Kaziya with conflicting feelings, even as the end ticked ever closer. He could not find it in his heart to forgive him, but he wanted to. Once more, he could not think properly.

“Brother…” Landes said softly as she began to walk towards her family. She still feared him, but in this, their last moments, she would cast that aside. The heiress just wanted to feel her family’s love one last time, to die surrounded by joy and peace to let that carry her to whatever lay on the other side of the veil.

The door slid open once more, none of them hearing it.

What they did hear, however, was the cutting short of Landes’ dream. A blue laser pierced the air, striking the young woman in the center of her body. Kaziya and Yoshamura’s hearts nearly exploded as she screamed, body fading away as it was disintegrated by the beam of light. She tried to reach for them, eyes filled with pain and sorrow, Kaziya leaping to grasp her hand. His action bowled his father over, the old man crying out in pain as he felt something break, but the sudden motion had borne no fruit. The young man’s hand passed through the air where his sister had once been.

“Hahahaha!” Zagreth cackled, waving her gun around. “Proves her right! I know she was always looking down on me, well look who’s on top now, you spoiled bitch!” She continued to laugh. “You led me down the wrong path, so the least I can do is-“

“What have you done?” Kaziya asked, no emotion in his low voice.

“I think it’s pretty obvious.” She smiled as she lifted her laser pistol. “Same thing I’m going to do to you, you-“

The gun crumpled into a heap of wires and steel, mangled together with flesh and bone as her hand was crushed too. Time seemed to freeze, the only sound in the room being Kaziya’s heavy breathing, as Zagreth looked at the grotesque mass sitting at the end of her arm.

She went to scream, only for the sound to catch in her throat as a hand wrapped around her neck, slamming her back into the wall hard enough to crack her spine. Zagreth looked into Kaziya’s eyes, the bloodshot orbs blazing with insanity. “Please-“

Her plea was cut short as she was hurled across the room, breaking the desk in half as limbs dislocated. She screamed as chunks of steel dug into her bruised skin, but that too ceased as every inch of her body compressed. Kaziya lifted her into the air, hand held forward to concentrate his power.

A wet thud as she was slammed into a wall, painting it a shade of red. Another moist crash as she blurred across the chamber, the opposite side getting the same color splashed across it. The ceiling shook as he drove her mashed body into it, then the floor was stained as the last impact made her break apart into several visceral pieces.

But Kaziya’s wrath was not satiated, tilting his head towards his cowering father.

“Son, please- AHHHH!” Yoshamura shouted as a fist was driven into his gut, leather, skin, and muscle parting under the piston-like arm of his prodigious child.

“I’ve spent the last several months picturing this.” Kaziya breathlessly said, pulling his dripping hand free. “We have all been fools, you’re right. You’re so right!” He punctuated the last word by kicking his father in the side, a moist pop echoing from the elder’s hip, sending him rolling up to the wall once more.

“I wanted to forgive you.” Kaziya said in sorrow. He stomped down where he had kicked, severing his father’s leg. With a sweep from his foot, he shoved the limb away. “Maybe some part of me does, screaming up from the depths. But I won’t listen to it, because in your face I see everything I hate about this world.”

Yoshamura looked up, through almost closed eyelids. “Then tear it away.” He used the last of his strength to speak. “I want the best for you, as I always have. Destroy this visage that reminds you…” he could not speak anymore, but he still barely drew breath.

Fingers were jammed into his cheekbones, ripping the bone to shreds. Kaziya peeled back, ripping his father’s skull in half. With a hissing of fumes, the elder’s human-esque face split down the middle, revealing a smooth, grey head beneath. No eyes or nose decorated it, only a fish-like mouth and black veins.

***

“Come on, I know you didn’t happen to evolve to look just like us.” Nicole laughed as they sat at the foot of her bed. “Unless the Xiliens are the reason humans are on Earth in the first place.” She giggled.

“No, no, your science has it right on how you came to be. And you are right, this is not our true face. When we sought to deceive humanity, we placed ourselves within these,” Yoshamura had to think of the best word. “Suits. They are bonded to our flesh, and might as well be our bodies.”

“You said suit. Is your true body still under there?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?” She asked, moving herself to fully face him.

“You don’t-“

“Come on, I need to see what our kids are gonna like!” She joked.

“Well, I, uh,” Yoshamura was flustered by the casualness with which she said such a thing. Their bond was not even public knowledge yet. His embarrassment just made her laugh more, which was music to his ears. “Our,” he breathed in. “They would not have the same body. Due to the genetic aspect of these biomechanical suits, in conjunction with the human genome, a hybrid would look fully human.”

“Hmm. I still want to see.”

“You don’t,” he laughed awkwardly. “Your kind would call it hideous.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Yoshamura, you could never be hideous to me.” Nicole said genuinely, looking him in the eyes. “I just want to know.”

The Xilien leader sighed. “Fine. But do not say I did not warn you.” The center of his face suddenly sprayed steam, startling Nicole. The halves of his face shifted to reveal his true self, the truly alien visage of the Xilien meeting a human’s sight for the first time.

His heart beat hard in his chest, fingers curling inwards tightly. Before his consciousness could truly begin to dance with fear, Nicole leaned forward, kissing his real mouth. “You’re beautiful, no matter how you look.” She whispered.

***

Yoshamura shook as he cried, that memory the last one he wanted to come to the surface. His son, the product of that wondrous love, held a palm open right in front of his face. Kaziya wanted to cry too, his dad could tell that, but no tears would flow.

They had run dry.

Electrical bolts rippled from the fingers of the Keizer, instantly scorching his father’s face to ash. The body of Planet X’s last Controller went limp, and all that remained was Kaziya.

Until Metphies entered the room, saying no words but still making the young man turn to face him. Keeping his hands at his side, the priest of obliteration smiled delicately.

“What more do you want?” Kaziya asked. “You’ve taken everything from me, and ensured my own hands were the ones to do it.”

“I wish to know how you’re feeling. You seemed unwilling to die before, and I wish to know if that has changed. Do you still want to cling to this cruel life?”

“You say that like I have a choice. Even if I tore your head from your shoulders, it was all done the moment Keizer Ghidorah was born. Your God has no more purpose here in his transcendent form.”

“Very observant, especially how his presence is tied to mine. Yes, even if this planet remains intact, it is all set in stone now. So, will you take your vengeance out on me?”

“No.” Kaziya looked at his shaking, bloodstained hands. “I’ve had enough.”

Metphies hummed. “Then I ask again. Do you still desire life?”

“What does it matter? Are you so pathetic that in your last moments, you want to say you converted me?”

“It intrigues me due to your importance in the creed I’ve dedicated my life to. Our messiah is spawned from your DNA, so I suppose I do want to say I converted you.” Kaziya did not reply, as seconds dragged on. “You know, the Garoga are dead. After their battle with Earth, the rest of the cosmos seized upon their weakness, killing off every last man, woman, and child of their empire. Your paranoia was pointless.”

Kaziya mirthlessly laughed. “You are pathetic. Sitting here at the birth of your God, prodding a man who just tore out the last of his soul. Though I suppose it should be no surprise, given your religion boils down to worshipping something that couldn’t give less of a shit about you.”

He pushed past the priest, who turned towards him. “The difference between us, Kaziya, is that I understood that fact. Unlike you, who still marches onwards, for what reason? We are the last mortals on this planet.”

The door slid open, the young man turning back to face Metphies. “One more left.”

Metphies pondered this for a moment. “To kill, or to speak to?”

Kaziya simply walked away.

The priest sighed. “Still you cling to a shred of pride. Truly, I will never understand the faithless.”

***

Stepping out onto the surface one final time, the last of the Xiliens looked at his home. It was a barren world, now broken and soon to be crushed, but it was gorgeous to him. He looked up, seeing one of Ghidorah’s heads looming. It ceased its crawl across the heavens to meet his gaze.

It felt odd to see the being who had ruined his life, knowing that it was descended from him. That it was one of his closest companions, who was currently approaching him from the sky. Kaziya was unsure what to truly think of the golden demise, and he never would come to a conclusion. It had destroyed him and his people, but at the same time, it was merely the manifestation of their failings.

He had asked Metphies how he could have possibly stopped this coming to pass. It was clear to him that it would have required betraying his very nature, everyone involved in this madness going against their impulses and base desires. What was set in stone was not this exact occurrence, but of the mortal mind to be unable to rise above itself.

As Keizer Ghidorah landed, he took in the full splendor of his comrade’s new form. The dread messiah met the gaze of his genetic predecessor. He made no sound, but a mental signal to the man of two species was received. It was thanks, for everything Kaziya had done for the magnum opus of the Xilien race.

“You’re welcome, X.” He could not help but call him by his old name, a sign of their closeness. “I have one last task for you, if you would listen to me.”

The god-to-be cackled, awaiting his request.

“The third world from this system’s star. It still courses with life, which clings on despite their inevitable demise.” He pointed up to it, a distant speck in the dark of night. “It is a broken world. Please, cleanse it first, free the world of my mother from its pain.”

Keizer Ghidorah’s feet left the ground, his body twirling to face the sky. He raced upwards, his future self parting its coils to allow him free passage. There was no hesitation, not a second thought. Just as before, it was not master and servant, but an equal partnership.

The lord of the abyss remembered this part, but now it wished to see what it had left behind. The final moments of his comrade.

Kaziya took one last look into the stars, putting a hand up to his chest, over his heart. He met the gaze of the true Ghidorah.

Crimson orbs, set within gold.

Lightning ripped through Kaziya’s chest, exiting out from his back, his heart being reduced to nothing in an instant. He collapsed, eyes shutting the moment before death claimed him.

And with that, Planet X crumbled into nothingness, supergravity compressing it into sustenance for the golden demise. Both Ghidorahs howled, a synchronous decree of execution to the trembling cosmos.

Winner: Monster X