[Concluded from Match 18: Gigan vs. King Ghidorah]
Clanging his blood-stained scythes together, Gigan reared his head back and let loose an unmistakable cry of victory. His foe was slain. His mission was complete.
Sparks erupted from Gigan as the ray struck his back. The blue beam sent Gigan toppling into his face, causing him to squawk out in surprise. The cyborg quickly returned to his feet to see who had attacked it. A large, dinosaur-like creature was approaching it. The beast was charcoal grey in color and had ivory fins on its back. A powerful tail swung behind it. The reptile bellowed a challenge.
* * * * *
"Oh, so there's another one," the young man, the Xilien Controller muttered with interest. "Gigan? Attack."
* * * * *
With a loud cry, Gigan struck a battle pose with his scythes and immediately charged, leaving the massacred body of King Ghidorah behind him. The dinosaur reared back in surprise at the sudden advance of his opponent, but reacted just as suddenly, unleashing another atomic ray. Gigan swatted at the beam with his arm this time, dispersing it in a minor explosion. Before the reptile could react, Gigan slashed at its side with his scythes as it ran past, gashing open its flesh. As the dinosaur cried out while its blood spilled, Gigan reached up with his tail, snatching the reptile's snout within the clawed clamp at the end. With a powerful flick of his tail, Gigan sent the creature crashing to the ground.
Godzilla grunted in pain as he toppled onto his chest. He wasn't quite sure what this strange, bladed creature was, but he did know that he was going to put an end to it. Pulling himself to his feet, Godzilla opened his jaws and belched forth an atomic blast. But Gigan was quicker than expected and was in the air in an instant, letting the beam explode harmlessly against the ground in a cloud of fire and dust. Godzilla craned his head upward to see the cyborg and growled angrily as he spotted it circling above him. Godzilla spat another atomic ray into the sky, but Gigan effortlessly avoided it and returned fire with a blast of his Cluster Light Ray. Godzilla grunted as the beam exploded all around him, throwing him off balance. Before he could recover, Gigan flew in behind him, gashing his torso's saw across Godzilla's skull. With a shriek, the Monster King crashed back to the pavement, blood trickling from his head. Gigan landed nearby and chirped in laughter as he watched Godzilla struggle to get back to his feet. The cyborg clashed his scythes together as he taunted the reptile.
A mistake.
Wrenching his head upward, Godzilla unleashed a nuclear beam that smashed into Gigan's face, knocking the space beast onto his back in a shower of sparks. Pulling himself to his feet, the Monster King made his way over to Gigan as the cyborg writhed about on the ground, holding his face as best he could with his scythes. Reaching down, Godzilla took hold of Gigan's tail claw and hoisted the creature into the air, bringing him back down hard. Gigan's back smashed down hard into the pavement, dazing the cyborg, only for Godzilla to once again lift him into the air and slam him into the ground. Thrice more Godzilla repeated the manuever before twisting his body around and hurtling Gigan through the air, sending the cyborg crashing head-first through the nearest building, bringing the structre down on Gigan's head, burying him under thousands of tons of debris. Turning his attention to the nearby skyscrapers, Godzilla cleaved them in half with his atomic ray, sending their charred remains crashing down onto Gigan as well.
Godzilla watched the pile of wreckage closely for a moment. Not a single sign of movement came. Rearing his head back and flexing his arms, Godzilla let loose a roar of victory.
His victory was short-lived, however. A mysterious hissing noise filled the air, causing Godzilla to cut his roar short and look into the sky, trying to pinpoint the source of the strange sound. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash of light a vortex of energy, a new being came into existence, soaring high in the air.
Mecha-King Ghidorah had arrived!
* * * * *
The Xilien Controller reared his head back in surprise as he watched the events unfold on his viewscreen.
"Wait, what?" he asked no one in particular. "Didn't Gigan already kill that monster?"
* * * * *
"It's King Ghidorah!" Gurenchiko declared.
"No," Wilson replied, shaking his head as he closely watched the scene unfold on the viewscreen. "This is something different."
* * * * *
With an earth-shaking thud, Mecha-King Ghidorah landed not too far away from Godzilla, the creature's two living heads letting out a series of cackling shrieks. The mechanized left head opened its maw, unleashing a cybernetic, synthesized cry. Godzilla's head reared back as he was taken by surprise by the sudden arrival of this new creature, letting loose with a roar of confusion and anger. He heard the beast's cackles for what they truly were: a challenge. And Godzilla was not about to let any challenge go unanswered. Roaring loudly, he advanced.
Mecha-King Ghidorah immediately opened fire with a barrage of Gravity Beams and Triple Beam Lasers. The blasts slammed into Godzilla, halting him in his tracks and showering him with sparks. The mighty reptile snarled in pain as the lightning-like blasts scorched his flesh and immediately retaliated in kind, unleashing his atomic breath at the three-headed monster, only for the azure beam to wash over his armored opponent's chest plate. Sparks flew, but the three-headed monster barely seemed bothered by the attack, and indeed resumed firing energy bolt after energy bolt from his trio of mouths. Godzilla shrieked as they tore into him.
In the leviathan's cockpit, Emmy Kano scrambled to keep Mecha-King Ghidorah active.
"Emmy, the shields are holding, but we need to avoid direct hits like that!" The voice of the android M-11 guided her over the intercom.
"I know that!" Emmy snapped. Moving the main control stick forward, she directed the three-headed destroyer towards Godzilla, who appeared to be surprised by the sudden move. Capitalizing on Godzilla's surprise, Emmy turned Mecha-King Ghidorah's firepower onto a nearby skyscraper, cutting the structure in half. Godzilla was completely unaware of the toppling building until it was too late, crushed underneath. As the smoke began to clear, Emmy spotted Godzilla's tail sticking out of the wreckage, still showing signs of life. Mecha-King Ghidorah immediately opened fire, blasting the pile of debris with gold, white and purple energy.
Suddenly, a shockwave of blue energy erupted from the rubble, vaporizing the wreckage and allowing Godzilla to rise back to his feet, roaring furiously. His mouth still open, the Monster King unleashed a powerful atomic blast, a smaller stream of energy swirling around the ray. The blast struck Mecha-King Ghidorah in the chest, and this time the cyborg felt it, stumbling backwards. Godzilla stepped forward, flexing his claws as he prepared to strike the cyborg's chest plate. Emmy reacted quickly, though, punching a command into the controls that caused the three-headed monster to leap into the air, towards its foe. Godzilla reared back, once again taken by surprise. Unable to react fast enough, Godzilla was helpless to stop multi-headed cyborg's feet from smashing into his face, flooring the reptile. As Godzilla lay stunned on the ground, Mecha-King Ghidorah landed and turned back to face him. Emmy kept her hand on the joystick as she decided her next move.
Her strategizing was cut short when another pile of debris exploded nearby, a large scythe emerging from the ruins. Emmy quickly turned Mecha-King Ghidorah to face the disturbance just in time to see Gigan emerge from the rubble, shrieking in fury. The Xilien cyborg quickly saw Godzilla laying on the street and what appeared to be King Ghidorah standing over him.
In three-headed monster's cockpit, Emmy was suddenly having trouble controlling the mech. She tried a systems check, trying to pinpoint exactly what the problem was.
"Emmy, what's wrong?" M-11 asked.
"I don't know, Mecha-King Ghidorah is barely responding," she said as she hurriedly worked the controls.
Unbeknownst to either of the cyborg's pilots, Mecha-King Ghidorah's sluggishness was due to a memory. A memory sparking deep within the minds of the two remaining heads of King Ghidorah. A memory of being slain by the very same bladed creature they saw before them. Soon the two minds were trying to break free of the Futurian technology that had been grafted upon them.
Swinging his scythes around, Gigan decided to attack and charged. In a panic, Emmy pulled the trigger to fire Mecha-King Ghidorah's breath weapons, but only the mechanical head responded, firing the Triple Beam Laser. The bolt hit Gigan in the chest, slowing his advance but not stopping it completely. Emmy aimed the weapon up, strafing Gigan's neck until it hit him in the face, exploding against his visor. Gigan shrieked, clutching his face with his scythes. The three-headed monster fired again, but this time Gigan shot up into the air, avoiding the blast. Circling overhead, Gigan shot off his Cluster Light Ray. As the crimson beam exploded all around him, Mecha-King Ghidorah's live heads suddenly snapped to attention, instantly pinpointing Gigan above him. Flapping his gigantic solar panel wings, the three-headed monster took to the sky, cackling at his old foe.
"Emmy, what are you doing?!" M-11 cried.
"I'm not doing anything!" she cried. "Mecha-King Ghidorah is doing this on his own!"
* * * * *
Wilson watched the scene with interest, his hand on his chin.
"Hmm... I wonder..."
* * * * *
Turning around, Gigan flew directly at Mecha-King Ghidorah, firing off another cluster blast. The Futurian cyborg zoomed right through the ensuing explosions, though, and the two organic heads immediately opened fire with their Gravity Beams. While unsure of her current predicament, Emmy noted that Mecha-King Ghidorah seemed to share her goal, and so she too opened fire, adding the Triple Beam Laser to multi-headed cyborg's assault. Blasted repeatedly by the three bolts, Gigan was forced to swerve away. Before Emmy could do so, Mecha-King Ghidorah began to give chase, following Gigan as fast as he could. Though the alien beast was much faster, it couldn't outrun the three-headed monster's energy bolts, and another volley of blasts forced Gigan to the ground.
Landing on his feet, Gigan turned around and prepared to fire his razor discs at his opponent, only for Mecha-King Ghidorah to plant his feet into the bird-like creature's face, knocking him to the ground. Just as the multi-headed cyborg prepared to attack, he was hit by an atomic blast, showering his armor with sparks. He turned just in time for Godzilla to slam his shoulder into him, causing the cyborg to stagger back. A red beam exploded all around Godzilla, which was soon followed by a metallic blow to the head as Gigan slammed the side of his left scythe into the back of Godzilla's skull. Righting itself, Mecha-King Ghidorah opened fire with all three of its beams, blasting his two opponents.
"I don't understand it!" Emmy cried as she worked every control she could find. "With Godzilla, he'll respond to my commands, but with Gigan, Mecha-King Ghidorah is attacking all on his own!"
"Emmy, get out of there!" M-11 said hurriedly. "Bring Mecha-King Ghidorah back to base!"
She quickly punched in the necessary commande code to activate the time warp into the panel in front of her, only to get nothing in response. It was then that Emmy finally panicked. "I can't!"
* * * * *
"So, you're telling me we can control that cyborg King Ghidorah as easily as we could our own?" Gurenchiko asked, his head tilted with uncertainty.
"That King Ghidorah is ours," Wilson said. "But it won't be as easy as before. This Ghidorah is damaged and has other control devices planted within its neural pathways now. We'll have to move MOTHER in closer if we're to take control of it."
"But why?" Gurenchiko asked. "What good is a damaged King Ghidorah?"
"Don't you see?" Wilson asked. "That robot Ghidorah is stronger and has more weapons in its arsenal. If we can take control of it, we can destroy Godzilla and that alien beast, and then resume our mission of putting those foolish Japanese in their place!"
"Of course!" Gurenchiko laughed. He turned to the twin M10 android pilots sitting at the control panel. "Get us in the air!"
* * * * *
Godzilla cried out as he crashed to the ground, overwhelmed by Mecha-King Ghidorah's unending assault of energy blasts. Gigan quickly ran up and kicked his spiked foot into Godzilla's face, only to be blasted by the gravity beams as well. The Xilien cyborg quickly turned and attacked his three-headed foe, crashing into him and activating his buzzsaw. Sparks flew as the saw tore into Mechaghidorah's armor, only for the two to be separated as Godzilla lifted his head and fired an atomic blast that exploded between them.
"Emmy, focus your attacks on Gigan," M-11 suggested. "It's the one causing all the problems with Mecha-King Ghidorah. Maybe once he's destroyed, he'll start functioning properly again."
"Right!" Emmy nodded as she prepared to unleash Mechaghidorah's ultimate weapon: the Machine Hand.
High overhead, the MOTHER time ship made its presence known, though it went unnoticed by any of the three warring beasts.
* * * * *
"I have to give Emmy this," Wilson said as he watched Mecha-King Ghidorah in action. "She truly went all-out in upgrading our monster."
"That she did," Gurenchiko agreed. "It's a pity we'll have to relieve it of its mechanical head; it's quite nice-looking."
"We can replace it once we have it under our control," Wilson replied. "Until then, as long as Emmy can control it, it's an obstacle between us and total conquest of Japan."
"Sir." The two Futurians looked down to the M10 that had spoken. "The control device is ready."
Wilson nodded and gave the order. "Do it."
* * * * *
Just before Emmy could press the button to launch the Machine Hand, Mecha-King Ghidorah stopped in his tracks. Before she had a chance to even wonder what was happening, the cyborg's two live heads began to shake and writhe as electricity crackled over their skulls.
"Emmy!" M-11 cried. "Someone is trying to take control of Mecha-King Ghidorah!"
"What?!" she screamed.
Indeed, Wilson and Gurenchiko's control was all but complete as Mecha-King Ghidorah began to pour blast after blast into Godzilla and Gigan, putting both creatures on the defensive. Godzilla was forced face-first to the ground and Gigan was sent careening backwards into a building, bringing it down on top of him.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Emmy declared and quickly brought Mechaghidorah's cybernetic head into action. It swung around and punched its metallic snout into the central head's face, knocking it back. It then opened its mouth and spat out a Triple Beam Laser that exploded against the right head.
* * * * *
Wilson sneered. "Foolish girl."
* * * * *
Mecha-King Ghidorah's two organic heads quickly turned their Gravity Beams onto their mechanical brother, scorching its plating and blasting pieces out of it. The robotic head was quickly overwhelmed by the other two, which bent down and began to bite and snap at its base, which was quickly shredded and ripped apart. Emmy watched in horror as the two live heads bit down on the mechanical neck and tore it completely out of its socket, sparks spraying from the mangled end of the neck. Cackling triumphantly, the two heads tossed the metallic neck to the ground, bouncing it off Godzilla's head. Lifting his head up, Godzilla angrily got to his feet and snatched the lifeless robot neck off the ground. Gigan quickly got to his feet and chirped furiously at Mecha-King Ghidorah, only for Godzilla to turn around and clock him across the face with the mechanized head, sending the Xilien monster tumbling back to the streets.
Still holding the metallic neck in his claws, the Monster King turned his attention back to Mecha-King Ghidorah.
"Emmy, enough! Get out of there!" M-11 pleaded. "Abandon ship!"
"I think you're right..." Emmy said as she watched Godzilla approach. She hit another button and within moments, the KIDS timeship burst out Mecha-King Ghidorah's back and took off into the sky.
Luckily for Emmy, Godzilla hadn't noticed the small craft emerge from Mecha-King Ghidorah. He swung his arm around, clobbering the central head with the robotic neck. It was then that the two heads began to fight fully under the control of Wilson and Gurenchiko, blasting Godzilla with Gravity Beam after Gravity Beam. Godzilla cried out as he felt a slicing pain sink into his back as Gigan's razor discs planted themselves into his flesh. Ghidorah's heads bent down and swatted Godzilla away, turning his attention back to Gigan. The Futurian cyborg unleashed his Gravity Beams once again, but this time Gigan ignored the blasts, running through the surrounding explosions. Swinging his right arm up, Gigan's scythe cleaved cleanly through Mecha-King Ghidorah's right wing, slicing off the top third. Next, Gigan thrust his left arm forward, impaling three-headed monster's left wing.
* * * * *
"Damn cyborg!" Wilson snarled. "Finish it!"
* * * * *
As Gigan was in the process of extracting his blade from Mecha-King Ghidorah's wing, the three-headed monster's chest plate opened up. Before Gigan could react, the Machine Hand emerged and clamped down around his torso. Shrieking wildly, Gigan began to slam his scythes against the weapon, only for the weapon to begin to hum and glow.
Mecha-King Ghidorah's heads cackled as he began to pump millions of volts of electricity through the Machine Hand and into Gigan's body. The alien creature reared his head back, shrieking and throwing his arms into the air as he felt the charges surge throughout his body, frying circuits everywhere. More and more electricity was poured into Gigan's form until smoke began to emanate from his armored hide. Finally, the cyborg's visor burst in a shower of sparks and glass-like material, and Gigan went completely limp in the Machine Hand's grip. Glaring at his lifeless foe and growling, Mechaghidorah tightened the clamp's grip until the sound of wrenching metal was heard, crushing Gigan's torso within the clamp.
Godzilla rose to his feet just in time to watch Mecha-King Ghidorah open the Machine Hand, letting Gigan's dead, crumpled form topple to the ground with a thud.
* * * * *
"AAARRGH!!" The Xilien Controller reared his head back as he screamed in fury, throwing his arms into the air. "Those damn humans! They'll pay for this!"
Noticing a trio of his soldiers standing nearby, the Controller decided to vent his anger and whipped out his pistol, shooting one of them in the head. The other two quickly fled the room as their comrade's corpse hit the floor.
* * * * *
Roaring in fury at the mechanized Ghidorah, Godzilla only succeeded in turning the cyborg's attention on him.
* * * * *
Wilson glared at the screen.
"Kill it, King Ghidorah!"
* * * * *
Mecha-King Ghidorah immediately resumed his assault on Godzilla, but with the mechanical head gone, the King of the Monsters only had two Gravity Beams to contend with. Opening his jaws, Godzilla unleashed a radioactive blast that slammed into the central head's face, knocking it back. Ignoring the golden blasts that assaulted his flesh, Godzilla stepped forward, striking Mecha-King Ghidorah's chest plate with his claws and throwing sparks. Ghidorah's right head swooped in and sank its teeth into Godzilla's throat, causing a gurgled cry to escape the mutant dinosaur's lips. Before Godzilla could wrench himself free, the center head joined in, biting down on the other side of his neck. Godzilla grasped at the heads in an attempt to free himself, but failed to get a grip on them.
Overhead, MOTHER lowered itself towards the two beasts in order to gain a better view of Godzilla's demise.
* * * * *
"Poor Godzilla," Gurenchiko laughed. "Brought back to life just in time to be destroyed once again."
* * * * *
As Mecha-King Ghidorah's fangs sank deeper and deeper into his flesh, Godzilla's struggles weakened and weakened. Just as it seemed as if his motions were about to cease entirely, Godzilla's eyes and dorsal fins flashed blue. A second later, a blinding shockwave of energy erupted from Godzilla's entire body, blowing Mecha-King Ghidorah backwards in a burst of fire. Shrieking in agony, the three-headed monster crashed onto his back and writhed about, missing large chunks of his wings and portions of his faces.
As his throat began to heal itself, Godzilla looked down at the fallen cyborg, hatred burning in his eyes. Opening his mouth, Godzilla unleashed an atomic ray that cleaved Mechaghidorah's left wing in half. Another ray exploded against his chest plate, sending shards of metal flying everywhere.
Above them, MOTHER began to falter.
* * * * *
"Sir, we're losing altitude... Godzilla's pulse shorted out our systems..."
Wilson's eyes went wide. "What?! No!"
* * * * *
Godzilla raised his head upwards, the motions of the wavering MOTHER catching his attention. Another of Man's flying warships? With a snarl, the Monster King spat forth another radioactive blast. The beam clipped the time ship, crippling it and sending it plummeting out out the sky. Godzilla watched as it fell down upon Mecha-King Ghidorah, striking the cyborg in the chest in engulfing his torso in a huge explosion. The living heads cackled in agony as the flames washed over them, but the mechanized dragon refused to give in.
The right neck pulled itself up and quickly unleashed a golden blast at Godzilla, who roared in fury and instantly responded in kind. The multi-headed cyborg's central head cried out as Godzilla's ray struck the right head and detonated its skull. Godzilla quickly charged up another atomic blast and let it loose, rupturing the cyborg's fuel cells and finally destroying Mecha-King Ghidorah in a brilliant ball of fire.
For a moment, Godzilla watched his opponent burn. Soon, though, he raised his snout, sniffing the air. He sensed something, far off in the distance. Another intruder? Turning his back to his fallen foes, Godzilla began to make his way towards the unknown presence.
* * * * *
In the Xilien Mothership, the Controller looked at the results on the viewscreen and slumped his shoulders. Godzilla was heading directly for his ship.
"Oh, hell."
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