[continued from Match 137]

From the ocean, the Crimson Twilight looked as if it was misplaced on the small island it resided on. The large resort stood next to a fishing community, a town easily dwarfed by the Twilight. Dozens relaxed on beaches, which were on the sides of the pier in front of the building. The world famous resort was nicknamed “The Pacific's New Atlantis" because the beaches were countless and each had their own stellar view. The island was environmentally sound; the extinct volcano was perfect for hiking; the old World War II Japanese airfield was a sight to see; the coasts were homes for only the rarest species of fish. To anyone this would have been an almost unbelievable sight, especially with the setting sun in the background, but it paled in the eyes as well as mind of Nick Tatopoulos when it was compared to the sight of his girlfriend, Audrey Timmonds.

“Thanks for coming with me on this story Nick," Audrey said as she walked beside him. "I thought it was the perfect time for us to call in the rain-checks we have on each other, especially since Animal's mother-in-law is visiting again, but you would follow me anyway like you did at the South Pole, wouldn't you Nick?"

"Huh," a distracted Nick responded as the two walked off the pier toward the resort check-in. "Well Audrey, this will be nice, and we will finally have some time to ourselves without our respected professions interfering."

Nick then thought about the next five days he was going to have with his sweetheart. He had told his teammates to call him if Zilla started moving toward the Pacific as to give him along with Audrey warning, but since it had been a day since the two of them left New York by plane, and with no phone call, his worries quickly died away as the glass doors in front of him parted.

The couple entered the resort's main lobby to discover a massive plaza with a Zero hanging from the ceiling and a colorful palette of tropical flowers placed all over the room. The fighter originated from the old airfield on the island and was in mint condition, complimenting the rest of the hotel. Tired from the trip, the couple then proceeded to the check-in counter.

"Hello and welcome to the Crimson Twilight," the clerk behind the counter stated to them as the couple approached, "How may I help you?"

"We would like to check in please. The room is under Timmonds," Audrey addressed to the clerk.

The woman quickly typed in the name before a fake smile appeared and she exclaimed, "Yes, you are checked in and I will send your bags up if you wish."

"I think we have them, thanks," Audrey responded while she waived the clerk off.

"Oh, there is a welcoming party for all new arrivals today!” the clerk yelled as if not wanting to miss the last box on her imaginary checklist. “But because of the incoming storm, the activity was moved to the main dining hall!”

"Again, no thanks," Audrey now slightly annoyed stated as the pair walked away.

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The pair arrived at the elevator and just as they were about to click for it to stop the elevator doors opened to reveal an elderly Japanese man wearing a tree palm shirt as well as an old medallion like necklace.

"Which floor?" he asked as the couple walked in.

"Five, thanks," Nick replied to the man as the elevator’s doors closed.

"Newcomers I see. Well I think you will enjoy it here," the elderly figure stated. He leaned in closer as if someone was watching. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but the food isn't the best."

"Is that so?" Nick asked, surprised by the old man's honesty.

He smiled a nearly toothless grin. "Yeah, but the beaches are top-notch, lemme tell yah."

"What is your name, are you with anyone and how long have you been here?" Audrey inquired, either out of curiosity or her reporting skills were taking over. After seeing Audrey interview hundreds of people, Nick presumed the latter.

"My name is Goro Ibuki and my assistant and I have been here for a few days. Why do you ask?"

"Sorry, it's kind of a habit. I am a reporter," Audrey answered.

"And what are your two names?" Goro curiously asked.

"My name is Audrey Timmonds from Channel…sorry," Audrey embarrassingly responded before pointing to Nick, "And this is my boyfriend Nick Tatopoulos."

Nick smiled warmly and tried not to blush from Audrey’s remarks.

Goro's brow furrowed as he said, "That name seems somewhat..." but before the old man could answer, the elevator’s doors opened.

As the couple realized the line of questions they were about to receive, both dashed out while Nick turned back to the elderly man and declared, "Well, uh, then we will see you around then, Goro."

The old man smirked as well as replied, "Yes that would be nice and maybe next time you shall meet my assistant."

Audrey, trying to be kind to the old man, asked, "What is his name, so if we bump into him we know he is your assistant?"

The elevator door started to close when Goro replied, "Trust me when I say you will know when you see him, but his name is Jet…" The elevator door closed causing the final part of the sentence the old man was saying to be abruptly cut off.

"Did he say Jet?" Audrey asked Nick in confusion.

"Probably a nick name," Nick responded before the couple walked down the hall to their room for the night.

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The next day rolled around and the couple exited the hotel after a rough night’s sleep due to a passing maelstrom. The storm had battered the island severely but luckily left as fast as it came, opening the sky for the much-appreciated sun. With nice weather at their disposal, the duo headed for the empty beaches around the island. After an hour and a half of walking on the beach in a search for a private location, Nick pulled out a map to figure out how far they were along the coastline.

"Come on Nick just relax, enjoy the walk," Audrey whined with her hands in the air as she watched Nick scan the map. "It really is a beautiful island. There is no-one else here but you and me, and it's not like we are going to get lost."

"I know, I know," Nick retorted. "Though I am positive I noticed a white sand beach at least another mile further."

“So third times the charm I…hey Nick, what is that?" Audrey questioned as she pointed toward an object in the distance.

Nick squinted, trying to focus on the tiny speck, "Probably a fishing vessel."

As the two walked steadily toward the boat, it became clear why the vessel was on the beach. Nick's walk turned into a full sprint as the boat’s wrecked features became clear.

"Audrey hurry and call for help, there should be a number on our room keycard. I'll search the ship!" Nick yelled as he dashed toward the vessel. As Audrey pulled out her phone to call for assistance, Nick climbed onto the wrecked ship to search for survivors.

The ship was small, so Nick's search was quick. The deck of the ship was splintered in areas as well as completely gone in others. With the deck clear, Nick headed for the enclosed compartment of the vessel. The roof displayed massive gashes in it, the interior looked as if a tornado had swept through the place, in addition to all of the glass, whether they were just for technical instruments or in the windows, was cracked or destroyed.

"No," Nick sadly whispered to himself as he searched the interior of the boat. "Not a trace of anyone on this vessel." Then his thoughts of despair quickly changed to Audrey, the scientist exited the vessel's interior to see if she had reached the resort with her phone. "Did you reach the hotel?"

"Yes, they said they would be here soon," Audrey replied as her gaze fell to the beach. "No footprints in sight Nick, so no-one ever jumped off and headed inland." Audrey then pulled herself onto the boat to see how bad of a state of the ship was really in.

"Do you think the storm did this and maybe the crew fell overboard?" Audrey inquired while se looked at Nick for some type of answer.

"Maybe, but that wouldn't explain the shredded roof or the deck," he responded.

"Hey Nick," Audrey called. "What is this green stuff over here?"

Nick hurried over to Audrey who was already in the interior of the ship and pointing to the ceiling. In between the shredded metal were large blotches of green residue.

"I...don't know," Nick answered as he examined the residue. "Audrey, do you have a tissue or something I could put this in?"

"No, I didn't bring anything like that with me, but I do have my phone which has a high definition camera," Audrey retorted as she handed her phone over to Nick. "So does this mean our vacation is over?"

Flashes illuminated the room as Nick took a few pictures of the green material before he turned to Audrey and said, "I can't conclusively say and most likely this was all done by the storm last night, but I have my doubts. If this wasn't the storm, then you sure do have a better story than a piece on the resort,” Nick noted as he gave the phone back to Audrey.

With the thought of a new story, Audrey started to look through the interior of the ship and search every compartment. As Nick was about to tell her to hurry because the authorities were going to arrive soon, Audrey opened the largest compartment in the interior which revealed something wrapped in red cloth. Audrey pulled away the sheet to see what it covered only to discover a small man but before she could react to the stranger; he screamed a terrifying scream.

"Demons!" the frail man yelled at the sight of another being. He backhanded Audrey as he got to his feet and then made a desperate run for the door. Nick was on the scene in an instant and rammed as well as pinned the disturbed person to the splintered floor. The man continued screaming hysterically as he tried to wrestle free from Nick, only to suddenly stop moving. His eyes were empty, as if his soul had left his body, but he was somehow still alive. After a few moments, Nick released his grip on the man and quickly went over to Audrey.

"You alright?" Nick questioned as he outstretched his hand.

Audrey smiled and held her shoulder before she said humorously, "Suffered worse injuries on Black Friday reports and I am far past getting use to the danger that follows you around." Audrey stood upright and walked over to the unconscious man. “I don’t think I have ever seen you knock someone out cold Nick."

Nick scanned the person, took a pulse and replied, "No, I think he is having an acute stress reaction or basically in shock." Nick then lifted the man over his shoulder and started for the exit before telling Audrey, "We have to hurry and get him to a medical facility though. He looks dehydrated and his condition could worsen if we don’t hurry."

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Audrey and Nick watched the mysterious individual carried into the hotel on a stretcher as the manager of the hotel looked on. With a crowd starting to gather, the figure waived the duo inside to speak about the situation in greater detail.

"I would like to thank you two for saving the fisherman in addition to quickly reporting your find. You see, he was part of one of the resort's personal fishing units we hire from the local community," the resort manager explained. "On behalf of the resort, I hope this did not ruin your stay or give you a bad impression of our island since you are writing a story on us of course."

"Not unless you sent them out there during the storm but where is he going?" Audrey worryingly asked.

"Our infirmary where he shall receive fluids along with medication,” the manger calmly replied, ignoring the earlier insinuation. "He shall receive the best care but please, don't mention this to any of our other guests as it might cause a panic."

"We won't," Nick promised as he stepped into an elevator with Audrey.

As the elevator door began to close, the manager stopped it with his hand, "Oh, and this invitation is for you, courtesy of one of our other guests."

"Thanks?" Nick puzzlingly noted as he received the note.

The manager smiled and then stated, “I was covering the mailroom position today before I got word of the situation and your name is hard to forget Mr. Tatopoulos.”

The manager waved a goodbye and the elevator ascended to the fifth floor. Once the pair reached their room, Nick asked Audrey for her phone. She handed the droid to him while she took the invitation, her curiosity killing her over who sent the card.

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A distant ringing broke the lazy silence hanging in the H.E.A.T. headquarters. The phone continued to ring before finally a member of the team picked it up.

"Hello?" Mendel Craven yawned in a tired tone before sneezing from inhaling the dust on the cellular device.

"Mendel, this is Nick. Is Elsie there?" the scientist inquired.

"No," Craven replied before breathing deeply and saying with a congested tone, "Elsie is at home sick as I wish I were. Randy left for some punk rock concert in another state, and Monique has… well she’s not here. Now I'm the only one here to deal with N.I.G.E.L.'s repairs." His tone changed when he asked, "How is your vacation with Audrey coming along?"

Nick paused a moment, watching Audrey tear open the card’s plastic envelope with her teeth like a rabid animal before he responded, "Quite well, thanks. Could you give Elsie some pictures I have taken of some unidentified biological material? I am sending them to you now from Audrey’s phone."

"Are you referring to a mutation?" the engineer questioned.

"Not sure but after checking the beached vessel that it was on, I have a hunch that it may just be one," Nick explained. “But I can’t say I wouldn’t be happy if it turns out to be your average sea vegetation.”

Then in the background noise of the phone on Nick's end, Audrey declared, "Nick, the old man we met invited us to join him in the ball room for dinner tonight!"

"Okay!" Nick yelled in response.

Mendel smirked and asked, "Run into an old friend there, did yah now?"

Nick let out a small breath before he stated, "Not exactly. Just a man we ran into on the elevator named Ibuki. We only talked to him…"

"Wait! THE Goro Ibuki. Japanese, late seventies?" Mendel interrupted with a sense of unmatched excitement.

Confused at the sudden outburst, Nick cautiously asked, "I take it you know him?"

Craven thrillingly replied, "Not personally, but he revolutionized robotics, engineering along with computer programming and his invention was one of my first inspirations for N.I.G.E.L."

"Well, I will mention your name at dinner, but please give the pictures to Elsie for inspection,” Nick insisted before glancing at Audrey to now see her scrambling through her closet for apparel.

Now thinking of how he had an excuse to see Elsie at her apartment, Craven quickly said, "O-okay Nick, bye!"

Nick suddenly remembered one last thing to ask and blurted out, "Craven, wait! How is Zilla?"

"He left his home a few hours ago for breakfast. He has not returned yet, and I do not have Monique's tracker on hand, but I will go and give Elsie the pictures now so talk to you later," Craven rapidly stated as he hung up the phone.

Nick put down his device before he then walked over to Audrey who was looking through her closet for a dress for dinner.

"Just found something out about our guest at dinner and you might want to sit down for this.”

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The daylight was fading by the time the couple was about to head down to the dining room to meet Goro. Audrey's phone unfortunately though, as the two were about to head downstairs, started to ring its usual annoying tone. Nick watched quietly as Audrey's face turned sour as she hung up the device and turned to face him.

"Sorry Nick, my boss wants a preview of my report on the resort now," Audrey sadly exclaimed. "I guess his impatience is the cost of this trip, but anyway go meet Goro at the table and I will be down as fast as I can.” A simple kiss on the check marked the pairs parting as Nick headed down in a suit to the main hall to meet his inviter.  

Nick spotted Goro easily through the sea of people in the hall. Goro’s small smaller size illuminated in thanks to a tropical polo.

"How nice to see you again, but where is Audrey?" Goro asked as Nick approached him

"Her profession caught up with her as usual, but she will be down shortly," Nick sadly responded while he sat down. "Though didn't you say you had an assistant?"

"Yes, but he did not want to join me for dinner," the old man replied as he clutched the back of his neck. “I believe he thinks he angers the staff.”
 
Curious to see what his assistant did and see if what Mendel told him was true, Nick inquired, "Does your assistant help with your inventions, Mr. Ibuki?"

"You could say that," Goro noted as a slight smirk of amusement formed on his wrinkled face. "I see you have learned more about me from our previous encounter as I have done with you, Mr. Tatopoulos. You stop creatures with Godzilla as I did with the original Godzilla a long time ago when I was a far younger man."

Knowing his work was out in the open, Nick decided to question his invitee’s statement and see if Goro was joking.

"First the international community has changed the name of the creature to Zilla to correct the original misidentification in 1998, and secondly, when did you see the original Godzilla?" Nick skeptically asked.

"The year was nineteen seventy one and with my small assistance plus my assistant, Godzilla was able to stop two evil monsters bent on the destruction of Japan."

"O-okay," Nick still skeptically replied only then to realize his cell phone was ringing. "Sorry," he apologized to Goro before he answered, “Hello?”

"Let me get this straight, I get sick with an acute case of pneumonia, and you think assigning me work, sending Mendel to my apartment and doing all of this at the break of dawn is really the best treatment. The thought is what counts right Nick?" Elsie sarcastically and angrily responded.

"Sorry I, uh, needed a biological examination and you're the best expert I know," Nick apologetically stated as sincerely as possible.

"Well, you are lucky those photos were so unusual," Elsie replied.

"So what is it?" Nick asked as Goro watched him as if he could hear their conversation. His eyes searched deep into Nick's expression, looking for some hint.

"I can't say with one hundred percent certainty, but it is definitely not any normal sea plant life as it has mammalian in addition to aquatic plant life qualities," Elsie explained. "I hypothesize with these results though that the monster that attacked the boat was a creature called Gaira. It is an undersea mutation that is known for its incredible regeneration, attacking boats along with coastal towns, not to mention it is suspected of attacking another island recently."

"How long ago was this?" Nick curiously inquired.  

"A small town with no survivors was discovered about one hundred or so miles from your position a week ago. That was the least confusing find. Further investigation on the island's inland showed two large piles of skeletal remains, two nest formations that were destroyed plus a third intact yet empty nest."
 
Nick rubbed his forehead as his mind went over all of the data before he asked, "So after consuming a town as well as a few inland giant creatures, this Gaira creature is now preparing to make the resort its newest buffet?”

"Seems likely, so I would suggest an evacuation of the island while Mendel calls Hicks for support because there is something else coming to the island. Apparently, Zilla never returned and reports from Mexico of a giant lizard emerging from the gulf and heading for the Pacific are emerging all over the web, so like always, Zilla is headed to protect his daddy," Elsie stated in her usual sarcastic mood.

"Thanks… Elsie," Nick replied as he ended the phone call and turned his attention back to Goro.

"Was it an important call?" Goro asked suspiciously.

"Unfortunately, yes. Mr. Ibuki we need to…"

A tremor suddenly shook the very foundation of the tower. Screaming followed the quake which echoed into every corridor and suite of the structure.

Nick rushed through the crowds of terrified tourists outside to see what was happening only to stumble on a scene straight out of a horror movie. The massive pier the resort boasted was now merely shards of wood on the shore. The shipping vessels that had been attached to them were now on the Crimson Twilight's front lawn as well as turned on their sides like toys. Nick scanned the area for the culprit of this act, but his findings were not desirable in the least.

A green, five-fingered hand reached out of the water, followed by a whole arm, and then the rest of the creature’s body. The figure's green fur was patchy and blood soaked. It’s disfigured in addition to horrid face matched a small stub that was the creature’s right arm. He had just finished dining on some unsuspecting tourists and he was hungry for more. Standing proudly at fifty meters tall, Gaira was on the prowl again.

"What the hell..." Nick stated in a barely audible tone, petrified by the fiend that stood before him. A tap on his shoulder and a little grunt made Nick finally turn away from Gaira toward Goro. The old man seemed younger than ever before, maybe it was because of how he stood unafraid of Gaira, or maybe it was because the light no longer exposed all his wrinkles.

"Do not worry my friend. I have a way to deal with this abomination," Goro declared unafraid of the beast.

Perplexed Nick stared at the old man as Goro pulled his medallion to his face, clicked a button  and then ordered, "Jet Jaguar, come to the resort entrance."

Seconds passed and security personnel from the resort exited the structure before they started shooting at Gaira with their handguns in a foolish attempt to kill the creature. The monster however showed no sign of anguish and with his meal now in the open, Gaira charged toward the resort. Nick grabbed Goro and tried to get him to move, but the old man would not budge. Then a sonic cry filled the air causing Gaira to stop in confusion and Nick to watch shockingly as a small metallic man landed in front of the resort. The being gradually lifted his head revealing a smile that, while permanent, was not to show that he was weak. No, it was the smile of confidence.

"Mr. Tatopoulos," Goro stated confidently, "I would like to introduce you to my assistant, Jet Jaguar."

The metallic warrior though wasted little time in preparing to fight the green menace. With a single arm motion, Jet Jaguar started to grow. In less than a second, the machine stood at the same height as Gaira. The gargantuan remained motionless as well as confused at the sudden appearance of an adversary the same size as him. This proved to be quite an advantage for Jet Jaguar, as the robot was already sprinting toward Gaira. The robot delivered the first blow to Gaira's twisted green face. The beast flew backward into the port it had destroyed earlier sending water skyrocketing. The green gargantuan was back on his feet in an instant though and charged at Jet Jaguar. Jet Jaguar took a defensive pose as the creature closed the gap before moving out of the way at the last second and delivering a powerful karate chop to Gaira's neck. The crazed beast fell to the ground in front of the resort, but not before grabbing Jet Jaguar's leg with his only good arm and pulling the metallic warrior off his feet. The two regained their footing and an up close battle soon ensued between the two foes. Gaira clawed in addition to swatted with its only arm while Jet Jaguar delivered punches along with jabs with its robotic fists.

The battle raged on, neither showing that he had the advantage. After a couple moments, the robot received a message from Goro which said, "Jet Jaguar, take the fight somewhere else. The resort is too close to innocent civilians." Jet Jaguar under stood and he instantly calculated a plan to lure Gaira away.
Gaira, in the rumble, sent a powerful punch at Jet Jaguar's chest which the robot did not block. Jet Jaguar skidded backward from the blow before turning around and using the momentum to dash away. Gaira, in an unmatched fury, gave chase to Jet Jaguar. The two monsters, under the cover of night, quickly disappeared inland.

Jet Jaguar, judging the distance from the resort was far enough after running for a full minute, stopped, turned to face his opponent and then flew into the air at full speed directly at the green gargantuan. Gaira did not react fast enough and Jet Jaguar collided with the beast. Gaira reeled in pain as multiple ribs cracked from the blow, but Jet Jaguar did not let up. An uppercut to the jaw, a two handed smash to the top of Gaira's head, a knee jab to the face as well as a spin kick to the abdomen caused the beast to fall onto his back before Jet Jaguar started a punching barrage onto his face. Gaira blocked the assault with his one good arm, before chomping down on the robot's wrist. Gaira released his hold after sparks from Jet Jaguar's wiring electrocuted him, but the desperate move worked in Gaira's favor as Jet Jaguar jumped back. Gaira clumsily returned to his feet, with bruises in addition to blood covering his own body, but his fighting spirit still intact.

The robot then scanned Gaira to see if any of his blows had caused significant damage, only to discover that the beast was rapidly healing. Jet Jaguar had to end the fight fast and with a critical strike, so the metallic warrior decided to increase his size. In seconds, Gaira was out sized by at least twenty meters by the now enormous robot. With the green gargantuan's rage still edging him to fight, Gaira dashed at the machine. Jet Jaguar caught Gaira in his tracks before quickly smashing his palms against Gaira's head. Disoriented, Gaira could not stop Jet Jaguar from getting behind him.

Grabbing hold of Gaira's one arm, and putting a choke hold onto Gaira's neck with the robot's free appendage; Jet Jaguar activated his foot thrusters and flew into the sky. Flying at over Mach three, Jet Jaguar quickly ascended high in the atmosphere before performing a one hundred and eighty degree turn with Gaira in his grasp. Gaira, his impairment now gone, tried to thrash his way out of the robot's grip as the two flew straight toward the open ocean only for Jet Jaguar to grant him his wish.

The savage beast was thrown down and fell head-first into the cool pacific water. An eruption of water as well as blood followed the surge before a large wave sprang forth from the impact zone, but the green creature continued to sink further down. Satisfied that he had won the fight, Jet Jaguar headed for the resort at top speed while also readjusting himself back to his normal human size.

Gaira slowly floated down to the bottom of the sea as darkness filled the empty voids of his vision. His entire torso was shredded from the impact, and he could hardly move with the other injuries he had sustained. The gargantuan's mind for the first time in its pitiful existence had a new motive other than to consume. Vengeance on the two monsters that had caused him anguish was now Gaira's only objective as soon as he regained his health.

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Bewildered by what had just happened outside of the resort, Audrey found Goro by Nick’s side in the resort lobby along with a crowd of furious yet frightened guests.

"Nick, what just happened outside?" Audrey questioned in a state of confusion. "I finished sending my preview only to see two giants fighting like the lawn was the WWE."

"The green mutation is called Gaira, and it is most likely what attacked the boat we found yesterday. The robot is named Jet Jaguar and," Nick stated before pointing at Goro, "is his assistant."

"So where is Jet Jaguar now?" Audrey inquired.

"I told him to watch over the area in case the abomination should return," Goro calmly assured. “Jet Jaguar is more than a match for that creature.”

Then as the old man finished the statement, three security officers walked in front of the trio.

The leader of the group while pointing to Audrey and Nick inquired “Are you two Mr. and Mrs. Tatopoulos?”

Nick blushed yet quickly responded, “We’re not together but yes, we are. Why?”

“You two are to come with us, a Major Hicks wishes to speak to you in our security room."

Goro stared at the officer in confusion, but Audrey in addition to Nick released sighs of relief.

“Sure but he is joining us,” Nick noted with his head still hung low as he pointed to Goro. “Considering his assistant is the one that just stopped that gargantuan.”

 With a nod of approval from the leader, Nick, Goro, along with Audrey trailed behind the officers as they entered restricted parts of the resort before the three security officials opened a door and told them to enter. The room held only two people, one of them being the brown-haired manager from earlier, who was now behind a man somewhere in his mid-thirties.

"Hello, my name is Cliff Sessler and I am the director of the resort," he spoke with a sense of pride. "I have been requested by a Major Hicks to gather the three of you for a video conversation with him to decide on our best course of action in this situation. I assume all of you have significantly more knowledge of what exactly the hell is going on around my resort?"

Cliff then pressed a button which revealed the entire front wall to be a television screen.

"Not as much as you may think," Nick sarcastically declared as he turned to face the screen. The TV screen flashed as it turned on. After a few seconds of flickering, an array of every color appeared before the screen revealed Major Hicks in full military uniform. He appeared slightly stressed yet for Nick, the scientist knew it was the Major’s normal look.

"Nick, it is good to see you, but I will keep the chit chat short," Hicks asserted. "The monster that attacked the resort has been confirmed as Gaira. Unfortunately, I do not have enough ships at my disposal to guarantee the safety of everyone on the island, so the air is our only route for evacuation. The Japanese have deployed seven Ch-47 Chinooks, a few destroyers and one of their own officers to co-run the operation while the U.S. navy has given me possession of the U.S.S. George Washington plus Task Force 70 of the Seventh Fleet." The major sighed before he said, "Good thing your lizard put the fleet in the area or I would never have been able to use it."

"Do you have a visual of Zilla?" Nick asked with a prominent sense of urgency in his voice.

Major Hicks looked away for a brief moment as he tried to figure out the best way to break his news to Nick before he proclaimed, "I should also mention Zilla has disappeared from our scanners. After taking a vacation through Mexico he dived into the pacific were we lost track of him." Nick's jaw tightened. "We suspect he is headed toward this island as well, but he is evading our sensors just like Gaira.”

"Wait!" Audrey broke in, "How can something the size of Zilla escape from your sonar?"

"We have a few ideas," Hicks murmured. "We pursued him, but he was too fast for our ships and if I recall correctly, it can burrow as well which can’t be detected on sonar."

Audrey scolded the military officer over his wise comment, and turned to see Nick’s face filled with worry. Before she could ask her boyfriend said, "Changing the topic back to Gaira Major, have you been notified of Gaira’s regeneration and the fact it was missing an arm?"

"Yes, Cliff told me this detail about the monster already and I put the same conclusion together. It is why I cannot risk a naval assault because there could be dozens of these things in the sea, and I wouldn't know," Hick’s explained. "Anyway, the plan is to have the Chinooks land on the deserted World War II airfield, gather all of the civilians off the isle, and then bring them to the U.S.S. George Washington which will be near the coast. The airfield is our best evacuation option because of a nearby rock wall that is about one-hundred meters tall and surrounds sixty percent of it. The airfield is far inland, so airstrikes will be possible with little interference to the extraction, and if we do all of this during the day then the sun should persuade the creatures to stay in the ocean."

"Gaira hates large amounts of light?" Nick curiously asked.

"You would be shocked at what a google search can pull up but yes, Gaira hates the sun and usually avoids it at all costs, so we will use it to our advantage," Hicks explained before he lowered his voice as if he was about to tell a secret. "Nick, I trust you to help all the civilians get to the airfield while Goro's robot defends the shoreline. An immediate bombing of the island will follow at one o'clock, and that time will not change, so do I have your support Tatopoulos?"

Nick’s mind raced as Hicks finished. A bombing of the island? The destruction of an entire ecosystem to stop one monster? No, he could find a way around it. His team… Nick’s palm began to sweat as he remembered the situation. He was alone, and in this situation by chance with hundreds of lives at risk including Audrey’s. He could give Hicks hell later, right now his friend needed his help.

"You can count on me Major."

"Good, then I'll see you tomorrow at noon," Hicks noted before the screen faded to black.

There was a heavy silence that fell upon the crowd. Cliff continued to ponder his thoughts in the corner while the manager quietly walked up to Nick. "Do you need me to do anything, Mr. Tatopoulos?"

"Do you know the quickest and safest route to the airfield?" Nick inquired.

"Definitely, I grew up here but it is Manny. Sorry, it seems that I've never formally introduced myself," the manager stated as he smiled politely. “Thought I better since it seems this is going to be a long night.”

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As the sun rose on the horizon, the island sprang into a fury of activity. The vehicles on the island were quickly filled with belongings and people as the entire population of the isle headed for the evacuation zone. The old airfield was nothing special, and was only a long dirt road with a small abandoned building, but having the only defensible and large plot of barren flat land on the island, its existence overnight became essential. The mass departure was scheduled for noon, and with the help of the resort security forces everything moved smoothly. Tents were hastily fastened for some slight shelter from the sun along with food and water stations. The old base was now the temporary headquarters where Nick, Goro, Audrey, Manny, plus Cliff were all managing the situation.

"It's almost noon, where the hell is the military!" Cliff announced as he looked out of the window of the base to watch the preparations.

"Is your ro… I mean Jet Jaguar still at the resort's roof?" Nick questioned to Goro in curiosity while ignoring Cliff’s remark.

"Yes, unlike me he does not tire," Goro comically affirmed as he took a seat near the window.  

The sound of chopper blades then filled the air, and Nick looked down at his watch to see that it was noon. All five of them walked outside to see the Chinooks slowly growing in size in the distance before the transports started their descent.

As all seven of them landed, the back bays of the transport vehicles lowered to reveal U.S. Marines. The small military units quickly hurried to the mass of people, set up a perimeter and a line to allow them entry into the vehicles without causing a stampede.

Nick noticed a lone soldier heading directly toward him. The confident stride and ordinance strapped to his back easily informed him the officer was none other than Major Anthony Hicks.

"Good job Tatopoulos, you again show you can do more than study worms," Hicks mockingly commented.

"Well thanks Major, I always try to impress," Nick retorted. "So have Gaira or Zilla been spotted?"

"There has been no sign of either of them from my recon divisions.”

Static subsequently followed Hick's reply before a voice started saying repeatedly, "This is air recon alpha. Gaira has appeared on the western beach, repeat, Gaira has arrived on the western beach and is headed inland, over."

"Well speak of the devil,” Hicks stated before he picked up his radio. “Copy air recon Alpha. Prepare an airstrike perpendicular to the chasm. You have authorization to go loud, over."

"Roger that sir. Preparing strike, over and out.”

Almost instantly, another voice broke out over the radio, "This is Air Recon Bravo, another Gaira on the northwest banks. Things dashing inland toward the chasm fast, going to engage and try to slow it down, over and out."

Hicks paused momentarily and closed his eyes in deep thought. He tried to devise a plan to get the tourists still evacuating out of the chasm. He spoke again, "Ground squadron Echo. Do you copy?"

"This is ground squadron Echo, we hear you over."

"Gaira has made landfall and there are at least one hundred civilians still in the chasm. You need to guide them through the caverns and avoid any route that is in Gaira's reach."

"Will do, over and out," the captain answered.  

Hicks then turned to Goro and ordered, "Get your robot to hold those Gairas off for as long as it can while the civilians evacuate."

"What about us?" Cliff in self-worry yelled.

"We are riding in the medical evacuation unit, which is about to leave, so I suggest you start walking!" the Major declared.

Nick, Goro, Cliff, Manny, Audrey and Hicks then all headed to the vessel while other civilians made their way to the safety of the Chinooks.

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Jet Jaguar received his creator's transmission and calculated the point where both monsters would intersect at. The metallic warrior waited patiently until the gargantuan duo arrived. The only difference between the two was a massive scar on one Gaira's torso which Jet Jaguar realized was the Gaira from the previous night only its bad arm was fully re-grown.

The gargantuan with the scar wasted little time studying Jet Jaguar like it had done the previous night and charged toward the robot. Revenge on his suffering from the previous night was on his mind, and with the help from his doppelganger plus his arm fully regenerated; Gaira knew this was now a fight he could, and would win.

Flesh and metal collided, but Gaira proved to be stronger as Jet Jaguar flew backward into some nearby trees. The beast continued his assault by grabbing Jet Jaguar's leg and tossing him like a rag doll. After a hard impact, the metallic warrior quickly regained his footing. Jet Jaguar then scanned both of the monsters for any weakness, and any combat scenario that he could use against his foes, but they showed no advantages. As his scans ended, both Gairas slowly moved around Jet Jaguar in an attempt to cut off his retreat. Knowing the robot could now not run anywhere, both beasts dashed at full speed toward Jet Jaguar. Taking advantage of both creatures' lack of intelligence, the robot dodge rolled out of the way at the last second. The two Gaira's smashed into each other, and in the confusion; Jet Jaguar began his counter attack.

The robot grabbed both Gairas by the head and smashed their respective skulls together. Both beasts clutched their head as their visions spun allowing Jet Jaguar to deliver a karate chop to each creature’s chest. One Gaira fell to his knees while the other stayed upright only to receive the full force of Jet Jaguar's attack. A volley of jabs in addition to punches assaulted Gaira before an uppercut to the jaw sent the battered Gaira to the ground. Jet Jaguar walked to the left side of Gaira in preparation to throw the gargantuan only to hear the shriek of the other Gaira. Jet Jaguar abruptly kicked the downed Gaira which impacted the charging gargantuan. The kicked Gargantuan bounced off his clone only for Jet Jaguar to grab its leg and thrust him backward to deliver an over the top punch to its face. The punched Gaira rolled over the ground before coming to a rest at the mouth of the chasm. The other Gaira charged as well as threw lightning-fast swipes in addition to hooks at the robot. Each was met with a block, and each upset Gaira more and more. Jet Jaguar then ducked under one furious attack and managed to lift the green monster off the ground and throw his flailing form onto the other Gaira.

Jet Jaguar sent a sonic cry to the two monsters to stay down, but sheer ignorance fueled the two Gairas to stand up once again. The two charged toward Jet Jaguar, but this time Jet Jaguar stayed still, and used his eye lights on both monsters. The two gargantuans covered their faces, giving their opponent enough time to sweep their feet out from under them sending both crashing to the ground. The old and new Gaira were then still. Jet Jaguar slowly approached one of the down Gairas to find out why it was staying down. He couldn't have won yet, right?

The colorful machine stood over the scarred Gaira, unsure of what to do next. Before his scanners could detect any pulse, Gaira snatched the robot’s left leg. Unable to move, Jet Jaguar started kicking the Gaira holding him in the face before the other gargantuan tackled him to the ground. An evil grunt sounded from the Gaira who was pinning Jet Jaguar to the ground while the other beast walked over and grabbed the metallic warrior's left arm. Metal screeched as well as groaned as it was pushed to its limits. Then as the metal began to twist...

SNAP!

A sonic cry sounded from Jet Jaguar as his left arm was torn off from the elbow joint down. Gaira tossed the arm into the air before hurrying to the other side of Jet Jaguar to do the same to his right arm, but Jet Jaguar was determined not to let that happen.

Transferring all of his power to his foot thrusters, Jet Jaguar flew off the ground and into the air, away from his attackers before landing off in the distance. The robot then ran a percentage scenario to calculate his current chances of winning, a test that resulted in negligible results. Jet Jaguar glanced at his severed left arm before an idea went through his processors. He knew he could not beat both, but that did not mean he would shut down without holding them off from the chasm. No, Jet Jaguar knew what he had to do.

Both Gairas watched as the robot started messing with its broken arm, picking at wires and experimenting with it like a mad scientist with his specimen. The Gairas looked at each other and grumbled angrily. Patience was not a virtue for either of them. They simultaneously charged wildly at the robot while his guard was apparently down. There was something that neither the Gairas nor Jet Jaguar was aware of. The sound of thunder cracked the still and pleasant tropical air. The Gairas were hit by projectiles that enveloped their body in flames. Two jets sped by, just barely avoiding Jet Jaguar's head. Then, without warning, one jet sprang into flames as a winged monster sped by at an incredible rate. In a flash of a moment, the military intervention came to a halt. The red aerial monster sped over the chasm and hills, toward the volcano.

Distracted by the surprise attack, the duo did not notice Jet Jaguar charging toward them until it was too late. Jet Jaguar jumped into the air to deliver a high kick to the original Gaira's chest which sent the gargantuan flying. The other Gaira, the Gaira he had not fought the night before, had little time to react as Jet Jaguar jabbed him with his shredded arm. The severed end of the arm sliced deep into the surprised gargantuan's abdomen before Jet Jaguar sent every ounce of power he had in his body to the broken limb. Jet Jaguar had wrapped the exposed wires around his stump of an arm which now was delivering a powerful bolt of electricity through the creature. Gaira grasped Jet Jaguar's neck, and tried to strangle the machine in a desperate attempt to stop the pain, but the metallic warrior continued his assault unhindered, his permanent smile flashing ever so proudly. Gaira's flesh started to burn, his organs started to fry, and his heart stopped as the electric current continued through his body. Jet Jaguar's power core then overloaded from the immense amount of strain on it. Both monster and machine stood motionless until they lost the fight with gravity. With little power left at his disposal, Jet Jaguar scanned his immobile opponent to see his foe dead. Shortly after, the robot suffered a power failure which silently shut down the robot's processors, leaving Goro's assistant to weather away at the foot of the chasm.

The battered, bruised as well as burned Gaira stood back up to see both the machine and his clone motionless on the ground. Gaira walked over to the two to see if they were still alive. No movement or signs of life. A stomp to the immobile Jet Jaguar's chest, and a victory cry into the sky satisfied Gaira's vengeance on the robot. The gargantuan then turned to face the dormant volcano, and dashed toward it. Like Jet Jaguar, the red creature that had showed up earlier would perish by his hand for slicing off his arm, and nothing was going to stop the gargantuan.

------------------------------------------------

Nick glanced at the other Chinooks as he readied to board his own. He watched as Manny guided a family into the craft and then he too got on board. Everything was going according to the plan. There was a strange feeling in the air though. It wasn't the humidity or the incredible heat wave, but something worse, something more sinister. Nick stepped outside and gazed through the crowd and into the chasm. The last group was being escorted toward the airfield, but they weren't walking. The few stragglers were in a dead sprint as they ran away but then the figure of Gaira made his appearance in the distance. Certain the creature was searching for its next meal, Nick screamed, "It’s through the chasm! We need to get these people up now!"

One of the pilots responded, "We need another minute! Engine’s haven’t peaked yet!"

The scientist's worries became a gruesome reality though as the gargantuan shot a quick glance at the airfield, stopped, and sprinted toward the airstrip. His arms flailed wildly as he took his first steps onto the dirt strip. Gaira sent out a powerful shriek to his lunch, but then a loud sonic boom answered.

Massive explosions flashed all around Gaira as the air force re-engaged the gargantuan. With the gargantuan occupied and the stragglers aboard the other Chinooks, all the transports except for the medical vessel took flight with the U.S.S. George Washington as their destination. Nick watched and listened to the battle with the jets and Gaira. Two missiles detonated on Gaira's scaly torso, sending flakes and chunks of flesh in the air.

"NO!" an oddly familiar voice cried. Nick turned around along with everyone else in the Chinook to see the man from the fishing vessel, jump up from the stretcher he was on like all his pain had flown away. He jumped over the packed evacuees and hit the emergency back entry release button which lowered the door. In all the turmoil as people began to scream, Nick failed to grasp the situation before the man was already out the door.

Hicks instantly broke into a sprint after the deranged man with Nick following right behind him. The man reached a few dozen yards before Hicks tackled him to the ground, an impressive feat considering he was carrying an assault rifle and a rocket launcher on his back. "What the hell is your problem?" Hicks shouted as a missile sped past them and hit its target.

"We can't go into the air! It's not safe!" the man exclaimed as he still clawed for freedom.

"It is not too safe here!" Hicks declared before turning the man's head to show him Gaira being attacked by the air force. Gaira leapt into the air and smacked down a jet that flew too close to him. A fiery explosion followed relatively close to the pair.

"I rather take my chance with it than the bird!" the fisherman retorted.

There was a brief silence. Even the jets seemed to go quiet as if they too were dumbfounded by what he said. "What bird?" Nick cautiously asked.

"The green monster attacked my boat before it came. It ate everyone on board except for me," the man responded before an explosion detonated relatively close by. Nick and Hicks turned to see that it was one of the jets. There were several balls of flaming scrap metal across the airfield.

"No way in hell that Gaira shot all these planes down!" Hicks suddenly realized before a sonic shriek filled the air. All three men turned toward the volcano, the sound’s source, to see an almost invisible yellow ray strike another jet.  As the fiery remains of the fighter crashed to the ground at the edge of the volcano, a large demonic shaped bird emerged. The monster's head was pointed at the end and she had two dark eyes that were filled with death.

"The bird!" the man screamed.

"That’s not a bird!” Nick corrected as his eyes widened in in shock. “It’s Gyaos!"

The Gyaos took off from the volcanos top, gliding down its side with a foreboding elegance before it touched down beside the Chinook. Its mouth parted revealing jagged teeth and as it moved its head to clutch the transport a small explosion detonated on her head. The Chinooks' pilots took advantage of the distraction, taking flight while the Gyaos found the source of the rocket. The Major stood in the middle of the airfield, empty rocket launcher in hand.

Hicks dropped the depleted weapon as the monster sent a shriek toward its new found prey. "Well Tatopoulos the Chinook is clear, and that was my best shot, so any suggestions?" Hicks sarcastically asked.

The fisherman broke into a sprint away from the two men before Nick replied, "Move!"

Hicks and Nick started sprinting toward one of the random trucks at the end of the air strip as the Gyaos gave chase. The two men ran as fast as they could over the strip, but then the minor quakes generated from Gyaos caused Nick to fall. Hicks stopped and opened fire with his rifle, trying to give a few extra seconds to Nick, but the good act came in vain as the bird lunged for them. As the mouth of Gyaos came within meters of them, the ground exploded upward.

A dust cloud enveloped Hicks, Nick and the Gyaos before an all too familiar growl echoed through the area. The dust cleared as the demonic bird took flight. A muscular lizard with an elongated jaw stood in the center of the dust cloud, breathing slowly. He turned his head and looked at its adopted father before bellowing a small cry that he was safe. Nick got back on his feet and hurried along with Hicks to get a car while Zilla readied to fight Gyaos.

Zilla was the first to attack as he sprinted toward Gyaos. The demonic bird was slow to react and Zilla landed a direct head butt on the creature's abdomen. The winged beast flew backward and landed on its backside before Zilla jumped on top of it. The reptilian behemoth started slashing away at the downed bird. In horrendous agony, Gyaos fired a quick sonic ray at Zilla. The ray sliced into the lizard's shoulder causing the reptile to fall off the bird in anguish. Unopposed, Gyaos rose back to its feet and then took flight.

After returning to his feet, Zilla searched the area for his foe only to hear a shriek from above him. The flying beast descended upon the unsuspecting reptile with ease and attacked with its sharp talons. Zilla screeched in pain as the sharp daggers sliced into his smooth skin. The lizard tried to stop the attack with his own claws, but the bird was too persistent. Unable to stop the bird, Zilla discharged a heat ray from its maw. The scent of burnt flesh filled the area as Gyaos' underbelly and wings were torched.
The demonic creature retreated from the reptilian flamethrower, and landed a hundred meters away from Zilla.
The cocky reptile roared at the smoking bird in an act of intimidation only for Gyaos to send a thunderous shriek into the air. Zilla cocked his head in confusion as the bird stood motionless before multiple shrieks echoed back. The reptile turned toward the volcano to see a dozen small three meter tall Gyaos fly out of its peak, and glide toward him. The adult Gyaos had just called her offspring for dinner, and Zilla was their main course.

Nick and Hicks, after reaching an abandoned vehicle, both turned around and watched as a dozen small dots flew out of the dormant volcano. The small dots grew larger as they quickly approached Zilla, their shapeless bodies sprouting wings and pointed heads.

"What the hell?" the Major cried in shock. "How many of these damn things are there on this island?"

Nick, after starting the truck, quickly replied, "I have a theory on this whole mess Major, but before I say anything I suggest you call off your jets because the airspace now belongs to the Gyaos." Hicks quickly agreed and after calling off his forces and telling them of their current situation, the major entered the vehicle.

"Well Tatopoulos, I guess the million dollar question of the day is what the hell is going on?"

Nick started the army truck and drove toward the path through the wooded inland before he answered the Major's question. “An island as you may know was recently attacked by Gaira, and three nests were found. Two of them were destroyed with remains of their creators close by. I believe the remains were Gyaos and the nests were their creations. Gaira, after a buffet of eggs and giant birds, chased after one Gyaos that escaped which led it to this island."

"That would explain why the fisherman was attacked by both monsters at the same time, but why would it choose this island?"

"My guess," the scientist noted, "large amounts of food close by for her offspring like the other island and Tokyo."

"That would mean it was on this island for a couple days. Why did it not show its face until now?"

"Two possible reasons. The Gyaos might have stayed out of sight to make sure its food did not run before its offspring were born. That or the creature went into a hypnotized state like some animals do when giving birth and just could not move."

"Last question, since you obviously have all the answers," the major stated sarcastically. "What's our plan of getting off the island?"

"Well I hope that there is a fishing vessel we can use since evacuation via air has been cut off.”

The last remark caused Hicks to remain quiet until a strong disgusting smell suddenly filled the vehicle.

"What is that?" Nick asked to himself. Nick looked over to Hicks, who sat rigid and silent.

Two words passed between his lips: "Burnt flesh."

"How do you know?"

"I've done a lot more than fight monsters Nick, so trust me when I say I know the smell well," the major responded as his hands began to twitch while his eyes remained rigid.

After a few minutes of the horrible smell, a massive metal roadblock appeared causing the vehicle to slide to a stop. Both men exited the vehicle to see the full reality of the situation. A non-moving and most likely dead Jet Jaguar was blocking the quickest route to the small coastal town.

"How long until the bombing?" Nick calmly asked.

Hicks looked at his watch. "Thirty minutes."

------------------------------------------------

Gaira cowered and shielded himself with his large arms as explosions detonated all over him from enemies he could not effectively fight. A small miracle occurred though for the fiend as the bombardment paused. The gargantuan stood upright to see the skies clear and the things that had bombed him fly away. Before the creature could figure out why, an all too familiar screech filled the air. Gaira turned to see Gyaos, who was at the other end of the airstrip, watching its flock fight another creature. Realizing that vengeance on the bird was within his reach, Gaira charged toward the goliaths.

The large adult Gyaos watched as Zilla was attacked from all direction from its flock. Weak sonic rays sliced into Zilla's hide from all directions from the juvenile Gyaos causing Zilla to become lined with surgical-like cuts. A lucky heat ray caused one small beast to ignite in flames but the eleven others continued their assault. The lizard though was unwilling to back down to the attackers until the adult Gyaos flew and struck the unaware monster to the ground. Realizing that he could not win fighting both the full-grown and the smaller Gyaos, a blood covered Zilla dug into the earth at lightning speed. Within a few seconds, the reptile had disappeared from the sight of all of the spectators and combatants. The adult Gyaos waited patiently for Zilla to appear only for a familiar shriek to gain her attention.

The adult Gyaos quickly flew into the air as Gaira stopped his sprint where the creature had originally been. The gargantuan shrieked into the air at his foe before the flock attacked Gaira. The gargantuan immediately grabbed one Gyaos in each of his hands and crushed them in his grasp. Then he grabbed another, chomped it in half, and swallowed the chewed remnants. The mature Gyaos watched as its flock was slowly slaughtered and in an attempt to stop the gruesome killings of its offspring, fired a sonic ray through Gaira's chest. The seven remaining Gyaos fled as the gargantuan fell to his knees.

Gaira’s own blood pooled in his jaws yet the beast was far from finished. A fact represented well as Gaira lunged forward and head-butted the adult Gyaos.

Gyaos flight came to a complete stop as the monster fell to the ground before being pulled over to Gaira. The green humanoid wasted little time and started punching and clawing at Gyaos. The bird screeched in agony and fired multiple sonic rays at the gargantuan, one slicing open the fiend's neck but that only caused the humanoid's attack to gain in ferocity. Then, tired of attacking and wanting to fulfill his vengeance on the demonic creature, Gaira put a stranglehold on Gyaos. It was time to bring this battle to an end.

The winged creature felt its windpipe breaking and sent its talons deep into Gaira's body. Large gashes formed on Gaira's abdomen from the talons but the major wound did not stop the beast. Gyaos' vision was growing blacker and blacker and as death was about to meet the demonic creature, the ground started cracking. Gaira and Gyaos had little time to react as the ground opened up around them and swallowed both monsters whole. Gaira easily lifted himself out of the sinkhole which gave the winged beast a moment to fly out of the pit toward the volcano in retreat. As the gargantuan stood upright, he found Zilla waiting for him at the surface.

------------------------------------------------

After gazing at the full length of the robot, Nick let out a sigh at the sight. "It will take too long if we double back, not to mention too dangerous since the Gyaos would see us out in the open. And we can't go through the trees since they are too thick. We don’t have the time to spare..." Nick clenched his hands into fists as the thought continued to provoke and taunt him. "Can't you call off the bombing?"

"Not an option," Hicks countered. "Remember those Chinooks? Well we got those as long as we entered a joint operation agreement with Japan and the guy they sent is a hard ass.”

Nick’s eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“Funny Tatopoulos, but even with me here I doubt he will stop it."

"Didn't you call off the operation over the island?" the scientist countered.

Veins started appearing over the Major's forehead before he replied, "Yes I did and the guy now in charge probably reinforced my call. I’ll give him credit though; with the Gyaos showing up I am surprised he didn’t launch the missile.”

With little options and deciding to think, Nick began to walk around the perimeter of the machine with Hicks following shortly behind.  

About half way around the non-moving Jet Jaguar, the source of the smell became clear to Nick. A burned and bloody body of one of the Gairas lay next to the dormant machine.

"Told you Tatopoulos.”

Nick nodded before looking and seeing the broken arm of Jet Jaguar.

"Electrocution,” Hicks noted with a slight smirk of self-amusement. “I’ll give this robot credit for that. Better than anything your mascot ever did.”

Nick then pondered the statement Hicks had said before asking him, "Do you still have your radio?"

Hicks looked at Nick, his smirk still ever present. "Dr. Craven’s a little out of our reception wouldn’t you agree?"

"Not him I was thinking of Major. Radio Goro and meet me in the damaged arm!" Nick instructed before he ran off toward the car.

------------------------------------------------

The pilots that were in charge of flying the medical Chinook had thought they had escaped hell when they evacuated the island only to find themselves in another hell of their own making.

"Turn this helicopter around or I swear I will make sure you two were left back there!" Audrey yelled in pure rage.

"Listen lady we can't turn this thing around even if we wanted to!" one of the pilots responded. "The island’s now infested with more monsters and it's too dangerous like we have said before!"

"Want to see dangerous?" Audrey retorted. "See what happens to you if the people you left don't make it off the island!"

At the breaking point and irritated beyond belief, the pilot that replied earlier stood up out of his chair. His size easily dwarfed Audrey yet the reporter held her ground even as the pilot leaned over to her and said to her face, "Listen lady they are probably dead or they will be from the bombing and there is nothing we can do so go sit down and…"

Audrey threw a punch and it landed on the pilot's nose which let out a sickly snap. The man screamed in agony as his nose broke and bled while Audrey stood over the man, the dozens of passengers remaining silent from the act. "I can guarantee you they are not dead!" Audrey exclaimed before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around, her fist ready to strike again only to discover Goro. "They will be fine," the old Japanese man stated in a sincere voice. "Have faith in them." Audrey let a breath pass through her lips and accepted Goro's words. With Goro leading her, Audrey returned to her seat beside two soldiers who looked gratuitous at her act.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The soldier replied smugly, "He really deserved a punch in the face for leaving the major back there. Thanks for doing what we all felt like doing."

A slight smile of satisfaction formed on Audrey’s face yet faded quickly as buzzing started over the radios of all the military personnel in the Chinook before a familiar voice sounded off.

"This is Major Hicks. Come in, Medical Chinook. I repeat, this is Major Hicks come in Medical Chinook. Over."

Audrey rushed to one of the soldiers, grabbed their radio and answered, "Hello Hicks, this is Audrey. How are you and Nick?"

"We're both fine and headed toward the civilian docks to get a ship, but I need to get Goro on the radio pronto.”

"What about Nick, is he okay?" Audrey questioned.

"He is fine, but the faster you get Goro on the radio the faster we get off this despicable spit of land," the Major retorted.

Audrey hurried over to the old Japanese man and quickly gave him the radio.

"Hello?” Goro curiously asked.

"This is Major Hicks. I am speaking to Goro Ibuki correct?"

"Yes.”  

"Good, I will make this short. Tatopoulos and I are on our way to the island's civilian docks; however, we have been blocked by your robot. It electrocuted Gaira with a broken limp, knocking itself out. Any possible way we can…I don’t know… reboot him?"

A long pause followed Hick's statement as Goro absorbed the explanation.

"Yes, there is one way. If you enter him, connect the major circuitry back together, and send a small electric jolt through his system; the minor feedback should give my assistant enough time to activate a reboot of his internal core.”

"Unless you want us to just tie them together, how exactly do we connect them?"

"The wires, once you put their ends together and the jolt is achieved, should repair themselves. It is a repair feature that is quite similar to biological regeneration."

"So get inside, attach wires and leave the rest to the robot. Is that basically all?"

"Simply, yes," Goro noted.

"That's all I need to know," the Major assured. "This is Major Hicks, over and out."

------------------------------------------------

Gaira crossed the destroyed remnants of the airfield with ease only for Zilla to swipe the gargantuan with its tail. Gaira fell but recovered from the fall quickly and lunged at the reptile. Zilla tried another tail swipe only for Gaira to catch the appendage and toss the lizard across the landscape with ease. Zilla landed on the old command house of the airfield, destroying the last landmark of the area, before getting back on its feet and sprinting toward Gaira. The gargantuan countered by running at full speed toward Zilla only for the two monsters to ram each other. The two monsters then grappled; both trying to make the other budge but neither would give ground until Gaira chomped down on Zilla’s neck. The green fiend ripped out a large chunk of flesh and the massive amount of pain caused Zilla to fall back. Gaira, taking advantage of his downed enemy, jumped on top of Zilla and started hammering its head with furious punches. Shrieks of agony filled the air before Zilla unleashed an acute heat ray at the massive wound on Gaira’s abdomen. The humanoids insides burned and then cauterized before the green creature fell off of Zilla in severe pain. Zilla scrambled away and dug under the ground while Gaira checked his new wound.

The gargantuan, after a few seconds of adjusting to the new agony of his fresh wound, stood back up to continue his fight with Zilla only to find his enemy gone. A thunderous shriek sounded from the green gargantuan only for the ground underneath of him to cave in. Gaira, while falling into the freshly made space underneath the ground, remembered the last time this occurred and prepared to climb up, only for Zilla to strike the unsuspecting fiend.

Top soil and rock covered the gargantuan’s face as dirt from the surrounding walls started filling the newly created void in the ground. Zilla, an expert at the underground, ignored the falling earth and chomped down on Gaira’s shoulder. Unable to truly combat Zilla from all the earth being buried on him, Gaira started randomly clawing at the lizard’s head until after one lucky swipe to the eye, the reptile released his grip. Gaira, using his hands to stop the dirt from disturbing his vision, opened his eyes to find his foe merely to see the inside of Zilla’s maw, which was meters in front of him, and then a green light.

Zilla unleashed a highly concentrated heat ray at the gargantuan’s face. Green flames enveloped Gaira’s head before traveling through the fiend’s mouth and down the humanoid’s throat to his lungs. The dirt coincidentally stopped falling as the ray ended which revealed to Zilla the full extent of his attack. Gaira’s head was nothing but a green skull as all of its skin had burned off, its eyes were melted into its own head, and its hands were at his own throat as the gargantuan desperately gasped for air to no fortune. Seconds of gasping was then followed by Gaira falling limp in the underground void. Bloody, bruised, and tired; Zilla put one foot on the dead Gaira, and roared into the air from his subterranean death trap. The lizard afterward climbed out of the void, and buried the body of Gaira and the gargantuan‘s hopes for revenge under the earth. Sensing his father was still in trouble though, Zilla started sprinting before burrowing under the ground to get to his adopted parent.

------------------------------------------------

With a car battery now in hand, Nick hurried over to the broken arm of Jet Jaguar. Upon entering the scientist stopped at the amazing sight and studied the inside of the robot as he waited for Hick’s to arrive. A robotic exoskeleton was intermeshed with wiring like that of veins inside of a human.

“Okay Mendel, you weren’t exaggerating on this one,” Nick stated to himself before the sudden clamor of footsteps made him turn around to see Hicks.

“Any luck Major?”

“Yeah Tatopoulos, if we put the wires close enough and send a small current through them, we should provide enough of a jolt to get this thing running again.”

Nick scanned the robot for the two largest broken wires and after finding them, cautiously pulled them close to each other. The wires had diameters of tires and were extremely heavy but after a few minutes of struggling, the two men finally brought the shredded wires together. Nick carried the car battery and set it between both wires.

“How did you know about the battery?” Hicks curiously asked.

“Mendel sometimes needs a power source to restart N.I.G.E.L. and Jet Jaguar’s design was one of his inspirations so logically this machine would have the same process. I will admit, I did not think it could be this simple.”  

Both men grabbed a wire and slowly edged the cords closer to the battery until bolts of electricity started flowing between the two. The wires then connected themselves to each other which surrounded the battery before all of the other wires started sparking inside of the arm.

“Move it!” Hicks shouted signaling Nick to run with him out of the damaged limb.

Jet Jaguar felt himself awake from his cybernetic coma. The bolt had given Jet Jaguar a millisecond of power but for the robot it seemed an eternity. In that short time, the machine activated its power core to reboot, its repair features to activate and finally its processors to come back online. As his power levels returned to a usable threshold, Jet Jaguar sent out a sonic cry to announce his return.

Hicks and Nick ran back to the car for safety only then to hear a sonic shriek. They turned around to see Jet Jaguar, rising off the ground. The robot scanned the area before locating the two men responsible for his activation and knelt beside them. Robot and man stared at the other for a few seconds before the massive form of Jet Jaguar suddenly shrank down to the size of a normal human. Hicks and Nick remained speechless until the robot walked over to them and offered its hand in thanks. Nick smirked and took the robot’s hand while Hicks ignored the act.

“Listen, can you fly us off this hunk of rock?” Hicks commented, attracting Jet Jaguar and Nick’s attention.

Jet Jaguar looked over his body and scanned his systems. His core was relatively weak and his thrusters were in a state of repair. At max, a few minutes of flight could be attained or a few minutes in a larger state but nothing more at that moment. Unable to communicate all of these findings to the two individuals, Jet Jaguar simply swayed his head negatively.

“Dammit,” Hicks cursed before he looked at his watch and said, “No car battery, no car and fifteen minutes left. Fine how are going to help us?”

Jet Jaguar remained still a moment before he walked passed both men and stood behind their automobile. The two then watched as Jet Jaguar grew slightly and physically pushed the vehicle over to them. A sonic cry then sounded from the machine, alerting both Nick and Hicks to get in.

“He is going to push us?” Hicks remarked. “Why can’t he become huge and just fly us out?”

“Probably too much power usage for its rebooted core to handle right now,” Nick retorted before he walked over to get into the driver’s seat.

“So growing over ten feet and pushing a car a couple miles is less power consuming.” The Major groaned before he rested his forehead in his palm and let out a sigh. “This is turning out to be one hell of a day,” the military officer stated begrudgingly before he entered the passenger seat.

With everyone inside, Jet Jaguar then started running, pushing the vehicle toward the coastal town.

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Audrey felt the Chinook land and looked out the window to see the large vessel it was on. Jets lined the one side of the vessel along with the Chinooks from the airfield, the length had to be at least three football fields long, hundreds of people were being given water and food at the far end of the ship, and dozens of men in uniform were working on the deck. She then remembered some news reports she had done on the navy in addition to Hick’s speech and concluded she was on the U.S.S. George Washington.

The reporter though had little time to marvel at the air craft carrier before the back gate opened. U.S. marines and Japanese troops waited behind the falling door and as the back fully opened, both sets of soldiers immediately evacuated the Chinook. Dozens of Hick’s soldiers, who were already in the transport vehicle, assisted the soldiers as wounded and others exited the craft. Not wanting to be alone, Audrey stayed close to Goro as they ventured through civilian zones on the carrier. A loudspeaker suddenly echoed causing all of the civilians to turn and face a small, poorly constructed stand. A Japanese man of middle age walked up to the podium before he started speaking to the crowd of a thousand people.

“Hello everyone, my name is Naoto Kitazawa and I am the person currently in charge of this operation. You should have no worries as you are safe here and in the next few minutes will re-board my government’s Chinooks and fly toward the nearest island airport which is in the Philippines. Re-boarding is in five minutes,” Naoto stated before he turned away from the podium.

“Follow my lead,” Audrey whispered to Goro as Naoto started walking away.

“What about the people still on the island!” Audrey shouted from the relatively quiet crowd.

Naoto Kitazawa stopped and turned his attention back on the sea of people. Within a few seconds the officer was back on his stand and in anger retorted, “You must be confused mam as all persons have been accounted for.”

“Major Anthony Hicks and Nick Tatopoulos! They don’t ring any bells?”

As the veins on the Japanese man became apparent to the crowd, Audrey smirked in her success.

Naoto stealthily pointed to Audrey, capturing the attention of a few Japanese soldiers under his command. The officers walked over and readied to escort Audrey out of the crowd only for Goro to step in front of them.

“If you take her then I must come too,” the old man declared to the military personnel. Deciding it best to take both, the officers escorted the pair inside of the carrier as the mob of civilians on the deck returned to the Chinooks.

“Why are we here?” Goro inquired as the two walked into the U.S.S. George Washington.

“We are not going to be any help in the Philippines. Not to mention Nick and Hicks are going to need our help stalling the bombing,” Audrey whispered before the two entered a final door and found themselves in the command room of the U.S.S. George Washington.

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The coastal town appeared in the distance as Nick and Hicks neared the area. Jet Jaguar stopped pushing the car though as the road to the town ended with down trees. Jet Jaguar walked over to the road blocks and tried to lift them out of the way but with one arm and little power to use, the machine could not budge the debris.

“It’s fine,” Nick announced as he exited the car, attracting Jet Jaguar’s attention. “The towns a quarter mile away. We can make it on foot from here.”

The robot nodded in approval before the three started running toward the town.

As Jet Jaguar, Nick, and Hicks ran to the first of three rows of a dozen buildings, slight shrieks made them all run for the nearest cover. Nick peeked from the corner of a fishing store to see a juvenile Gyaos on top of one of the buildings in the center of the town. The creature’s small head barely peaked over the roof but the movement revealed it consuming what appeared to be the man who jumped out of the Chinook. A chill went through Nick’s spine as he tried to imagine the death of the fisherman only to quickly regain his cool and re-focus on the docks. Nick returned his gaze back to Hicks before the scientist asked, “Have anything to take out a small Gyaos but not loud enough to cause the whole flock to come?”

“Depends on your definition of quiet,” Hicks whispered. “If anything is close, my rifle would alert it.”

Nick then turned to Jet Jaguar and asked, “Can you take it out quietly?”

A second later, Jet Jaguar nodded and silently made his way toward the unsuspecting Gyaos.

The robot quickly entered the one-story home the Gyaos perched itself on. As Jet Jaguar entered, the Gyaos stopped eating and looked down at the landscape below as if it sensed something was wrong. A moment later, a massive arm burst through the roof and yanked the unsuspecting monster into the building. A slight yelp was heard before a sickening crack followed the sound. Jet Jaguar exited the building before signaling Hicks and Nick that it was clear.

The two men hurried over to the machine’s position only to glimpse the dead body of the Gyaos inside the home. The three then headed for the intersection to check if the next group of houses were clear. With no Gyaos in sight, the small group continued further into the town until the pier came into view and with it a few boats.

A sense of hope started to resonate within Nick as the boats came in view only then to hear a slight creak. In the middle of the road, Nick turned around to see a red blur disappear behind some buildings. The scientist closed his eyes and concentrated on his hearing before a slight crackle filled his ears. Realizing the situation, Nick sprinted forward and yelled, “It’s a trap! Go, go, go!”

Hicks turned to yell at Nick only to see multiple juvenile Gyaos take flight. In an instant, the Major pulled out his rifle and opened fire on the three Gyaos. Jet Jaguar positioned himself in front of Nick before growing to his maximum size for his injured core which was about fifteen meters. Two Gyaos attacked the robot but the third bird flew around Jet Jaguar and grabbed the fleeing scientist.

Nick yelled and thrashed in the grip of the Gyaos as the two flew to the end of the town. Jet Jaguar, in an attempt to save Nick, fired up its thrusters only for them to shut down. His core unable to take the stress, Jet Jaguar shrunk himself back down to his normal human size and rebooted his thrusters. The robot then flew after Nick as fast as his core would let him but even stressing his systems; Jet Jaguar was not as fast as the young Gyaos in his present condition.

The two Gyaos seeing Jet Jaguar fly after their sibling were about to give chase when they heard new prey.

“Hey, fresh meat right here!” Hicks yelled attracting both Gyaos to his position. The creatures landed on opposite sides of the Major before each let out a screech to their prey. Hicks smiled and after checking his rifle in addition to pulling one of his pistols; Hicks looked back at both monsters. “And here I was afraid I wouldn’t get to kick a little ass today.”

Both Gyaos charged at the Major only for them to suddenly come under fire. Hick’s rifle and pistol unleashed concentrated lead on both of the Gyaos before he jumped out of the way at the last second. Both Gyaos collided with each other as Hicks primed and tossed all of his grenades at the birds. Three series of explosions detonated over the two before the smoke cleared to reveal two bloody yet still moving forms. Dazed from the explosions, the Gyaos slowly made their way toward Hicks only for the Major to reload and fire his rifle again. Firing the last of his ammunition into one of the Gyaos’ heads; Hicks drew a sigh of relief as one of the birds fell dead. The other Gyaos lunged and slammed into the Major sending him flying into a building in addition to causing some of his belongings to fall on the ground. Pressing its advantage, the Gyaos grabbed Hicks with the talons on its feet and pulled him in close to finish him off only for Hicks to pull out both of his pistols and unload both guns on the bird’s head. After a few shots through the brain, Gyaos fell dead on top of Hicks. The Major pulled himself out from under the deceased bird and gradually stumbled to his feet.

“Still have it,” Hicks pronounced before he felt a sudden pain in all of his limbs and started limping toward the pier, un-aware of the military radio that lay behind him.

Nick dropped to the roof of a building as the Gyaos landed next to its fallen meal. Nick started crawling away in attempt to escape only for the Gyaos to grab him by the leg with its mouth and toss him like a rag doll to the other side of the roof. The juvenile bird then quickly moved over to his meal and stepped on Nick’s leg to make sure he could not move. Nick struggled to no success to free himself as the Gyaos moved its head closer and closer to him. As the bird’s face was within a few feet; Nick punched the bird in an act of defiance before he recovered to his feet and started running toward the edge. Nick readied to jump down to the street below only to trip within a few feet of the edge. A loud cracking sound followed and the scientist turned around to see the juvenile Gyaos fly directly at and then over him. Confused, Nick looked over the edge to see the winged creature now lying still on the sidewalk below. A sonic cry echoed above causing Nick to look away from the dead creature and look up. Hovering just above him, Jet Jaguar hovered while displaying its infamous grin.  

“Can you take me to the Major?” Nick asked causing the robot to hoist the scientist off the ground and very slowly hover him toward the docks.

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Hicks checked the boat for any keys, a spare, anything to begin the vessel he resided upon but nothing appeared. As he felt his fists clenching with frustration, the sound of rockets made him exit the indoor compartment to see Nick and Jet Jaguar land on his ship.

“Glad to see you’re in one shape.”

“Thanks Major, my leg might disagree though,” Nick noted as he limped toward the military officer.

Hicks smirked before he declared, “We can worry about that once we’re off this rock, but I have checked a couple of these vessels and none have any keys so there are a couple more…”

Nick silently moved past the Major and walked into the small fishing vessels interior. A few seconds later, the vessel’s engine roared to life. Nick exited the interior to discover a very surprised Hicks. “One of the few things Randy has taught me over the years when the H.E.A.T. Seeker’s keys are lost. Usually by him.”

Hicks chuckled from the story but stopped as a massive shadow enveloped the entire boat. Nick, Hicks and Jet Jaguar all looked up to see the adult Gyaos now flying straight down at the boat in an attack pattern.

“It must have been alerted by its offspring!” Nick yelled as he bolted for the boats controls. The boat sped to life but the Gyaos proved too fast and landed next to the boat which was still in shallow water.

Jet Jaguar took a fighting pose, Hicks pulled out both of his pistols and Nick aimed the boat in an attempt to go under the bird but an eruption of water caused Nick to veer toward the pier. As the water cleared, Zilla came into view. Its eyes focused on the red creature and his arms retracted as if ready to pounce.  

Zilla looked down at the boat before a screech caused him to look up to see Gyaos’ talons. Gyaos slammed its legs into the lizard and sent the monster stumbling ashore.

“Zilla!” Nick screamed as he left the control station to watch the two monsters battle.

“We don’t have time to stay and watch Tatopoulos we need to move now!” Hicks ordered as he ran into the vessel and sped the boat toward the open sea.

“We can’t leave him behind!” Nick pleaded as he followed the Major into the boat. “Radio in and ask for fifteen extra minutes.”

“I doubt they will give you one but I will try,” Hicks responded sincerely but as he reached for his radio, a sense of frustration covered his face.

“Damn it! I must have dropped it when we were attacked!” Hicks angrily shouted before smashing one of his fists against the dashboard and taking a much needed deep breath. “Sorry Nick, nothing I can do.”

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Audrey and Goro, under the policing of several security officers, waited in the command center of the U.S.S. George Washington until the current commander of the operation, Naoto Kitazawa, walked in. The man stared at Goro and then at Audrey before asking the reporter, “Might I ask why you wanted to spread fear on board of this vessel even though it brought you nothing but safety?”

Audrey smiled and retorted, “Well first, don’t you know it’s not nice to keep a girl waiting and secondly, I was spreading the truth. That is my job.”

Naoto cringed at Audrey before he furiously asked, “How do you know?”

Audrey smiled and said insultingly, “The person that you report to told me about it yesterday.”

“So he told civilians?” Naoto snickered as he thought of the act. “Unprofessional.”

“Look I’ll cut right to the chase. Please hold off on the bombing and help...”

“I apologize but your friend and the Major both left of their own will. They created their own graves, not me.”

Audrey’s fists clenched. “You have to do something! You can’t sit back and let them die!”

Noato glanced away from Audrey, instantly noticing the glares from the crew and captain of the ship. Feeling the universal frustration, Naoto let out a sigh.

“I am not as heartless as you say. I am a soldier, one that is following his own orders.”

Slowly Naoto turned back to face Audrey.

“And you can ask the crew, I requested an attempt at communication, but he did not reply.”

Goro watched as Audrey’s face filled with disbelief and in response, Goro smiled. “They are certainly not dead, this I am sure.”

“How can you be?” Naoto skeptically asked.

“I have seen a lot of things in my time. Our country ravaged by evils you believe to be fighting against. But I have also witnessed a lot of great men rise to face these evils with an unparalleled drive. Those men are no different.”

The Japanese commander smirked. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Goro looked at Naoto in the eyes and pointed at his own.

“The eyes. Yours look of fear, they twitch slightly of doubt but not theirs. Theirs are focused, set on a goal which they will fight to accomplish.”

Naoto slowly stepped away from the old man and looked at his watch.

“As I said, I have my orders and the missile is launching in two… one…”

A sound of thunder caused Audrey and Goro to turn and look out the window to see a missile flying from a cruiser into the horizon. Audrey watched the missile and silently hoped Goro was right. She could not see the island from her angle but she hoped with all her heart that Nick was not on it.

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The boat that Hicks, Nick and Jet Jaguar had commandeered floated about half a mile away from the island. Hicks looked at his watch and then yelled to Nick, “Get inside and close the door.”

Nick hurried with Jet Jaguar before he asked, “What kind of bomb is it that it could reach us out here? It can’t be nuclear.”

“It’s a new fuel air bomb that makes the Russians ‘Father of all Bombs’ look like a fire cracker. Burns hotter than lava and longer than any of its kind. You’re about to feel like you’re at the top of Mt. Everest except without the cold to comfort you.”

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Zilla skidded backward into the resort. The building shuddered but stayed standing as Zilla used it too rebound and slash the winged fiend. The Gyaos screeched in agony before Zilla hit the bird with a tail swipe that sent the bird flying into the town. Rubble flew everywhere as the Gyaos skidded through the settlement before it rose back to its feet. The two starred at the other before they both heard the sound of a rocket. Both monsters turned and watched as a single missile flew inland at high speeds. Realizing the impending danger, Zilla instinctively started burrowing underground right next to the resort. Gyaos, thinking the lizard was retreating, fired a sonic ray that that missed Zilla but cut through the Crimson Twilight. A second later, the whole structure collapsed. Rubble, cement and plaster fell into the hole Zilla was building and buried the monster in its own escape route. The demonic bird screeched into the air of its success and took flight toward the ocean only to be followed by the impact of the missile on the center of the isle.

Nick watched as low level clouds in the sky were sucked toward the middle of the island before a flash of light, equal to that of the sun erupted. The blaze engulfed the island in seconds before impacting the Gyaos and engrossing it in fire. The wall of heat, after swallowing the demonic bird whole and traveling about a hundred meters further, stopped expanding but kept burning. The window, from which Nick was watching, suddenly shattered sucking all the oxygen out of the room and both men’s lungs. Nick instantly collapsed to the ground along with Hicks alerting the third member of the group to the dire situation. Jet Jaguar knelt down beside the two men in an attempt to help but there was little the robot could actually do while the duo suffocated.

Nick coughed, gasped and gagged for air on the floor of the boat as his body struggled to inhale oxygen. A minute of intense breathing and air loss then was met with the boat rocking violently as high speed winds battered the vessel to fill in the atmosphere-less void left from the bomb as the fire dissipated. A panicked breath returned to Nick as he took a much needed gasp of air from the returning atmosphere. Wheezing and sounding out of breath, Nick inquired, “Every…Everyone… okay…?”

Hicks nodded as he still could not find the air to talk and Jet Jaguar gave a thumbs up followed by a sonic screech. Nick pulled himself to his feet and re-adjusted the vessel’s course before taking a few much needed deep breathes.

“How long until they… find us?” Nick painfully asked.

“Ten minutes… tops,” Hicks quietly and weakly replied as Jet Jaguar assisted him back to his feet.

“What happened to that… strong commanding… voice Major?”

Hicks just shook his head and retorted as loud as he could, “Hell… I think!”

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“Sir, we are bringing the fleet closer to the island, but we just received a message from Captain Cole of the Cowpens about survivors,” a radio officer announced. “Shall I play it aloud?”

The Captain looked back at Naoto, a shocked reaction on his face while Audrey’s lit up with life.

“That sounds like a good idea. Play it aloud!” the Captain of the carrier announced.

The speakers at first hissed with static. Everyone in the room covered their ears until an older voice pierced the defining screech.

“This Captain Cole of the U.S.S. Cowpens; we have a small fishing vessel in sight. Looks like survivors are onboard. I would recommend alerting your medical personnel. One of them appears to have lost an arm but damn, he looks happy to have been found.”

Naoto stood motionless and confused until Goro said, “I told you they were alive and they even have my assistant.”

“How do you know it is them?” Naoto inquired.

“Who else but my assistant would smile in that condition?” Goro humorously remarked.

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Two demonic eyes slowly opened as the body of Gyaos washed ashore. A searing pain enveloped the monster as it became conscious and its wounds took hold of its mind. The winged creature was entirely covered with burns, its wings were shredded due to the intense fires and bone glistened from the sun in many places across the rotting beast. The skeletal and grotesque form of Gyaos rose and took flight to find out what had attacked it as well as end it.

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A helicopter slowed to a hover next to the survivor’s ship allowing medical personnel to come aboard the vessel. The crew gave oxygen equipment to Nick and Hicks while staying far away from Jet Jaguar. A reaction the robot understood as it stood next to the pair. The pure oxygen made Hicks smile with relief yet as the Major turned, he found his friend lost in saddening thought with his head tilted down.

“Sure that lizard is fine. I should know, I dropped more ordinance on him when we met.”

Nick grinned and looked up into the air merely for his eyes to retract in fright. Hicks followed his gaze merely to react in the same way. The zombie looking form of Gyaos flew high in the sky, a smoke trail blazing behind her from the still burning flesh on her body.

Hicks continued to stare until his peripheral vision noticed movement. He turned to find Nick now standing, against the medical crew’s orders. Nick waived them aside and took one last breath before he removed the mask and said, “We need to stop that thing. We can’t risk it engaging the fleet.”

Hicks rose to his feet and stood next to Jet Jaguar. “That I can agree with Tatopolous, but what do you need?”

Ignoring the pain his lungs reminded him effectively of, Nick looked at Jet Jaguar and said, “We need Zilla to finish this. Jet Jaguar, can you go back to the island and unbury him.” Nick glanced at Hicks before he said, “I concur with our expert, he is definitely alive.”

Jet Jaguar gave a thumbs up with his one good arm and checked his thrusters. With their repairs recently finished, the robot blasted into the sky.

“And what about us?” Hicks hastily asked.

Nick glanced at the chopper and the medical team that had arrived. “All of you may want to stay here. We are going to need your ride.”

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Jet Jaguar flew top speed toward the island as the fleet grouped together in preparation for what was about to attack it. It only took a few minutes for the robot to land where the resort had been but the robot’s scans revealed the destroyed landscape. Glass fragments covered the once luxurious beach areas, the tropical shrubbery had been burned away and the ground had a sickly black coating. The hole in which Zilla had been buried was now partially open from the intense fire ball burning some of the rubble away. Jet Jaguar immediately grew to its maximum size for its core, which was about fifteen meters and started digging. The robot removed massive chunks of plaster and rubble before he found the tip of the lizard’s tail.

Unable to lift Zilla free, Jet Jaguar ran possible scenarios until he found a suitable plan. The robot reached into its shredded arm, grabbed a wire and slowly edged ii to Zilla’s tail. A small jolt connected the wire and the tail for a brief second but nothing happened. Jet Jaguar tried again and then a last third jolt only for Zilla to remain stagnant. Calculating the poor odds of his tactic working any further, Jet Jaguar decided to keep digging Zilla out. As Jet Jaguar started removing more rubble, a slight movement caught its optical sensors. Jet Jaguar turned to see Zilla’s tail gone from its original position. A low growl echoed through the debris underneath the robot before the ground started rising. Jet Jaguar sprinted away before Zilla’s head burst through the ground. Rubble, water and debris flew in all directions as Zilla lifted itself out of its hastily created grave. Noticing the reflective man below, Zilla lowered its head and studied the small figure that had awakened it.

With its first prime goal accomplished, Jet Jaguar started to communicate with Zilla. Sonic cries filled the air and the robot began signaling the reptile with hand signs. Zilla cocked its head in curiosity as the robot spoke, informing of him of the Gyaos, the bomb and…

BOOM!

Zilla and Jet Jaguar looked out to the sea, watching the glow of a small fireball fade in the distance. Realizing the lack of time, Jet Jaguar pointed toward the sea and signaled the lizard to follow. Zilla bellowed in agreement before Jet Jaguar flew toward the U.S.S. George Washington. Zilla dove into the ocean before swimming at full speed behind the robot. A massive wall of water formed around the swimming lizard as the two swiftly moved toward the fleet.

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Anti-air rounds and missiles flew into the air to try to kill the attacking Gyaos yet the agility of the creature even in its deathly state proved more than a match for the fleet. Sonic rays brought down any Jet in the air and one unlucky cruiser as the ray sliced it in half. Gyaos aimed itself at the U.S.S. George Washington, its maw glowing yellow as it gathered energy merely for a flare to fly by its head. The beast glanced at its origination to discover the man from the airfield hanging out of a helicopter.

“I think I got its attention!” Nick screamed as Hicks piloted the chopper toward the island while avoiding friendly fire.

An angry screech echoed from the flying red beast and a sonic ray erupted from its jaws, slicing off the tail rotor of the chopper.    The vehicle immediately flew into a deadly spin. Hicks fought for control but without the rotor his actions were useless. The Major glanced below, noticing the Super Carrier’s deck quickly approaching and yelled to Nick, “JUMP!”

Nick removed the safety straps and jumped, falling a dozen feet before breaking his fall on the deck. Blackness instantly greeted the scientist before the pain of the impact awakened him. Nick looked around for the chopper but he could not spot a trace of it. A sudden quake caused Nick to roll as the carrier tilted before the ship evened out, allowing Nick to painfully get to his feet. Nick’s eyes then widened as he realized what now stood at the opposite end of the carrier.

The red demonic creature remembered its previous altercations with the scientist and wasted little time in starting to walk over to its new found prey. Marines exited the interior of the carrier, providing covering fire for the fleeing personnel only to retreat as the Gyaos passed by and tried to peck at the soldiers with its mouth.

With nowhere to go but down, Nick prepared to jump but a shining glimmer caught his attention. The highly reflective object leveled out and touched down beside him, its confident smile ready to combat the living death in front of the pair.

Jet Jaguar emitted a piercing sonic cry, instructing the Gyaos to back away, but Gyaos only lunged. Jet Jaguar grabbed Nick and sky rocketed up as a massive wall of water hit the carrier. The demonic creature staggered back before falling to the steel deck while the carrier shook from the impact. Gyaos quickly rose back to its feet only to see Zilla climb aboard the U.S.S. George Washington.

The Gyaos charged and swung its wing at the lizard, impacting Zilla and forcing him to skid on the runway but the determined reptile remained on the vessel. The demonic creature then swung its wing again only for Zilla to catch it with its mouth and rip off its entire arm. Gyaos screeched in agony before retreating back to the opposite edge of the carrier. The bird looked back at its side and then at Zilla who tossed the wing into the ocean. Realizing that it could not retreat or fly, Gyaos fired its sonic ray. Too quick to react, the ray sliced across Zilla’s abdomen. Blood pooled on the deck and Zilla fell, causing Gyaos to screech arrogantly. A pained breath escaped Zilla’s jaws and the reptile weakly rose only for the Gyaos to fire another quick sonic ray through Zilla’s left arm. The retpile fell again, struggling to rise as Gyaos opened its maw one last time. Sonic waves started emitting from Gyaos’ mouth and intensified with each passing second. Glass started breaking as the sonic waves increased in strength. As the sonic ray was about to reach full power, a sonic cry, other than the one Gyaos was screeching, filled the air.

Jet Jaguar flew straight at the bird with its shredded arm leading its form, colliding with the creature’s eye. The nerve ruptured from the impact sending blood spurting in all directions and in extreme agony, the Gyaos fired its sonic ray straight into the air as it fell on the command structure on the vessel. Jet Jaguar then sent another sonic cry into the air telling Zilla to attack now. Zilla looked up, watching the Gyaos frenzy in terror and slap Jet Jaguar away before the bird turned toward the reptile, its sole eye focused on him. A menacing screech echoed from Gyaos as Zilla lunged forward.

Zilla’s jaws snapped onto the beast’s neck and the reptile pushed with all of its might. The demonic creature sunk its talons into the deck in a desperate attempt to stop its movement, tearing up the steel floor, but Zilla’s will proved stronger as the two fell off the ship and plunged into the ocean.

Air bubbles rose from Gyaos’ jaws as it gasped for air as Zilla dragged it into the depths of the ocean. The beast’s skull began to crack, its hollow bones filled with water and blood seeped from every wound until its movements finally ceased. Zilla released its grip and floated away from the red corpse, watching the shadow of evil disappear into the pitch black void of the ocean. With victory finally achieved, Zilla gurgled a sigh of relief and slowly descended to the rocky ocean floor. With his father safe and his enemies defeated, Zilla welcomed the pitch blackness of a well-earned rest.

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Audrey and Nick sat side by side at the edge of the deck as they observed the island while the sun began to set in its background. The blackened, desolate island reflected the sunlight well and brought a sense of beauty back to the ruined isle.

“I wonder if Hicks would’ve liked the view,” Nick noted causing Audrey to lift her head off of his cast encased arm.

“I personally doubt it,” she noted. “He seemed to be enjoying all the morphine a lot more. In fact that smile he had might even be bigger than Jet, which reminds me.”

Audrey smacked Nick’s caste causing him to yelp and the crewmen in the distance to laugh.

“What was that for?”

“Running like an idiot today out of the helicopter.”

“I was…”

Audrey then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, silencing Nick.

“And that is for always coming back to me but next time, I would like you intact.”

“I’ll give it my best shot,” Nick sincerely noted before glancing at the elegant sight.  

“I knew I had chosen correctly,” Nick murmured to himself as he remembered what he had thought about when he and Audrey first arrived on the island.

“What did you say Nick?” Audrey asked as she leaned back on the scientist’s shoulder.

“Nothing,” the scientist replied as the island slowly disappeared into twilight with the sun. “Nothing at all.”