[Continued from Match 198]

Darkness.

The pitch blackness consumed Nick Tatopoulos's sight. Silence greeted his ears. No feelings embraced his skin, nor did his nose detect any smell. All of his senses were devoid of their basic functions, each trying to cause his brain to race with worry, dread, and fear, but Nick ignored the sporadic impulses. No, the nightmare would begin shortly.

An explosion of light and color reverberated the reality around Nick. A current of shape and hues which rushed past Nick like a river to a stone. It possessed no force, but contorted around him, revealing to him the memories of his past. The array of colorful fragments contorted to make the shapes of people, monsters, and events. No one lasted long enough to fully materialize, but Nick recognized them instantly.

In the corner of his eye, Dr. Elsie Chapman outstretched her right arm to greet a fellow follower of science. A fresh coffee stain stood out on the appendage, coupled with the bags under her eyes that her long, red hair could not hide. The same sleeplessness took grasp of renounced robotics expert Dr. Mendel Craven, who worked just behind her. While larger, his movements were not slow, but sporadic. The coffee obviously wearing thin, but who could sleep when a monster appeared on American soil. A monster many believed to be related to the King of the Monsters himself.

The shape fell apart and the sound of man arguing echoed around him. The military officer's voice proved condemning, yet sincere. Strong, but unsure of the events to follow.

"You do understand the ramifications if the C.I.A. or F.B.I. uncover anything about her."

"I've been informed the Turkish, Iraqi, Russian and Chinese governments are looking for a female French agent with dark hair with connections to your other French associate. If it is Moninque Dupre, or whoever she really is, then your team could be in danger. You may have that thing in the Hudson to protect you against other monsters, but I hope you can see having her around could lead to all of you getting shot. I can't protect…"

The plea suddenly faded, and a burst of color overloaded his sight. In front of Nick now was the Hudson Bay. The sun began to set, giving the water an orange hue from the few specs of light New York City didn't block. Sitting a few feet beside him, a young Puerto Rican man crunched a piece of paper into a ball and launched it. A few seagulls dove for the sphere, cawing in surprise when they discovered it not to be food.

"Funny way to frame your graduation certificate," Nick spoke through the memory he watched in front of him.

The young man stood and locked eyes with Nick's sight. For a moment, his brown eyes were still, his mouth unable to speak.

"Nah. Just a piece of paper."

The young man then pointed to his head, his dreadlocks bouncing off his finger from the wind.

"Plus, Jefe, I think the college may reconsider when they find out that every certificate has my name on it. Bet they'll buy my anti-virus software now, but until then, call me P.H.D. Dr. Randy Hernandez for like… a week."

Nick smiled at the memory before it began to fracture in front of him. The scientist continued to remain still, even as monstrous shadows began to break through his reality. Dozens of different roars reverberated until a skeletal hand of an alien behemoth crashed through the fragments in front of Nick.

The appendage at first reached for him, trying to crush the puny human in its grasp. Then, a new force took hold as the reality around him seemed to fade. The hand struck the ground, clawing into the colors to remain, yet an undetectable force took it and the torrent of memories. All of Nick's world rushed past him; the monster, the colors, even the darkness itself. In Nick's world, nothing remained in front of him, but a finite horizon of unknown possibilities. The sight terrified him to his very core.

Nick eyes bolted open. His breath was heavy, his heartbeat fast, but he knew the reality around him all too well. The scientist rested his head in his palms as he calmed himself, before he rolled over from his side, and gazed upon his sleeping wife, whose sight made the scientist forget the nightmare.

Audrey, a smile on her face, slept peacefully. Her blonde hair lay scattered, entangling part of Nick's arm in its grip. As he slowly untangled himself, Nick relished the moment. A knock at the door stopped the scientist's pondering, and he sluggishly rose to answer it. Nick edged the hotel door open to find not a staff member of the hotel, but a new nightmare dressed in a familiar, pressed military uniform. Immediately, Nick had the sudden urge to shut the door, go back to bed, and greet whatever monstrous dream surely awaited him.

"Hello… Major Hicks. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sorry, Tatopoulos, but I have little time to explain, so I need you to get dressed, get your things packed and come with me."

Nick let out an annoyed sigh as he tried focusing on the problem in front of him.

"Look, this is the last day of my honeymoon with my wife. Is the matter that urgent?" Nick inquired while rubbing the dust out of his eyes.

A vein popped on Hick's upper forehead and he quietly, but furiously, exclaimed, "Cameron Winter… he's back."

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

Silence.

To Cameron Winter, it was a tool like any other. It allowed him to concentrate on the obstacle that approached his trap. He possessed Cyber Godzilla, Zone Fighter, Rodan, Krystalak, and soon to be, a creature that could overpower them all. But would it be…?

His mind banished the thought, and a chuckle of arrogance echoed as he moved his hand through his snow white hair.

"Apparently, the fools have taken the bait!" Cameron laughed as he peered over to Hikaru, standing silently by the door. "It appears they have a force from the U.S. Seventh Fleet. The USS Cowpens, USS Fitzgerald and the USS Shiloh, not to mention Nick and his pet. What do you think, Hikaru? Who will win? Of course, I have the element of surprise, and superior forces!"

The captured warrior remained silent. For months, he remained under Cameron's thumb, slowly losing his ability to control his own body. At first, he could alter his orders. Then he could hold back his punches. Now he could barely remember the memories he held so dear.

"I asked you a question, so what is your answer?" Cameron harshly insisted while pulling out his electronic pad.

"You," Hikaru stubbornly replied.

The mogul stood up and walked over to his subordinate. He placed a hand on Hikaru's shoulder, as if reinforcing a child.

"Was that so hard? But enough standing around. We have guests to greet, and I know just how to welcome them."

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

Randy Hernandez walked in circles around the enclosed room as Elsie Chapman lay on a bench attached to the right wall, and Monique Dupre picked at the bars.

"How long has it been?" Randy moaned as he continued to walk in circles.

"Two days in our five star living arrangements," Elsie countered.

Monique, still fidgeting with the lock, looked outside of the cell. "You won't have to wait much longer."

Randy stopped dead in his tracks. "Okay, so what's up?"

"The guards have stopped their usual patrols and multiple other personal are running drills." Monique then moved away from the bars and reached into her clothing to reveal a small device. Its tiny design resembled a watch of some sort, yet its screen looked like it was displaying sonar.

"Is that Zilla's tracker on a watch, French fry?"

"Oui, I hid it away after we were captured. Zilla is close."

"Jefe and the big guy are coming in for the..." A large grin then formed on Randy's face and his face blushed. "So, where you'd hide that thing again?"

Monique squinted her eyes with contempt.

"Next time, I will just have to use the one under your tongue. What a shame I will have to rip it out to get it."

Elsie slapped her hand over Randy's mouth before he could retort. "Quit while you're behind, okay, Randy? We have more things to worry about. Like warning the people Zilla is escorting."

"Then we best not waste time," Monique declared before cutting open her cot and pulling out multiple steel springs.

The agent briskly moved to the gate, scanned the hall for any guards, and inserted the metal spring into the lock. After a minute of messing with the bars, Monique smiled as she found the sweet spot.

"When I unlock this door, an alarm should sound, so follow me as close as you can."

Elsie jumped up to the bars, but Randy stood in shock, missing the perfect moment for a smart comment to shout. "You're telling me you could have done that the entire time!"

"But of course," Monique replied. A slight creak echoed from the door as the pin unhooked, allowing the door to open and sounding the alarm throughout the base.

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

The USS Cowpens cut through the water surrounding it with ease. No waves could harm its hull. No current could deter its course. Its crew, however, could not be judged as such. Dozens of crewmembers stood around Nick Tatopoulos, Audrey Timmonds and Major Anthony Hicks in awe. Their eyes focused on Nick, waiting for either nothing to happen or for his grisly death.

"You feel fine. No side effects. No… I don't know…"

Nick placed his arm on Audrey's shoulder. "I'm fine. I don't feel anything, and if something goes wrong, I think I'll know."

Hicks looked over Nick one last time. "You think Cameron would know about… it?"

"Well Major, Cameron usually is always one step ahead of me and every idea I have. Always has been, but…" Nick cut off as he tilted his head toward Audrey, resting his head on her shoulder. "I can't say the same about her."

Audrey blushed slightly. "And here I almost forget why I married you."

The two moved close to embrace, but the yell of a distance officer caused all three people to turn toward a nearby door.

"Major!" a crewman yelled before he ran up to Hicks. "The Captain says the island is coming within range and he needs to speak to the three of you immediately."

"Understood!" Hicks noted, sending the officer running back toward the observation deck while the trio followed.

Hicks and Nick, in addition to Audrey, entered the command center of the USS Cowpens, yet only the captain, a middle aged man in full uniform with gray hair, fuzz covering his chin and a few wrinkles, moved to greet them as all the other officers continued their duties.

"Major Hicks. Is your failsafe ready?" Captain Cole inquired. "I must say, that thing on the deck had been quite the chatter among the crewman."

"Yes, Captain," affirmed Hicks. "It…I mean, he should prove to be an invaluable asset."

"Good to hear, Major, and I remember your tactics at the Crimson Twilight," declared the Captain with a hint of admiration in his voice. "Your methods may be strange, but you have the full support of me and my men."

"Thank you, Captain."

Nick, worried about his friends on the island, asked Cole, "Any word from Cameron?"

"Yes, but not from him directly. We received a message moments ago from others on the island. They warned us to stay in deep water or a hostage would be killed. It is why I summoned all of you to the bridge."

The captain then waved the trio to get a better view of the island so he could explain his plan, but a sudden panic enveloped the bridge.

"What is going on?" Cole demanded, merely for the sonar tech to stand and shout, "Something is coming our way! The object is at least eighty meters long and moving at high speeds toward our position!"

"Prep all anti-submarine pods and prepare to fire!" the Captain yelled, but Nick, realizing what the creature could be, dashed in front of the commanding officer.

"Wait! This creature could be on our side."

"You mean your creature. The one that killed the Gyaos?"

"Yes," Hicks affirmed as he moved to Nick's side. "It is friendly, as long as we don't fire. Trust me, I know from experience."

"Sir, the creature is approaching the surface!" the sonar tech yelled as sweat started to form on his face.

Cole waited a few seconds to contemplate all scenarios until he came to an understanding. "Hold fire, but prep artillery pods as well as all machine gun turrets," he ordered to everyone in the room. "This thing may be on our side, but I didn't last this long as a Captain on faith."

Nick felt a sigh of relief and quickly looked out the window to watch the ocean's surface. The tips of two massive back spikes protruded from the sea as the familiar looking creature closed in on the vessel. As quickly as Nick spotted the twin spikes, the protrusions disappeared under the waves for a few seconds, followed by a massive eruption of water next to the USS Cowpens.

Water covered the windows of the command deck for a brief few seconds, but Nick instantly recognized the blurred outline of the creature. He could see an arm perfectly, but then the water dissipated, revealing reflective sections. At first, the scientist believed his eyes were playing tricks on him, until he realized that the creature possessed a metal arm. A dark memory entered Nick's mind, causing him to shout, "That's not Zilla!"

The metallic reptile roared, shattering the windows of the command deck, before it slammed its metallic arm against the side of the hull. Metal shrapnel flew in all directions from the impact as men fell into the water from the harsh tremor across the vessel.

Cole, without flinching from the monster's attack, yelled, "Fire all weapons!"

Cyber Godzilla cried in annoyance as the full arsenal of the USS Cowpens detonated on his hide. As quickly as it arrived, the creature dove back into the water.

"If you get a lock, fire our anti-submarine weapons and make sure we didn't lose any men overboard!" the Captain ordered before he turned to face Nick. "What the hell was that thing? It looked like Dr. Frankenstein met your lizard."

"It's called Cyber Godzilla." Nick tapped his forehead as he recalled his last encounter with the creature. "It's a cyborg of the original Zilla from 1998. Agile, powerful, and extremely deadly. If it wanted us dead, we would have been."

A sudden explosion caused Nick to stop his conversation and glance out the shattered window frame to see another ship recalling from a large detonation off its port side. The radio sparked to life before announcing, "This is the USS Shiloh. Severe damage off the port bow from unknown projectiles. We are taking in water. Our engines have been disabled. Another impact and we will have to abandon-"

The radio suddenly burst with no warning into a high pitched static, followed by an arrogant, as well as familiar, voice.

"Attention to all offshore vessels who want to remain afloat. Stand down or I will send Cyber Godzilla to finish you all off. Once you comply, send Hicks and Nick to the shoreline marked with a flare. There they will accompany my men inland. Anyone else tries to tag along and they will be killed. Any vessel that tries to leave will be destroyed. All of your communication devices are currently being blocked, so any attempt to communicate with anyone other than your other vessels will result in your destruction. Unless anyone else doesn't get the trend, you have one hour to comply."

As the radio went dead, Cole turned to Nick and Hicks.

"Well… I guess you were right to argue with the Vice Admiral for more ships." The old man grinned as he found humor in the situation he faced. "If the USS Shiloh doesn't end up at the bottom of the sea, do we have enough fire power to kill this Cyber Godzilla?"

"Not even close," Hicks replied. "He's also too fast to outrun. You'd never make it if you tried."

Nick looked out the glass-less window at the island. "I guess we are going ashore," he declared. "If the Major and I can distract Cameron long enough for Zilla to arrive, then your ships will have an opening to get out of here and retrieve help."

"What if he doesn't arrive?" Cole reluctantly inquired.

Nick turned his attention off of Cole and glanced at the island. "Cameron isn't a killer. He wants us, no one else will get hurt if we go along with his plan."

"From what I heard, the USS Shiloh may not be able to travel, and even if it were, I am not going to run. Though if you are going ashore, what about the hostages? What is your plan to rescue them if you are captured?"

"Leave that to Hicks and I to worry about, but if Cyber Godzilla comes back while we're gone, I recommend a full counter of everything you have. It may give you enough time for Zilla to arrive," asserted Nick before Audrey got in front of him.

"You forgetting about something," Audrey insisted as she starred into her husband's eyes.

"Cameron stated anybody else that comes ashore would be killed and I couldn't risk that with you," Nick stated with the most compassionate voice he could muster. "And if I don't, I expect you to lead an army to rescue me."

"I am not talking about me Nick but, him!" Audrey declared as she pointed to his chest. "He may want to know about the new plan."

"Good thing he's bulletproof," Hicks quipped as he made his way out of the command center with Nick at his side.

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

Monique signaled Randy and Elsie to enter a small room as the sound of footsteps echoed through the halls. The trio remained silent as the oblivious mercenaries rushed passed the doorway to search another part of the compound.

"Clear," Monique whispered after the soldiers vacated the hallway. With the trio safe for the moment, the French agent turned to communicate with her fellow teammates.

"So much for a silent escape," Elsie commented before she scanned the room they were in only to discover multiple washers and driers. "And we end up in the laundry room of all places."

Randy, unlike Elsie and Monique, focused on another more precious thing in the room. His eyes fixated on the object until he couldn't hide his feelings any longer.

“Jackpot!” Randy cried before he rushed over to the side of the room, busted through the glass barrier using a detergent container and opened a few candy bars in the vending machine.

“We escape for a few minutes and the first thing you do is subside your sugar cravings?” Elsie asked before she went over and grabbed something to eat for herself. “Not a bad idea.”

Monique, with her teammates busy snacking, searched the dyers before finding a spare uniform of the mercenaries in her size. She quickly put the apparel on over her normal attire, which included a full mercenary uniform, a helmet, sunglasses and lastly, an equipment belt. With her disguise on, Monique turned to her teammates, merely to discover they had gone through most of the vending machine in the few short minutes she had changed.

“Wow… great disguise,” Randy quipped with a mouthful of chocolate before walking over to the French agent. “I must say, I prefer your usual look. I can’t even tell it’s you under that whole getup.”

Monique ignored the intern’s comments as usual and looked out of the room to see if the coast was clear. “The corridor is empty for the moment,” she explained. “You two find us a means of transport across the island while I pay our captor a visit. If both of you hear nothing within an hour, leave the base, no hesitations.”

“What are we looking out for, French fry?” Elsie inquired.

“Most likely the barrage of gunfire,” the agent replied.

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

Mercenaries lined the beach, holding high powered rifles while they watched a small inflatable raft come ashore. Inside of it, Hicks and Nick quickly moved off the inflatable with their hands raised.

“It’s just the two of you, right?” a mercenary yelled as he searched the raft.

“Just us two,” Nick replied before quickly searching the beach. “Where is my team? Where is Cameron?”

The leader of the mercenaries walked forward, signaling his men to cuff the pair. He easily stood a foot taller than Hicks or Nick. His face showed no emotion. His voice proved just as devoid of empathy.

“Follow us and don’t linger far behind,” the main mercenary ordered. With a flick of his wrist, everyone on the beach walked into the jungle, disappearing into the darkness of the trees.

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

Monique silently navigated through the halls of the base, avoiding all of the bases’ personnel until she came upon a person blocking a door while playing on his cellular device. With no way around him, the French agent snuck up behind the thin male, and instantly put the henchman in a choke hold. The figure gasped and choked as he tried to breathe, but Monique’s hold proved too strong. Unconsciousness gradually took hold of the solider, causing his body to fall limp. With a storage room down the hall, Monique dragged the man into the space after removing his identification, weapons and equipment. Monique began to walk away, but someone to the agent’s surprise yelled, “Hey, you!”

Monique froze and gripped her gun ever so tightly. Realizing she would have to talk her way out of the situation, she reached into her pocket and stuck a piece of gum in her mouth from the vending machine Randy had vandalized.

“Yes?” the French agent asked in a masculine, southern voice. 

“Boss wants me to round up five guys for some security procedure occurring outside. Since you have everything together, you can be my fifth soldier. Now follow and hurry because we don’t want to tick off the guy. The guy has been losing it lately, if you get my drift.”

Monique nodded in compliance to the soldier’s demands, then followed right behind the being with one hand on her knife and the other on her gun. Knowing that she would probably need both, once she arrived at whatever procedure was occurring outside. 

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

Randy and Elsie silently trekked down the hallways of the facility. A great showing of luck on the duo’s part, the pair discovered the entrance to a small vehicle depot and quickly entered.

“So do you have any preference on make or model,” Randy joked before he busted the glass on the window of a Humvee and began to hot wire the vehicle.

“I’m fine with any color as long as it’s black,” Elsie responded as she made her way to the opposite side of the vehicle, only to find a part of some sort lying against her door. The biologist let out a sigh before picking up the heavy equipment, which read ‘Rotor Blades,’ and dropping it on the ground.

With the obstruction cleared, Elsie relaxed inside the vehicle. “Now we just have to wait for the signal.”

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

After a long journey across the island, Hicks and Nick exited the jungle with their escorts to discover a vast dirt courtyard in front of a large facility.

“So this must be the HQ,” Hicks noted as the mercenaries aimed their guns at the duo and ordered them to get on their knees.

Hicks and Nick kneeled to the ground as a single guard stood behind each of them, their individual side arms aimed at their heads. All other henchman left the courtyard as a set of five soldiers took place with their assault rifles drawn to lay down fire in case things went south. Then everyone remained quiet until two figures, one dressed in a suit and the other in strange alien armor, walked out onto the balcony.

“Well, the gangs now all here, minus Mendel Craven, of course,” Cameron laughed as he looked at the courtyard. “Though how’s it been, Nickels? Long time no see. I do believe the last time we spoke, you were calling me insane as I unleashed Hedorah upon you.”

“Survived a fuel air bomb, an alien invasion and got married, so nothing much as usual,” Nick retorted as he studied Cameron and the person next to him. “Though what do you want, Winter?”

“Why, I wanted an audience when I take back everything you took from me. I’ll kill you shortly after, but not before you watch everything you care about disappear…”

Cameron stared off into the air as he imagined the scenario. “I also wanted to eliminate the person that tried to kill me during the Xilien invasion, a mere bonus to all of you arriving.”

A sense of confusion took over the scientist. “Who tried to kill you?” he asked.

Nick looked toward Hicks before the Major responded, “You mean that transfer to the maximum security prison? Trust me, if I wanted you dead, I would have done it myself.”

“And your proof is?” Cameron questioned.

“Dr. Craven,” Hicks countered. “If you’ve been keeping tabs, you’d know he is helping the Japanese build another robot. You lost the job and a chance at freedom when you died.”

The mogul arrogantly smiled, but he stood speechless from the explanation. His great mind trying to come up with an error in the Major’s explanation, but the more he thought, the more he realized how wrong he was. A simple miscalculation which burned him to his very core.

“Enough of this insanity, Cameron!” Nick shouted, inciting the mogul to snap.

“Kill the Major!”

A slight click sounded from the soldier behind Hicks deactivating the safety. As the figure put the gun to the back of the Major’s head, the sound of a man yelling caused everyone on the courtyard to look up. 

“What the hell?” Hicks remarked as he watched one of the mercenaries flip two others over the high balcony’s railing.

The other two mercenaries, still on the balcony, turned to the rogue agent with their guns drawn, only for both of them to receive a duel punch to the abdomen. The duo stumbled back, allowing the mercenary to punch one in the face, sending him falling to the ground. With one guard down, the rogue agent turned their attention to the other to deliver a powerful knee jab to the man’s skull, causing the impacted head to smash against the railing. The figure, with all four other mercenaries down, aimed their gun at Cameron and his personal guard.

“Move and I shoot!” the rogue mercenary yelled with a slightly muffled voice.

Cameron and his personal bodyguard Hikaru stood motionless in response to the rogue figure’s demands, until one of the downed mercenaries unexpectedly grabbed the being’s leg from behind.

Cameron signaled Hikaru to help his henchman deal with the rogue agent before turning to his mercenaries on the courtyard. “I thought I ordered you to eliminate him!” Cameron adamantly exclaimed.

The hired hand behind Hicks instantly reacted, and pulled the trigger. No gun shot rang. The mercenary pulled the trigger multiple times, yet it still refused to fire. As he turned it to its side to inspect, the gun fired. The bullet struck the mercenary behind Nick, hitting him in the shoulder. The mercenary screamed in agony while Hicks jumped up, smacking the soldier behind him away.

The two scrambled away from Nick and Hicks, terrified.

“Are you a psychic or something!” one of the Mercenaries yelled.

“No,” Nick countered as he stood. “I just borrowed a friend’s assistant for the weekend.”

From out of thin air, a silver humanoid phased into existence. His multi-colored armor, robotic features, and infamous grin were his greatest traits alongside his willingness to try to reason with his foes. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, it was not a luxury Jet Jaguar would offer to the killers around him.

The solider stood dumbfounded by the speed of the robot before receiving a punch to the face. Like a rag doll, the henchman flew backward into a tree while Jet Jaguar turned toward the other henchman. Before the android could do anything, the mercenary unleashed his respective handgun on the being. The rounds bounced off Jet Jaguar’s metallic skin, allowing him to sprint through the gunfire with ease. Jet Jaguar used an upper-cut, striking the mercenary into the gut. The figure flew a few feet into the air but stopped as the robot grabbed his leg and slammed the guard into the other mercenary. As both men hit the earth, their movements ceased, allowing Jet Jaguar to move to his allies’ side and detach their cuffs.

“Thanks, Jet Jaguar,” Nick said as he looked at his ally, whose metallic face and most of his chest shinned brightly from the cloudless sky’s undiminished sun.

Jet Jaguar nodded, before the sound of a metallic clang made all three figures look up at the balcony. The rogue officer’s assault rifle flew off the high walkway, yet it mattered little as the limp body of the enduring mercenary fell to the ground. With the slight trouble gone, the rogue agent stood to combat Hikaru who was just a few meters away. The rogue mercenary stood ready, watching Hikaru’s slow movements before the mind controlled alien lunged. The agent dodged to the left and delivered a strong blow to the right side of Hikaru’s head. Hikaru recoiled slightly from the quick jab, allowing the figure to run toward Cameron. The mogul turned to run, considering his best guard was incapacitated for the moment. Even with a head start, the distance between the two shrunk incredibly until the figure grabbed ahold of Cameron.

“Let go of me!” Cameron shouted as he tried to dislodge the being, simply to cause both of them to fall onto the metallic grating of the balcony.

Cameron struck the mercenary across the face, causing the figure to let go. Adrenaline now flowed through the mogul, allowing Cameron to dash into his facility while his attacker recovered from the hit.

With Hikaru running toward the helmeted figure, the agent readied to run but noticed an iPad-like device on the ground. Realizing its importance, the figure grabbed it, went over the balcony, and then dropped to the ground. Hikaru, with no order to give chase and taking advantage of his controller’s mistake, stood stagnant, watching the being with satisfaction at their success.

After a slight pause from the hard fall, the being sprinted toward Nick, Hicks and Jet Jaguar, who turned to combat the new threat.

“Drop to the ground or I’ll shoot!” Hicks ordered while scanning the area for more hostiles. “The fact you clocked Cameron is the only reason I am even offering at this point!”

The rogue being put their hands up before lifting their helmet and removing the glasses on their face to reveal their identity as Monique.

“I think I will decline Major,” Monique sarcastically commented as the agent dropped her helmet to the ground and removed her glasses. 

A smile appeared on Nick’s face from his friend’s sight, but the scientist afterward glanced around the area. “Where’s Randy and Elsie?” he asked.

“They are retrieving us a-” Before Monique could finish, sirens erupted throughout the base.

“To the trees!” Hicks yelled frantically.

The group instantly rushed to the safety of the underbrush, but a military Humvee burst through the jungle and cut them off from their escape. The group stopped and aimed their respective weapons at the vehicle, though dropped them as the door swung wide open to reveal Elsie.

“Get in! We can’t stop long!”

As Jet Jaguar readied to enter, a barrage of bullets pelted the armored vehicle. The robot shut the door, then spread his arms open to stop every bullet he could. Once the attacking group ended the barrage to reload, Jet Jaguar charged at the three dozen men now in the courtyard.

“Yo, who’s the tin man?” Randy inquired.

“Jet Jaguar!” Nick yelled. “He’s also bulletproof. We’re not, so drive!”

Randy nodded and floored the pedal, causing the vehicle to speed away from the base and onto the main road, exiting the facility.

Cameron, safely at his office, activated all the facility’s external cameras through a computer at his desk. The mogul furiously flipped through each station until he caught a camera that displayed a Humvee speeding out of the perimeter.

“Well then, Nickels. It seems it would be perfect timing to introduce you to my pets.” Cameron reached into his attire for his control pad, yet the device was not there. The mogul’s fist smashed against his desk before he moved back to his computer. With a few overrides, he accessed his neural stimulator’s controls and grinned in satisfaction. 

“If you won’t admire my achievement, then you can all die.”

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

“Sir, the creature is back on sonar!” a sonar officer yelled to the captain as a massive blur came over the electronic device’s screen.

“Are you sure?” Captain Cole questioned.

“Same size, shape and speed,” the officer affirmed. “But it must have circled us, because it’s coming from the open ocean.”

“Prep all undersea weapons and coordinate with the other vessels for launch!” Cole declared to the entire deck while also alerting Audrey to the current situation. 

The command center turned into frenzy as orders were relayed and accomplished until the room went silent. The only noise was the constant ping of the sonar. The Captain waited patiently. His mind focused on the incoming target until the ping’s sound matched what he was waiting for.

“Fire!”

The USS Cowpens shuddered from the launch of the undersea torpedoes in conjunction with the USS Shiloh and USS Fitzgerald. Everyone aboard the vessels after the launch waited quietly as the projectiles glided through the water. Light gleamed off the explosives as they moved at lightning speed through the ocean. 

“Impact in three…two...one...”

A massive eruption of water burst in the distance from the torpedoes impact. The shockwaves rippled across the ocean, reaching the USS Cowpens in a matter of a few seconds. Cole smiled and the command center celebrated their successful launch, but the celebration slowly ended as the sonar’s ping returned.

“The target is coming right at us! Prepare for impact!” yelled the sonar tech merely for two massive spikes to rise form the water and slam into the USS Cowpen’s bow.

All hands on deck fell to the ground from the sickening strike. The two large spikes contorted the front of the ship while turning the vessel a full seventy degrees. Dozens flew into the open ocean, struggling to stay afloat in the waves of the monster as it turned toward the ship.

“Damage report?” Captain Cole yelled as he lifted himself and the ship steadied.

“The bow took the most of it,” yelled an officer. “We can’t take another hit in that region or we’re sunk!”

Cole’s mind immediately flourished with ideas. He had to act fast or his entire crew would be dead. As he readied to command his subordinates, a crewman called out. “Look, it’s coming back!”

Cole gritted his teeth. He needed more time.

“Brace for impact!” Cole yelled as the undersea creature swam toward the bow of the ship.

Instead of another ram, a wave of water splashed across the vessel, signaling the creature’s rise from the depths. The reptile, instead of clawing at the USS Cowpens, gripped the impaired bow and raised the entire front of the ship off the sea. Holding onto a pole so she wouldn’t fall, Audrey slowly opened her eyes to get a peek at Cyber Godzilla. To her surprise, she discovered not the cyborg, but Zilla holding the bow.

Realizing she had to act, Audrey dashed toward the front of the command center. “Stop!” she cried out.

Zilla moved his head parallel to the command deck to see the familiar face. With the sight of Audrey, Zilla moved his head closer to the deck and flared his nostrils. A slight cry of joy sounded from the large reptile as it detected his adopted parent’s scent on the apparent female. Sure that the ship was not his enemy, Zilla returned his head parallel of the command deck.

“Captain, this is Zilla,” Audrey explained. “He’s on our side.”

Cole stood in shock at the misidentification. After scanning the reptile and comparing the beast to his memories, Cole made his decision. “You heard her; relay the order on the double!”

Audrey smiled with satisfaction at her victory and turned to Zilla. “Let go!” she shouted.

The lizard instantly dropped the vessel, sending massive waves of water in every direction from the impact.

Audrey and Cole breathed sighs of relief until another voice pierced the air. “Another object coming in fast!” the sonar officer reported.

Cole turned to the officer, almost annoyed at this point. “Is it Cyber Godzilla this time, petty officer? I hate to waste another payload on another misidentification.”

“Negative, it’s too big and the proportions are not right. It’s also giving off some weird interference or something. I can’t pinpoint it down but whatever it is, it’s coming right at us.”

Zilla slowly changed his attention away from the reporter and to the sea, prompting Audrey to look out as well. Zilla’s eyes focused and his stature tightened in preparation of the incoming threat. The ocean looked normal and calm to Audrey, except for a split second, the reporter noticed an unnatural, bright blue flash under the sea.

“Captain, the sea!” Audrey screamed.

Cole looked out at the calm ocean, but was too slow to react as he witnessed a massive eruption of water followed by a blue flash. Zilla dived into the ocean, just barely avoiding a blue beam that originated from the upheaved water. The captain, his eyes open during the entire flash, watched the ray impact the water and cause a massive detonation. Its shockwave rocked the entire vessel, shattering the remaining glass windows of his command center. The question of what could discharge so much power entered Coles’ mind as he watched the ocean settle to reveal the beast. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t lucky enough for it to be Cyber Godzilla.

“Dear God almighty,” Cole commented at the sight.

As the figure fully revealed itself, a roar of monstrous proportions echoed into the air, announcing to the fleet Godzilla’s arrival.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Cole rhetorically inquired

A crewman approached the commanding officer. “What are your orders?”

“Tell all ships to stand down immediately. We don’t stand a chance in hell of hurting that thing. Hell, even if we had the whole fleet, that probably wouldn’t be enough. We still need to help those on the island, so our best bet is to avoid contact. If we don’t fire against it, maybe we won’t piss it off.”

The Captain, remembering Zilla, refocused on the open ocean. “Now where the hell did that thing go?”

Godzilla peered past the human ships, toward the island, its steep cliffs meeting his gaze. Rodan resided on the island, this the King of the Monsters was sure. He could also sense something familiar… a strange aura that now irradiated from the isle, but he couldn’t focus on that now. No, first, he needed to eradicate the beast he missed earlier.

Godzilla scanned the ocean, sensing the foe he had shot at to be somewhere close. To force his opponent to rise, the leviathan insultingly roared at the open ocean to edge it to fight. The ploy worked, as Zilla burst through the sea and landed on his back. Godzilla screeched in surprise and agony as Zilla chomped down on his right shoulder. The lizard teeth’s pierced the tough hide of the saurian, yet as much as Zilla tried, he couldn’t tear his flesh off.

To rid his body of Zilla, Godzilla shook wildly before slamming his tail against the lizard. Godzilla roared in annoyance as he continued his tail attacks while Zilla refused to let go, digging his teeth as deep as he could into the thick hide of the leviathan. After a fourth devastating strike to the back of the head, Zilla released his grip, allowing Godzilla to grab the reptile and toss him back into the sea. After the hard impact, Zilla swam to the surface, his eyes centered on Godzilla. Testing his new foe’s resistance to fire, Zilla discharged his green heat ray on the saurian. Green flames cascaded across Godzilla’s chest, slightly burning his skin, resulting in Godzilla furiously countering with his own energy weapon.

The King of the Monster’s spines flashed blue before destructive power exploded from his maw, striking Zilla in the chest. The reptile cried in pain while the ray pushed the lizard back through the water. Pure atomic energy forced Zilla past the USS Cowpens before Godzilla finally subsided his ray. Smoke sizzled off Zilla’s flesh as he sunk into the waves.

Godzilla cocked his head from side to side. With no movement, a sense of pride overcame the leviathan, prompting him to roar into the air. The bellow acted as a warning for the creature to stay down. Zilla ignored the intimidation. If there was one thing the monsters shared other than a name at one point, it was their refusal to give in to any opponent, no matter the odds.

The King of the Monsters scanned each direction, sensing again that his foe was close. The water appeared calm at all angles, until a slight shadow passed by. Godzilla looked in every direction, trying to see where it had gone, but a sudden anguish pulsated from his tail. Zilla chomped with all of the force he could onto the leviathan’s tail and dragged Godzilla into the dark depths of the ocean.

Godzilla slowly floated to the basaltic rock at the bottom of the sea. Able to see clearly even under the waves, Godzilla located Zilla, who also stood at the bottom of the ocean. Zilla, not wanting to fight, sent a gurgled shriek to deter Godzilla away, but the mighty saurian ignored the cry. He was not leaving; at least, not until he helped his ally Rodan.

Tired of waiting, Zilla swam at full speed toward Godzilla with his head down like a battering ram. The lizard impacted Godzilla, but to the lizard’s surprise, Godzilla remained still from the ram. Dead in the water, Zilla swiped at Godzilla’s face with his razor sharp claws. The slash caused Godzilla to bellow in anguish before he swatted the reptile away with his own claws. Zilla slammed into the basaltic rock covering the ocean’s depths before swimming back toward Godzilla, only this time, with his spines aimed at the King of the Monsters. Zilla’s two major back spikes sliced across Godzilla’s left side, causing two gashes to form. 

Godzilla screeched at the attack. He looked down at the two thin wounds on his side and watched them instantly heal. With the injury taken care of, Godzilla looked up to discover Zilla swimming around him in circles. Wanting to end the reptiles’ tactics of cat and mouse, Godzilla began charging pure nuclear radiation, illuminating the undersea area a bright blue.

While Godzilla prepped to fire his atomic ray, energy sparking across the spines along his back, Zilla stopped his circling pattern and swam toward the saurian. Godzilla immediately discharged his atomic ray, the water around his jaws vaporizing from the sudden temperature spike. Zilla cried as the energy scathed his left side but the attack did not halt the creature as he swam past the leviathan. Godzilla, confused at what his foe was doing, turned to face the creature, merely for Zilla’s tail to hook around his throat. With Godzilla in his grasp, Zilla grabbed ahold of the ground and yanked the saurian to the ocean floor, where he began to dig underground. The ocean floor fractured violently, submerging the pair under the basaltic sea floor. 

Zilla battered Godzilla as the pair sunk deeper into the Earth. As Zilla slashed Godzilla across the face, the nuclear leviathan had enough. Godzilla’s body channeled immense amounts of power. The creature’s body radiated with neon energies, startling Zilla. Knowing he did not have much time, the reptile urgently released Godzilla. Free to move at full speed, Zilla burrowed up to the ocean floor’s surface. The beast glanced down, merely to witness Godzilla’s detonation. A sudden blinding blue light illuminated from the entrance as well as the exit of his freshly created burrow. Then the light stopped, causing the ground to split and crack violently. For one square mile, the earth fractured, upheaved and shifted. A new red illumination swiftly filled the voids, and in seconds, the basaltic floor steamed from the freshly released magma. Sure that Godzilla would be stuck in his new volcanic prison for some time, Zilla swam at full speed toward the island.

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

Randy looked at his rear view mirror, his cocky grin fading as two Humvees suddenly appeared in the far distance, speeding down the road to catch up with the captured vehicle.

“We have company!” Randy shouted.

“If there was a time to punch it, now would be the time, Hernandez,” Hicks proclaimed as he pulled himself up to get a view of the road ahead.

Randy’s eyes furrowed with frustration. “It’s punched! And didn’t your mother ever tell you not to backseat drive!”

The intern returned his gaze back to the road and his face turned to disbelief. “Okay… Now this is just cruel…”

A tractor trailer carrying dozens of cylinders, filled with a mysterious, pink liquid, drove just ahead of them. Its massive frame blocked most of the road and its speed slowed the Humvee down to about two thirds of its original speed.

“Can you get around it?” Elsie inquired.

“Roads not big enough and no way I’m ramming him!” Randy instantly replied

As Randy slowed to stay behind the tractor trailer, the two Humvees behind the stolen Humvee sped up to its current position. With nowhere for the captured vehicle to run, the henchmen began slamming their respective vehicles into the bumper of car. Everyone in the car shuddered from the impacts.

“Why aren’t they shooting us?” Nick asked over the loud impacts of metal-on-metal.

“Don’t give them ideas Jefe!” Randy joked as he swerved the Humvee from side to side to evade impact.

“Damn!” Hicks remarked as he fired the last round of his gun. “I’m out.”

Monique double checked her side arm to discover the same find. yet instantly remembered the device in her pocket from Cameron. Curious to its purpose, the agent pulled out the device. “This might be why,” she stated as she handed it to Nick. The scientist looked at the device, perplexed. “I found it after my short encounter with Cameron. Must be important, oui?”

Hicks cocked his head. “An I-Pad?”

Randy quickly glanced at the device, his eyes widening with shock. “Nope, it’s Solstice. We got the master contro-”

THUD!

“What the? I think we just hit a bird,” Randy commented as he looked up at the roof of the vehicle.

Immediately, Hicks wished he had some ammo as a chill came down his spine. “Something tells me that wasn’t a bird.”

Slight taps followed from the roof, proving Hick’s gut instinct right. However, to the shock of the Major, a fist struck through the ceiling. After grasping the metal, the hand ripped the armor away like it was paper. Everyone in the vehicle looked up to see Cameron’s personal minion, Hikaru, in his powered up form, with a gun in his hand, aiming at Hicks.

“Give me the controller… Or…. Die…” Hikaru gradually stated in an emotionless tone.

Monique looked at Nick, who sorrowfully nodded and with little choice, the French agent handed up the device to Hikaru.

Hikaru shook his head with thanks, yet his face still tightened, as if he just heard something of great displeasure. With his hand trembling, and an increasing pain in his mind so unbearable he could not think, Hikaru closed his eyes. “Sor…ry…” he sadly declared.

BOOM!

Elsie screamed and the Major clutched the fresh wound on his lower abdomen while blood soaked into his uniform. Hikaru slowly moved the gun to Elsie’s head, his hand still trembling wildly, before the alien was hit in the side, sending him staggering across the moving vehicle. Hikaru grabbed the edge of the Humvee as he fell, losing his gun in the process. He looked up to discover Monique holding the controller in her hands.

“You just made a very large mistake,” Monique asserted from the top of the moving Humvee. Hikaru slowly rose up, and took a fighting stance as Monique placed the electronic pad in her back pocket. With the item keeping the Humvee safe from undertaking fire, the agent prepared to make the figure pay for his actions.

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

Jet Jaguar scanned the few dozen mercenaries that lay around him. Each one was unconscious from their unwise move in engaging the robot. With no further use in the area, Jet Jaguar took flight and headed inland to aide his friends, but an unfamiliar creature appeared on his optical scans.

Krystalak slowly walked across the island to pursue his master’s enemies, crushing trees with little regard. A slight buzzing filled the fiend’s ears, alerting him of something’s arrival. The creature focused on the noise, until he discovered a large figure in the distance. The being slowed his flight to a hover and landed in front of the crystal creature.

Jet Jaguar scanned the monster in front of him, unsure if it was friend or foe. To figure out the monster’s true motives, the robot sounded a metallic screech into the air, and the machine began to move his hands to communicate with the beast.

Krystalak stood motionless, observing the hand signs, but then his head pulsated after receiving a new order from Cameron.

KILL.

A command that Krystalak was happy to oblige.

Without any warning, Krystalak unleashed his Prism Beam from his maw, striking Jet Jaguar directly in the chest. The robot stumbled back while his armor smoked from the ray. Failing to knock his foe down, Krystalak dashed toward Jet Jaguar on all fours. Realizing the monster was no ally of his, Jet Jaguar sprinted toward the fiend.

As the two closed in distance, Krystalak swung first with his crystal claws. Jet Jaguar barely ducked under the blow and fell to the ground, sliding underneath of the fiend at an incredible speed. Krystalak dug his claws into the earth and spun around to face the robot in time to see Jet Jaguar activate his foot thrusters. The robot blasted into the air, connecting his knee with Krystalak’s chin. The crystal fiend staggered backward, bits of crystal cracking off his chin while Jet Jaguar landed on the ground. After regaining his equilibrium, the robot dashed at Krystalak. By the time the fiend regained his composure, it was too late, as Jet Jaguar unleashed a barrage of jabs on the crystal creature, each blow forcing Krystalak to step backward. After a paralyzing punch to his lower jaw that broke a few more crystals on his chin, Krystalak let loose a prism ray from his jaws. Jet Jaguar jumped backward, evading the energy weapon before charging back at the fiend.

Jet Jaguar thrust his fists at the fiend’s abdomen, but Krystalak swung himself around to deliver a tail swipe. The robot dug his feet into the ground and caught the appendage. Jet Jaguar readied to toss his foe into the air but a burst of energy surged through Krystalak’s form. The shockwave of energy exploded where Jet Jaguar grasped his foe, launching the cybernetic warrior backward. His sensors and programming momentarily disabled from the shockwave of power, Jet Jaguar was helpless as Krystalak tackled him to the ground.

After a quick reboot, Jet Jaguar’s optical sensors reactivated as Krystalak propelled his head forward to crush the robot’s neck with his jaws. Jet Jaguar moved his left arm to protect himself and Krystalak took the bait as it grasped the appendage. The crystal fiend easily pierced Jet Jaguar’s metal skin with his razor sharp teeth, and the beast slowly crunched the arm in his grasp, causing it to slowly bend and creak in protest. His arm taking severe damage and needing more strength, Jet Jaguar activated his size-altering function. The robot’s entire body proportionally increased in size by twenty meters. The robot’s left arm also grew, inciting a painful cry from Krystalak as the appendage snapped his lower jaw out of place. After letting go of the arm, Krystalak stumbled away as blood flowed out of his mouth. As his foe focused on his lower jaw, Jet Jaguar used the opportunity to uppercut the beast.

The crystal monster sailed high into the air until gravity overcame the upward lift and brought the monster down to the jungle, creating a small crater in the dense wilderness. Gradually, the monster rose and faced his now taller opponent. Krystalak roared at the humanoid machine before hunching over and firing a powerful Prism Beam at the giant. Too large to dodge, Jet Jaguar used his right arm to take the full impact of the weapon, distorting his metallic skin but not burning it off completely. After the ray subsided, Jet Jaguar dashed toward Krystalak to make him pay for the energy strike, the ground shaking from the incredible mass of the machine.

Jet Jaguar swung a powerful karate chop at the monster, but Krystalak dodged right and thrust his tail forward. A shower of sparks cascaded along Jet Jaguar’s left thigh as the tail’s edge pierced his armor and retracted, ripping out a large chunk of metal. The robot ignored the injury to the fiend’s surprise and activated his right leg thruster at full power. The launch tore apart the ground, shattering the very earth with its force. Jet Jaguar’s leg struck Krystalak’s forehead at Mach speed. A shockwave of kinetic energy sent dirt flying in all directions while Krystalak’s body plowed through the ground, uprooting the tropical forest for hundreds of meters.

Jet Jaguar slowly retracted his outward leg and walked over to Krystalak. The fiend lay stagnant on the ground in a long trench, with a massive, bloody bruise on his forehead. Jet Jaguar scanned the beast and, to the shock of his calculations, discovered Krystalak barely clinging to life.

Jet Jaguar’s right hand formed a fist, and he prepared to finish off his dormant enemy, but the robot picked up two shrieks on his audio sensors. Jet Jaguar backed away from Krystalak, and immediately scanned his surroundings for the sources of the sounds, but the pair located him first.

Jet Jaguar blocked his face with his arms as Rodan slammed his chest against him. The robot, even at his size, slid backward from the impact, throwing up loose dirt in the process. With a new foe to face, Jet Jaguar scanned the sky, but his audio sensors picked up a pulsating sound from behind him. The robot spun around to discover four large rockets flying toward him.

Jet Jaguar staggered out of the explosion and after regaining his footing, scanned his chest to discover two large dents on his abdomen. A series of warnings occurred in the robot’s programming, forcing Jet Jaguar to fall to his knees. His systems needed time to recover; his core could barely keep up with all of the strain. Two simultaneous screeches echoed toward the machine, prompting Jet Jaguar to lift his head back up. The robot discovered the identities of his newest opponents.

Cameron watched from Cyber Godzilla’s optical sensors as Jet Jaguar shrank back down to his normal monstrous size. Even against superior opponents, the robot lifted itself up to fight. Determined to continue the battle, no matter the cost.

Savoring the moment, Cameron slowly lifted his spare electronic pad. A slight click activated the voice command and with it on, Cameron ordered a simple command. “Tear him apart!”

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

Monique and Hikaru traded blows atop the speeding Humvee, the French agent proving more agile while the alien fighter showcased his unmatched strength. In a stunning move, Monique dodged a fearsome punch by Hikaru and uppercut the alien. Hikaru slightly recoiled, allowing Monique to thrust her knee forward. Hikaru rolled backward from the impact to his abdomen, and lost his footing on the front of the car, sending him dangling off the engine block.

Hanging off the front of the Humvee, Hikaru dug his hands into the metal to stay on the vehicle before locking eyes with Randy. The duo traded glances until the intern smiled, foreshadowing his eventual acceleration of the Humvee to squash the alien with the tractor trailer’s bumper. With little time to waste, Hikaru flew up and onto the back of the tractor trailer’s bed as Randy smashed the front end of the Humvee into the eighteen-wheeled vehicle.

After barely dodging the hit, Hikaru glanced around him for anything he could use against the Humvee. With the security straps for the cargo next to him, the alien grabbed ahold of the straps holding the barrels of liquid in place, and snapped them with ease. Randy’s smug face disappeared and turned to panic as dozens of barrels rolled off the back of the trailer.

“Hold on!” Randy yelled as he swerved the vehicle to dodge the dangerous hazards, causing Monique to hold on for dear life on the roof.

The two other Humvees giving chase also dodged the barrels spilling onto the roadway. Unfortunately for one, a barrel bounced off the road and impacted the windshield, sending it careening into the other Humvee. Both vehicles wildly swerved left off the road and into the forest, permanently ending their pursuit of the captured vehicle.

With just two barrels left on the back of the trailer to use, Hikaru grabbed one to throw but a sudden clang caused him to drop it. The alien turned around to discover Monique now on the back of the tractor trailer.

“What is she doing?” Nick questioned as he watched Monique charge at Hikaru.

Randy smiled as he glanced toward his boss. “Probably getting a little pay back for Hicks, Jefe,” he remarked.

“Lucky…me…” Hicks moaned while Elsie helped stop the bleeding in his lower abdomen.

Monique dashed at the alien figure, dodging her foes’ first blow before delivering a punch to his gut. Hikaru momentarily staggered back, allowing the French agent to deliver a kick to his torso, sending him to the back of the trailer. Hikaru clutched his chest as he dashed at Monique. The alien sent multiple jabs, but the highly trained agent merely dodged or deflected each blow. As Hickaru sent a powerful punch at Monique, the French agent skillfully blocked it and used the force to spin and deliver a paralyzing elbow jab to his forehead. Hikaru reeled backward and almost tripped off the moving flatbed. The alien, after regaining his footing, looked back at Monique to see a smile of confidence on her face. It mattered little how strong Hikaru was. Monique was winning, and she knew it.

Hikaru dashed at the French agent, sending multiple jabs and palm thrusts. Monique barely dodged each, noting a severe increase in her enemy’s discipline, before countering with a punch of her own to his abdomen. To the agent’s shock, Hikaru did not react in any way to the painful blow and instead landed a successful punch of his own on her shoulder. Monique flew backward from the impact, rolling across the steel bed from the immense power. After stopping, the agent painfully rolled over to stand up. Her shoulder throbbed, but luckily, it was not dislocated. With a quick push, Monique jumped to her feet, yet to her shock, as she stood, Hikaru lashed out with his arm. Monique moved backward, though she was too slow to evade the alien successfully, and he clutched her by the throat. With his opponent subdued, Hikaru raised Monique off the flatbed. 

Monique kicked Hikaru’s leg multiple times, trying to get the alien figure to react somehow, but he remained still as a statue. With a new order to finish the French agent off, Hikaru began to squeeze the life out of the being in his grasp. Monique starred into the eyes of Hikaru while she clawed at his hands. The agent did not see an evil or cold stare, but one filled with pain and remorse.

With the micro-cameras on the side of Hikaru’s neural stimulators, Cameron watched with pleasure as Monique gasped for air. He knew Hikaru had been holding back, but a few tweaks to his stimulators seemed to fix his reserved fighting style.

“You’re mine, Hikaru,” Cameron reinforced to his subordinate. “Kill her, now!

Hikaru tried to fight off his order, but regretfully watched as Monique’s eyes began to close. The stimulators had fully ceased control. His body no longer listened to his own thoughts. He was helpless…

Suddenly, Hikaru’s mind flashed away from the present. His final mission with his family flashed through his mind. The loss he experienced echoed inside his heart. Raw emotion swirled, and the stimulators immediately moved to suppress it, but Hikaru held onto the memory with all the mental strength he had left. Flashes of the event flew by in his head. The Garogas’ moon, the Terro-Beasts that defended it, Gigan, his siblings…

‘Not again!’ Hikaru’s inner voice screamed.

Rage billowed through Hikaru as he recaptured the haunting mental image. The loss fueled his return to earth. Why he had pledged to protect humanity. The pain was unbearable, immeasurable, and something he could not let any innocent feel. That was why he was a hero. He… was… Zone Fighter!

Monique gasped for air as she felt Hikaru’s grip loosen. The member of H.E.A.T. glanced at Hikaru, noticing his eyes now shut and a hand against his head. Out of pain, Hikaru tossed the agent backward and placed both hands against his head, trying desperately to combat the neural stimulators controlling him.

Dizzy from the air loss, Monique stumbled backward until she found herself stepping off the flatbed. Monique fell off the steel bed, yet to her surprise, she did not hit the road, but the Humvee’s windshield. The bulletproof screen cracked from Monique’s collision, causing Randy to slow the car drastically down to ensure her safety.

Hikaru, still on the back of the tractor trailer, clutched his head as he fought the controlling devices. Stumbling across the back of the truck, Hikaru struggled for control, but before either side proved victorious, the truck slammed on its brakes. Hikaru flew back and slammed into the back of the vehicle before the entire tractor trailer smashed into a large, white object.

As the members of H.E.A.T. exited the vehicle to help Monique as well as Hicks, a white light caused them to look down the road. A sudden, inexplicable flash followed while massive flames burst throughout the wreckage.

Nick took in the sight a few moments, but quickly refocused on Monique and Hicks. “How bad are they, Elsie?”

“For the Major, the bullet passed through him, and I believe it lacerated his liver,” Elsie diagnosed as she scrambled to stop the bleeding from her injured friends. “I won’t know for sure the severity until I get a closer examination. French fry, on the other hand, has multiple bruises and contusions on her backside. Not severe, but she might have broken something, and the air loss didn’t exactly help.”

“I thought…you were a biologist?” Hicks inquired as he clutched his bullet wound to stop the bleeding.

“I took advanced human anatomy and physiology as an elective in college,” Elsie joked, trying to distract Hicks from the grisly wound. “I was taking multiple complex courses and wanted to get some easy A’s.”

“Are they going to be okay?” Randy inquired while he scanned the duo’s injuries, taking special interest in Monique.

“Randy, go look in the Humvee for any medical supplies, so I can sew up this wound,” ordered Elsie while she removed a fragment of the bullet from Hick’s abdomen. “Nicky, go look through the tractor trailer for anything we can use.”

Nick looked down the road at the burning wreckage. Knowing finding anything useful was a longshot, he ran down the road to investigate. Knowing he was of no use arguing to Elsie about the odds.

The massive frame of the tractor trailer appeared caved in from Nick’s view as he approached the wreck. Flames burned from the trailer’s bed, which now was about a hundred feet from the vehicle. Blood seeped from its side onto a large, white boulder that appeared to have caused the wreck. With the vehicles interior caved into a metal mesh of human remains and steel around the formation, Nick stared blankly at the horrid sight.

“How many…” Nick mumbled, thinking of all the lives that ended from Cameron’s actions. How many workers died creating his monsters? How many mercenaries fell trying to protect him? Nick knew he would never know the amount, but Cameron certainly knew. They were all pawns to a game that would never end. A yellow reflection refocused Nick off of his inner thoughts, attracting his eyes to a man lying in the tall grass by the side of the road.

The scientist hurried over to the underbrush. Hikaru, in his human attire with two large, yellow devices shining on the sides of his forehead, laid stagnant on the ground. Realizing the gravity of the situation as he recognized the neural stimulators, Nick knelt behind the motionless figure. The scientist placed two fingers on the figure’s throat and as he detected a slight pulse; he knew what he had to do. Nick clutched a yellow device in each of his hands before pulling with all of his might to remove the controllers. The two devices immediately snapped off, sending sparks cascading across the area. The burst of pain snapped Hikaru out of his unconsciousness while Nick tossed the damaged stimulators as far he could.

Hikaru quickly rose to his feet, a painful migraine echoing in his skull. The alien looked at his hands, moving each finger to test his mind.

Nick cautiously rose to his feet, unaware what the Japanese man’s true motives were. His worries changed as he watched tears begin to fall. Hikaru slowly rose his head, a smile forming before it faded as soon as it appeared.

“Your friends… I… I couldn’t…”

Nick smiled, now knowing he had an ally in front of him, and placed his hand on Hikaru’s shoulder.

“My friend is taking care of them right now,” Nick responded before looking back at the Humvee in the distance. “Regrettably, they’ve been through worse.”

Nick took a few steps back and signaled Hikaru to follow.

“So… what exactly are you? Mutant?”

Hikaru’s regret faded slightly, allowing his youthful optimism to resurface.

“I’m an alien from Peaceland,” Hikaru explained. “I’m known on Earth as Zone Fighter. A hero, and Cameron used me as a slave. A tool to grab an alien crystal from within Japan.”

“Transparent with a strange glow?” Nick inquired.

“Yes, but how did you know?” Hikaru asked.

Nick directed Hikaru’s attention to the front of the wreckage where the slight form of a massive crystal jutted into the vehicle. The duo moved closer to further examine the strange mineral until the pair truly discovered the size of the strange mineral in front of them.

“It wasn’t that big when I found it, just the size of a medallion or a rubix cube,” Hikaru explained before kneeling to inspect it further. The hero’s fist tightened and he slammed it against the ground in frustration.

“What did Cameron do with it?” Nick questioned while he studied the crystal feature.

“He used it to create Krystalak, then he told some of his workers to insert it into the volcano’s hollow vent.”

Nick nodded and searched the ground, locating a small fragment of the strange rock. After slipping it into his pocket, he signaled Hikaru to follow him as he ran back to the Humvee.

Elsie released a sigh of relief as she finally closed Hick’s wounds. With Monique back on her feet and the Major’s injuries sealed, the worst of the situation was finally over. The Major had still suffered a good amount of blood loss, though, so she gave the officer a few bottles of water to replenish his fluids. Luckily, there was plenty of food, water and ammunition in the trunk of the vehicle. The sound of footsteps recaptured Elsie’s attention. The biologist looked up to see Nick, along with a familiar, yet horrifying face. Elsie fell backward from fright while Randy and Monique, the latter still in pain but able to stand, realized who was coming and aimed their respective, restocked guns at Hikaru.

Noticing his friend’s response, Nick moved in front of Hikaru. “Put your weapons down!” he ordered. “His stimulators are off! He’s on our side now!”

“That guy had stimulators on?” Randy questioned as he and Monique lowered their guns. “Wow… they also give him the powers too?”

“No. It appears he can do that on his own,” Nick explained while he walked over to Elsie and helped his frightened teammate to her feet. “How is everyone?”

“Well, Nick, the good news is Monique is back on her feet, as you can probably see, and Hick’s wounds are sealed. The wound on Hick’s chest doesn’t appear to be life threatening, but we need to get him to a medical facility. Internal damage could manifest quickly if he doesn’t.”

“Yeah, Tatopoulos, she didn’t do half bad,” Hicks mumbled before he coughed severely. “This has to be the best time I’ve gotten shot in my career.”

To the shock of the Major, Hikaru walked past Nick and knelt beside Hicks. “I beg for your forgiveness.”

Hicks looked at Nick for something to say, but saw the scientist walking toward Randy and Monique. With no way to deflect Hikaru’s plea, in addition to knowing his innocence, Hicks mumbled, “It’s uh…no problem. Just help me get to the Humvee and buy me enough drinks to forget this ever happened, and I will call it even.”

Nick smirked as he heard the response and focused on the pair beside him.

“You two okay?” Nick inquired to Monique and Randy.

“I am fine,” Monique stated with absolute certainty.

“Same here, Jefe. So what’s the game plan?” Randy asked, pumping his hands into the air with unparalleled enthusiasm. “I am itching for some pay back.”

A smirk appeared on Nick’s face. “There are three ships waiting off the coastline,” he stated. “If we can get in contact with them, we can coordinate to hit Cameron and take him down.”

“I believe this should be what you need, no?” Monique pulled the electronic pad out of her back pocket and presented it to the duo. “Luckily, my fall did not harm it.”

Randy’s eyes glistened with excitement as he grabbed the device and started to work his magic. “Give me five minutes and I will have an untapped radio frequency to call these ships at sea. Give me ten and I might have pay per view.”

Nick grinned while Monique grimaced with pain at the joke. The trio moved to the Humvee, but a metallic screech echoed, catching their attention.

Nick quickly realized what was making the sound, remembering the Crimson Twilight. “It’s Jet Jaguar.”

“Wait, you mean the metal man?” Randy asked. “How do you know it’s him?”

“Trust me when I say I’ve heard it before. I think he’s fighting one of Cameron’s mutations. He can change his size, but… I don’t think things are going well.”

Hikaru, overhearing the trio’s conversation, walked beside the group. “I shall help your friend. You five find a way off the island.”

“Flying around a monster’s head like a fly really isn’t helping,” Randy commented. “How are you going to help?”

“I can’t, but Zone Fighter shall,” Hikaru countered before he rushed off, running down the road to help an ally against Cameron.

“Zone Fight Power!”

The alien hero’s signature costume materialized on his form and he shockingly burst into the air, his target Jet Jaguar’s location.

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

Cyber Godzilla looked down at Jet Jaguar who lay under his right foot. The robot had tried his best, but the duo proved too much for him to handle, especially after his fight with Krystalak. Helpless, with his arms pinned and his systems strained, Jet Jaguar calculated his chance of destruction at ninety nine point nine seven percent. Cyber Godzilla lunged to clamp his jaws around Jet Jaguar’s head. However, a sound resonated across the sky, causing the cyborg to pause and snap his head in its direction.

“Zone Double Fight!”

A flash lit the atmosphere, blinding Cyber Godzilla as well as Rodan. After regaining their sight, both monsters looked back at the light’s source, but to Cyber Godzilla’s shock, he discovered a massive foot.

Cyber Godzilla slid across the ground from the unexpected kick and collided with Rodan. Jet Jaguar watched the duo stumble to get up before a hand reached down toward him. Jet Jaguar scanned the new, humanoid being before nodding and accepting the new figure’s help. The robot slowly rose, thanks to his ally, giving a slight nod in appreciation before two shrieks caused both of them to look at the distant threats. Jet Jaguar readied to fight, but the new arrival blocked his path to combat. At first, the robot did not understand the act, but warning signals appeared in his programming.

Jet Jaguar was severely impaired and needed time to repair himself and Hikaru clearly recognized this fact. Realizing he needed to sit this fight out for now, Jet Jaguar walked away and sat down, deactivating all of his systems for repair. With his ally out of the fight, Hikaru clenched his fists and readied to fight Rodan and Cyber Godzilla. A smile came across Hikaru’s face while he prepped to fight his foes. Not because he was happy to get revenge on Cyber Godzilla, but because he was Zone Fighter once again, the mighty hero and defender of Earth.

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

An annoyed face came over Cole as he watched his command center in a frenzied chaos. With most of the ships under his control damaged, Godzilla now on the scene, a new interference appearing on all of the vessel’s equipment and unable to do anything; the captain tried to think of something else that could go wrong. Then the radio began to buzz.

“Captain, incoming call from the island,” relayed an officer. “It is the same frequency as the last transmission.” 

Cole lifted himself up and walked over to the officer who handed the radio to him before Cole asked, “This is the USS Cowpens responding. What the hell do you want now?”

“This is the Major. We are on an untapped frequency, communication is clear, over.”

“How the hell did you pull this off, Major?” Cole ecstatically replied, a grin on his face.

“We secured it along with the prisoners, but the island is still compromised. What is your situation? Can we expect a retrieval?”

“Two new creatures appeared, damaging the USS Cowpens further and have disappeared under the sea bed. Retrieval is difficult at the moment. On the note of the monsters, they-” Cole was cut off as static began to buzz.

A slight commotion followed the static until another voice replied. “Sorry, Captain. This is Nick Tatopoulos. We’ve freed the hostages and are currently fine, but Hicks has been shot. He, as you have heard, is stable, but his condition may worsen if we can’t get him better medical care. Do you have any options for evacuation and the identities of the two creatures you mentioned earlier?”

“First off: Tatopoulos, we can’t evacuate you. Our own helicopters were damaged in the attacks and are not likely to be operational anytime soon. Even if they were, there is some type of electronic interference appearing and my choppers have no shielding against it. As for the two monsters-” Cole was silenced again as static exited the radio.

“Randy, did we lose them?” Nick inquired, as the intern double-checked the electronic device.

“No, it’s clear, Jefe. Whatever the problem is, it’s on their end.”

The static continued, until finally, the group heard Captain Cole again. “-two minutes and that is all.”

Nick readied to ask what was going on but was cut off as Audrey’s voiced exited the radio. “Are all of you okay?”

Elsie turned and eyed Nick. “She is persistent,” she commented.

“We are all fine,” Nick responded to his wife. “How about you?”

“Just peachy, but Nick, Zilla should be on the island along with Godzilla. They attacked each other before Zilla dragged him into the sea.”

“Good to hear, Audrey, but Zilla should be an equal match for Cyber Godzilla. You should be clear in the sea.”

Audrey’s skin tightened in annoyance at the misunderstanding. “No, not Cyber Godzilla – Godzilla!”

Irritated at Audrey’s continued statement, Randy grabbed the radio. “We get it, the big guy and his cyborg father fought each other under the sea.”

The reporter, hearing Randy’s comment, snapped and shouted at the group over the radio. “No! Zilla fought Godzilla, aka the King of the Monsters. The monster that everyone thought Zilla was, at first, and the monster that I’m going to feed you to!”

Nick, Randy, Elsie, Monique and Hicks laid back in their seats in the Humvee. “Thanks for clearing up the confusion, Audrey.” Nick remarked into the radio.

“Godzilla is here, huh? Cameron really knows how to throw a party then,” Randy joked as he kicked back in his seat. “Well, the ‘wrecking the house’ part, at least. And it’s a horrible plan, not too original to take control of Godzilla. That would be, what, the fifth time?”

“Highly improbable,” Elsie countered as she thought about the situation. “It’s no secret where he traveled after leaving Japan once the Xilien invasion ended. If Cameron wanted him, he just had to take a flight to Monster Island. Godzilla most likely traveled to this region to help Rodan. The two species do have some connections, especially since this Godzilla and the new Junior both were found with Rodan eggs in their respective nests.”

The sound of static and mumbling caused the leader of H.E.A.T. to refocus on the radio and grab it. “Sorry about losing you, Audrey,” he exclaimed. “You were saying?”

“Thanks- the captain wanted- tell you- interference is- start- increase- the island. He- it’s from- unknown-”

“Audrey, I can’t hear you! Say again, you’re breaking up!”

The sound of pure static buzzing over the transceiver was the only response. “Randy, can you fix this thing? He ordered the Jamaican. “Find a new channel or something.”

Randy worked on the controller, trying to find a new frequency. “Some type of strange interference, jefe,” the intern replied after no success. “This device seems cool, but the ship’s receivers as well as some other transmitters on the island are acting up. Cameron must be activating a jammer or something to shut us up.”

“So he also shut down some of his own equipment?” Elsie exclaimed. “No, he’s too arrogant to sabotage his equipment. Whatever is causing the interference isn’t from Cameron.”

“Hate to interrupt your discussion, but any ideas on getting off this rock?” Hicks asked, reminding the group of his wound.

“So to the H.E.A.T. Seeker then?” Randy remarked.

“Satellite imagery couldn’t detect it anywhere around the island,” Hicks quickly countered. “Cameron probably took it after you three fell into his trap, then hid it.”

“Hey, we didn’t fall for anything! Elsie’s ex’s alcoholic friend did!” Randy proclaimed defensively.

“Enough!” Nick shouted. “Fighting isn’t going to help any of us. Randy, Elsie, Monique: did you three see any ways to get off the island?” 

“Non,” Monique swiftly answered.

“There is one way,” Elsie responded. “While we were in the depot where Randy hotwired this Humvee, I noticed a few spare parts labeled for rotor blades.”

“You mean a helicopter?” Nick asked skeptically.

“Didn’t the captain say the interference equals helicopters crashing?” Randy quickly retorted.

Elsie thought for a second, then countered: “If I had to bet, Cameron’s are probably the best money can buy, which means it should have shielding.”

“Should?” Randy responded frantically.

“Does anyone else have a better proposal?” Nick inquired to everyone in the car, but with no other comments of disapproval, the scientist started up the Humvee. The vehicle then sped down the road, toward the mogul’s facility. 

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

Zone Fighter waved his hand, alerting his enemies to attack, trying to antagonize them, which worked well as Cyber Godzilla charged. Zone Fighter dug his feet into the ground and grabbed ahold of Cyber Godzilla’s metallic skull as he rammed the hero. Hikaru slid backward, but held his form firm until the cyborg could not push the hero any longer. As Cyber Godzilla recoiled, the world resonated from Zone Fighter’s voice. “

“Meteor Punch!”

After a dozen impacts to his elongated head, Cyber Godzilla swung his metallic arm and struck Hikaru across the face. The hero rolled across the ground before rapidly recovering to his feet. Zone Fighter readied to charge at the cyborg again, but stopped as multiple Uranium Heat Beams lanced across his body. The alien hero looked up to see Rodan soar by and then circle around to unleash another salvo of his potent energy weapon, but the alien hero decided to ground his newest attacker.

“Meteor Missile Might!”

Zone Fighter’s two infamous gauntlets assembled onto his wrists and, with his mighty rocket launcher ready, Hikaru unleashed an explosive barrage upon the pteranodon. Explosions detonated across Rodan as he flew in the air, but to the shock of the earthly defender, the mighty flying reptile stayed airborne, his sights still set on Zone Fighter and his wings and abdomen looking almost untouched from the hero’s assault.

Rodan stopped his flight directly in front of the hero and began thrusting his beak at Zone Fighter’s head, but Hikaru blocked each strike with his arms, causing sparks to form from each blow. To stop the reptile’s savage attack, Zone Fighter‘s hands fell to his belt buckle.

“Meteor Proton Capsule!”

Energy waves discharged from his body, propelling Rodan backward. As the pteranodon struggled to reorient, Zone Fighter followed up the stunning attack by unleashing his ultimate weapon.

“Meteor Proton Beam!”

Power surged to Zone Fighter’s forehead before a small, blue beam discharged and collided with Rodan’s abdomen. A volley of sparks cascaded over Rodan’s armored chest before a large fireball burst forth from the impact zone. Too much to overcome, Rodan flew backward and crashed into the trees. Fire rained down across the battlefield, turning the area into an inferno. 

Zone Fighter brushed himself off and glanced down at his energy timer to discover it shining a bright yellow. With plenty of time left, Zone Fighter scanned his surrounding for Cyber Godzilla, but he did not have to search long for his foe as he discovered him in the distance, his maw wide open.

With little time to waste, Zone Fighter projected a Zone-Barrier while the cyborg unleashed his atomic heat ray. A blaze of neon energy engulfed the shield, but even at full power, the barrier stood strong. The blue flames washed over the barrier harmlessly, each second enraging Cyber Godzilla more.  The cyborg angrily ended his ray with his failure apparent, while the barrier diminished to reveal Zone Fighter, uninjured and ready to press on.

Hikaru stood ready to face the cybernetic monstrosity, but Cyber Godzilla remained still. The beast let loose a low growl, lowering itself onto all fours. Zone Fighter relaxed his fighting pose and sent mighty calls at the creature. Cyber Godzilla’s eyes focused at the intimidation tactic, yet he stayed still.

Zone Fighter’s fists clenched. He couldn’t wait for Rodan to recover. He needed to strike now!

“Meteor …”

A blur caught the corner of Zone Fighter’s eye. In the span of seconds as Zone Fighter turned his head, the new creature gained color and detail. Pink spikes and jagged teeth now inched ever closer to the hero as the feral beast lunged toward him. Hikaru realized far too late Cyber Godzilla wasn’t waiting for Rodan to re-enter the fray. He had another ally ready to assist him.

Krystalak slammed Zone Fighter into the ground. The beast thrust his teeth toward the hero’s throat, ready to tear out Hikaru’s windpipe. To save himself, Zone Fighter grabbed the fiend’s upper mouth and lower jaw with each hand. The earthly defender struggled to hold Krystalak’s head back while the fiend dug his claws deeper into the hero to move his maw ever so closer.

Krystalak’s maw was now just meters away from the hero’s throat; Zone Fighter knew he had to act, but he was too close to use most of his moves. Then an idea popped into his head. As quickly as the hero could, Zone fighter released his grip and thrust his left hand into Krystalak’s maw. While the fiend chomped down on Zone Fighter’s appendage, easily piercing his armor and flesh, Zone Fighter screamed: “Subduing Mist!”

Krystalak’s lungs instantly filled with the paralyzing mist, sending the fiend recalling as he clutched his throat to breath, smoke flowing out of his maw as well as his nostrils. With the crystal creature gagging to inhale oxygen, Zone Fighter jumped to his feet.

His ally in trouble, Cyber Godzilla dashed toward Zone Fighter. The hero immediately felt the incoming creature’s tremors and grabbed ahold of Krystalak’s tail. Zone Fighter dug his feet into the ground, twisted his body and threw the fiend with all of his might. Krystalak soared through the air before impacting a shocked Cyber Godzilla, who fell to the ground under his ally’s weight. The duo struggled a few seconds before Cyber Godzilla rose to his feet. Unlike his companion and feeling the effects of the mist, Krystalak’s movements subsided before he fell to the ground in a drug induced trance.

Cyber Godzilla growled at the incompetence of his ally. No matter… he would kill the humanoid himself!

The cyborg hunched over, the rocket launchers on his spikes roaring to life. Zone Fighter took a defensive stance, remembering the last time his foe took the position; however, the attack never came. To the confusion of Hikaru, Krystalak and Cyber Godzilla disappeared into a plume of dust.

Zone Fighter cautiously edged closer to the cloud, expecting a new opponent or another trap to suddenly spring upon him, but a large rupture cut him off. A monster similar to that of Cyber Godzilla climbed out of the ground before roaring into the air. Zone Fighter, careful of the new creature, watched the monster before it looked toward him. Zilla tilted his head in curiosity at the humanoid, unsure what to make of him.

The duo’s glares at each other faded and refocused on the pit as Cyber Godzilla climbed out of the hole, leaving Krystalak in his grave. The cyborg sent a metallic screech at the duo before another echoed behind them. Zilla and Zone Fighter glanced toward the sound to find Rodan standing upward on the ground, alerting them to his presence. Zilla stared at Rodan as he backed into Zone Fighter, while Hikaru, staring at Cyber Godzilla, moved back into Zilla. The pair looked at each other over their shoulders, expressed a simplistic nod and dashed toward their respective foes.

Zilla reached Rodan, but the pteranodon took flight just as the reptile could get his claws on the flying creature. Zilla skidded to a halt and screeched at the pteranodon, prompting Rodan to turn around and unleash his Uranium Heat Beam on the mutated iguana.  Zilla dodged the ray, and charged toward Rodan while the flying creature did the same. The duo neared each other, and as they were about to collide, atomic energy discharged from Rodan’s beak. Zilla jumped in response over the pterodactyl, avoiding the attack and giving Zilla an opportunity he could not miss. The reptile’s tail smashed across the top of Rodan’s head, sending the pteranodon crashing into the ground. A half mile trench instantly formed on the island. At its end, Rodan moaned from the sudden vertigo.

Zilla jumped atop the winged beast, snapping Rodan out of his trance. Rodan violently beat the ground with his wings, gaining altitude rapidly, but he could not dodge the point blank attack from Zilla’s jaws. Emerald flames enveloped the pteranodon’s upper body. The torrent of fire could not burn Rodan. However, the small electronic device on his forehead sparked from the immense heat. A few seconds passed until the stimulator detonated in a miniature explosion. At that instant, Rodan’s movements intensified and frenzied as Rodan took full control over his body. Sensing something was wrong, Zilla jumped off the pteranodon, allowing Rodan to fly into the sky.

Cyber Godzilla and Zone Fighter clashed, each grappling in an effort to overpower the other. A quick burst of atomic energy to Zone Fighter’s face forced the hero to stagger backward, allowing the cyborg to swat his foe to the ground with his tail. Zone Fighter took a second to rest before he slowly rose. His strength was fading. The hero’s timer beeped and flashed red, indicating to Hikaru the precious time he had left to fight.

Zone Fighter dashed forward, dodging a claw swipe to deliver his Meteor Punch to the cyborg. Each strike dented Cyber Godzilla’s metal armor or bruised his reinforced skin. After the successful barrage of jabs, Hikaru swung himself to deliver a spin kick. Cyber Godzilla jumped backward, barely evading the blow, and fired four rockets from his dorsal rocket launchers. Still spinning from the kick, Zone Fighter could not dodge but blocked his chest with his forearms. A massive explosion jettisoned the earthly defender backward into a small hillside.

Dirt erupted in all directions, covering Zone Fighter in a layer of soil as the hero lay there, trying to raise himself, but unable to cope with his decreased strength. A final atomic ray from Cyber Godzilla ended the hero’s struggle, forcing him to the ground. The sound of his timer’s beeping slowly drowned out all other noises in Hikaru’s ears as he realized his energy was gone. He could no longer go on.

Cyber Godzilla primal eyes focused on his downed enemy, preparing to finish him off with another atomic ray. The cyborg channeled power into his maw, but a familiar roar grabbed his attention. The cybernetic creation turned to see Zilla charging toward it. With a greater threat approaching, Cyber Godzilla discharged his concentrated atomic ray at the incoming reptile. The energy weapon burst from the cyborg’s maw and instantly struck Zilla’s side, drawing a pain-filled cry from the mutated iguana, in addition to stopping him in his tracks. Hunched over and breathing heavily, Zilla returned his cybernetic doppelganger’s courtesy with his own green ray. The emerald atomic fire quickly launched at the cyborg, but Cyber Godzilla intelligently repurposed the ray to his advantage. The two metal plates on the metallic doppelganger’s chest opened to reveal a large dish, which absorbed the ray and reflected it back at Zilla. The following explosion knocked Zilla unconscious, but had the unforeseen side-effect of triggering Hikaru’s memories.

Hikaru flashed back to his first encounter with Cyber Godzilla and his loss due to the satellite in the cyborg’s chest. Cameron’s first mission to retrieve the crystal played in his head, before it moved to Legion, Krystalak, fighting Monique, the truck crash, and finally, his freedom from the mind control. A familiar strength filled Hikaru’s body as he lastly remembered what he had promised himself after his sibling’s deaths. He would not fail. Not again!

Zone Fighter dug his hands into the dirt and pushed himself up. Using his new fury to his advantage, Hikaru dashed toward Cyber Godzilla, who took the action by surprise. The alien hero swung a mighty punch and impacted the cyborg’s right eye, inciting a metallic cry from the cyborg. The cybernetic creature stumbled backward as he shook his head clear and snapped his maw at the Peaceland warrior. Zone Fighter evaded right and joined his hands to bring a two-fisted smash atop the cyborg’s steel plated head. The impact put a massive dent on the cybernetic creature’s forehead, severely disorienting the monster.

With Cyber Godzilla stunned for the moment, Zone Fighter moved behind the cyborg and clutched his tail. In a display of his rejuvenated strength, Zone Fighter began to spin rapidly. As Cyber Godzilla’s speed hit its peak, Hikaru stopped his movements and tossed the cybernetic creature high into the air. Cyber Godzilla flew at an incredible velocity and Hikaru knew the impact would be substantial, but it wouldn’t be enough. At that moment, he realized what he needed to do and started focusing energy into his entire body.

“Meteor Jet!”

Zone Fighter’s form disappeared as he burst forward, moving faster than any eye could detect. Zone Fighter used the inertia of the launch to propel himself high into the air, soaring far beyond Cyber Godzilla’s elevation. Hikaru’s body spun one-hundred eighty degrees. His head now pointed toward the earth. His right hand condensed into a fist. Using the rest of his power, Zone Fighter propelled himself downward with all of the force he could unleash.

Cyber Godzilla immediately discharged his sapphire atomic ray, trying to dissuade Zone Fighter from striking, but the hero launched his fist forward. Hikaru’s hand pushed through the fire, scalding it and causing it to ignite an azure blue. Steam vented off the appendage. Energy sparked around it as the atmosphere vaporized from contact. Hikaru no longer thrust a mere punch, but a comet of unparalleled power. The sight caused Zone Fighter to proclaim two words with all his might. 

“Meteor Fist!”

A flash caught Cameron’s eye, attracting him to a window in his office. Before he could reach it, the glass shattered from an apparent shockwave. Glass fragments flew across the room, taking Cameron by surprise as he shielded himself. As all the shrapnel hit the ground, Cameron looked out onto the island to see a dust cloud in the distance. A beep attracted him back to his computer, notifying him of Cyber Godzilla, Zone Fighter and Rodan’s termination. The mogul rubbed his temples as he realized the gravity of the situation in front of him. He needed to leave. The island was no longer safe, but Cameron remained calm. He may have lost his pawns, but they were always cannon fodder. No, his true prize would arrive shortly, and nothing on the Earth could rival what would soon be his unrelenting knight.

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

Nick sped down the dirt roads of the island at high speeds, smashing through a few small crystals growing out of the road. After a painful bump caused the crystal in his pocket to scrap against his thigh, Nick pulled out the rock and tossed it to Elsie.

“I like the size, Nicky, but wouldn’t you think it would be better on a ring?” Else joked as she studied the crystal further.

“Any idea what we are looking at?” Nick asked. “Hikaru told me he stole a small piece of it for Cameron, and now it seems it is growing all over the island. A car-sized piece of it is what the tractor trailer impacted, but it seems the closer we move to the coast, the slower the growth.”

Elsie’s eyes slowly widened. She smacked her forehead with her palm.

“Why didn’t I see it earlier?”

“What?” Nick replied curiously. “Did you figure out what Cameron is after?”

“Cameron’s mumbling about power, the crystal creature and now this. It has to mean, he’s back!”

Randy tried to snap his friend out of her state. “Hello, earth to Elsie. What is back?”

Before Elsie could respond, a bright, white light blinded Nick and forced him to stop the Humvee. The vehicle skidded to a stop, thrusting dirt into the air and temporarily lowering the thing’s brightness. Squinting to avoid overexposure to his eyes, Nick looked out of the window and watched the illuminating object descend slowly from the high atmosphere.

“SpaceGodzilla,” Elsie mumbled as she watched the creature descend from the heavens.

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

Massive bolts of power cascaded across SpaceGodzilla’s form before the titan landed in the half mile wide volcanic crater at the peak of the island. SpaceGodzilla scanned the feature before deciding the area would work as his new fortress. The evil space creature screeched into the air, causing the ground to shake as he used a fraction of his power to summon his crystal fortress.

Across the island, the small crystals that had grown all over the isle thanks to Cameron rapidly increased in size. The towering objects under the ground burst through the granitic soil with ease and spread like a plague across the island until forming into the ocean. From a view atop of the facility, Cameron watched with amazement the development of the crystal stronghold all over the island.

“Now it’s time to take my prize.”

Cameron pulled out his spare electronic pad and awakened his army of Cyber Flies within the facility. In a massive swarm, the robots flew out of the complex, toward the volcanic crater, where a large wall of crystals were developing. The electronic interference possessed no effect on his machines, thanks to the mogul’s incite to shield them, as well as the two sleek, black Bell helicopters parked right behind him.

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

Godzilla glided through the magma around him, ignoring the intense heat and pressure to find an exit from his tomb. The small reptile had tried to seal him and it had somewhat worked. While he could not break the basaltic layer above him, the nearby island’s volcano would allow him to escape his imprisonment. As he began to swim upward, a sign he was closing in on his destination, a sudden sense overcame the saurian. A familiar energy he recalled as well as hated. The monster king reminisced back to his youth, and his brief imprisonment inside a crystal prison. Rage billowing through him, Godzilla increased his speed toward his exit. Unable to see much in the molten rock, Godzilla crashed into the end of the magma filled cavern. Rocks fell and pelted the reptile from the impact while the creature sank to the bottom of the magma filled cavern.

The nuclear dinosaur’s spines flashed blue before Godzilla discharged a powerful, continuous atomic ray at his exit. Rocks fell off the block and cracks started to form, but the barrier would not break. While Godzilla continued discharging energy onto his exit, hidden within the flowing rock, a nearby creature awakened to the nuclear energy surging close by. Angered by an intruder in its territory, the insidious monster closed in on the unsuspecting leviathan.

The sound of the earth cracking filled Godzilla’s ears, prompting the lizard to end his assault. As the noises ceased, Godzilla swam at full speed toward the weakened rock to ram it open, but something cut him off. A massive creature slammed into him and smashed the reptile into the magma tube’s side. Godzilla shook off the impact quickly before discharging an atomic ray into the molten rock. A slightly gurgled screech echoed in the cavern, alerting Godzilla that he had hit the unseen attacker. Godzilla rose and tried to look through the molten rock, but the action proved useless in the pool of crimson liquid. The nuclear leviathan stood motionless, realizing he had to wait for his enemy to attack first, which did not last long as a massive hand thrust forward and clutched his neck. 

Godzilla grasped the massive hand and sunk his own claws into the monster’s appendage, but the reptile realized an astonishing fact immediately. Whatever the creature attacking him was, it was hotter than the magma around him! The King of the Monster’s skin sizzled, prompting Godzilla to lunge forward and smash his adversary into a nearby wall. The cavern’s side cracked, and the unknown monster released his grip, allowing Godzilla to recoil backward. Free from the aggressor, Godzilla floated down and landed on the floor as his spines flashed. Nuclear energy swirled in the reptile’s maw. To show the attacker his foolishness for attacking him, the nuclear leviathan discharged pure atomic fury. The radiation vaporized the molten rock in its way, but with Godzilla unable to see, the ray missed its target and detonated on the fractured wall.

A sudden shift in pressure alerted Godzilla something was wrong as magma flowed past him vigorously. The King of the Monsters held firm against the current, but something wrapped around his left leg. The super-heated appendage pulled Godzilla off his feet and forced the King of the Monsters to flow with the current into the new void.

Godzilla drifted through the opening his atomic ray created and slid across the floor, until finally, friction ceased his movements. The saurian shook off the fall and recovered to discover he was now in an air-filled camber. The King of the Monsters took in a breath of much needed air before he looked around the now glowing chamber. Magma poured through the new opening and into the massive void that housed multiple small chambers.

The magma slowly rose in the void, forcing Godzilla to look for an exit, but movement caught his eye before he found such a place. A massive form rose from the molten rock and turned to face the King of the Monsters. Godzilla waited a few seconds for the magma to fall off the creature to reveal its identity, but to the shock of the irradiated dinosaur, the creature was the rock!

Made of the various minerals lining the volcano and brought to life thanks to an infusion with the crystal formations appearing all over the island, the creature that appeared to be made of obsidian rock gurgled at Godzilla. Red lines covered his body where the creature’s inner molten rock leaked to allow the creature movement. With no eyes, it could not see Godzilla as the dinosaur saw him in the glowing chamber, but the rock creature could still sense the heat and energy the irradiated reptile unnaturally discharged. Wanting nothing more than his foe’s irradiated power, Obsidius rolled forward, toward Godzilla. 

The rock monster barreled through the rising magma, prompting Godzilla to spin and slam his tail into the incoming foe. Obsidius, still curled up, flew across the cavern and impacted a nearby wall. After exiting his spherical state, Obsidius turned back at Godzilla and rolled again at high speeds toward his foe. Godzilla, almost annoyed at the repeated attack, spun again and swung his tail to send Obsidius flying, merely for the rock monster to uncurl itself over the incoming appendage. After dodging the tail, Obsidius sent his arms down to support him while the creature thrust both of his legs at Godzilla for a two-pronged kick. Obsidius’ feet impacted Godzilla’s abdomen, cracking a few ribs and sending the irradiated saurian skidding backward through the surrounding magma. With his foe stunned, Obsidius inexplicably began to glow red, the molten lines on his body expanding due to the increased temperature.

After his injuries healed, Godzilla charged at his foe, merely to witness Obsidius’ maw open to unleash his own energy weapon. A superheated burst of lava erupted from the rock monster’s maw, bathing Godzilla in a torrent of flames. To the rock monster’s surprise, Godzilla continued through the agonizing blaze as it burned his hide, and head-butted Obsidius in the chest, fracturing his mineral-based armor. Unable to feel pain, Obsidius quickly countered the blow by swiping at the mutated dinosaur’s abdomen. Godzilla moaned in agony as his flesh seared with each swipe, prompting the dinosaur to unleash a quick atomic ray, atomizing more of the mutation’s armor.

Both monsters, taking severe damage, backed away from the other to recuperate for a second. Obsidius’ armor reformed as magma filled the cracked spaces, while Godzilla’s burnt flesh fell off and rapidly regenerated. The duo continued to stare at the other before another wall burst open, increasing the amount of magma spilling into the chamber and causing rocks to start to fall from the ceiling.

With their arena crumbling around them, the duo charged through the waist-high magma and smashed their full bulks into the other. Godzilla and Obsidius grappled with the other, trying to gain an advantage on the other, but neither would yield. Rocks fell from the ceiling from the growing seismic activity and smashed across the duo until a large piece of debris collapsed onto Godzilla’s cranium. The saurian winced, allowing Obsidius to gain the upper hand and slam Godzilla onto his side in the molten rock. A wave of magma sprouted from the impact zone, and Obsidius combined his fists to smash the submersed lizard. For a split second, the magma flashed purple before an atomic ray erupted from the molten rock. Obsidius’ lower jaw fractured, sending the abomination staggering backward.

With his enemy distracted momentarily, Godzilla rose from the molten depths and stood upright before charging toward Obsidius. The rock monster turned and unleashed a powerful torrent of molten rock, but Godzilla continued unfazed through the blaze until he came within meters of Obsidius. The irradiated lizard thrust his right hand deep into Obsidius’ maw. Godzilla cried in agony as his flesh burned off his right appendage due to the incredible temperatures inside of the mineral mutation. Obsidius closed his maw to hold the appendage in place while it fried; however, Godzilla defied the anguish and added to it by grabbing ahold of the rock monster’s upper maw with his other hand. The pure anguish intensifying with every second, Godzilla began to pull apart the molten creature’s jaws. A few seconds passed with no visible results of Godzilla’s actions. The leviathan began to roar continuously for his opponent to yield. The chamber shook from the echoes, shaking even the core of Obsidius until the remains of the dinosaur’s right hand ripped a massive chunk out of Obsidius’ throat while a large portion of the mutation’s upper maw flew high into the air.

Obsidius stumbled backward while Godzilla let loose the remainder of his breath. The beast looked up to see Obsidius in complete system shock to the tremendous impairment it had just sustained. Molten rock gradually regenerated on his body, signaling to Godzilla that the monster could live from his wounds if left alone. Godzilla snarled. He was a beast that knew of mercy, but for the abomination in front of him, he held none.

A concentrated blast of pure atomic power impacted the damaged portions of Obsidius’ body. The nuclear breath first lanced across Obsidius’ head, blowing it to pieces, before moving down his abdomen, blasting apart his rocky armor. The stream of energy slowly subsided, revealing to Godzilla the grisly remains of his molten foe before it fell into the molten rock surrounding him. Satisfied Obsidius was deceased and after staring at his now fleshless right hand, Godzilla roared triumphantly into the void around him. The sound reverberated again across the cavern’s walls, fracturing them and allowing more molten rock to flood the chamber.

The victorious monster slowly disappeared into the sea of magma. For a few moments, the chamber entered a moment of tranquility. Gradually though, the molten rock in the chamber turned a purplish hue. Unable to silence Godzilla, and the wrath it could unleash. 

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

A massive, swirling cloud had formed over the isle, crystals were forming across it at an unbelievable rate, and everything electronic on the vessel was down, which meant the USS Cowpens was dead in the water.

“Status report! Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on with the island?” Captain Cole shouted as he watched the island turn to hell.

“Sir, the source is originating from the volcanic crater,” an officer hectically announced. “Whatever it is, it’s definitely not from a jammer. It’s too sporadic in nature. Almost like it’s organic.”

The captain scratched the short, grey hair on his chin and thought about what to do, but a blue light suddenly caught his attention. The naval officer glanced out of the broken windows of his command deck to witness a blue beam burst from the ground at the foot of the volcano. The ray sliced through the vortex of clouds in the sky as it ruptured in a geyser of atomic fire.

The Captain rubbed his temples and exhaled at the new problem. “Hurry up, Major. Looks like your time is running out.”

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

Lava burst into the sky from the newly created vent as Godzilla exited the hole in the ground. In a massive chain reaction, more vents opened around the main volcano’s basin, blasting ash high into the sky, while others released basaltic lava onto the island. The nuclear leviathan took one last look at his exit, which was acting like a geyser for the pressured, molten rock before he refocused on the apex of the volcano. Godzilla began to climb, but a familiar screech echoed above him, causing the monster to flash back in his mind to an old ally of his. The irradiated dinosaur looked into the sky to see Rodan circling above him.

Grateful to see Rodan unharmed, and knowing that he would help him face the threat at the apex of the volcano, Godzilla returned his attention to the mountainside and started his slow climb up its slopes.

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

SpaceGodzilla glanced at the massive crystal he had created to focus all the cosmic energy surging across the island. It stood menacingly in the center of the volcanic crater and glowed eerily as it channeled energy. The steadily increasing sound of buzzing intrigued the power hungry monster to peer away from his creation and look to the cloud-filled sky to see multiple shining objects.

Dozens of electronically-shielded Cyber Flies dive bombed toward the space creature while discharging electricity from their stingers to stun the titan. SpaceGodzilla ignored the puny energy weapons and unleashed his Corona Beam on the swarm. Cosmic power flowed from the doppelganger’s maw, contorting to vaporize the annoying mechanical insects. Multiple miniature explosions detonated as Cameron’s drones were swatted away like the flies they were designed from.

With SpaceGodzilla distracted by their fellow drones, three specially created Cyber Flies flew in behind SpaceGodzilla and landed on the back of his head. The trio followed the landing by planting electro-shielded neural simulators onto the back of the titan’s head. Feeling the presence of the drones, SpaceGodzilla surged energy through his body which vaporized the landed Cyber Flies. Unlike the planters, however, the neural stimulators withstood the massive pulses of energy and began to send signals to the crystal monster’s brain. Within a few seconds, SpaceGodzilla felt a weird sense while he slaughtered the remaining insects, as if his mind was being influenced or thoughts were being installed into his head.

A gleeful smile overtook Cameron’s face as the pad in his hands confirmed that the neural stimulators were working on the crystal titan. He had done it! SpaceGodzilla was now under his control. The most powerful monster known to man a dog to its new master’s bidding. In his state of accomplishment, Cameron reacted with fright as a pilot tapped him on the shoulder.

“Sir. Both choppers are ready to leave. Should I alert your men?” the pilot inquired.

The mogul looked at the man and chuckled at the statement. “They won’t be joining us. Whoever is left conscious, I informed them of the vessel we captured a few days ago. Whoever wants to leave should have probably started running toward it.”

Cameron, with a new sense of power, strolled over to the chopper and relaxed in the backseat. Nothing could stop him now.

Nick glanced through a small window of the door to the entrance of the roof to see two choppers. One of the sleek, black helicopters had Cameron walking toward it while the other looked completely empty. The leader of H.E.A.T. took a deep breath before he turned to his friends.

“Roof looks clear except for the choppers. No guards, just Cameron and a pilot for each helicopter. On my signal, Monique, you and I charge the one with Cameron. Randy, you grab the other. Ready?”

Randy, Monique, Elsie and Hicks nodded in approval as Monique handed the scientist a weapon for precaution. Nick put the weapon in his back pocket and then turned to the door. The scientist took a deep breath and readied to run, but he felt a sudden feeling that put him off. The anxiety or whatever it was felt as if he had swallowed something cold and it was freezing him from the inside. After a second of thought, Nick removed the feeling from his mind before charging onto the roof.

Cameron stretched and glanced out the window as the helicopter readied to take off, only to notice Nick, Monique and Randy now running across the roof.

“Take off now!”

The other chopper was closer to the roofs entrance. Randy made it to its pilot and forced him to stop his ascent while Nick and Monique dashed toward Cameron’s transport. The pilot, now also noticing the incoming threats, pulled up and forced the unprepared helicopter to slowly hover right.

With a joint mindset to make Cameron pay for his actions and with their respective adrenaline flowing, Nick and Monique sprinted after the chopper, but the roof’s edge slowly neared. The helicopter passed the edge, but the duo jumped and clutched onto the flying vehicle’s rails. The sudden addition of weight sent the helicopter swaying dramatically, prompting the duo to hold on with all of their respective strengths.  

As the motions slowed, Nick forced the back door open, revealing a very surprised Cameron. Nick lunged after the mogul while Monique opened the pilot’s door and fought with the operator. With the pilot barely able to control the helicopter, the Bell changed its motion from a sway and began to spin rapidly in the air.

Monique sent multiple jabs at the pilot’s head and torso, but the seated person showed resilience as he ignored the blows. Her injuries flaring, Monique stopped her assault for a brief moment, accidentally allowing the pilot to pull out his side arm. The weapon, however, became no use to the operator as the French agent slammed his hand against the dash and sent the M9 flying backward.

“Get out of here!” Cameron yelled frantically as he repeatedly elbowed his past college roommate in the gut. Nick ignored the painful strikes and countered by punching the mogul in the gut, which stopped Cameron’s movements until the gun flew into the backseat, right next to Cameron’s head. The mogul instantly grabbed it and slammed the butt of the gun against Nick’s head, sending him recalling back. With little room, Nick fell backward out of the helicopter, losing his weapon in the process, before grabbing ahold of the railing with his right arm.

Dangling off the swirling helicopter which now spun back over the facility, Nick lifted himself up, merely to watch Cameron aim the gun at Monique. Unable to reach the mogul, Nick helplessly watched Cameron fire the weapon. A round discharged from the side arm, struck the agent’s shoulder and sent the agent falling out of the helicopter, onto the roof below. Unable to see where the bullet impacted his friend, a boost of adrenaline pumped through Nick.

With Monique taken care of, Cameron aimed the gun at Nick, but the scientist, to his shock, had already climbed up and quickly tackled him to the floor. The duo wrestled for the gun, each throwing jabs at the other until the weapon started firing randomly in the tussle. Bullets ricocheted around the inside of the chopper, striking the operator as well as the control system of the helicopter. With the pilot incapacitated and the control systems fried, the Bell helicopter went into a frantic spin back over the nearby woodlands.

Nick and Cameron ignored the chaotic motion of the chopper and continued their brawl, each sending jabs at the other to make them submit, but both men would not be defeated. The duo’s fight ended abruptly as the chopper impacted the tree line, sending the old college roommates flying out of the chopper. Nick slammed into a tree while Cameron impacted and rolled across the ground. Both men remained stagnant, reeling in pain from their falls while the chopper continued smashing into more trees until it exploded. Bent metal and contorted portions of outer plating flew across the area. Both men remained stagnant, ash beginning to fall around them like snow. Gradually, Nick and Cameron awakened from their momentary unconsciousness, unsettling the inches of ash across their bodies.

Nick rolled over, his head aching and tried to lift himself up, but he could not find the strength. His entire body pulsated with agony from the hard fall and his sight was playing tricks with him as objects spun in every direction. The sound of footsteps caused Nick to roll onto his back, simply to see Cameron weakly standing above him, with a gun aimed at his head.

Blood covering parts of his body, his glasses somewhat bent, his eyes bloodshot and the moguls naturally combed hair a mess; Cameron’s new appearance reflected his mindset as he aimed a familiar gun at Nick’s head.

“For the last… and final time… goodbye, Nickels.”

Nick’s eyes focused on the barrel of the gun. His mind tried to reassure him that Cameron was not a killer, therefore he was fine, but Monique’s fall flashed through his mind. The mogul cocked the back of the gun, attracting Nick’s attention. As he watched Cameron move his finger, thoughts flooded his mind. Nick’s final thoughts were not about his life or even hatred for Cameron. No, it was of regret he could not ensure the safety of his team and the uncertain future that awaited them.

A flash suddenly overcame Nick’s sight as the round fired from the gun, discharging the large amount of ash in the chamber. Cameron watched Nick’s head go limp as the ash from the chamber fell upon his head, covering it entirely. Cameron looked away with displeasure from his act. It was… too simple. A long awaited victory, but one that felt utterly hollow in its execution.

 

Zilla’s eyes jolted open and the monster instantly jumped to his feet. A dreaded sense had overtaken the reptile, one he knew all too well. The almost instinctual feeling alerted the lizard that his adopted father was in trouble. With a rough direction of his adopted parent’s location, Zilla dashed toward Nick.

 

Randy shuddered as Monique knocked him away as he tried to assist her. The French agent was in no mood for his usual wit and quickly walked over to the captured helicopter. Monique’s mind replayed the incident in the chopper dozens of times and she could not understand how she could let Cameron get the gun. It was a rookie mistake, one she had done without even noticing. Her mind tried to justify the action as a random accident, but the French agent knew better and her hard training was the evidence of this. She knew one thing for sure; she wasn’t going to let Nick pay for her mistake. This thought repeating in her head, she quickly entered the chopper’s copilot seat.

Randy, his arm bruised, but his ego still intact, rushed over and entered the back seat with Hicks and Elsie.

“Fly this chopper to the crash site now, before I break one of your arms!” Monique ordered.

Elsie, however, caught sight of the new wound on Monique’s right shoulder. “French Fry, you okay? You should put some pressure on that so you don’t…”

“I am fine! It is just a scratch.”

With the idiotic question taken care of, the French agent sent a deathly stare, prompting the pilot to take flight and fly the chopper toward the crash site. It took just a minute for the chopper to arrive over the wreckage as it burned brightly under them. Metal alloy, small fires, and electronic debris lined the area below, but the group ignored the harsh signs and started looking for their colleague.

“See him?” Elsie shouted as she peered out of the Bell Helicopter, but Randy declined to speak.

Hicks, Monique, Elsie and Randy continued searching, but with no results, Randy’s impatience skyrocketed.

“Yo, dude! Get us lower. I will jump out and search,” Randy ordered. However, instead of declining in altitude, the chopper changed direction toward the sea.

“I thought I made it clear?” Monique demanded and grabbed the pilot’s right arm, turning it to a point of extreme discomfort.

“Look, lady! I don’t care what you do! Notice the stuff coming down on the windshield?”

All of the passengers in the chopper glanced at the screen. Fine, black particles lined the very bottom of the windshield, with more falling from the sky like snow.

“The specs are volcanic ash,” Elsie explained sadly. “He’s right. We have to get grounded immediately.”

“What, and leave Jefe on the ground? What can tiny specs do to a chopper? Choppers fly in snow all the time, so shouldn’t we be fine?” Randy shouted.

“Ash and snow are two different things,” the pilot proclaimed as he pulled his arm free of Monique. “Snow is frozen water while ash is like cement. Both are dangerous, but if ash gets into my systems, it will clog them up and send us crashing to the ground. You want to search after I get out of this thing, go right ahead. But the island just turned into a no fly zone. If your buddy’s alive, then he needs another way off.”

Randy and Monique clenched their fists, but Hicks quickly cut in. “Look, rafts are ready for deployment on all three ships. Once we get to the USS Cowpens, we can get multiple search and rescue squads together. Tatopoulos wouldn’t want us killing ourselves looking for him this way.”

Randy and Monique nodded before they focused on the ship in the distance that was closing in fast. The minutes it would take to reach the vessel was nowhere near fast enough.

 

Godzilla reached the peak of the volcano before smashing through the crystal wall surrounding it. With the crystal nuisances gone, Godzilla noticed in the center of the crater the monster he sensed and remembered from almost two decades prior. The evil creature had imprisoned him all those years ago and Godzilla yearned for the chance to earn some payback. The nuclear leviathan jumped down to the crater’s level ground and sent an earth shattering roar at SpaceGodzilla.

Walking through the undergrowth of the island, Cameron stumbled forward with the hidden away H.E.A.T. Seeker as his destination. His choppers destroyed and having no sea vessels under his control, the confiscated boat would work just fine in letting him get off the island. A beeping on his controller caused the mogul to stop and display a few visual sensors of a few hiding Cyber Flies near SpaceGodzilla to discover Godzilla.

Infuriated that Godzilla had somehow gotten onto the island without his knowledge, and furious that he had used all of his neural stimulators on SpaceGodzilla, Cameron ordered his newest pawn to kill Godzilla. The slight distraction taken care of, Cameron refocused on his target and continued his trek.

SpaceGodzilla stared at Godzilla with both fascination and hatred. He couldn’t wait to kill the monster, but a volley of other thoughts sprang into his head. They also instructed the titan to kill the King of the Monsters. SpaceGodzilla looked at the monster, and with an unparalleled vengeance, accepted the order by screeching at Godzilla. The controller’s order just reinforced the titan's hatred for the accursed dinosaur.

The nuclear leviathan replied to his doppelganger’s cry by unleashing a blast of nuclear energy toward SpaceGodzilla. The crystal titan raised a reflective shield, harmlessly deflecting the ray to the ground before discharging his own energy weapon. Corona Beams contorted across the space between the two monsters and impacted Godzilla, sending sparks cascading across the dinosaur. Flesh flew into the air from the explosive force, but Godzilla remained standing, his endurance holding firm against the onslaught of powerful energy rays.

Godzilla shook the dead flesh off before charging toward SpaceGodzilla. The power hungry clone stood motionless while Godzilla smashed crystals in his way toward him. As Godzilla neared, SpaceGodzilla screeched into the air and showed Godzilla why he had not moved.

A barrage of flying crystals smashed into the lizard, sending Godzilla careening to the ground. SpaceGodzilla cried into the ash-filled atmosphere of Godzilla’s blunder before discharging four intense Corona Beams onto the downed foe. Each strike burned Godzilla’s hide while also causing the nuclear leviathan to bellow in anguish.

With pain as well as rage-filled memories fueling the leviathan, Godzilla’s spines flickered blue as the dinosaur channeled energy into his maw. With all the power he could use, the downed nuclear leviathan unleashed a concentrated atomic ray which burned across SpaceGodzilla’s hide. The crystal doppelganger took a step back in anguish, giving Godzilla a sense of satisfaction. After his body regenerated the relatively minor wound, SpaceGodzilla refocused on Godzilla after the painful strike.

SpaceGodzilla flashed back to his last fight with Godzilla, along with Moguera, and his loss to the King of the Monsters. He would not lose again! He would crush Godzilla under his footsteps, though not without torturing this reptile for all that he had done.

Godzilla slowly rolled over and began to lift himself up, but SpaceGodzilla stopped his foe’s movements by wrapping his tail around the leviathan’s neck and thrusting its speared tip into the dinosaur’s shoulder. Godzilla clawed at the appendage, drawing blood with each swipe until energy surged through the tail. Unable to use his own power and somewhat drained in strength due to his two previous battles, Godzilla could not stop SpaceGodzilla as he lifted him off the ground and brought the leviathan to stare into his crimson eyes.

SpaceGodzilla took delight in seeing Godzilla squirm and moan in agony, but the alien abomination realized something from the monster’s energy. This Godzilla was not the same one he faced in Fukuoka! No, this Godzilla was different. SpaceGodzilla studied the leviathan, noting his less bulky shape compared to the Godzilla he faced all those years ago. More memories unlocked within SpaceGodzilla’s mind, piecing together the identity of the beast that dared challenge him. The small infant he had trapped in his crystal prison now stood before him as an adult. The crystal titan felt somewhat disappointed at the revelation, yet it did not matter. He would search for the original Godzilla and kill him once he was finished with his son. This he was sure of.

SpaceGodzilla pulled Godzilla closer and planted his arms onto the mighty dinosaur before surging even more energy into the nuclear leviathan. The red energy cascaded across Godzilla’s body, ending most of the monster’s movements. Knowing just a little longer and Godzilla’s internal organs would be fried to nonexistence, SpaceGodzilla dumped even more power into Godzilla, but a blast of purple energy to the crystal creature’s face forced the titan to release the dinosaur from his grip.

SpaceGodzilla looked into the dark sky and noticed a shadow flying at an incredible speed. The blur slowly gained color as it descended toward him. Massive wings, a large beak, sharp talons and fearsome, predatory eyes revealed themselves to SpaceGodzilla. Whatever the creature was, SpaceGodzilla did not care, for soon it would be nothing but ash!

Corona Beam filled the atmosphere. The orange, swirling energy blasts crisscrossed due to SpaceGodzilla’s attempts to strike the flying beast, but all attacks failed from Rodan’s incomparable agility.

Out of power thanks to his recent assault on Godzilla and his barrage of Corona Beams, SpaceGodzilla ended his energy attacks into the sky, allowing Rodan to swoop down and unleash his own energy weapon on the titan.

Uranium Heat Beams detonated across SpaceGodzilla’s body before a massive blast struck the space clone directly between the eyes. The crystal titan stepped backward, stunned momentarily, but he opened his eyes merely to discover in detail Rodan’s abdomen. The armored torso sliced across SpaceGodzilla’s face, drawing blood and sending the titan stumbling further back.

SpaceGodzilla shook off the dizziness he felt from the blow and his regeneration instantly healed the wounds across his head in time for Rodan to land at the edge of the surrounding wall of the crater. The pteranodon screeched at the crystal titan and flapped his wings insultingly. SpaceGodzilla’s eyes focused on the monster with rage and his spines sparked with cosmic power. Bolts of energy discharged from the massive crystal behind SpaceGodzilla and struck the titan’s crystal shoulders before a massive, swirling Corona Beam discharged from his maw. Rodan flapped his wings and took flight, just barely evading the supercharged ray as it vaporized the rock he had perched on.

Anger rushed through SpaceGodzilla at his failure to strike the pathetic creature while Rodan landed again and repeated his offending actions. SpaceGodzilla prepared to unleash a torrent of Corona Beam and charged with new power, but the sudden shaking of the ground beneath his feet prompted him to look behind him. The crystal titan was met by Godzilla’s tail as it swiped across his face. The stunning strike sent SpaceGodzilla spinning right, allowing Godzilla to follow up by ramming his doppelganger in the abdomen.

SpaceGodzilla moaned in agony from the impact while Godzilla pressed on with the assault. Godzilla swiped at the titan’s head repeatedly with his claws. Nuclear energy flowed through his blows with each successful strike, sending blue sparks across his crystal clone until he finished his barrage by chomping down on SpaceGodzilla’s neck and latching onto the titan.

SpaceGodzilla struggled in Godzilla’s grasp, but the irradiated dinosaur proved his strength by keeping the crystal creature in place. Unable to break free, SpaceGodzilla tried focusing energy for a Corona Beam, but to his shock, Godzilla was blocking his intake of power, just like his father had in their original battle!

With an opening to help his close friend, Rodan flew toward the battling duo. The silent predator glided across the sky, stopping his flight next to SpaceGodzilla’s head. The pteranodon assisted Godzilla by pecking at the crystal titan’s head. Sparks ignited with each strike of Rodan’s beak as it sliced and gashed at the titan’s face. Blood ran across SpaceGodzilla’s forehead, enraging the crystal terror even more.

SpaceGodzilla could not believe what was happening. The two monsters were actually winning against him. No! He would not lose again and he could not be contained. He was the superior Godzilla. The embodiment of unlimited, unstoppable power!

Every crystal in the area grew in illumination as they channeled all their power to the main massive crystal before it focused the collective power to SpaceGodzilla. The titan’s own crystal shoulders glowed intensely until the crystal terror screeched into the air of his unbeatable will. A sudden blast of red energy pulsated across SpaceGodzilla’s body, sending Godzilla crashing to the ground while Rodan glided backward due to the force.

SpaceGodzilla looked at Rodan and with the pteranodon stunned, the crystal terror unleashed multiple devastating Corona Beams at the winged beast. Rodan cried in agony as the beams burned across his abdomen and his wings before a final blast sent the pteranodon crashing to the ground. Dirt and other materials rocketed into the air from the impact, bringing pleasure to SpaceGodzilla. The titan, however, was not one to let those who faced him live and continued discharging Corona Beams onto Rodan. The pteranodon cried in pain from the onslaught and as SpaceGodzilla focused a final beam to finish it off, blue atomic power detonated on the back of his head.

Smoke billowed around SpaceGodzilla’s forehead, forcing the crystal terror to turn and find Godzilla on his feet, right next to his massive focusing crystal. Godzilla roared at his doppelganger before unleashing a new atomic ray from his maw. SpaceGodzilla quickly generated a crystal shield which harmlessly deflected the energy attack to the ground. The crystal terror immediately retaliated with his own powerful energy weapon, yet Godzilla ducked behind the massive crystal, causing the Corona Beam to impact the large formation. A cascade of sparks ignited at the basin of the crystal, forming tiny cracks, angering SpaceGodzilla immensely.

SpaceGodzilla glared with hatred at Godzilla and began walking toward the dinosaur, an act that proved how enraged the titan truly was. Godzilla had found a place where he could not risk using his Corona Beam, but it did not matter. SpaceGodzilla knew he would just have to swat Godzilla away.

Godzilla slammed his fists into the crystal tower, trying to get it to break, but the crystal, unlike the smaller ones around it, was extremely dense. The nuclear leviathan, with no results on the enlarged crystal, returned his attention to SpaceGodzilla, who had just arrived on the opposite side of the crystal.

SpaceGodzilla roared at Godzilla, trying to edge him away, but Godzilla remained in place, knowing he had to destroy the crystal tower to halt his enemy’s rising power. Realizing he could not get Godzilla to move away, SpaceGodzilla thrust his tail forward. Godzilla sidestepped and evaded the strike before blasting the appendage with nuclear energy. The titan bellowed in anguish before Godzilla rammed into the tower, causing more breaks to form at its basin.

Tired of his foe’s tactics, SpaceGodzilla wrapped his tail around Godzilla’s right foot and threw Godzilla away from his prized tower. Godzilla rolled across the ground, breaking crystals in his barrel roll until he finally stopped after collecting too much debris. Breathing heavily, the mighty saurian slowly rolled onto his abdomen and pushed down to get up, but an unexpected Corona Beam forced the reptile back down to the ground. Godzilla looked up to see SpaceGodzilla gleaming down on the King of the Monsters.

SpaceGodzilla smiled evilly at the pathetic reptile that had dared to challenge him. Did he really think he could do what his father had barely done? Defeat the most powerful creature ever to be created? How pitiful this Godzilla really was, the crystal terror could not believe.

The crystal titan lifted his foot high into the air before slamming it down on Godzilla’s head. Godzilla screeched in anguish as SpaceGodzilla put more and more pressure under his heel. The nuclear leviathan grabbed the leg and released some pressure, but his strength was fading and he had little power left. Godzilla’s spines flashed and the nuclear leviathan unleashed one final, all powerful atomic ray. The beam travelled slightly above the ground, vaporizing any small bumps in its path until it impacted the basin of SpaceGodzilla’s crystal. SpaceGodzilla increased the force on his foot, driving Godzilla’s head deeper into the ground, but the atomic ray burned through the earth as it continued striking the crystal tower. Finally, the evil doppelganger grew severely irritated of Godzilla’s antics. SpaceGodzilla lifted his foot up and smashed it against Godzilla’s skull, knocking the monster unconscious.

The atomic ray abruptly ended, alerting SpaceGodzilla to Godzilla’s conscious state and prompting the terror to pick up the saurian with his hands. SpaceGodzilla scanned the stagnant saurian before screeching into the heavens of his victory. He had done it! Godzilla was beaten and at the mercy of his will. The titan readied to break Godzilla’s neck and finally rid the world of the cursed monster, but the sound of cracking caused the terror to look back at his crystal tower.

The basin of the structure cracked with a sickening sound, forcing SpaceGodzilla to watch in horror as the formation gradually tilted. The slight movement quickly gained pace before gravity took full victory by pulling the broken crystal to the ground. Dirt and ash spewed into the air as the once mighty crystal tower lay in ruin.

SpaceGodzilla refocused on Godzilla. Even while unconscious, he would still contest SpaceGodzilla’s superiority? The alien creature growled in annoyance. If Godzilla wanted the crystal down so much, the damn monster could have it!

The titan tossed Godzilla away before using his Gravity Tornado to slam the unconscious beast into the volcanic wall. The force of the impact lodged the leviathan’s spines into the rock, stopping Godzilla from falling to the ground. With Godzilla in place, SpaceGodzilla lifted the massive crystal that the saurian had destroyed with his Gravity Tornado and aimed its sharp tip at Godzilla’s head.

Rodan lay defeated at the perimeter of the volcano peak. The fearsome predator, reduced to prey before the intergalactic behemoth.  Rodan moaned in defeat, his wings broken from the onslaught yet as it watched SpaceGodzilla prepare to impale his ally, a new feeling surged within. Rodan’s eyes focused on SpaceGodzilla, anger coursing through his body allowing the beast to flap his wings. Rodan glided toward Godzilla, and closed his eyes.

SpaceGodzilla levitated the massive crystal toward his enemy, with the head of the comatose saurian his target. The massive crystal moved through the air under the control of SpaceGodzilla’s Gravity Tornado, but the crystal doppelganger watched shockingly as Rodan appeared. The pteranodon intercepted the crystal at the last possible second and turned his body so the structure would ram into his chest. The crystal sliced through the winged reptile’s armored abdomen, yet it continued on its course to Godzilla. Instead of impacting the leviathan’s head, the crystal struck the dinosaur’s chest cavity, piercing Godzilla’s flesh with ease. The sudden burst of agony from the impalement awakened Godzilla instantly. Roars of anguish echoed until the crystal pierced the leviathan’s right lung. Godzilla’s cry lessoned as his breathing struggled. The saurian’s gaze fell upon Rodan.

Rodan’s wings moved ever so minutely and the sound of minor chirping escaped his beak. Green blood poured out of the massive wound in his abdomen, yet the pteranodon was still barely alive. Rodan looked at Godzilla one last time before screeching into the air his infamous cry. The horns on the beast, as if signaled by his bellow, began to glow.

SpaceGodzilla watched with astonishment as Rodan gradually disappeared and formed into thousands of glowing, golden particles. The pieces of Rodan formed a haze around Godzilla, vaporizing on contact with the saurian. The nuclear leviathan’s spines flashed crimson and his body quickly repaired all of the harsh damage sustained to him over the day. His right hand was recoated with his natural dark hide, the crystal was forced out of his abdomen, allowing the gash to heal, and Godzilla’s brain repaired itself from the traumatizing stomp from SpaceGodzilla.

Red lightning crashed around the saurian as the mighty irradiated monster thunderously roared into the atmosphere of his return. Godzilla knew one thing as he tossed the massive crystal aside; SpaceGodzilla would discover the true power of a Godzilla, and why it would always remain the inferior clone.

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

Circuits sparked, wires spliced, gears spun; Jet Jaguar’s repairs ran at full speed. All other functions ran at low power, but a familiar echo caused his systems to freeze. Energy redistributed to the robot’s joints and sensors, bringing the machine back to life. The robot slowly stood, ash falling off his form like water, but a new electronic interference disoriented his systems. After an instant modification to adapt to the damaging energy, Jet Jaguar scanned his now unfamiliar surroundings. The island had changed drastically since he went offline, though it was no longer Jet Jaguar’s focus as he heard an all too familiar roar.

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

In a crater a quarter mile wide, Hikaru gradually awakened to the developing hell around him. The hero scanned his surroundings as he rose to his feet. Lightning crashed with uncontrollable fury. Ash fell from the heavens with the strength of a torrential downpour. Massive crystals reached for the darkened sky, rivaling even the size of monsters. A sense of dread quickly overcame him as he continued to process all that he saw.

How long was he out? Did he fail? Had Cameron won? Where was the beast that looked like God-?

A familiar roar reverberated across the heavens, drawing Hikaru’s mind to battles fought long ago and far, far away.

“Godzilla…” Hikaru mumbled as he listened to the powerful bellow.

The hero’s fist clenched as he looked to the volcano. A crimson lightning storm danced around its apex. He wanted to kill Cameron, to stop his monstrous intent, but at that moment, he focused on the needs of the Earth. Hikaru’s vengeance could wait. The Earth could not.

“Zone Double Fight!”

In a flash of light, Hikaru’s small form disappeared and the mighty defender of Earth fazed into reality. Zone Fighter launched into the air, parting the ash in the air with a massive shockwave.

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

Godzilla demonstrated to SpaceGodzilla his new found power by summoning crimson energy to his maw. Red flames formed in the dinosaur’s jaws and his spines illuminated the same hue before the mighty creature unleashed a Spiral Heat Ray. The ray burned across SpaceGodzilla’s torso, revealing the alien’s crystal bones to the saurian and causing the doppelganger to bellow in agony. The charred wounds on the space monster’s body healed almost instantly, but SpaceGodzilla knew he still needed to be cautious. His foe had grown in power exponentially; there was no questioning that fact.

Confident of his new power, Godzilla’s spines flashed red, prompting SpaceGodzilla to create his crystal shield. The energy barrier popped into existence right on time as Godzilla discharged another supercharged energy ray. The radioactive stream was deflected harmlessly to the ground, inciting Godzilla to try again. A third beam was unleashed from the irritated dinosaur’s maw, striking the shield with thunderous force. The shield cracked from the bombardment. Streams of energy burst from the energy deflector, inaccurately striking everything on the battlefield, including Godzilla’s left leg. A massive, fiery explosion engulfed the surprised leviathan, creating a deafening crash after the monster fell to the ground.

SpaceGodzilla destroyed his fractured barrier and took advantage of his downed foe by unleashing a plethora of Corona Beams. Explosions of light cascaded across the leviathan while he tried to stand, to no avail. The sight brought pleasure to SpaceGodzilla as he watched Godzilla squirm. The monster may have gained tremendous power, but Godzilla’s use of such energy exposed his lack of skill.

SpaceGodzilla’s spines as well as his crystals pulsated with pure cosmic power and the titan readied to unleash another barrage on his foe. Energy swirled in his jaws, yet the evil creature yielded due to sudden buzzing. Remembering the earlier flies, SpaceGodzilla fired a volley of his Corona Beams into the ash-filled sky.

Rising to his feet, Godzilla heard a sickening snap. The leviathan turned toward SpaceGodzilla to discover him sliding across the ground. The massive titan smashed through a few crystals before finally coming to a complete stop at least a thousand feet from the impact zone. Godzilla looked at the figure that had done such an incredible act. To his shock, he found a giant, metallic human.

Jet Jaguar scanned the leg that impacted SpaceGodzilla and, noticing multiple deformations in the armor, bent the limb back into place. After slightly correcting the damages, the robot scanned the battlefield to discover Godzilla. Jet Jaguar walked cautiously over to the reptile. The cybernetic being knew this was not the same monster he had fought with before, but his calculations assured him that this Godzilla wouldn’t harm him. At least, not in seventy-three out of the one hundred situations he had created in his programming.

Godzilla watched Jet Jaguar approach him until the figure extended his arm to shake. The leviathan took one last look at the still immobile SpaceGodzilla and, realizing an ally had come, growled in response. Jet Jaguar emitted a metallic cry of acceptance from the act and lowered his hand before the sound of movement lured the duo’s attention back to SpaceGodzilla.

The massive space monster slowly rose back up to his feet. SpaceGodzilla’s head crept around to face his new enemy as well as Godzilla. Blood covered the space monster’s entire abdomen, forming due to the loss of SpaceGodzilla’s entire lower jaw. Skin, flesh and bone reformed where the lower portion of the space terror’s maw had been, allowing SpaceGodzilla to screech with hatred. Fueled by the grisly wound, SpaceGodzilla discharged a supercharged Corona Beam at the duo. Godzilla moved in front of Jet Jaguar to take the energy blast, but a new figure suddenly appeared out of thin air and landed in front of the pair.

“Zone Hyper-Barrier!”

A small shield formed, taking the full force of the energy blast. The cosmic power, after striking the barrier, was redirected back at SpaceGodzilla. An explosion of sparks detonated on the titan, blinding the crystal creature for a few seconds until SpaceGodzilla found his newest adversary.

The Hyper-Barrier vanished, revealing Zone Fighter to the evil entity. His blue and silver attire gleamed even with the Sun blotted out. With SpaceGodzilla stunned for the moment, Hikaru looked back at Jet Jaguar and Godzilla and gave them a slight nod. The trio looked at each other before they refocused on the titan who bellowed evilly at the trio, ready to combat the group.

Jet Jaguar wasted little time in admiring his foe and dashed forward with Zone Fighter right behind him. SpaceGodzilla retaliated by unleashing a Corona Beam at the robot, but the cybernetic warrior dodged under the energy weapon, causing it to detonate in front of Zone Fighter. Activating his thrusters, Jet Jaguar blasted toward his foe before striking SpaceGodzilla across the face with his knee. SpaceGodzilla shook off the blow merely to come face to face with Zone Fighter.

“Meteor Punch!”

To SpaceGodzilla’s surprise, the alien hero’s fists moved like lightening as they struck across his body. Each blow inflicted onto the titan formed large bruises, enraging SpaceGodzilla ever more. His fury overriding his agony, the titan discharged pure cosmic energy from his shoulder crystals, forcing Zone Fighter to recall a few steps.

Raw energy swirled in the titan’s maw. SpaceGodzilla grabbed Zone Fighter and brought him within meters of his jaws, ready to blast Zone Fighter to pieces. Jet Jaguar noticed the act and jumped onto the titan’s back, placing SpaceGodzilla into a chokehold. SpaceGodzilla frenzied, trying to reach Jet Jaguar with his claws, but his arms proved too short. An opportunity to attack unopposed, Zone Fighter looked over at Godzilla and signaled him to fire.

The leviathan’s spines flashed crimson. Red sparks contorted across Godzilla’s body. As the beast readied to fire, Zone Fighter did the same.

“Meteor Proton Beam!”

Noticing his teammates’ strategy, Jet Jaguar flew into the sky, giving his allies an opening. Concentrated radioactive power erupted from Godzilla’s jaws while Zone Fighter discharged his ultimate weapon from his forehead. The two beams impacted the oblivious SpaceGodzilla, burning away his hide with each second. The infamous cry of SpaceGodzilla escalated every moment the beams impacted his body. A final explosion of the two energy weapons’ power engulfed SpaceGodzilla in a cloud of ash, flames and dust. The trio, unable to see their foe, waited with curiosity to see what had become of SpaceGodzilla behind the smoke.

The dust gradually settled, revealing a blood-covered SpaceGodzilla. Bone protruded from many wounds while a large chunk of flesh hung down his abdomen. SpaceGodzilla’s hide regenerated sluggishly compared to his previous injuries which only infuriated the titan even more. He was the most powerful monster in the universe, yet he was losing. How was this possible? SpaceGodzilla’s eyes focused on Godzilla and a rage coursed through his body. He needed more power. He could feel his body slowly reaching his limit but that did not matter. He needed more! At first, the crystal terror wondered how, until he noticed all of the intact crystals around him. An epiphany occurred within SpaceGodzilla’s mind and with it, he began to focus all of his power into forcing his creations into the air.

Jet Jaguar landed by his allies just in time to watch every small crystal on the volcano fly into the air. Godzilla and Zone Fighter immediately started assaulting the airborne structures. Meteor Knife Chops and Spiral Rays destroyed at least two dozen crystals before the duo realized their destination was not them, but their creator.

In shock, the trio watched SpaceGodzilla smash his own crystals against his body. Over twelve dozen of the structures vaporized, creating a large, thick fog around the crystal titan. Then, slowly, the cloud began to glow red, pulsating with the pure evil heart within it. The fall of the crystal particles from the sky slowly revealed SpaceGodzilla to the trio, but he was not the same monster that the group knew just moments ago.

SpaceGodzilla stared at his hands. Red lines had formed over them as well as the rest of his body due to his energy reaching a critical mass. The large crystal spikes on his shoulders now gleamed crimson. The titan could feel the unequal power flowing through his body, and to declare the new force to the world, SpaceGodzilla roared into the sky. The thunderous bellow echoed while red lightning crashed around the titan as he declared his true power to the world. 

Godzilla snarled at the sight of his illuminating foe. Unwilling to let his doppelganger’s new energy deter him, the nuclear leviathan charged at SpaceGodzilla, leaving his allies behind. SpaceGodzilla allowed Godzilla to slam into his body and took a single step backward. The crystal titan then showed his hated enemy what true power he possessed and slammed his bulk into Godzilla. The impact itself cracked a few of Godzilla’s ribs before a massive shockwave of power struck the irradiated dinosaur. Taken airborne from the blast of energy, Godzilla slammed into the ground and continued to slide past his allies before striking the volcanic wall.

Jet Jaguar and Zone Fighter watched the impact’s dust cloud expand before refocusing on SpaceGodzilla to watch him discharge a super charged Corona Beam. Zone Fighter immediately reacted to the incoming energy attack, forming a Zone-Barrier to intercept the ray. The rectangular prism formed in time for the Corona Beam to strike; however, the shield shattered instantly. A massive flash blinded the duo from the shocking energy output before they focused on SpaceGodzilla.

Jet Jaguar scanned the energized titan and calculated the odds of success against him. Even with Godzilla’s recent rejuvenation and Zone Fighter’s color timer only yellow, the odds were one hundred to one against them, even with luck factored in. At that second, Jet Jaguar tightened his fists. Victory was still attainable. 

 

Clusters of crystals across the island sparked uncontrollably from their master’s surge to critical mass. The ground quaked from their sudden growth, but even gravity began to shift from the cosmic energy. Rock cracked from the shift until large collections of crystals began to rip the earth asunder. Massive chunks of the island, at least fifty meters in diameter, levitated into the sky. Dozens of these formations suddenly filled the skyline, allowing the craters below to fill with geysers of lava. A continuous tremor shook the island as more of these formations floated into the darkened atmosphere, awakening a man thought dead.

Nick’s eyes gradually opened, flinching as ash particles touched his eyes’ nerves. The scientist wiped his eyes, taking deep breathes as his consciousness gained a full understanding of his situation. As he stumbled to his feet, Nick continued taking deep breaths, frantically looking around for Cameron and his weapon. As he calmed, Nick felt his head. Pain coursed the gash on his forehead, but as he traced his fingers over the wound, he felt no hole, just a large gash.

Nick retracted his hand, looking over the blood-infused ash that now coated it.

“The ash must have filled the chamber and slowed the bullet,” Nick spoke aloud as he sat on a nearby tree and continued to ease his breathing.

The sound of bark breaking caused Nick to jump and frantically look upon the ash-covered jungle around him. A monstrous dust cloud formed to his right, hiding the jungle in a dense fog. More tremors shook Nick, and as he readied to run, an elongated snout broke through.

Zilla looked down upon his father, a slight cry of joy emanating from his jaws. Nick smiled at the act, but a constant barrage of crimson lightning caught his as well as his adopted creature’s eyes. Both watched the volcano spark with crimson lighting. The massive chunks of flying earth now circled its apex like moths to a flame. Zilla growled at the sight while Nick looked on with fear.

Against SpaceGodzilla, Nick realized he could offer nothing to help. Comparatively, he was an insect, and one without any tools to even the odds. Zilla could stop Cameron with ease, but that was not where he was needed. If Jet Jaguar and Zone Fighter were still alive, they would need Zilla’s support. It was the stupid thing to do, but Nick did not hesitate in enacting his plan.

“Go!” Nick yelled to Zilla, drawing a few tears from the scientist’s eyes while Zilla returned his gaze back toward his parent’s. “They need you! Go!”

The beast look upon his parent for a brief moment, and then roared into the air. In a few seconds, Zilla disappeared into a vale of ash as it raced toward the volcano. Nick looked on with pride before he turned toward Cameron’s footprints in the ash. With a heavy breath and fear coursing through him, Nick staggered in pursuit of Cameron.

 

Jet Jaguar and Zone Fighter dashed at SpaceGodzilla, knowing they could not stop his Corona Beam from afar.

SpaceGodzilla insultingly bellowed at the act as he watched the pair charge. The crystal titan unleashed multiple Corona Beams at the incoming targets, yet their agility proved greater than his aim.

Jet Jaguar struck first by sending multiple jabs at SpaceGodzilla’s abdomen. The blows left small bruises before SpaceGodzilla swung his claws, striking Jet Jaguar across the face. Jet Jaguar barreled backward, allowing Zone Fighter to move in and thrust his two fists forward. Stronger than Jet Jaguar, the duel fists caused SpaceGodzilla to moan in pain.

“Meteor Missile Might!”

Zone Fighter’s two infamous gantlets formed on his wrists before he slammed his hands against the titan’s chest again. His gauntlets at point blank range, the Meteor Man fired all of his rockets in a single barrage. A massive explosion detonated on SpaceGodzilla’s abdomen. Flesh, bone, blood and other bodily fluids rocketed into the air, leaving two large holes in the evil creature’s lower chest. Zone Fighter staggered backward from the explosion, hoping he had hit a weak point on the titan or something useful, but his optimism fell as SpaceGodzilla emerged from the smoke. The titan’s glow still pulsated across his body while the monster’s regeneration quickly fixed the severe injuries from the Meteor Man’s bracelets.

Cosmic energy erupted from SpaceGodzilla’s jaws at Zone Fighter, who stood perplexed at the monster’s strength. The first blast forced Hikaru to the ground while the titan continued pelting the hero with powerful blasts. As he ended his volley of beams, SpaceGodzilla scanned Zone Fighter who trembled to rise. His thin suit’s armor in some places was vaporized away, revealing charcoal skin.

SpaceGodzilla cried evilly at the downed hero, summoning energy to his maw to finish off Zone Fighter, yet a sudden blast of atomic power impacted his side. SpaceGodzilla turned, irritated by the ray, to discover Godzilla back on his feet.

A sense of annoyance overcame the titan. What did he have to do to kill him?

A green aura overcame SpaceGodzilla’s shoulder crystals which then discharged emerald bolts at Godzilla. The green energy surged through Godzilla, lifting the monster into the air before smashing him to the ground. SpaceGodzilla cried evilly as he picked up Godzilla again with his Gravity Tornado ability, thrusting him higher into the air before slamming him back down with even greater force.

Lying on a bed of ash with three large claw marks across his face, Jet Jaguar witnessed Godzilla get thrown around like a rag doll. The robot glanced at SpaceGodzilla, scanning the monster for any weakness. None appeared, causing the robot to scan every molecule of the titan. Like the other scan, nothing appeared. Jet Jaguar knew every monster had to have some weakness, SpaceGodzilla was no exception. To the robot’s knowledge, he was even beaten once before, but how? The robot ran every possible scenario, about a thousand a second, until he scanned the titan again in vain. The monster was almost perfect in every form; a large body for protection, massive amounts of power to use as well as manipulate, and his shoulders a perfect conduct…

Jet Jaguar stopped on that statement in his programming, realizing the answer he needed. Slowly, the robot rose and, knowing that he had to save his allies, Jet Jaguar stealthily flew high into the air.

A sick sense of joy overcame SpaceGodzilla as he continued to smash Godzilla into the volcanic dome. Godzilla at first had struggled, but now the creature moved very little in his fresh crater. SpaceGodzilla readied to lift his hated enemy again, but the sound of buzzing quickly caught the titan’s attention. The crystal doppelganger looked up into the air to witness Jet Jaguar flying at Mach speed directly at him. SpaceGodzilla discharged a Corona Beam, but the energy weapon was too slow as Jet Jaguar flew past the ray and thrust his right arm at SpaceGodzilla’s left shoulder crystal.

A massive burst of red and white light flashed from the impact as energy violently escaped the shattered shoulder crystal. Jet Jaguar’s entire right arm atomized from the release while SpaceGodzilla cried in immense agony. As the light faded, SpaceGodzilla looked around the area before locating Jet Jaguar, rage coursing through every molecule of the alien abomination.

Zone Fighter slowly rose while his timer beeped red. He couldn’t believe what Jet Jaguar had done, but his slight positivity faded as SpaceGodzilla walked over to the crippled robot. SpaceGodzilla looked down at the cybernetic human with utter resentment, contemplating how to torture the humanoid for his actions before deciding on one. The evil titan impaled his tail straight through the robot’s back. The crystal dagger at the end of the tail easily sliced through the robot’s damaged armor before lifting Jet Jaguar into the air and turning him so the robot was face to face with SpaceGodzilla.

Jet Jaguar stared into the glowing eyes of his adversary while SpaceGodzilla gleamed into the robot’s optical sensors. The crystal titan scanned the robot for any sign of fear, yet none appeared. Just the confident smile of the robot which SpaceGodzilla found irritating. Shockwaves of power ripped through Jet Jaguar as the titan channeled ungodly amounts of power into his tail. A static-filled, metallic cry echoed for miles, giving SpaceGodzilla great pleasure as he fried the robot.

Zone Fighter could not watch his friend’s torture any longer. The hero jumped to his feet and fired a continuous Meteor Slash at SpaceGodzilla’s tail. The ray sliced through the middle of the appendage, causing Jet Jaguar along with the titan’s tail to fall to the ground while SpaceGodzilla bellowed in anguish. Now knowing SpaceGodzilla’s weak point thanks to his friend, Hikaru focused all of his remaining power. The alien hero’s hands fell to his belt timer, gathering energy, then spread outward, unleashing a stream of large, crimson arrow beams at the titan, aimed right at his intact crystal.

SpaceGodzilla quickly created a crystal shield to stop the flying energy attacks. The first arrows struck the shield, but instead of reflecting the energy weapon, the projectiles cracked the barrier. The remaining arrows struck the barrier, yet unlike the first, it shattered the defense. A dazzling light show sparkled in front of the alien goliath, hiding the stream as it continued on and put a massive gash into his right shoulder, almost slicing SpaceGodzilla’s last remaining crystal off his body.

Zone Fighter waited for the massive crystal to fall, but it remained attached to SpaceGodzilla who turned toward the hero. Tired of the annoyances, SpaceGodzilla discharged a Corona Beam, aiming the attack at the hero’s head. Zone Fighter moved his arms to block the strike, however, a greenish explosion detonated in front of Hikaru, causing the residual sparks to cover his form. The alien hero unshielded his eyes to discover SpaceGodzilla focusing on something in the far distance. Zone Fighter turned as well to discover the earlier reptile, hunched at the top of the volcano’s rim.

Zilla stared at the strange crystal creature. It appeared like the monster he had fought earlier, but the similarities hardly mattered once the reptile noticed Jet Jaguar in shambles and his new ally in a crippled state. His instincts warned him that SpaceGodzilla was not a monster to trifle with, but Zilla ignored the precautions and roared at the monster before jumping down into the volcanic crater.

Zilla and SpaceGodzilla shared eye contact as they sized each other up. Unfortunately for the smaller reptile, SpaceGodzilla barely registered a challenge from the new opponent. Zilla readied to charge, until a slight reflective shimmer caught his attention.

Jet Jaguar, using what was left of his internal programming in addition to his power, suddenly shrank back down to his normal human size, but his movements remained stagnant. The robot, with hardly any power, shut down all of his systems, knowing it was very likely he would never awaken again.

With his ally still somewhat alive, his energy timer flashing red, knowing he had to get Jet Jaguar to safety and remembering his oath to the person that saved him, Zone Fighter dashed forward, grabbed Jet Jaguar off the ground and flew into the darkened atmosphere.

Zilla watched Zone Fighter and Jet Jaguar disappear before refocusing on SpaceGodzilla, whose maw now glowed with cosmic power. A Corona Beam burst from SpaceGodzilla’s jaws, powerful enough to vaporize any monster it touched… if only it touched.

Zilla easily avoided the attack, insulting the alien with an arrogant cry, causing SpaceGodzilla to unleash an onslaught of Corona Beams. Zilla weaved around the explosions, charging closer to his enemy until he found an opening. Zilla’s jaws snapped open and violently closed onto SpaceGodzilla’s right arm.

The crystal titan smashed his left arm against Zilla’s head, sending energy cascading through his touch, forcing the reptile to release his grip. In severe pain, Zilla backed away before charging and slamming his cranium into SpaceGodzilla’s abdomen. The titan, annoyed at the creature’s actions, discharged an energy bolt from his damaged shoulder crystal, forcing Zilla to back away again. His flesh somewhat seared, Zilla returned SpaceGodzilla’s favor by unleashing his own green heat ray at SpaceGodzilla’s head. Zilla slowly diminished his atomic plume of fire simply to find an unimpressed SpaceGodzilla.

A sickening cry awakened Godzilla from his limited consciousness, prompting him to look over at the fighting duo. SpaceGodzilla now clutched Zilla by the throat and was repeatedly smashing his claws into him while Zilla slashed at the titan’s abdomen. Godzilla barely rose to his feet, his actions unnoticed to the fighting duo, but felt his reserves severely depleted. Even with Rodan’s sacrifice, he couldn’t muster the strength. At first, Godzilla glanced at the volcano’s rim, deciding on what he should do before noticing the large crystal SpaceGodzilla had created to act as a conduit.

Godzilla growled with confidence. He didn’t know if it was enough, but Godzilla stumbled toward the crystal without any regret. He would kill SpaceGodzilla, like his father accomplished all those years prior. No matter what it took… SpaceGodzilla would fall!

After taking a massive amount of damage to his abdomen from Zilla’s razor sharp claws, SpaceGodzilla dropped the reptile to the ground. After regaining his footing, Zilla dug into the rock at lightning speeds. The mutant disappeared into a cloud of ash as a Corona Beam detonated at the entrance of his fresh chasm.

SpaceGodzilla studied the massive pit in the ground, somewhat surprised his foe could burrow, but annoyed at the creature’s escape. Still wary of Zilla, SpaceGodzilla inspected the ground for any movement until he noticed a slight glimmer behind him. SpaceGodzilla sluggishly spun around, expecting to see Zilla, but he found a white mist. White particles at first obscured the monster. The cloud sparked wildly until a crimson light shined through. A white crystal barrier immediately formed in front of SpaceGodzilla just in time to stop a supercharged Spiral Heat Ray.

The shield fell as the white mist surrounding Godzilla faded into obscurity. Both monsters glanced at the other, studying the others features. Godzilla’s body now possessed red lines like SpaceGodzilla, and a rejuvenated body for which no wounds existed. A state of critical mass now pulsated through Godzilla, supercharging the beast just like his father had done so a few decades prior. As Godzilla edged ever closer to SpaceGodzilla, the leviathan challenged SpaceGodzilla to a final brawl.

A Corona Beam accepted the confrontation. 

Zilla dug through the granitic volcanic soil with ease, preparing to dig a large trap under SpaceGodzilla. After finishing a fourth of the void, Zilla clawed his way into a large opening and barely avoided falling into the bottomless pit. The reptile looked down the seemingly endless vent, noticing glowing crystals jutting out its sides. Knowing this would impair SpaceGodzilla better than his normal trap, Zilla climbed up the vent to bring his opponent crashing down.

Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla grappled, each trying to gain the upper hand on the other by discharging energy through their bodies. Bolts of power expelled from their spines, tearing apart the battlefield with ease. Their figures’ glow only intensified as they struggled in the other’s grasp, both refusing to give in to the other. An underhanded Corona Beam to the face forced Godzilla to recall before he angrily discharged a Spiral Heat Ray from his jaws. SpaceGodzilla fired another ray in response causing a large detonation of energy. All of the ash in the volcano’s apex violently blew away, and fractures in the rock violently formed beneath their feet.

SpaceGodzilla ignored the cracks and took a step toward Godzilla, breaking the cap on the volcano’s main vent. SpaceGodzilla’s form disappeared into a cloud of dust that had taken the place of the vent’s cap. Zilla emerged from the opposite side of the hollow volcanic opening, shaking off the dust that had fallen upon him. A cry of victory emanated from Zilla’s jaws while Godzilla stood perplexed at the move. The small reptile proved smarter and more resourceful than it looked. After glancing at each other, Godzilla and Zilla scanned the hole while waiting to hear SpaceGodzilla’s impact at the bottom of the vent. Instead of the thud, an evil cry sounded from the opening. SpaceGodzilla’s head gradually lifted out of the haze followed by the rest of his body.

SpaceGodzilla felt almost insulted by the small reptile’s pathetic trap. Did he think gravity could defeat him? No, it served him like the energy that channeled through his body. A tool to eliminate all in his pursuit of conquest like the Corona Beam that swirled in SpaceGodzilla’s jaws.

Anger flowed through Godzilla’s body as he watched SpaceGodzilla assault Zilla. Rage overpowering his better judgment in battle, Godzilla charged toward SpaceGodzilla who now stood over Zilla.

SpaceGodzilla found immense pleasure blasting the small reptile into submission. The cascade of sparks across Zilla’s body timed perfectly with each of the monster’s cries of agony. After ending his barrage, SpaceGodzilla studied the stagnant, small reptile. With no way for the battered creature to dodge, SpaceGodzilla readied to unleash a concentrated Corona Beam to finish the pathetic creature off. In SpaceGodzilla’s maw, energy concentrated, attracting the attention of Zilla who watched the energy attack form.

An orange light gleamed from SpaceGodzilla’s maw, blinding Zilla as he struggled to get up from his serious wounds. As the titan achieved full power, SpaceGodzilla felt the tremors of Godzilla.

SpaceGodzilla turned and unleashed his concentrated ray at the incoming beast. The blast detonated on Godzilla’s shoulder, shredding it to pieces. However, Godzilla did not waver. The King of the Monsters slammed his entire bulk into SpaceGodzilla, forcing the monster back until he was at the edge of the volcanic opening. Godzilla pushed with all of his strength, yet SpaceGodzilla remained motionless at the edge. The titan dug into the ground and began to lift Godzilla, readying to toss him into the abyss, but a sudden screech caught his attention.

The two battling beasts glanced over at Zilla in time to witness its spines glow. An emerald atomic ray erupted from his maw, striking the rocks SpaceGodzilla stood upon. Godzilla and Zilla traded eye contact, the King of the Monsters nodding in gratitude before Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla plunged into the volcanic vent.

SpaceGodzilla and Godzilla, holding onto the other, crashed against the vent’s sides as they fell into the chamber. Both echoed moans of agony as they were relentlessly smashed into the rocky walls, sending small debris off their impacts. After a half minute of violently falling and impacting the vent’s sides, the pair finally plummeted onto the massive basaltic plug of the main volcanic vent. Two large craters formed along with a series of cracks under the pair while they remained still on the dense floor.  

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

With the volcanic ash blanketing the sky in a blizzard of deadly particles, Randy, Monique and Elsie hurried to acquire permission to use a boat after leaving their stolen helicopter behind on the U.S.S. Cowpens. That is, after multiple crew members forcefully escorted Major Hicks to the medical bay and Monique used some bandages to cover her injuries. After entering the Command center, the trio hopes of helping their leader vanished with Cole’s answer. 

“So you’re tellin’ me we can’t use a boat to go ashore because the water is now acid?” Randy inquired to Cole. “I would like to be the first to call that total-”

“He’s right!” Elsie quickly countered before Randy landed himself in the U.S.S. Cowpen’s brig. “The volatile lava as well as the ash from the volcanic eruption are mixing with the water, causing the PH levels to drop severely. The lower the PH, the more acidic the water is.”

“She is one hundred percent right,” Captain Cole responded unanimously. “My small deployable craft will be unusable by the time they reach shore.”

Randy shook his head in disbelief. “If we’re floating in acid, why isn’t this tub at the bottom of the sea?”

“Like your skull, the hull of my ship is thick, not to mention made of steel. In deeper water, the Cowpen’s safety is assured, but my sonar techs recently reported the entire sea floor is erupting as we speak, so our situation may change very soon.”

Randy’s face turned red before he slammed his fist onto a nearby steel shelf.

“No helicopter, no boats, how is Jefe going to get off the island now? And don’t volcanos usually erupt from their tops and not everywhere else?”

The group eyed Elsie, expecting an answer, but they received an irritated glance. “I’m a biologist, not a geologist, so I don’t know conclusively why! If I had to guess though, there could be a blockage in the main vent, forcing the volcano to erupt along its parasitic conduits. Considering this volcano is showing signs of being a composite volcano in the middle of the mafic ocean, I can’t say for sure.”

“The Seeker,” Monique remarked from the corner of the room, reminding the group of Dr. Tatopoulos’ status. The French agent could not take the bickering any more, especially not with her freshly bandaged arm, hands and back still throbbing. “The hull should withstand the acid; I coated it with a protective chemical shielding for instances like this. That is why it was safe from the volcanic eruption after our encounter with the Bee Queen.”

“Then why do I still have to scrape the hull after every mission?” Randy inquired.

“An amusing side effect,” Monique countered before refocusing on the Captain. “Any luck with communications?”

“They’re still being jammed by…” the captain turned to Elsie, his face perplexed, “SpaceGodzilla, is it? In any case, I ordered the other two vessels to move to deeper waters on adjacent sides of the isle while we wait for Dr. Tatopoulos. Hicks made it clear to me as he was escorted to the medical room to stay, and I will as long as I can. Though I am sure you are all aware the possibility he is-”

“He is still alive!” Audrey cut the Captain off, sitting in a small chair while rocking it back and forth, slight worry in her voice, but her usual stubbornness overshadowing it. “Nick… can handle himself on his own.”

Cole nodded, knowing not to argue, considering her relationship with Nick. The Captain turned to think, but a sudden thud on the main deck caught the attention of everyone in the command room. Curiosity turned to movement as a crewman from outside yelled, “We need medical attention down here and a mechanic!”

Their hopes held high, the trio of H.E.A.T. members as well as Audrey rushed down to the ash-covered level and discovered a group of crewman. The quadlet moved in, pushing the men aside to discover a few medical officers tending to Hikaru while everyone else observed Jet Jaguar. Injuries appeared over both figures. Hikaru suffered multiple severe burns across his body, a few bruises and a severe cut from the fall to the deck while Jet Jaguar had a massive hole in his abdomen, his leg was slightly crippled, his face had three large claw marks over it and his right arm along with his shoulder were gone.

Audrey’s hopes faded with the discovery while Randy moved next to Jet Jaguar to see what he could do. He was nowhere near the engineer Mendel was, but the intern could give his hotwiring skills a test.

“Hello… there,” Hikaru greeted the arriving trio while he grimaced at his wounds. “Are all of you here and safe?”

Elsie negatively shook her head. “No, Nick is still on the island,” she sadly replied.

Hikaru struggled to rise and barely kept himself upright once he got up on his feet.

“Then I…will go help…him,” Hikaru mumbled while he struggled to breathe, the stress on his body finally taking its toll on him from his day long battle.

“Don’t be a fool, you can barely walk,” Monique asserted as she clutched him. “You will surely get yourself killed.”

Hikaru looked back at Monique, a fierce determination in her eyes. Knowing she was right, Hikaru fell to the ground and took a deep, painful breath.

A few sparks sent Randy backpedaling away from Jet Jaguar after a failed attempt to help the machine.

“Well, I can’t believe I am saying this, but I really wish Mendel was…” The intern let out a sigh and continued, “Metal man over her is pretty much scrap without some major repairs.” The intern then caught Hikaru in his sight and glanced over his wounds before asking him, “So what happened to you?”

“SpaceGodzilla. Godzilla, Jet Jaguar and I all fought him, but he is too strong. At first, I thought we could win but he suddenly transformed and started glowing. I barely saved Jet Jaguar and I almost didn’t make it to this ship. The only things left fighting him are Godzilla and another monster that looks like him.”

“That would be the Z-Man!” Randy enthusiastically shouted, merely for Hikaru and the entire crew to stare at him with utter confusion.

“He means Zilla,” Elsie corrected, “But what do you mean, glowing?”

“Red lines, as if his body is unable to cope with the power. He entered a super charged form.”

Elsie thought a few moments “Great,” she uttered. “He’s gone critical.”

“Like explosive?” Randy cautiously asked.

“No, not exactly, but he could if he absorbs too much energy. Critical Mass is a theorized state in which energy wielding monsters attract too much power. Think an athlete pumped with adrenaline. If the energy is released quickly, the monster should be fine. If it doesn’t, it’s most likely the mutation may undergo severe problems which could lead to an explosive demise. Due to SpaceGodzilla’s biology, I can’t say if the same result will occur. I assume the floating crystal formations are one symptom of this Critical Mass state, but I am sure it will kill him. The same process is theorized to be the cause for the last Godzilla’s death in 1995.”

“How large of a reaction could occur if left unchecked?” Monique inquired hesitantly.

“Godzilla was theorized to have been able to take out the entire nation of Japan and a large portion of the Pacific in one massive thermonuclear detonation,” Elsie detailed before looking at the volcano. “Add SpaceGodzilla’s unique energy and it may effect gravity, light, or reality itself.”

Suddenly a large portion of the crew dashed toward the staircase, hoping to convince their captain to reconsider his position to stay nearby to the island.

 

Zilla limped away from the volcano’s basin. The beast breathed heavily, the stress on its body finally taking its toll after fighting Godzilla, Cyber Godzilla, Rodan and SpaceGodzilla. Once he found his father again, he would rest and-

The earth violently shook.

Zilla recognized the movement. They were continuous in nature, footsteps of a creature approaching him at high speed. The reptile turned its head to recon the area merely to see a cone of ash descending upon him. Green flames discharged from Zilla’s jaws, striking the cloud, but the beast within proved too fast. A pink blur lunged out of its concealment and slammed into Zilla, its claws easily piercing the reptile’s shoulders.

Krystalak let loose a screech of joy as he felt Zilla’s blood spill from his body. Long had he slept or toyed with other monsters, but now it was his time. It’s time to kill!

Green flames suddenly engulfed the crystal fiend, blasting Krystalak off of Zilla’s form long enough for him to recover to his feet. Feeling evaporated from the reptile’s arms, and dizziness methodically crept upon the beast. Zilla’s mind raced from all the symptoms; he couldn’t fight, he needed to flee. Noticing the floating chunks of Earth above, Zilla jumped high into the air and landed atop a floating formation. Zilla at first let loose a sigh of reassurance, but Krystalak’s roar silenced his hopes.

The floating chunk of earth shook as Krystalak sunk his claws into its side. The beast carefully climbed up, awaiting a counterattack by his foe. As Krystalak peered over the edge of the formation, Zilla’s tail swung toward him. The fiend caught the attack and sunk his claws into his flesh, causing Zilla to roar with anguish.

Zilla pulled his appendage away from Krystalak and kicked the monster across the face, peeling the fiend off the side of the floating mound of rock. As Zilla heard the creature’s impact, the beast looked over the edge to the mushroom cloud of ash below. Quickly, Zilla looked around for another floating rock formation.

As the ash fell around Krystalak, the beast watched Zilla jump to multiple floating mounds. Krystalak let loose a minor growl of intrigue, and launched back into the air. If his prey wished to make the hunt more challenging, then he would gladly oblige.

 

. Under the jungle underbrush, little ash fell upon the H.E.A.T. Seeker, allowing its faded white exterior and shark painted bow to remain unscathed. Cameron took little interest in its appearance or the five mercenaries preparing to remove its ropes from the dock. As he walked aboard, all he could focus upon was watching the island burn from SpaceGodzilla’s wrath, but a mercenary in front of him halted his movements.

“Good to see you sir,” the mercenary group’s leader noted. “So far, only five others including myself have arrived. Should we hold our position in case others arrive?”

“I will pay you each five million dollars to get this thing ready to leave. That’s a five hundred percent bonus, so I would suggest you move!”

The five hired hands wasted little time and rushed to detach the large boat from the small dock. Just wanting to sit down with his body in pain, Cameron moved to enter the scrap worthy vessel. A slight thud caused the mogul to look at the back of the Seeker, but with nothing in sight, Cameron entered the H.E.A.T. Seeker, his rational mind trying to subdue his paranoid fantasies like Major Hicks trying to kill him. The low tech command room of the H.E.A.T. Seeker almost made Cameron laugh, but the pain coursing through his body only made him grin.

“I have more tech in my bathroom then this scrap, but it seems even scrap has its perks.”

The mogul quickly sat down, started the vessel and hacked into its systems with his data pad. With no tough firewalls or any troublesome systems to crack, the H.E.A.T. Seeker roared to life, bringing a smile to Cameron’s face.

“Well, I guess I should say thanks, Nickels, considering your ship actually proved useful. Too bad I can’t say the same for you.”

The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed inside the control room. The skin on Cameron’s face tightened with annoyance. “I thought I said to get this thing detached from the dock. I still see two ropes needing to be undone.”

With no response, Cameron lifted himself up. “That wasn’t a request, you-”

As the mogul turned, a fist smacked him across the face, sending him recalling into the dashboard of the vessel. Cameron felt his lip first, smearing blood off with his hand. His wound taken care of, the mogul viewed his attacker, the gun that was in his back pocket now aimed at his head.

“But how...?” Cameron muttered before rage snapped him out of his trance. “YOU”RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!”

Nick remained silent as he tilted the gun, allowing ash to pour from its chamber. “Ash slowed the round. If you’d emptied it before shooting, I would be.”

Cameron smirked as he regained his composure, wiping the blood off his face until he slowly stood up. “You’re going to kill me? We both know you won’t, no… can’t shoot me!”

Nick’s gaze remained focused, unmoving like that of a certain teammate. “Why is that? I am finding little reason not to. You tried to kill me! My team! All for what?”

“WHAT YOU TOOK FROM ME!” Cameron snapped, pointing at Nick repeatedly as he continued. “My company, my life, my legacy! You squandered EVERYTHING and yet you act as if I had no reason, no point to all of…”

Cameron stopped speaking as Nick remained silent, the gun still pointed at Cameron’s head.

“Say something, Nickels! Tell me why you made me the villain while you played hero!”

Nick’s demeanor loosened as he let out a sigh. “You think I enjoyed those years?”

“What, you put on a facade the entire time,” Cameron retorted mockingly. “Don’t make me laugh.”

Nick leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath as he struggled to stand. “I never enjoyed stopping you, and I don’t find pleasure in what happened to you. Every assignment could have led to another nightmare, another hell, but I faced everything you and the world threw at us,” Nick exclaimed while pointing at Cameron, “But I’m tired of this game. This ends today along with your fantasy. You’re not angry at what we took, you’re jealous of all that we acom-”

With Nick distracted, Cameron activated the ship’s boosters. The H.E.A.T. Seeker skyrocketed forward, tearing the small dock it was attached to in pieces and dropping all five mercenaries into the acidic water.

Nick stumbled forward, accidentally firing a round from the gun from the sudden acceleration, giving Cameron an opening to punch him across the face. The blow sent the scientist recalling while also sending the gun flying toward another portion of the room. Cameron dropped his pad, stumbling around the room due to the uncontrolled movements of the H.E.A.T. Seeker, before he moved to grab the gun.

Noticing his old college roommate’s movements, Nick kicked Cameron in the shin, knocking him to the ground. The mogul let out a pained cry from the fall and began to crawl toward the gun until Nick tackled him. The duo rolled around, delivering a volley of weaker jabs while each struggled to gain the upper hand.

Uncontrolled, the H.E.A.T. Seeker jumped a wave, sending the vessel crashing back to the ocean and giving Cameron an opening to punch the scientist’s fresh bullet wound on his forehead. The impact forced Nick to release his grip of the mogul, allowing Cameron to stand and agonizingly walk over to the gun which had slid to the control panel.

“Why won’t… you just die?” Cameron painfully inquired as he staggered over to the weapon.

Winter picked up the gun with one hand, his controller with the other and turned to find Nick back on his feet but barely able to stand.

“Audrey would kill me if I did!”

Cameron almost laughed at the idiotic comment, but the pain across his body was too much to take. As Cameron raised the gun, Nick dashed toward Cameron as fast as he could run.

Winter cocked the gun and as Nick entered a few meters range, the mogul pulled the trigger. Nick continued his charge but to his shock, the weapon never fired. The cartridge was empty. Too late to act with the useless weapon, Cameron took the full hit of the ram. The back of Cameron slammed onto the control panel, sending the Seeker spiraling back toward dry land and activating its thrusters for increased speed. The vessel struck the beach, bouncing off the rock and propelling it further inland. Nick and Cameron continued to grapple, ignoring the Seeker as it plowed through ash covered vegetation until finally gravity took hold. The hull slowly grinded to a halt until striking a small crystal formation, sending Nick and Cameron through the window of the pilot seat and onto the deck. Glass fragments splintered around the motionless duo, their wounds finally overpowering their respective adrenaline.

Nick laid face down on the deck and tried to lift himself up, to no avail. Unable to move, the scientist glanced over at Cameron who was under the same restrictions.

“I still win, Tatopoulos…” Cameron arrogantly moaned. “I still have SpaceGodzilla, and… I’ll make sure I kill the rest of your team.”

The mogul, wanting to see Nick’s pathetic reaction, looked over to discover the leader of H.E.A.T. now on his knees with a large glass fragment in his hand. Using all the strength he had left, the scientist raised the large piece of glass high into the air.

“No…stop!” Cameron screamed before blocking himself with his electronic pad.

Nick thrust the sharp object down. The glass fragment impaled through the controller, piercing Cameron’s chest. Blood pooled from the wound, and Cameron struggled to breathe. Nick remained silent as he watched the life of Cameron slip away before falling to the deck from exhaustion.         

 

SpaceGodzilla screamed in agony as the three neural stimulators on the back of his head overloaded. The crystal titan, to stop the anguish pulsating in his mind, rose and began smashing the back of his head against the vent’s sides. Hearing the sound of his foe, Godzilla recovered to his feet while SpaceGodzilla continued his actions unopposed.

A minor detonation followed the destruction of the devices, ending the severe agony in the titan’s mind. Fully aware of his surroundings now, SpaceGodzilla glanced around the enclosed space until he locked eyes with his mortal foe.

Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla stared at the other, their respective drives to kill the other the only thing keeping them going. An earthshattering roar echoed from Godzilla’s maw, prompting SpaceGodzilla to unleash a volley of Corona Beams. Sparks cascaded across the nuclear leviathan’s form, causing Godzilla to counter with his own energy weapon. A powerful Spiral Heat Ray burned across SpaceGodzilla’s chest, leaving deformed crystal bone as well as charcoal flesh in its wake.

Noticing the severe damage, Godzilla focused more power into his spines before discharging another Spiral Ray. The red beam violently erupted form the leviathan’s jaws, but instead of striking SpaceGodzilla, the ray struck a newly created crystal shield. The Spiral Heat Ray bounced off the barrier and back toward Godzilla, striking the irradiated dinosaur’s chest. Godzilla’s thick, black hide blew to pieces, exposing the monster’s rib cage. Godzilla roared in extreme anguish and promptly fell to the ground.

Godzilla ignored the pain and focused on a plan. He needed more power. Even with everything he absorbed, it wasn’t enough. It was the only way to kill SpaceGodzilla just like his…

Godzilla’s eyes opened not in agony, but with realization. The King of the Monster glanced at his hand, noticing the red lines that now coated his form intensifying with every passing second. If he continued down this path, what difference would there be to what had come before? SpaceGodzilla would live. He would die, and Junior would be alone to fight this abomination again.

Godzilla growled in defiance and stood, meeting SpaceGodzilla’s eyes with his own. No, he just needed to unleash everything he could before it was too late!

Godzilla’s spines crackled with red lightning, illuminating the entire volcanic vent and sparking SpaceGodzilla’s interest. Cosmic energy swirled in SpaceGodzilla’s jaws, discharging cosmic bolts to match his inferior spawn. If Godzilla wished to finish this battle with a final attack, he would gladly meet the challenge!

SpaceGodzilla fired first, blasting Godzilla’s chest with a supercharged Corona Beam. The attack pushed Godzilla to the wall, before the leviathan finally returned fire. Pure radiation discharged from Godzilla’s jaws in the form of crimson smoke. The exhaust struck SpaceGodzilla, who remained stunned as the mist filled the vent. SpaceGodzilla’s body absorbed the pure energy like a sponge to water, the red lines on his body illuminating with unrivaled power. As Godzilla continued to fire, SpaceGodzilla cackled with arrogance; the King of the Monsters finally submitted to his superiority!

The mist gradually ended, revealing SpaceGodzilla and Godzilla to each other once more. The critical mass state of Godzilla was no more, replaced with a monster that could barely stand. SpaceGodzilla however, could barely wait to tear apart the nuclear leviathan.

Seeing the sickly wound now on his chest, SpaceGodzilla quickly thrust his newly regenerated tail right at Godzilla’s exposed ribcage. The crystal tipped appendage sliced through the ribs opening before impacting the source of Godzilla’s power, his heart.

Godzilla tried to bellow in anguish, yet he found he lacked the ability to do so while blood furiously flowed down his chest. The King of the Monsters stood for a few seconds with his arms clutching SpaceGodzilla’s appendage, soaking them in his own life giving plasma, until he lost all strength and fell onto his enemy. SpaceGodzilla, looked at his foe as his head rested on his shoulder. The titan, while admiring his opponent, found no pity for his enemy.

Godzilla weakly cried as SpaceGodzilla lifted the beast up off the ground with his tail so he could see the defeat in his enemy’s eyes. The crystal doppelganger stared into Godzilla’s gaze, expecting to see defeat, yet only the sight of defiant rage. The sight brought fury into SpaceGodzilla, who immediately clutched Godzilla’s neck and began discharging power into his adversary.

Why wouldn’t he give in? He was defeated, there was no exception to it! The monster even relinquished his own power to him! What power kept him alive? Why wouldn’t he die? The weak, persistent roars of Godzilla only brought the rage SpaceGodzilla felt over these questions to intensify ever more.

The red lines on SpaceGodzilla grew in illumination with each second the titan unleashed all of his power into Godzilla.

Godzilla stopped his bellowing before looking into SpaceGodzilla’s eyes as he felt his life diminishing. The mighty saurian noticed envy, yet he did not understand why. If he wished to surpass his father, to surpass the power of any Godzilla, he had accomplished it, and now he would pay the price of doing so.

SpaceGodzilla squeezed Godzilla’s neck as tight as he could and sinisterly roared at the irradiated dinosaur to submit to his power. Godzilla, however, ignored his doppelganger’s cries as he watched SpaceGodzilla’s body continue to increase in brightness. Godzilla looked one last time into the eyes of his foe then slowly closed his own.

Now SpaceGodzilla would surpass even Godzilla’s father in death.

 

Prism Beams detonated around Zilla, incentivizing the beast to propel himself forward, and launch the small hovering chunk of earth he rested upon down toward the island. The mound smashed against the jungle, shattering it in a plume of ash. Krystalak halted his barrage in response, and glanced around the sky, looking for another path toward his prey.

Zilla plummeted onto another flat, floating piece of rock, breathing heavily as he barely lifted himself. The beast couldn’t keep running, but as the reptile looked at his unresponsive arms, he couldn’t fight either. No, it needed to end the battle in one attack or else he would surely be killed. His mind raced while the floating earth he lay on slowly levitated toward the island.

Krystalak growled with pleasure at the sight. The beast scurried to the opposite end of the mound, and quickly charged on all fours. As he reached the edge, Krystalak leaped into the air with all his might. The beast flexed his claws in anticipation of his landing, barely able to await tearing into the battered creature that stood hundreds of meters beneath him. As the duo neared, the volcano in the distance roared to life. 

A large beam of pure crimson energy burst from the volcano’s opening, piercing the heavens in spectacular fashion. Thousands of bolts of lightning danced around the focused explosion as if the sky unleashed its own power to counter the implosion of SpaceGodzilla. As the detonation increased, the beam slowly widened in diameter as it burned away the sides of the volcanic vent while lava violently burst from the ground in every direction. Miniature beams burned through the volcano’s walls, pelting the jungle landscape. An inferno raged across the island, blanketing everything in a sea of intense flames.

Krystalak watched the spectacle as he fell from the sky, awestruck at the destruction underway. One day, he would possess the power to do all that he saw. To vaporize everything that stood in his way. On the path to his goal, the corpse of Zilla and all monsters would lay beneath his…

CRACK!

Twin spikes burst from Krystalak’s backside, shredding his internal organs in the process. Krystalak immediately gasped for air. Blood spurted from his jaws as the crystal fiend looked to see what had impaled him. To the monster’s shock, he discovered his prey. A darkness began to take grasp of Krystalak’s sight, sparking enough rage for him to impale his spiked tail into Zilla’s right thigh. As he shredded the appendage, the crystal fiend’s eyes fell forever shut.

Zilla crashed back onto the floating mound with Krystalak’s corpse laying on his backside. The ground beneath him fractured violently, embedding him into the rock. Zilla pushed with all his remaining strength to lift himself out of the minor entrapment, but his muscles could not take the strain. The beast fell to the rock and laid on its side, ignoring the apocalypse around him to recover, if just for a few seconds.

Audrey focused on the raging ocean waters as she lay against the railing of the U.S.S. Cowpens. Waves dozens of feet high crashed into each other in the shallow waters, reflecting the tectonic activity occurring below. The sea glowed red from the magma pouring off its shores and the inferno taking hold of the once lush jungle. From this hell, Nick would emerge safe like Hicks, Hikaru and the rest of H.E.A.T. She knew it. Any second he would emerge like he always did. Any-

“Audrey!”

The ex-reporter turned to see Elsie waiving her hand with Monique and Randy behind her.

Audrey’s eyes gleamed with hope. “Nick, he’s safe?”

Randy pushed his way through the group, stopping Elsie from speaking so he could reveal a transponder in his hand. “No, but I got Monique’s tracker to pick up the Seeker’s S.O.S. signal, and only Jefe would know to activate it!”

“So where is he?” Audrey inquired causing Randy’s eyes to widen slightly with worry.

“So Jefe and the Z-Man are.... there,” Randy cautiously explained, pointing to the volcano which currently expelled a beam of crimson energy, the floating chunks of earth that circled it like a star and the raging inferno beneath both features.

Audrey yanked Randy to her eye level, nearly ripping his collar in the process. “You have five seconds to explain, or I’m going to throw you overboard!”

Randy’s eyes widened with terror. “Ok, easy. I mean, I think they’re in the air on those floating crystal things. No way the Seeker could survive-”

Audrey’s grip around Randy’s neck tightened. “Rephrase!”

White light enveloped everyone’s sight. A deafening chirp followed, sending the group as well as the crewman nearby falling onto the deck.

Audrey struggled to rise, her vision blurred and ears ringing. For minutes, Audrey could barely hear her own voice, barely able to see a foot in front of her. Her eyesight remained a dense, white fog, until bits of color began to form in the distance. Audrey turned toward the island, focusing on the volcano, but it was gone, replaced by a vortex of black and white. Immediately, she wiped her eyes, trying to force them to recover faster. She glanced again, staring where the volcano should be, the floating chunks of crystal just were, but nothing remained except a new anomaly with two halves of different color.

One anomaly emitted no color as it hovered hundreds of feet off the ground with its sister abnormality that glowed the purest of white. Each fazed in and out of transparency, their forms seeming to be made of thousands of glass shards that moved like running water. With each hundreds of meters long and wide, these new creations took up the skyline before a gigantic moth arose from the island’s surface as to inspect its creation. 

Audrey staggered over to Randy, still on the ground in a dazed state, and grabbed the tracker. Tears formed in her eyes as she read what it now said.

‘Signals lost.’

 

Zillla plummeted to the Earth under an avalanche of rock and crystal, awakening him from his slumber in the process. The beast held little strength, his injuries still throbbing, yet slowly Zilla began to burrow toward the surface. What usually took seconds for the creature lingered on for nearly a half hour until Zilla finally broke through the rock around him.

A bright sun shined upon the creature with not a single cloud in the sky to diminish its radiance. Zilla lifted himself out of his burrow, and looked up the mountain, noticing a black, transparent object in the sky that fazed in and out of view. The beast growled at the sight, but returned his focus to the bottom of the newly created mound of rock.

For miles, a lush deciduous forest sprawled into the horizon. The skyscrapers of man appeared at its edge, a brown tint coating the buildings instead of the usual grey. Zilla tilted its head in confusion, glancing around to try to understand where he was until he noticed a human sitting at the mountain’s base. Zilla immediately walked toward the man, hopes that it would be its father resonating in the back of its mind. As he walked beside the human, it turned toward him.

The man stood up to Zilla’s ankles, peaking the curiosity of the lizard at the human’s sheer size. The man’s eyes were large, unflinching like an owl’s, and its body completely devoid of any clothes. The only type of protection it seemed to possess came from its long hair, which draped far past its shoulders. Zilla emitted a cry at the human, causing the man to retract his lips and reveal the largest grin the reptile ever witnessed. Slowly, the man opened his mouth as if to speak, but its jaws hung open. Zilla titled his head, trying to understand what the human was doing, before it lunged at Zilla’s legs.

 

The sound of rocks falling awakened Nick from his unconsciousness. His head throbbed, and as he peeled open his eyes, he discovered why. His head lay at the base of the control panel of the H.E.A.T. Seeker. Nick rubbed his eyes, and pieced together his last memories.

The ground underneath the H.E.A.T. Seeker ripping itself apart from the ground.

The S.O.S.

Finally, the white explosion.

Nick let out a deep breath and pulled himself up, looking out the cracked window to discover rock now surrounded most sides of the H.E.A.T. Seeker. The bow, however, remained clear, allowing Nick to peer into the desolate remains of a human city with an endless amount of dark clouds. His eyes widened with terror. His mind raced with questions, but the sight drew Nick to walk out onto the bow under a white glowing light to look upon the destroyed metropolis.

He recognized the infrastructure immediately as San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge lay in ruins to his right. The rolling hills were torn asunder, their roofs ripped apart as if a giant used a can opener on every house. Skyscrapers lay on their sides in utter shambles. Even with all this destruction, it wasn’t new, for rust clearly shined on every building. It was a city long forgotten by man, and reclaimed by something else.

Nick turned his gaze away from the city toward the white light, noticing a transparent anomaly floating at the mountains peak, and more importantly, the two creatures a few dozen meters above him.

Each of the beasts possessed only two legs, were a few meters tall, and their heads possessed a bony exoskeleton that resembled a skull. Their tails whipped around with joy as they tore apart the remains of Cameron Winter, tearing into his body like hounds to a pound of meat. As they finished consuming the human, the pair glanced toward the Seeker and spotted Nick. Their mouths dripped with saliva, their insatiable appetite driving them to hiss at their new prey.

Nick let out a sigh at the sight, and looked back at the beasts with contempt. Another nightmare to face. Another assignment for him to survive. He could feel his heartbeat race from the terror his body felt, but his mind remained focused. No matter what the future may bring, he would survive it. With scars, guilt, and cherished memories keeping him company right to the bitter end.

Spines flickered in the darkness of space. Electrical bolts cascading across them as energy surged throughout the beast’s form. Its body repaired the extensive damage across its form from the scars, broken bones, and the hole that once pierced its heart.

Godzilla’s eyes gradually opened, peering into the sparkling darkness around him. He could not sense SpaceGodzilla’s energy, a sign of his victory, but he was no longer on the island. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. One side of his body felt warmth, while the other side chilled him to his very core. Godzilla lived, but the environment around him seemed to test the very limits of his survivability. If one thing assisted him, it proved to be the glow of a distant sphere that bathed him in golden radiation. However, this tiny light paled to the gigantic sphere that he floated above.

Godzilla tried to roar at the object, but no sound echoed from his jaws. In fact, a perpetual silence greeted his ears. Unable to fight or even move by his own volition, Godzilla closed his eyes. He’d achieved victory, vengeance for himself as well as his father, and soon, the King of the Monsters would return to the world he knew. It was only a matter of time.