From the ocean off the coast of Japan, glimmering in the pale moonlight, an impressive heap of steel, long since forgotten after a battle with a legend, rose. It lurched forward and then collapsed beneath the waves and began to swim toward Tokyo. Cargo ships in the bay began to radio in that something was amiss, their hulls being torn apart by an unseen mass, moving far too quickly for any conventional technology beneath them.

Then, bubbling just off shore, it began to rise up once more, this time towering over the coast, over the skyline, and looking into the heart of Tokyo. Kiryu had reawakened and while nobody could yet explain how or why, it began a relentless assault on the city, firing its twin maser cannons at a row of coastal buildings and hotels, sending debris skyrocketing and setting the cityscape ablaze. Orange hues burned and golden embers baked the city streets into the night; the only clouds visible being plumes of smoke. The military raced onto the scene, hoping, praying, that they could delay the onslaught in time for an evacuation to begin.

They couldn’t, at least not with conventional weapons. Line after line was obliterated by Kiryu’s relentless assault; until finally, the decision to fight fire with fire is made…

“Minister Igarashi.” General Dobashi announced, bowing briefly before the prime minister.

“General Dobashi. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” The minister returned the bow and extended his hand for a shake. The General accepted, and the minister adjusted the buttons on his shirt. “Please, have a seat. We have little time and much to discuss.” He motioned to the open chair at the table where several other officials were seated.

They were watching a large screen, showing live footage of Kiryu on a rampage through Tokyo’s shoreline district. Pillars of flame extended well into the night sky, replacing the buildings around as Kiryu’s eyes glowed red, and its face showed a similar pair of crimson streaks descending down its cheeks.

“What could have caused this? I though Kiryu went out to sea for good!” Shouted the general, motioning toward the screen. “This is unthinkable!”

“General…” a voice came from down the line and across the table. It was the Lieutenant of the JXSDF, Azusa Kisaragi, “we’re going to need to use it.”

“But… I… Are you sure?” The general’s reply was understandably quite tense; the reality that two great iron dragons would do battle over the fate of Tokyo was much to consider, and the decision weighed on the answer of one man: himself.

“General,” the minister interjected, “Please. Every minute wasted is another minute that we lose lives. We must deploy Mechagodzilla. We have a pilot—”The general’s look stopped the minister midsentence. He knew that they had him right where they wanted him.

“Tell me it’s who I think it is…” said Dobashi, rubbing the sweat beads from his forehead, “Tell me it’s Akane.”

“Only the best, general.” Interjected Kisaragi. The general opened the folder laid out before him and signed the order. Mechagodzilla was to be launched immediately.

Back in Tokyo, things had gone from bad to worse. Kiryu drove the armed forces back over one hundred meters into the city, and its advance showed no signs of slowing, even as soldiers by the dozens scarified themselves to slow the mechanical behemoth’s advance. Every step shook the surrounding buildings to their foundation, shattering windows, setting off alarms, and sending fissures up the sides of decades old structures that were teetering on the brink of total collapse. The situation only compounded by the hundreds of panicking souls trying desperately to escape under the mechanical kaiju’s wrath. Kiryu let out a roar so loud and metallic, ears burst with blood and windows exploded. It began to power up its maser cannon and fired into a line of buildings in the distance. The explosion sent two of them crashing to the ground, erupting in a violent explosion that leveled at least a city block, possibly two, and costing innumerable lives. As the smoke from Kiryu’s rampage bellowed higher, it readied another shot.

Looking at a line of skyscrapers in the distance, Kiryu readied, aimed, and fired its cannon. The first two buildings were cut clean though, and the upper portions simply collapsed down upon their foundations. But the third didn’t move. It was oddly shaped, a silhouette against the sky which was beginning to turn from the black of night into the gentle light blue of dawn, and the maser cannon ricocheted off and struck Kiryu in the chest, sending it staggering backward. Mechagodzilla arrived, with Akane Yashiro at the helm.

“Kiryu, why are you doing this?” She wondered aloud, ignoring the presence of her copilots. “Fire up the maser cannons!” She exclaimed and began readying for an all-out assault. Kiryu roared in the distance, and Mechagodzilla returned a mechanical bellow. Both stood ready to fire. A few flickers of light burst from deep within the throat of Mechagodzilla. Steam began to leak from in between the metal-coated teeth of Kiryu, and light could be seen glowing eerily against it as the cannon readied to fire. “NOW!” Akane yelled.

Both monsters let out a steady stream of incredibly bright and powerful maser energy, colliding with one another and causing a massive explosion that sent Kiryu tumbling backward into a building. It was quickly reduced to rubble, and Mechagodzilla began to ready another shot. “Aim for the eyes.” Akane said, maintaining her screen and scanning for damages to Mechagodzilla’s systems. Only eleven percent registered on the damage report; not too bad considering the explosion. Mechagodzilla fired again, but Kiryu was more agile than expected, dodging at the last second and receiving a glancing blow to its shoulder. A cascade of sparks rained down upon the streets below. Kiryu began to circle Mechagodzilla rapidly as it looked for an opening to tear it to shreds.

“He’s trying to flank us. Maintain the targeting. I said keep your eyes on it!” Akane shouted, but Kiryu already fired a blast striking Mechagodzilla on its left flank. The damage report began blinking green to yellow, yellow to orange on the left arm. It was in danger of being severely damaged. “Damn it!” Another shot rocked Mechagodzilla, who stumbled forward as Kiryu moved into position from behind. Now heading straight for Mechagodzilla, Kiryu rammed the machine to the ground where it lay motionless.

Warning of critical systems flashed across the screen; sixty percent damage sustained. Mechagodzilla would not be able to take much more. “Ready the G-Crusher!” Akane yelled to her copilots who quickly recovered and put the weapons systems in order. “On my word, you fire.” Both nodded. Mechagodzilla rolled to the side, and Kiryu readied to impale its right arm through the machine’s head. “Ready…” Akane raised her hand into the air… “NOW!”

The G-Crusher fired directly into Kiryu’s chest; the metal dragon quickly retracted its arm and stumbled backward in mechanical shock. The pull upon the wiring was so strong that Mechagodzilla was able to ascend to its feet on momentum alone and braced itself against the pull of Kiryu as the cyborg refocused.

Damaged sustained at eighty percent. Critical damage to right leg flashed upon the screen. Alarms were going off all over the cockpit, and smoke had begun to fill the air. The joints in the leg began to give and heavy grinding, the sound of bending and warping metal, and violent tearing could be heard throughout the city. Mechagodzilla wasn’t going to last much longer. “Fire now!” The shock began to surge through the G-Crusher, directly into Kiryu’s chest.

Kiryu collapsed to one knee; letting out a roar of pain. Before it could be defeated once and for all, a blade extended from its wrist. Kiryu grabbed the G-Crusher and sliced the wires, keeping hold of them with its free hand. Suddenly, the balance of the battle had shifted, and Kiryu had control. He tugged violently on the wires, and Mechagodzilla stammered forward, barely staying upright while letting out a metallic roar that echoed off of the many buildings left standing. Kiryu braced itself and yanked again with all of its might, and Mechagodzilla inched closer. Finally, it was close enough, and Kiryu moved forward, delivering a perfect strike to the elbow of Mechagodzilla with its blade sending the arm careening to the ground below, smashing into a row of cars and causing another violent explosion.

Kiryu then delivered a punch to the side of Mechagodzilla’s head, and another, and another before turning around and unleashing a massive swipe of its long tail directly at the chest of Mechagodzilla. Kiryu beat the ground with its tail triumphantly; it had won…or so it thought.

Inside of Mechagodzilla, Akane took a look around the cockpit. What she could see through the smoke wasn’t pretty: her copilots were either out cold or dead. She was on her own. “Damn it Kiryu, why! I thought you wanted to rest! We gave you that!” She looked out onto the screen and could see Kiryu taunting her in the battlefield. “Alright…fine. Kiryu, let’s see what you can do…” She took control of Mechagodzilla for one final all out assault. She’d have to play it stealthily and lure Kiryu into a false sense of security, but it could be done.

Mechagodzilla’s mouth began to illuminate as it readied the Mega-Buster cannons. Kiryu’s attention had been drawn back to the metallic giant, and he too readied his masers. In addition, Kiryu fired off its wrist lasers, catching Akane off balance. It then fired its masers. Mechagodzilla took the shots head on, and as the smoke cleared, its chest opened up. The Plasma Grenade cannon had been readied. Mechagodzilla was only biding its time. Kiryu seemed undaunted, and slammed its tail into the ground. Its chest opened as well, and the absolute zero cannon began to charge. “You wanna play Kiryu? Fine!” Akane readied, aimed, and fired the cannon, just as Kiryu returned the volley with its own blast.

A massive explosion rocked the outskirts of Tokyo city, sending buildings tumbling down in every direction, cars and boats were tossed about like children’s toys. Mechagodzilla stumbled backward, but remained standing. As the smoke cleared, half of its head was covered in black soot, and its left eye had gone dark. A massive dent was visible, and rubble lay strewn about its side. A building had collapsed onto Mechagodzilla, in addition to the blast, but it stood tall. Kiryu, on the other hand, had suffered the worst of the fight. It had a gaping hole through its upper midsection, and its right arm had been completely removed. Both eyes had gone dark, and it teetered in the wind. As the sun began to rise, Kiryu swayed left, then right, then left, and then right, but kept standing strong. Finally, after much swaying, Kiryu gave a weak roar and collapsed onto a pile of rubble, unable to return to its feet. Akane removed her helmet and left the cockpit, exiting onto the shoulder of Mechagodzilla. Her face was covered in sweat and smoke, and she wanted to feel the breeze on her face, even if it was clouded with the dust of Tokyo’s devastation.

“Ah…” she said, as she leaned against Mechagodzilla’s neck... “You did good, Kiryu.” Akane turned to look at the hulking mass that was Kiryu on the ground… “I’m sorry.” Akane whispered as she wiped away a few stray tears before turning to face the rising sun through the smoke and fire.

Japan had lived to see another day…