Emergence: Kaiju Invasion

[KaijuCanuck]

In the deep of space, between trillions of galaxies lifetimes apart, the gods awoke. They emerged from the fabrics of the universe that had kept them hidden and warm, and spoke to one another in the coldest of whispers.

“Do you feel it brother?” spoke Wrath, who thought of nothing but death and destruction to all that opposed her.

“Yes sister,” spoke Lust, who thought it right that all the universe should bend at his fingertips. “I feel it. They have returned.”

“They must not be defiled, my love” spoke Greed, who desired what Lust desired, but only for the sake of its own glory. “Our family must be rejoined.”

“Peace, my love,” replied Lust. “The mistakes of the past shall be redeemed.”

“For Pride,” Wrath spoke, and then all in unison. “For Pride.”

Members of Toho Kingdom present...

EMERGENCE: KAIJU INVASION

Location: Marianas Island

Major Gandhiv Semaj scanned the seas with his binoculars, the wind nipping at his collar. He stared ahead north, training his sights on two battleships, each bearing a Russian flag at their masts. They were still, anchored quietly in the Pacific as if there was nowhere else in the world they might better be needed. Behind him was the UNEIS base camp, filled with tents, scientists, and blue-helmeted soldiers of various nations and uniforms. Between him and the Russians, the small UNEIS helicopter carrier passed by, continuing its safety position changes like clockwork. Thankfully, one deal the powers had made was for their fleets to each chip in and keep the carrier, and by extension the team, fuelled and supplied.

As Semaj watched, he heard footsteps approaching – he didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. He comes to me for a change, thought Semaj.
Dr. Grygoriy Ewaschuk stopped next the Major. The ships were much smaller for him, painted against the horizon, but their significance was plain to him none the less. “Russians to the north. Americans to the West. Chinese to the East. Don’t they know about Ragnorok?”

“The jellyfish has barely moved since Emergence,” replied Semaj. “And you told me yourself, it looked malnourished. Surely you don’t think a starving plastic bag is enough to push away the superpowers? They have a vested interest in your results.”

And who can come take them first, thought Ewaschuk. “We made similar assumptions about the Afghans in the 80s, Major,” he countered. “What seem the simplest of enemies are the easiest underestimated.”

Really Doctor, were you once a solider? Because you hadn’t mentioned it, thought Semaj sarcastically, but he bit his tongue. “Did you need something, Doctor?” he asked instead.

“Muntenescu heard there was a new directive from the Colonel,” answered Ewaschuk.

“There was. He asks us to proceed inland into the jungle, given that the north coast is fully charted.” said Semaj. “My men can be packed and ready in an hour.”

“Excellent news. In fact, we were just thinking of moving right now,” said Ewaschuk.

“Well we need an hour, Doctor,” Semaj urged. “Until your team gets full readings on the Anamoly, I will not allow 24 civilians to walk into this 'magic bean' jungle without-”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be taking that ‘Blade’ fellow,” Ewaschuk interrupted. “He packs light, it seems. I’m sure your men will catch up soon.” Without another word, Ewaschuk was left. Semaj turned around to watch him, and saw the scientists already finishing up their end of the camp take-down.

He already knew the directive, he just wants to speed us up. He doesn’t want to leave without the soldiers, but he will because he knows I’ll follow, Semaj thought grudgingly. He had to hand to the doctor, the man knew how to bluff and win. Semaj spotted Private Robbins, a British Army soldier, cleaning his gun. “Robbins!” Semaj exclaimed. “Message to Captain Vasquez [Uruquay]. Change of plans, we’re to be packed and moving in ten minutes.” Robbins saluted and hustled to find Vasquez. I shouldn’t be here, thought Semaj. I’d be more help… well right now, anywhere.

Location: Banff National Park, 20 kilometres due west of Banff town, Alberta, Canada



KA-BOOM!!!!

A fiery explosion nearly took the hair straight off Captain Nate Parker’s head, as he perilously poked out of the top of his Leopard C2 tank. The tank had fired one last, close-range shot, but was now turning around and high-tailing it the other way. “ALL UNITS FALL BACK!” he screamed over his comm piece. “THE TURNER LINE HAS FALLEN, REPEAT THE TURNER LINE HAS FALLEN! FALL BACK TO THE MULRONEY LINE!” We’re going to run out of Prime Ministers, Nate thought to himself.

The air stunk of singed flesh and burning gasoline. Thick, black smoke from desecrated tanks obscured much of the battlefield, carrying with it the tastes of fallen men. Never before had a single individual turned back an entire army, but lo and behold all tanks of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse regiment were in full retreat before the advancing demon. They fled for the final line of defence, which was right in front of the town. This would be it, the last stand before true contact with civilization. Parker just hoped the infantry would have finished their evacuation of Banff town in time – because there was no question, the line would fall.

Parker stared at his watch 1… 2... 3… a hail of artillery shells crashed down behind him exactly on time, covering the tanks’ escape. The dark smoke was now a thick opaque wall, a line of demarcation, and for a moment Parker felt safe – DSSSFFFFFFFFFFF! The dreaded red ray cut through the wall, slashed the sky over Parker’s head and drilled into three tanks ahead of him, tearing them instantly into puffy, fiery clouds of confetti. A primal, vengeful roar erupted over the landscape, as if the Devil himself were announcing dominion over the Earth. Nate dared to look behind himself – mistake. Hundreds of feet above him, two gigantic red eyes glowed through the smoke, narrowing, ever increasing in their anger. No wall would keep out this devil.

Location: five minutes out from Town of Banff

“Squadron 5, please adjust course, ten degrees to your south,” Control crackled over the radio.

“Roger that Control, squadron 5 follow my lead,” replied Major Chang. Deftly, Lieutenant Helen Parker followed Chang’s turn and redirected her CF-18 Superhornet. Helen was part exhilerated, part terrified. Below her was the breathtaking expanse of the rocky moutains – pine forest as far as the eye could see, crystal blue lakes and rugged mountains that stayed snow-capped into the summer. Helen was from the east coast, and had never been west except for the remote naval station on Vancouver Island where her father, a naval officer, was sometimes stationed during her childhood. Now she was here – if only it were under different circumstances.

Only a day ago she had been a cadet. That was before the monstrous, red-eyed and sail-maned grizzly they called ‘Tyrosus’ had smashed his roaring head straight out of a mountain face, and proceeded to march directly up the highway, as if the cars beneath his feet were ants. Helen had watched in shock on the news as Tyrosus belched an incredible, impossible, swirling red energy ray out his mouth and utterly destroyed the first contact squadron. Since then he had been in a running battle with the army, while the air force scrambled to bring new forces to bear. Canada’s military was well equipped and well trained, but not very large. So while the rest of the experienced pilots were to be conserved back east, what was left of the western squadrons were retrofitted with cadets. Happy graduation, Helen.

These thoughts Helen was doing well at keeping out of her mind. Stay on the mission, she thought to herself with well-practised discipline. More difficult to forget was the fact there her older brother Nathan, a tank commander in the army, was this second engaging Tyrosus, if he hadn’t already been… no, stay on the mission, Helen thought.

“Control, we are two minutes out from Banff,” came Major Chang’s voice again over the radio. “Will advise when we have eyes on the target”.

“Roger that squadron 5, good hunting,” crackled the reply.

Now Chang addressed the squadron. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, you remember the briefing. We’re going to have to get nice and close but do not, I repeat, do not engage directly. First contact team tried that and was wiped out before they could try anything else. We hit him hard from a distance upon first sight, redirect his attention away from the town and away from the ground forces so they can provide support fire. We then break formation and begin testing for weak spots. Eyes, inside the mouth, legs. Pick his nose if you have too but do NOT fly towards him when he’s looking right at you. Alright, squadron sound off.”

“Copy”.

“Copy!”

“Copy that sir”.

Helen opened her mouth, "Co-" but was suddenly interrupted by Chang.

“Control, target is in sight, repeat we have the target in range.”

“Copy that Squadron 5, open fire.”

Helen caught a fleeting glimpse of the town of Banff under the shadow of a massive, dark brown something, before she instinctively obeyed the command.

CHOOM CHOOM! CHOOM CHOOM!

KA-BOOM!!!

The shape disappeared behind massive explosions, and towering columns of smoke, as 18 fighters each fired two missiles. The jets screamed overhead, passing, the target.

“Good work squadron,” came Major Chang again. “Captain Parker on the ground says target has turned around and is focusing on us. Enter attack formation now.”

Nate! thought Helen with relief. Okay, stay on the mission.

The squadron changed direction and broke apart, each jet entering the missile cloud from a different direction. Helen approached, steeled for the task. Stay on the -

A gigantic, furry bear paw nearly smacked her to the ground. Helen swerved away at the last moment, but a squadmate behind her was too late and disappeared in a fiery wreck. Helen looked behind her to see the terrifying, pained grimace of Tyrosus, bearing long curved fangs that had not been there before, letting loose a blood-curdling roar for all the world to hear.

- mission...

Location: Mulroney Line, just before the Town of Banff

CHOOM CHOOM! CHOOM CHOOM!

KA-BOOM!!!

The missiles only tickled a little. Tyrosus wouldn’t have cared, but within his rage-swirled mind, the fact that the humans, the giant birds and the strange long-necked turtles would not leave him alone, and all attacked together, meant a real threat could be not be ruled out. They had finally stopped running, now was the time to end the threat for good. Tyrosus reared up on his hind legs, extended his fangs and bellowed a challenge, swatting at the birds with his massive front paws. One swerved out of the way but he caught another, sending it crashing broken and burning into the earth.

Across the field a bit, where the large human camp was, the turtles opened fire again, pummelling Tyorsus with tiny, annoying poofs of flame. He opened his mouth to fire his shredder breath, but felt a small pop. He shut his mouth, surprised, as another bird sailed past his snout. They were buzzing all around him, making little pops all over his body, or even smaller pops that just kept going. Poppopopopopopopopopop! Enough.

He opened his mouth again and discharged the shredder breather into the air, tearing birds to pieces. They scattered and flew away. Tyrosus waited, then heard the scream of them coming again. He roared. Tyrosus would not stop until he was alone once more.

Location: United Nations Building, New York, USA

“The Russian Federation will not allow American planes within Russian territory. As always, we remain perfectly capable of defending our borders and the Gagon problem remains contained and under control. This offer reeks suspiciously of typical American attempts to extend their influence-”

“The United States continues to denounce Russian efforts to keep their situation secret. Just where exactly is Fennikusu right now? From the beginning of this crisis they have been in the shadows, belying an underhanded agenda to gain control of the Marianasium-”

“The Greek delegation remains highly concerned about Turkish sorties over our southern islands. This is a flagrant violation of our sovereignty, as we continue to assure Turkey there has yet to be a kaiju sighted in our area-”

Disgraceful, thought Archie Fletcher, a junior member of Canada’s delegation to the United Nations Summit on the Emergence Event. Held in the massive General Assembly hall, the representatives of dozens of countries had met to discuss the crisis two days ago – instead, they had brought with them all the petty squabbles of history and the modern day to pointlessly hash out.

“I need some air,” Archie whispered to the head of the delegation, Ambassador Jean Greniér. Hailing from Hull, Quebec, the 70-year-old Greniér was Fletcher’s friend and mentor, a legendarily effective negotiator who had served over 40 years in various departments ranging from fisheries to military intelligence, and was brought out of a six-month retirement to lead the Canadian delegation here. Archie was beyond glad to have him, but even Greniér could not seem to cut through the chaos.

“Sit down Archie, it’s important not to miss anything,” Greniér calmly urged the junior diplomat, as he scrolled through the touch screen embedded in the desk. “The Japanese are about to discuss taking in Chinese refugees.”

“Yeah, and the Chinese are claiming it’s leverage for the Senkaku Islands,” replied Archie bitterly. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch the next repeat.” He stood up, but was caught by Greniér’s hand on his arm at the last moment. Greniér looked meaningfully at Archie.

“Don’t be arrogant, Archie,” Greniér said patiently. “We are all just as frustrated and scared as you are. This event defies anything we have previously understood, and we still need to figure out how to talk about it. It may not seem like it, but we are making progress”. Archie gave a small nod, and stalked away from the Canadian table, a bored diplomat from Cameroon staring at him as he went.

Out in the hallway, the atmosphere was buzzing as an army of various different people with various different lanyards discussed in the wings. By habit, Archie checked his phone, forgetting the inevitable stomach-churning news alerts. CNN: ‘Terror on the Lake: Final Kroaken Death Tally In’. BBC: ‘Colony Devours Sydney Suburbs as Search for Queen Continues’. Japan Times: ‘Makara Remains off-Coast as Thailand Holds Breath’.

Archie sat down on a bench, trying to process Greniér’s words. He’d always valued Greniér’s advice and eternal patience… but the man had said it himself, the event was unprecedented. Military attacks were not working and people were dying, solutions were needed now. Archie had been frustrated with government trappings before – his first ever assignment had been to the High Commission in New Zealand, where he’d needed approval from two different bosses before he could gift the Prime Minister with so much as a card – but this was something altogether unforgivable.

He scanned around the hallway, keenly observing the chattering multitudes. He couldn’t do this by himself. Surely others were as frustrated as he was. What he needed were allies. A coalition. But… how could he know where to start?

[Zarm]

"Not enjoying the fireworks?"

Archie turned toward the source of the wry tone to find a tall woman, just past what could reasonably called middle-aged, observing him with some amusement from where she reclined against the wall a few feet away.


Location: Durban, South Africa

The crowd watched the ongoing television coverage with a reverent silence unusual for the dusty, ramshackle pub. No ruacous cries competed over the sound of loud music from a dingy, dilapidated jukebox. No beer slopped over the counter as it was hastily handed to patrons whose inclination to drown their sorrows or celebrate their successes had already deprived them of their coordination. Men and women still drank- but only for fortification against the unraveling of the world that seemed to be playing out before them.

In the hushed warmth of the air, hardly anyone dared breath as the feeds from CNN seemed to portray a new disaster every hour.

And perhaps, in their distraction, it was understandable that they took little notice of the incongruous sight of a little girl standing on a chair near the back, straining on tip-toes to see the screen. She was dressed in simple, ragged hand-me-down clothes, muddy as if she'd been wallowing in it and disheveled as if she'd been through a windstorm. Ordinarily, the proprietor would have chased the curious eyes of one so young out of the sort of place men came to let their inhibitions slip... but today, eyes riveted to the screen, he didn't even notice.

After a long moment, a map of the ongoing hunt for the Colony Queen flashed up on the screen, and with a satisfied grunt, the little girl hopped down off her chair and pushed open the smudged glass door to the dusty street beyond.

Naleli understood only a few words of the English being spoken on the television- her mother had taught her some words, and the men that handed out the food at the schools, the ones that came in those wonderful planes, spoke it back and forth to one-another. But her household and her school relied primarily on Sotho- a language that few of the news-channels bothered to translate for.

Naleli shoved her hands into threadbare pockets as she walked quickly and purposefully down the dusty street at the edge of town. The welcome roar of the ocean's crashing waves was a dim and distant noise, receding into nothingness as her path took her into the rocky lowlands beyond the city.

And as she walked, and a slow smile began to curve her lips, the pupils of her eyes began to glow a radiant green.

"Ants, Kavaru," she whispered. "Ants, as large as men. To the east."

Anticipation and relish stirred in her belly; and almost in time to it, the mud that all-but filled in the small valley before her began to stir, and rise from the ground...


Location: Marianas Island

“And they’re keeping you well clear of any kaiju, right?”

Elizabeth Reed could’ve sworn she caught an instant’s hesitation in her husband’s manner before he answered-

“Of course!”

-But it could have been lag on the connection, and she chose to let the moment pass unremarked. Instead, she smiled awkwardly at the phone’s pinhole camera- if you’re looking at him, it doesn’t look like you’re looking at him; look at the camera, and he sees you looking at him- as she bent down to gently shake the test-tube of the clinging dollop on its rim and slip the stopper into place with her thumb.

“Well, good,” she answered, distracted. “Any kaiju shows up within fifty miles of D.C., and I want you somewhere the farthest from anywhere they are- you got me?”

Stephen answered something teasing in kind, but whatever it was drowned out by the growling voice from above her.

“Time to move out. Gather your gear.”

She scowled, annoyed, as she fell under the shadow of the man called Blade. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, and he managed to already look grimy despite the light workload since the setup of camp.

She turned back to her phone.

“Have to go, hon- sorry.”

“I understand,” Stephen answered quickly. “Love you!”

“Love you, too,” she smiled, and pressed the disconnect button. Then, rising from her knees into a crouch, she began to gather up the laptop and analysis tools that she’d set up to process her sample. It was an annoying waste of time, but she knew that any complaint would find no sympathetic ear in the terse Mercenary.

He made absolutely no effort to help her gather the gear, either. Instead, he stood observing her work for a moment, then muttered “Asking for trouble to leave your equipment lying in the dirt.”

Elizabeth’s scowl deepened as she stood, dusting off the knees of her jumpsuit.

“I was gathering a sample of Ambroisa. I planned to analyze it here…”

Already, the mercenary had turned away.

“…Since no one could provide me a sample, and I have to take what I can scoop off the ground,” she muttered to herself, moving over to her tent to gather the rest of the gear she was assigned to carry. “Because I can’t start working on any of the kaiju until someone sees fit to provide me a sample of one of those…”

She was just finishing and moving to take down the tent when she heard a familiar voice approaching unsteadily.

“…Makes perfect sense that the growth would be so rapid, you see,” Professor Ransikoff was energetically rattling off to whatever captive audience he’d managed to corner this time. “The confluence of Ambrosia, the life-blood of the Earth, and Marianasium, the framework- the skeletal structure for the psychic intersections, if you will- represent the power of creation itself, welled to the surface like a drop of blood to the skin. Its life-generating powers would undoubtedly cause the wildlife to flourish; and just as undoubtedly, it’s twisted, marred, because-”

“-Because the balance is off,” Elizabeth finished for him, coming around the tent.

With a grateful nod, the private that Ransikoff had cornered scurried off.

Now wait just a minute, she thought after the fleeing coward, I was just distracting him, not taking him off your hands!

“So say the Attuned,” Ransikoff agreed with a nod. “Does this mean that you’ve come to believe my revelations, Mrs. Reed?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, professor,” she rejoined noncommittally, rolling up the collapsed tent, “But I do listen.”

Ransikoff considered that for a moment- and then, with a shrug, added haltingly, “Have you heard whether we’ll, ah… be heading anywhere near Anomaly 003?”

Now it was Elizabeth’s turn to shrug.

“No one’s told me.”

“…Only, I’m concerned that Ewaschuk isn’t giving this the proper priority because he’s already seen it. Even though there are some of quite eager to delve into the mysteries-”

“Isn’t there enough to interest you in the first two Anomalies?” Elizabeth smirked, shouldering her pack and moving toward the line of scientists lining up for departure. Ranskoff half-hopped, half-jogged after her, his own gear apparently forgotten.

“Strange weather patterns and rapid plant growth?” he mumbled. “Of course not! The Attuned have already explained these phenomenon, holistically with their entire ethos of cosmology. But 003… that is as much a mystery to them as it is to us. A large black sphere of- in theory- liquid, hovering silently off of the ground? That could be the source of the imbalance. That could be causing…” He shook his head helplessly, stuttering, hands twirling in the air as he searched for the right word. “…Everything! Understanding it could be key to stopping this… this plague of kaiju.”

He cut himself off, wincing, as he caught sight of Private Robbins, walking the patrol perimeter toward the front of the line.

“I’m just concerned,” he continued soto voce, “That the warnings from the Attuned are not being taken seriously enough. The future of Earth hangs in the balance, and we are being given the roadmap. But no one seems to believe it.”

Elizabeth swirled the small sample of ground-pool Ambrosia in the test-tube before her eye, focusing on its mesmeric motion. Her third sample, it should be enough to cross-check against the other two to identify any ground-contamination and set a baseline for determining a pure sample. Anticipation in her heart- and an impatience to set her microscope back up as soon as they reached another base-camp location- she couldn’t find it in her to be overly concerned at the professor’s ramblings.

“Just keep talking, Ivan,” she advised offhandedly. “Someone’s bound to listen eventually.”

“Or shoot you,” Blade growled, striding past to take the column’s lead.

[KaijuCanuck]

"Not enjoying the fireworks?"

Archie turned toward the source of the wry tone to find a tall woman, just past what could reasonably called middle-aged, observing him with some amusement from where she reclined against the wall a few feet away.

Archie sized up the woman, surprised to be addressed. His training kicked in, analyzing her voice - Israeli, educated -, and he tried to think of something to say. "The summit or the kaiju? Who am I kidding, they're both horrific." Archie stood up, a little flustered at being caught off guard, awkwardly adjusting his suit, and held his hand out. Careful Archie, everyone in this building wants something, he reminded himself. "Archie Fletcher, representative of the Canadian delegation. And you are?" Uh oh, did I just leave out the 'junior' in my job title? Whoops.

[Zarm]

"Not enjoying the fireworks?"

Archie turned toward the source of the wry tone to find a tall woman, just past what could reasonably called middle-aged, observing him with some amusement from where she reclined against the wall a few feet away.

Archie sized up the woman, surprised to be addressed. His training kicked in, analyzing her voice - Israeli, educated -, and he tried to think of something to say. "The summit or the kaiju? Who am I kidding, they're both horrific." Archie stood up, a little flustered at being caught off guard, awkwardly adjusting his suit, and held his hand out. Careful Archie, everyone in this building wants something, he reminded himself. "Archie Fletcher, representative of the Canadian delegation. And you are?" Uh oh, did I just leave out the 'junior' in my job title? Whoops.

The woman winced.

"Ouch, you're right. When you put it that way, it's a very poor choice of phrasing. What's going on in there-" She gestured with one hand toward the closed doors, "-Is funny, in its own sad, pathetic little way. What's going on beyond these walls is nothing to even seem to be joking about."

She shook her head ruefully, and extend her hand.

"Rachel Pacheco," she said, then seemed to hesitate over her own title. "...Tactical analyst for Israel," she finished at last.

[RamshackleRanger]

Johannesburg, Gauteng Province

"Eon... Eon!"

With a gasp and a sputter, Eon awoke with the tang of blood in his mouth. His chest heaved in and out, working away to bring his heartrate down.

Thump, thump, thump, thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

His breathing slowed, along with the frantic breathing in his chest. He felt sick and sore. Anything that didn't hurt was plagued by the feeling of pins and needles that occurs when one's limbs lack blood. After blinking away the cloudiness in his vision, Eon surveyed the city he had once called home: Now, a hollow reminder of the apocalypse. With a groan of pain as he looked on, the man dug his fingers into his temples in an attempt to remove a pounding headache.

As it faded, so did the wall that blocked off his memories. A thick body filled and flowed through streets like magma, with a hooded maw adorned by two ivory javelins. They had tried to evacuate before the colossus arrived, but it came too fast. What buildings that were left standing after the assault were damaged and lacked the pride with which they stood once. The structures that fell were nothing but chunks of debris, mingled with the the flesh and blood of those still within.

Eon's teeth clenched together as he recalled her.
Amelie.

Her desperate face was fresh in his mind. The almost tangible horror in her voice as she tried to find a route other than the debris-blocked door to their dumpy apartment. She pounded and pounded away at the window. Eon begged her to be quiet, to not let it know they were there. But he was too late. It realized that it had left two alive. Every strike at the window was another blip on the serpent's radar.

Eon had looked it in the eyes as it calculated and schemed. The beast sensed his fear, tasting it upon the tip of its' tongue. No inferior being that defied it was to be left unpurged.

All it took was a single swipe of the serpent's tusks to utterly demolish Eon's world.

The salt of tears mixed with the bitter blood on his tongue as Eon felt at the wound on his chest. The beast had, by some miracle, only barely caught him. But Eon didn't feel that way.

Eon tucked his face between his knees and sobbed, with no living soul close enough to hear him.

[JAGzilla]

Marianas Island

Mike Robbins delivered the message to Captain Vasquez as ordered, and was subsequently directed to link up with a squad of the captain's own Uruguayan troops, who were apparently specialists in jungle warfare. Along with the mercenary, 'Blade', they'd be the tip of the spear as the column moved into the jungle. Mike and his six-barreled machine gun would be a bit behind the squad, ready to pour a torrent of hot lead in any direction they decided needed it.

As he walked up toward the head of the column, he noticed the botanist, Ransikoff, assaulting an American scientist (he couldn't remember off-hand what she did) with some sermon about his bizarre beliefs regarding the island. Truth be told, though, Mike would've actually liked to stop and listen; Ransikoff sounded insane half the time, yes, but absolutely nothing about the situation they were in could be called 'sane'. Who was to say that the Czech hadn't actually figured something out? Mike was willing, at this point, to take information, get answers, from any source he could find.

But, like so many other things, that was going to have to wait. They were heading into likely-hostile territory that was, for all intents and purposes, uncharted, and he needed his wits about him. There had been no contact with the local wildlife, apart from a few hazy, distant sightings of things that looked 'pretty big', but there was every reason to believe it was dangerous. Mike deeply hoped that was true. He hated everything about this island already, and a chance to justifiably kill some part of it, take some tiny bit of revenge, would be so very, very welcome.

He heard a terse, barked command from the mercenary up ahead, just inside the treeline, and they were moving. Mike adjusted his grip on the heavy, barely familiar weapon he'd been assigned, took a deep breath, and started into the wall of green.

[Billzilla1974]

For many people of Anchorage Alaska, the first sound to greet them this morning was the last they would ever hear. It came in the form of a deafening explosion, the source was roughly 80 miles away.
Mount Spurr was erupting once again, but this wasn't an ordinary eruption, the volcano seemed to be tearing itself apart from top to bottom, in a show of force that recalled the eruption that created the current volcano over ten thousand years before. Although clouds of ash now blotted out the sky, it was in fact close to noon by the time the first daring TV news reporters arrived to the scene. Knowing dangers of going towards the volcano, and with a growing plume of ash consuming the sky, the news teams brought the best drones they had to close the gap between them and the eruption.

In the highest image quality available, the drones captured a sight that would soon air on news outlets across the world, Mt Spurr had turned into a cone of hellfire, glowing a yellowish orange as lava poured down the sloped of the volcano. Particles from the ash cloud began to generate lightning, every few seconds, several bolts would strike the flaming mountain.
Evacuation measures were well underway, and as the reporters were about to recall their drones to avoid losing them to the ash of the eruption, the summit of the volcano suddenly flashed with new intensity, and a great orange stream of flame shot into the atmosphere.

Turning their cameras to the light, the news teams witnessed the overwhelming brightness fade, but its original intensity was slowly condensing to one of the many rivers of lava. The reporters were baffled by this, but what happened next would make many question their sanity, the entirety of molten rock coating the outside of the mountain cooled to an ashen gray color in less than five seconds, and the remaining spot of luminosity began to take shape.
Rising from the soon-to-be former river of molten rock, a monster greatly resembling a Chinese dragon crawled out of the reddish brown magma which cooled and solidified as the creature dragged itself down the mountain.

As its body fully absorbed the heat into itself, it cooled to reveal a mostly red dragon with golden scales on its back and underside.
"A dragon born of fire, Ignus Lung..." an unknown man from the Fox News crew said in horrified disbelief, unknowingly coining a name for the dragon, while the rest of the crew recalled their drones and packed up to evacuate.

Although he could barely remember the last time he had awoken, Ignus Lung knew something was different about the world he had awoken to. although he had yet to explore the landscape beyond Mt Spurr, his supersized senses told him that there was less greenery, less animal life, he wondered why.
Exploring could wait, for now, having absorbed a plenty of energy, The ancient kaiju saw no reason to leave his volcanic home, at least not yet.
Standing up on his hind legs, Ignus lung breathed the air for the first time in countless millennia, allowing several lightning bolts to hit his body harmlessly.
buuROOAAAAAAARR!!
The fire dragon gave a roar that was as loud as the volcano had been mere minutes earlier, a roar to let any friend or foe know, Ignus Lung has reawakened!

[JAGzilla]

On thousands of TV screens across the world

"Welcome back to CNN's continuing coverage of the Kaiju Crisis. For those of you just joining us, CNN's own Tanya Munroe is on the scene in Ohio; her helicopter crew earlier brought us live footage of the ongoing search for survivors amid the rubble of Cedar Point. Right now they've moved a ways out over Lake Erie, and on the left-hand side of your screen, you should be able to see the aerial footage they're broadcasting of the lake's surface. Tanya, are you with us?"

"I'm with you, Wolf," came the reporter's response, as her image appeared on the screen opposite the footage of small, wind-blown waves perhaps a hundred feet below her. The attractive African-American woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, with shoulder-length black hair that was currently being tossed about by the wind from the chopper's open door. "We're not far from South Bass Island right now. From what our sources have told us, a small recreational boat, the owner of which apparently ignored the Coast Guard's warnings to stay off the water, was reported missing from this area earlier this morning, and the obvious assumption is that the Kroaken was responsible for the disappearance. We've seen several Coast Guard and other military helicopters searching the area, and they've actually told us to turn back and head for shore. We're in the process of complying with that order right now."

"Definitely the right thing to do, Tanya," Wolf Blitzer's voice replied. "And while we're on that topic, we urge all of our viewers to do the same. For your own safety, please comply with all police and military warnings to stay out of Lake Erie, do not attempt to search for the monster or any of the many missing boats on your own. Now, Tanya, what else do you have for us?"

"Well, Wolf, it's obvious that everyone is asking a lot of questions about this unprecedented situation. If the top two questions are 'When and where will the creature strike next?' and 'How does the government plan to protect the public from further attacks?', numbers three and four are probably "What exactly is The Kroaken?" and "Where could it possibly have come from?'"

"I'm certainly asking all of those questions, Tanya," the anchor responded. "And while no one we know of has any definitive answers at this time, we've brought in Sam Harper, director of herpetology for the Columbus Zoo and a former professor of the discipline, to hopefully shed a little light on the nature of the monster. Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians, and Dr. Harper is considered a notable authority in the field. Doctor?"

As Wolf spoke, the image of a rotund, middle-aged Caucasian man with somewhat untidy blonde hair and goatee popped up on the far right of the screen, with Wolf, the lake, and then Tanya to his left. "Hello, Wolf, Ms. Munroe," he said. "I'd just like to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the families of the many victims of this tragedy."

'As do we all, Doctor," Tanya replied, as Wolf nodded his agreement. "Now, what can you tell us about the creature we've been calling 'The Kroaken'?"

"Well, uh, very little as of yet," the scientist replied a bit hesitantly. "Simply due to how little information we currently have on the animal. I can say that, from what I can infer from the limited cell phone, security camera, and news footage that was captured of it before it returned to the lake, that it is considerably different in structure from any frog or toad species known to science. I've certainly never seen anything quite like it!"

"And what about its incredible size, Dr. Harper?" Tanya asked. "I've seen social media posts from people wondering whether it could be a surviving member of some prehistoric species, possibly related to the dinosaurs?"

Harper shook his head. "While it's far too early to rule out any possibility, I can say that nothing in the current fossil record can be even remotely compared to the Kroaken. The largest extinct amphibian species yet discovered was only around thirty feet long. And even if dinosaurs were closely related to frogs, which they were not, this animal utterly dwarfs even the largest of them. Its size is so extraordinary, in fact, that if I were going to speculate, I would consider it some sort of one-off mutation. But the fact that so many other gigantic animals are emerging all over the world implies that they must be connected to one another in some as-yet unidentified way."

As the conversation continued, attentive viewers watching the lake image might've noticed a large dark spot in the water well out ahead of the moving helicopter, situated just beneath the surface.

"That's a good point, Doctor," Tanya replied. "As strange as this situation is, it makes a relative amount of sense that these 'kaiju' are related to each other, if maybe not to any other life form we know of."

"Yes," Harper agreed, nodding.

"Another question I have is-" the reporter began, but stopped suddenly, directing a confused look toward the chopper's cockpit. "What?" she inquired of someone off-screen. A quiet, garbled response from the pilot was barely audible.

"Is everything okay, there, Tanya?" asked Wolf, straightening in his seat, while Harper looked on with a concerned expression.

"I- yes, Wolf, I think so," she replied, struggling to regain her composure. "We apparently just got another call from the Coast Guard, and they want us to change course right away. We're doing that..."

As she spoke, the lake image spun a bit as the aircraft swung sharply to port; the dark shape below the surface was directly beneath them now.

"..., uh, but I can't tell exactly what the problem is. Maybe we- AAAH!"

Her scream mingled with several other cries of alarm from within the helicopter, all mostly drowned out by a thunderous CLANG mixed with simultaneous whines of protest from the vehicle's engine. The images of Tanya and the lake swung chaotically, showing badly blurred footage of the inside of the chopper, the lake, the sky... and some gargantuan, yellow shape, rapidly coming closer. Darkness and water filled the screens for an instant, and then both dissolved into static.

In the newsroom, Wolf Blitzer sat in stunned silence, his mouth working soundlessly like a fish out of water, lost for words.

Sam Harper was now bolt upright in his own chair, his face ashen. He found his voice before the anchor did, but made no effort to keep his obvious horror out of it.

"I... I think it is clear that this animal and the others like it are going to fundamentally change our understanding of life on this planet, and... clearly, humanity's relationship with the rest of it. My God..."

............................................................................
Lake Erie

The Kroaken let the broken corpse of the metal bug drift out of her mouth and sink to the bottom, a cloud of its foul, black blood billowing in the water around her. The taste had been horrible, and she'd decided against trying to eat it. She wasn't especially hungry yet, anyway, after the large meal she'd had after awakening two days earlier.

She pumped her powerful hind legs, propelling herself away from the polluted water. It seemed that a lot of the prey in this area were like that, made of metal and inedible. But there were plenty of good, fleshy creatures around as well, so it balanced out. This lake would make an acceptable part of her territory. But it wouldn't be good enough; it was quite shallow, for one thing, and she wanted deeper water for her offspring to shelter in once she was ready to lay her eggs. She could vaguely sense other large bodies of water nearby, which gelled with her memory of the region before she'd been compelled to hibernate. One of those, to the west, might serve her needs better.

She needed better, too. Her last brood had been a total failure, all of the eggs eaten by an enormous bear-like creature while she was out hunting. She would find a safer place to lay the next clutch, take new steps to safeguard them. These would survive.

But before she could move on, she needed to declare her ownership of this part of the lake. Entering a shallower place where she could sit with the top half of her body above the surface, she came to a halt. Taking a careful look around, her green eyes scanning the horizon in all directions for potential threats, she planted her feet firmly and inhaled deeply.

Her throat-sac expanded, and a deafening roar issued from her throat. To the ears of nearby humans, it sounded like an odd, intimidating mix of bellowing bull and foghorn, clearly audible for many miles. The Kroaken repeated the call again and again, dragging them out long and loud. Any rival or predator within earshot, no matter what species they hailed from, would do well to listen and take note: the mistress of these lands had returned to take what was rightfully hers, and under no circumstances would trespassers be tolerated.

[RamshackleRanger]

Pahoa, Hawaii

Crowded bystanders watched the diner televison with morbid attentiveness as the camera spiraled out of control, giving glimpses at the yellow beast that had felled it. Whispers tinged with horror spread throughout the crowd. The worker behind the counter tried to switch the channel to something less interesting in an attempt to get the customers to focus more on the menu than the tragedy.

"Insectoid Invaders: The Terror Beneath Blue Mountains."

Click.

"Estimated 6 million dead after 48 hour assault on Gauteng Province."

Click.

"BREAKING: New Kaiju emerges from island of Hawai'i - East side recommended for full Evacuation."

A click, followed by a frantic fumbling of the remote as the worker switched back.

"We're here live just minutes after the catastrophic finale of the Kīlauea volcano's 30 year eruption, from which a new massive creature has emerged!" Came a male voice from behind the camera that displayed an almost dragon-like beast.
Dear god, the woman behind the counter thought to herself. Nobody in that diner would have thought that their apocalypse would come in the form of a seahorse, but evidence of the contrary was displayed on the screen right before them. An aerial view via helicopter was barely enough to contain the length of the beast, a glowing wyrm dripping with amniotic magma. The monster looked almost solar in the early-morning dawn.

It's head cocked to the side and followed the helicopter in a curious fashion, followed by an inquisitive whine of sorts.

"We're getting word that the U.N. has dubbed this threat 'Soldera,' after the - wait, what is that?"

PHOOM! The noise that originated outside the diner was mimicked by the television, which displayed a decently sized missile crash into Soldera's side. The sheer force of the blast was enough to make the Magmatic monster lean ever so slightly, prompting the bystanders to gasp and pray that the attack would be successful. But the monster did not seem hurt, or even intimidated; no, the only look upon it's face was one of offense. Offense that these flying, shiny vermin would attack it so underhandedly.

Flowering open to reveal it's four-split nature, Soldera's jaw became the origin of a roar that sounded like the baritone mimicry of a whale's blooping cry, one that echoed clearly enough to be heard from the inside of the little diner. The neon yellow membranes that connected the jaws together flexed and wobbled from the breath that flew past them.

The air grew distorted in a linear pattern from the gaping maw of the Pseudo-seahorse, like heat above a campfire. This distortion was barley noticeable, especially on the screen. Unnoticeable enough that the poor soldier piloting the jet only realized it when the distortion surrounded his craft. A popping sound like a gunshot echoed in the cockpit as a section of metal on the wing sparked and burned. He struggled to stay on course, the disfigured metal on the wing interfering with his steering. Careening off course didn't allow him to escape the waves emitting from Soldera's mouth, which turned with her head to follow the aircraft. Pop! Pop! Two more sparks.

A final pop on the side of a missile mounted to the jet. The flames ignited the explosives inside, creating a concussive ball of flame around it. The camera picked up a gasp from the reporter as the jet spiraled into the tropics below. Another jet screamed through the sky, seemingly arriving to avenge it's fallen comrade. All it succeeded in was attracting Soldera's attention, and consequently, the distortion that streamed from her gullet. No time was wasted as the heatwaves had already achieved maximum flow. A spot to the side of the cockpit heated from grey to red to white in a matter of seconds, sparking open and pulling the pilot from his seat. The second jet followed in it's predecessors path.

By this time people were already streaming out the doors of every building in the town of Pahoa. Where they planned on going, they weren't sure. But all they knew was that the glowing form on the horizon was not the sunrise, and not something they wished to be in the path of. An orange speck on the horizon flickered as the last aircraft in Soldera's range went up in flames.

[Godzilla165]

"I remember the impact of the truck slamming into us, how hard it was. I remember my entire body feeling like it had been shaken to its very core. I remember the ear-piercing sounds of metal and glass being shattered all around me. I remember...Um..."

"It's okay, just take a deep breath, and start again when you're ready."

" Okay... I, uh..I remember the choked whimpers of my Mom mourning over my Dad's body. I remember the pained breaths she took every time she inhaled and exhaled. Sh-she looked like she was in so much pain, so much suffering. I just... I never wanted to see my Mom like that, you know? I remember her using the last bit of her strength to free me, and then telling me to run, to run as fast as I could..."

"And then what happened."

"I... I...Um..."

"Laurence... Laurence, look at me." Laurence's psychiatrist, a balding, plump, late 60s, Caucasian male said. This was Dr. Bruce Emory: a renowned psychiatrist in South Africa, having over 40 years of experience, and an 88% success rate of curing his patients. He sat in the far left corner of his tiny, warmly lit office, in his favorite, brown leather chair. Dr. Emory had a small notepad resting in his lap, and was patiently tapping a mechanical pencil on one of the chair's arms, awaiting for his current patient to respond.

Laurence sat across from Dr. Emory, slightly leaning down in a pillowy soft sofa, of which was pure white in color. The boy stared blankly across the room, looking in Dr. Emory's relative direction, but not directly at him. Laurence had with him, his red Adidas jacket as usual, and wore a pair of ripped sweatpants and dirty, white Adidas sneakers. He gazed outside the single tiny window that Dr.Emory had in his office; Laurence wasn't looking at anything, really, he was just... Looking.

"LAURENCE." Dr. Emory called out again, this time a bit more booming in tone.

Laurence slowly turned his attention to the awaiting shrink, blinking a few times as if to clear whatever he had just been thinking about, away.

"Good, I seem to have your attention again. Now, if we may get back to what we were doing, previously?" Dr. Emory said.

"Yeah, uhh..." Laurence began, and grabbed at his forehead. "I'm not really feeling to good, Dr. M. Could we maybe pick this up next week?" He asked.

The gray shrink looked up from over his glasses and narrowed his eyes. "Laurence," He sighed, "you know you can't keep leaving our sessions early like this." Emory jeered.

Laurence gazed back at Dr. Emory with a look of, "can you please just let me go?!". However, he merely nodded his head and slowly rose from his seat. "I know, but this'll be the last time, I promise." Laurence reassured.

Dr. Emory studied the boy curiously for a moment, before finally sighing and motioning that he could leave. "Alright then, I'll be expecting a full-length session with you next week, Mr. Andricia."

Laurence gave the doctor a final nod, before quickly exiting the small office, and hurrying down the narrow hallway of the treatment facility. As he rounded the corner, Laurence immediately spotted his ride, waiting for him in one of the chairs in the waiting room area. She was a tall, slender woman, who appeared to be in her mid-forties, and had raven black hair cut into a neat bob. The woman was wearing a simple, blue tee-shirt, with navy blue jeans to match. She looked up from the fashion magazine that she had been skimming through, and locked her green eyes on Laurence standing in front of her. This was Jessica Hanes: Laurence's foster Mom. Jessica sighed deeply and set the magazine back down on the glass table in front of her. She rose from her chair and led Laurence out of the office. "Sooo, how was it today?" She asked fruitfully.

Laurence just shrugged his shoulders, "The same, I guess." He said.

"Well, I wish you would start staying for the entire thing, hun. I mean, this is the fifth time you've cut your session short, Laurence." Jessica pointed out as they both got into her silver Lexus SUV.

"Sorry for throwing your money down the drain, Mrs. H." Laurence retorted sarcastically.

"It's not about the money, Laurence; I don't care about that. What I, and Dan care about, is you getting better, that's all." Jessica calmly assured. "And you're never going to if you keep leaving early. How are you gonna one day be happy, if you won't allow yourself to be now?"

Laurence rested his cheek on his fist, staring out the window at the passing cars, and all of the buildings that whipped by. Jessica looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and gave a small sigh. Once they reached a stoplight, she gazed over at him, chewing her bottom lip.

"Tell you what: why don't you and I hit that ice cream shop you're always talking about? The one with the unlimited toppings?" She persuaded. "I hear they even have a double chunk cookie dough flavor now. You can get that one, IF you promise to start staying until the end of your sessions. Deal?"

Laurence gave Mrs. H a soft smile and rolled his eyes. "Okayyy, fiiine." He groaned.

Jessica grinned brightly and smoothed his hair back. "That's my boy." She proclaimed.

Laurence snickered and looked ahead of them, noticing how freaking long this red light was taking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a big, yellow dump truck in the turning lane across from them. Laurence began to tense up a bit, squeezing the leather handle above the window tightly, and breathing quicker. As the light finally turned green, the dump truck was the first to go, and roared past their comparatively small SUV. Laurence shut his eyes as the vehicle passed, the deep grumble of its engine sending shivers down his spine. After what seemed like several minutes, the truck had passed, and traffic proceeded as normal. Laurence kept his eyes shut, however. Jessica gazed at him once more, and rested a gentle hand upon his.

"It's okay, hun, it's gone now, see?" She comforted.

Laurence slowly peeled open his eyes, and saw that they were moving again. He let out a nervous sigh before resting his prosthetic hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes again for a moment, trying to get the image of that enormous dump truck out of his mind. "You what, Mrs. H? Can we just head home instead?" Laurence suddenly asked, now looking ahead.

Jessica peered at him. "Are you sure? You don't want any kind of ice cream?" She inquired.

"No, not anymore. I'm just, uh... I'm just not really feeling too good right now. I really just wanna go home." Laurence hastily sputtered.

Jessica rubbed on his shoulder some and smiled in understanding. "Okay, sweetie. We''ll go some other time, sound good?"

Laurence gave her a single nod before sinking down in his seat, and gazing out of his window once more. "How can I one day be happy, if I don't allow myself to be now?" He thought to himself.

________________________________

Byron Bay, Australia



Byron Bay... What was arguably one of the most beautiful and scenic places on Earth, and what a perfect day it was to be there. The sky was saturated with blue, the sun shined proudly overhead, and very little clouds wafted above. The beach was teaming with people of all shapes and sizes, all of which were just enjoying what might have been one of the most beautiful days in Australia over the past few days. The ocean itself was clear to the point where you could see right through, and the waves were nice and plump today, as well. Such was absolutely perfect for whatever surfers were in the area, and Amelia was currently taking full advantage of it. Out in the middle of the ocean, the fiery advisor had been catching massive waves all day so far, riding her slippery board on the apex of the towering pillars of water like a pro. After having just finished surfing the latest wave, she decided that it was time to come back onto shore for a little while, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach.

What Amelia wasn't expecting, were the five missed calls on her phone when she got back to her spot on the beach. Upon checking who they were from, she rolled hers in annoyance. The calls had all been from her fellow colleague: a certain, and rather persistent James Spade. Nevertheless, Amelia decided it would be best to call in and see what the man possibly wanted.


Back in the UN boardroom, James' phone suddenly began buzzing in his coat pocket, causing for his fellow advisors to all give him funny looks. He shot them an innocent grin, and excused himself from the constant squabbling that wasn't showing signs of ending anytime soon. As soon as James was far enough away out in the hallway, he looked down to see that it was Amelia phoning in, and sighed deeply. He pressed answer, and put the phone up to his ear. "Where the hell are you?!" He demanded in a hushed voice.


Amelia was taken aback slightly by the greeting, but soon remembered who she was dealing with. "It is nice to hear from you too, James." She retorted.

"Ugh, cut the semantics, Amelia; this is serious. Now, where are you?" James asked again.

Amelia furrowed her brow. "I'm... At the beach right now. Why?"

There was a notable scoff on the other end. "You're... You're at the BEACH?! What in gods name are you doing there?!" James demanded once more.

"Well, it is kind of where a lot of people go for their vacation, James." Amelia snickered. "Or did you forget that I was on two weeks vacation?"

James hung his jaw in disbelief. "You're on vacation NOW of all times?" He exclaimed.

Amelia plopped down on the sand and watched her fellow surfers do their best to catch any waves they could. "Um, yes? Why, is there a problem with that?" She ruefully inquired.

"I mean, well... You could have a least told me you'd be gone." James groaned.

"James, I DID tell you, three times if I remember. I told everyone for that matter, actually." Amelia calmly shot back. "In any case, why does it matter to you where I am, anyway?"

James sighed, "Haven't you-Oh, hello Hayden, how are we today?" He suddenly uttered.

"James." A warm and charismatic voice merely stated back.

Amelia pursed her lips, "You still there, 'Dad'?" She taunted.

"Cute. Anyway, sorry about that, Hayden Jones just walked by, and I didn't want him eavesdropping on our conversation." James replied with slight disdain.

"Come now, Spade, Hayden is a nice guy. There's just the little, 'hitch' of him being an American spy and all. I always feel like he's hiding something." Amelia said.

"Yeah, well, Mr. Jones is the least of our worries at the moment. With what's been happening all over the globe lately, these... Monsters, popping up everywhere, we could really use you here right now, Ami." James calmly pleaded.

Amelia stood up and brushed the sand off her legs and thighs, and walked out to the shore. "And cut my vacation short? You realize I haven't been on an actual vacation in ages, right?" She replied.

"Well, be that as it may, Amelia, in a situation like this where our entire national security is at stake... Vacation time is the last thing on anyone's minds right now." James retorted.

Amelia didn't say anything back. As much as it killed her to admit it, he was right. The world was about to be flipped entirely upside down, and society needed to be prepared for the worst. As such, with a heavy sigh, Amelia agreed with James' request. "Alright, fine. Give me 24 hours to get everything together, and I'll be on a plane back to the UN in the morning." She said.

James allowed for a half smile to slip briefly, before catching it and recomposing himself. "I'm gonna hold you to that, McClain. I'll see you tomorrow." He said before hanging up and returning to the conference room.

Amelia stuffed her phone inside of her bra, and gazed out at the jewelry blue sea one last time. "Well, maybe I'll be able to come back here for my next vacation... Next year." She sighed, and slowly began to make the voyage back to her hotel room.

________________________________

Somewhere in Antarctica



Every planet has its own, unique feature. Some are immediately apparent, while others were a lot more... Subtle. In any case, they all possessed something that made them stand out from one another; no two planets were alike. Earth was a bit of an anomaly for Hanjiru, as while she had been to countless other worlds that possessed the sacred liquid of water, she had never visited one where such was so readily available. Hanjiru had also never been to a world where both water and lushes sections of land coexisted so well with one another. Earth was a strange planet, indeed, and that is why the crystalline dragon had long since made it her duty to protect it from HIM, while doing her best to remain hidden until the time was right. So many worlds have fallen, so many societies destroyed, and so many lives have been taken because of HIM. Hanjiru would always be just a minute too late, and another planet would have been lost to the unending campaign of destruction from HIM. Now, however, now the tables had turned to her favor. The demon was already here on Earth, yes, but he hadn't acted yet. He was still lying in dormancy somewhere on the globe; Hanjiru just needed to find him before he arose. She would not allow for yet another world to be eradicated by chaos incarnate.

For now, however, at least for a little while longer, Hanjiru took some time out from her endless search to merely enjoy the wonders of this planet. The orange and pink morning sky was so wonderful, and the air extraordinarily crisp and cooled. Hanjiru cascaded across the skies like a never ending kite, occasionally flapping her wings to give her additional thrust. Her crystalline skin sparkled and in the gentle embrace from the sun's rays, bouncing off whatever object that was below. The harmonic dragon cooed gently to herself as she glided through the air, her body feeling so invigorated by the pure, unpolluted air that surrounded her.

Eventually, Hanjiru calmly touched down upon a titanic glacier and perched there to watch the sun rise. She had seen so many in her lifetime, each a little different that the last, but they never grew old nor tiresome for her. It was times such as this where Hanjiru wished that the demonic presence of HIM never existed, so there could be peace within the universe. How could something so beautiful, so majestic... Be so ruthless, and so evil? Hanjiru would never seem to know. However, what she did know, was that planet Earth was a truly special place, and she could not allow for it to be molested by his influence. As such, Hanjiru spread her great wings, and with a single flap, was up high in the air once more.

For now, it seemed as though her quest for complete tranquility would never end.

________________________________

Ganges River



For the people of India and Bangladesh, the Ganges River has been a crucial and sacred location for countless generations. It is arguably, the most important aspect for sustaining oneself and their family, and is used for hundreds of different tasks and situations. Without this massive, great river, many wouldn't be able to make it nor support their fellow loved ones. The Ganges River is more than just a river to these people, it is a way of life, their livelihood... Their home. On a relatively sunny afternoon like today, everything was normal as usual. People carried out their daily routines, while children played, and fishermen traveled the river to begin hunting for today's eventual dinner and market sales. Everything for the most part was... Sterile.

Suddenly, one fishermen hastily docked his boat and leaped off without even securing it, and charged onto shore. He was screaming bloody murder about something he had just witnessed, something big.

"SAAP!!! SAAP!!!" He continually roared. "BADE SAAP!!!"

The man sprinted as far away from the river as he could, pushing and shoving people out of his way. Everyone stared after him as if he had lost his mind, murmuring among one another different theories and opinions as to what the man might have actually saw, of if he really was just out of his mind. Eventually however, they all went back to doing their daily routines, bathing, preparing food etc. That is until a few minutes later, when a number of fishing boats began floating down the river system, but without the fishermen themselves. Now, people began to grow a bit concerned. Surely the fishermen, and whoever else that had used a boat would have just left them out like this. Had they all somehow fallen into the river? People started looking at one another with notable concern and fear growing on their faces; perhaps that, "crazed" man was actually onto something.

Within minutes, people had begun to turn up in the river, and quickly swam to shore. Quite a few were in shock from whatever they had just witnessed, while others did their best to describe what they saw, while those already on the shore rushed to get them towels and medical equipment. According to a handful of eye witnesses, apparently while they were out in their normal spot fishing, their boat was suddenly flipped several feet into the air from something passing underneath them. When they landed back into the water, they were met face to face, and utterly dwarfed by the head of a King Cobra. Other witnesses proceeded to challenge those stories, saying that what they saw was the head of a white tiger, but instead of one head, it had two. Both groups argued back and forth, trying to convince one another that their specific testimony was right, while the other groups' was a complete farce. It wasn't until several, grueling minutes of fighting later, when both parties had finally agreed on one thing: whatever they saw, was absolutely enormous. One man, who appeared to be in his late 70s, had also stated that he and the handful of others that had managed to swim back, were all that were left after whatever happened, happened. Out of at least three hundred odd people that had set out on the Ganges today, only twelve or so had made it back to shore.

The eye witnesses have all stated that they have absolutely no idea what that thing was, nor where it came from.They just know that livelihood or not, they won't be going back into the Ganges anytime soon. What they saw today... Was a monster.

[SuperPawnageGigan]

Antarctica

A Group of Researchers were studying a Mysterious Kaiju Trapped in the ice for 60 years.

Suddenly, a Glowing light was inside the iceberg. The Kaiju's dorsal plates Glowed a Bright Orange and It shot a bright orange Beam out of his mouth.

WHAT THE!?!? One of the researchers noticed the beam and the Glacier came Crashing down and out came the Kaiju roaring very loud.

ROAAAARRRrrrrr!!!! Diranosaurs trudgeed his way out of the giant structure and the researchers called for help but Dirannosaurs Slashed them with his giant claws.

The Researchers were all dead by Dirannosaurs as he Roared and made his way to Hawaii.

[Zarm]

Location: Marianas Island

Blade snarled at the obstructing foliage as he hacked the machette through it; far too many of the obstructing fronds simply bent with the blow and snapped back up into his face.

He was never much for jungles; he’d heard enough stories from ‘Nam, had enough experience himself, to develop a healthy distaste for the lack of visibility, the plentiful opportunities for ambush, the obscuring soundtrack of rustles and animal cries.

Even moreso, he hated this jungle. The plants weren’t quite right; didn’t bend like the plants he knew, weren’t shaped like the plants he knew. He could gauge the density of a trunk for cover, which bushes he could crouch in without coming out an itching, stinging mess; couldn’t even cut the blamed things with the surety he did the plants he knew.

The bird cries were all wrong, too; not like any birds he knew. And heck if he could imitate one of those gargling-bison sounds if he wanted to signal a squadmate without words…

Not that he had any squad-mates here, he reminded himself. This was a solo job. Only kind he’d swore he’d take, after…

Oh, sure, some of the guys weren’t so bad. Robbins showed promise. And one of the Egyptians- Blade hadn’t caught his name yet- could throw a mean knife.

But they weren’t brothers; weren’t bonded by heat and blood and the rush of adrenaline borne of defying death by inches. They had their loyalties- to a chain of command. An army. Cogs in a machine. They’d have his back on principle- not because every fiber of their being demanded it.

He couldn’t trust his life to such men… even if he could find a modicum of respect for them.

Blade shook his head, shouldering through the mass of ferns and ignoring the yappy squaking of the dismayed scientists for whom he hadn’t cleared much of a path.

If those babies don’t stop whining and scare up some valuable intel soon, I swear I’m gonna kill one of ‘em…, he thought, absently reaching to scratch the lingering itch below his belt.

That was another thing about jungles. The constant sheen of sweat, clinging, dripping, itching like-

A snarl froze Blade in place, his pistol appearing in his free hand like a conjurer’s trick. He couldn’t get a bead on the echo as it bounced off the trees, but it had been close- too-

The cackling thing was on him before he could finish the thought; somewhere between a money and a hyena. He swung the machete instinctively as spittle streamed off the sharp incisors rushing to fill his vision- and was rewarded with a dull clank that sent painful, numbing shivers all the way up to his shoulder. A flash of sparks where the blade made contact-

-A monkey with body-armor??-

-And he was stumbling to the side, the thing hitting the ground and rolling where the blow had deflected its trajectory, and scampering past him on all fours. He half-turned to follow it, still in the same breath that he’d seen it, fighting to keep his balance. Light glinted in the filtered sunlight- a pale blue-grey glint, like that freak-metal on the island flashed- and he couldn’t tell if it was worn over the fur, or embedded in the skin. Half-flesh, half-metal, a form echoing the ones he knew but not quite-

“Robbins!” he shouted, pointing with two fingers as his turn carried him a full one-eighty.

The man’s reflexes and accuracy were unimpeachable, as the gun in his hands spat hot lead- but the thing was fast, and among the trunks- Blade didn’t think it could’ve been more than winged. And what that mongerl-armored hide, who knew if the bullets would even penetrate unless they struck flesh?

The jungle was suddenly silent, absent of even the ugly bird-calls, as the echoes of the mini-gun died away.

“It makes sense,” Ransikoff offered in a low voice. “The natural life processes are out of balance, hence the fusion of animal and element that was never meant-”

Blade swung around, bringing his pistol-barrel to bear on the man’s forehead.

“I will blow your fricking head off!” he snapped, eyes glinting with fire.

The silence reigned absolute for several seconds. A bead of sweat trickled down the wide-eyed scientist’s brow- a perfect match to the one tracing an itching line down Blade’s right shoulder-blade.

Just as abruptly, he swung his weapon back out to cover the jungle.

“That thing’s still out there, and it may have friends,” he called. “Stay sharp!”

The jungle waited in tense silence around them. The soldiers would probably come running soon; they hadn’t marched far enough to be out of earshot for gunfire from the main camp.

He moved to yank his own machine gun off his strap, but stopped when he realized he didn’t have a free hand to do so. And nothing he could do with it would mean much compared to Robbin’s high-caliber beast anyhow, so he stuck with the pistol.

Three weapons, two hands; maybe that’s what his mom had meant back when she used to say she sometimes wished she had a third arm. But then, mom had never exactly been in a situation like this.

…She’d always preferred her ops in more arctic climes.




Location: High Above the Indian Ocean

The sparkling ocean rushed past beneath, the crest of each wave in the early sun a highlight and definition to the endless, rolling mass- a landmark to blur past underneath and give a true sense of speed with which Naleli flew.

The scooped-out bowl of clay beneath her, like a giant urn not yet fired in the kiln, was cold in the whipping air, but Naleli did not care. She was exultant as the great beast that was her new best friend soared through the sky.

Australia! She hoped they would arrive soon. She didn’t know much about the land… only a few vague mentions in school, the sight of a map. She thought its flag had a either maple leaf, or the stars and stripe, though she couldn’t remember which; either way, she was excited at the prospect of seeing cowboys, and perhaps the Grand Canyon.

It did not matter what she knew of it now; she would know it by seeing it, by saving it from the ant-men. She, and her Kavaru; heroes of Australia. Something for the grown-ups to stand up and cheer, to see that they didn’t need to huddle in fear anymore. This time, she would be the one telling momma that everything was going to be all right. She just needed to show them it would be okay.

Below her, she saw a dark shape in the deep waters, traveling the other way- flashing past as Kavaru tore through the air with four wings buzzing. She wondered if it was another kaiju, out about its business; wondered too if it was friendly or mean.

It didn’t matter; if it was mean, she and Kavaru would stop it. If it was friendly, they wouldn’t have to. Either way, the day was bright and the sun was warm and her heart was full to bursting with wonders of which she’d never dreamed. Her stomach tingled at the vertiginous height, but she felt no fear. With Kavaru, she was safe.

Slowly, carefully, she rose from the bowl. She felt her legs sink down into the clay as she stood, felt it tighten around her, holding her in, as she raised herself above what she thought of as the cockpit and let the bracing air stream past her. She spread her arms wide, feeling the wind tug at her, lift her- and she reveled in the pure freedom of flight through the morning sky.



Location: Six-hundred feet below

In the murky, context-less depths of the ocean, a blue-black gradient of seemingly endless scope lacking any reference of scale or distance, one could be forgiven for thinking that one was facing merely an ordinary goblin shark.

That sight alone would be terrifying enough; the fleshy horn above a bulbous, hideous face… the sharp hook-teeth yellowed with calcification and streaked with dark brown stains.

But if one were not already fleeing in terror at the predator that seemed to fade out of the endless gloom, then one would notice an incongruity at the head-on approach. From behind the grotesque head would emerge not the ripple of a pectoral fin or the sweep of a tail… but the billow of tentacles in a jet-stream.

A goblin-shark enwrapped by an octopus, yet somehow heedless of its plight?

And only as it rushed pass with impossible speed and bulk, knifing across the vision like a bullet train, a sliding wall of flesh in motion that dwarfed even the Goodyear Blimp, the currents in its wake enough to send even the whales tumbling from their courses, that one would realize they were beholding something far larger and deadlier than the predator they’d first beheld.

He had gone to slumber lonely, awoken lonely. He hungered, he needed- yet for longer than he could remember, he’d known only rejection. But so many of those old ones were gone, and the survivors- the new, the strong, the lucky- had not yet known his entreat. One would listen. One would embrace him as he sought to embrace them, and he would be complete.

Vrithigee slid off through the darkness, searching, always searching…



Location: Marianas Island

Ragnarok floated.

[KaijuCanuck]

LOCATION: Somewhere off the west coast of North America

Sea turtles are not normally found in coral reefs, but this leatherback had a good reason. As it desperately dodged from ridge to ridge, rock to rock, looking for a suitable place to hide, a trail of blood oozed from the turtle’s flipper, already bitten by the hungry great white shark in pursuit. The trail was all the shark’s highly tuned senses needed – there would be no escape.

The reef was somewhat strange – it seemed have grown up around a large, circular hill that jutted out conspicuously from the otherwise flat ocean floor. Coral, anemones, seaweed all clung to the dome-shaped outpost, a thriving ecosystem oasis amidst the desert.

The shark swam coolly into the reef, following the trail of blood. The concentration was getting thicker, the turtle was near, weak and slow. Swiftly, the shark turned its head, zeroing in for a direction – there! Below and to the right, the turtle lay in a patch of kelp, vainly trying to conceal itself. The shark pointed itself like an arrow and launched itself for the kill –

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and a massive wall of sand was kicked up into the water above the reef. The shark was sent reeling by the force of the blast, every single one of its senses blinded by sand. The hill rose up, coral and dirt falling and cracking as it did. Something gigantic was beneath the reef – no, it was the reef! On two sides, massive flippers tore their way out of the earth, to the front and back a head and some legs. The temperature began to rise, bubbles of steam rose out of the ground and towards the surface. The shark recovered, and attempted to make its escape – CHOMP. The massive, draconic turtle head of Dracochelys closed around the shark, sentencing the predator to oblivion. Dracocheyls supported herself on her massive, bladed flippers, raising the rest of her gigantic body out of the ground. She opened her mouth, letting loose a low, bubbly bellow that reverberated throughout the Pacific. Finally free, she launched herself into open ocean, swimming east towards land.

The shark was eaten, the coral life lay in ruins, but one lone survivor watched the monster go – miraculously the leatherback had escaped, it’s flipper wound now beginning to clot. Curiously, it observed its giant compatriot’s departure. Maybe turtles have gods too.

LOCATION: UN Building, New York City

Archie eyed Rachel inquisitively as he shook her hand.

“Pleased to meet you. Tactical analyst?” Archie was charmed by the woman, despite himself. He had been trained to regard international diplomats as people who always held a hidden agenda, but he couldn't help but feel a warmth from the Israeli. “Can I ask what a strategist for the Israeli government would want with me?”

Before Rachel could answer, the sound of hundreds of smartphones buzzing and lighting up from news alerts overtook the room. Archie glanced at his, then looked up at Rachel, his face a little drained of colour. She returned the glance – she’d seen it to.

Without a word, the two followed the throng of other diplomats who had also stepped outside back into the main chamber, where the UN Secretary-General, Abebi Taiwo of Nigeria, had already interrupted whoever had been speaking and now held the floor, standing in front of a large screen at the chamber’s front podium. The screen displayed a map of the world, and listed locations for every kaiju currently being tracked. Archie had seen it before – but it now it displayed four new blinking red points.

“For those of you who are just joining us,” said the official, UN Secretary-General Abebi Taiwo from Nigeria. “We have now positively confirmed three new emergences which have occurred throughout today, and are presently investigating a fourth.” He held up a clicker. CLICK. The map disappeared to reveal aerial drone footage of massive orange flames shooting from a volcano and into the sky – then what looked to be a gigantic red Chinese dragon rising out of molten magma. It’s terrifying roar sounded throughout the room. “Ignus Lung, Anchorage, Alaska,” Taiwo said matter-of-factly. CLICK – another volcano, this time somewhere tropical and filmed from a helicopter. A giant sea-horse poked out of the top with an unsettling, alien-like quality, still dripping with lava. It was following fighter jets with its horrifying, four-split mouth, the jets bursting into flames as if by magic. “Soldera, Pahao, Hawaii,” Taiwo went on. CLICK. Now the room saw stationary security camera footage, as soldiers and men in lab coats ran around for the their lives – BOOM! – a massive reptilian foot came down, obscuring the camera’s view. Taiwo spoke; “as you know, Dirannosaurus was discovered only yesterday in Antarctica when a layer of ice fell off his tomb, and we sent a UNEIS detachment. We should have realized the fallen layer was the result of renewed activity, and as you can see he has since emerged as well.” CLICK. Indian news footage of a group of terrified looking men being interviewed. “Dozens missing on the Ganges river. No visual confirmation yet, but all eye-witness accounts point to a kaiju.” Taiwo took a breath, staying composed, then made ready to leave the stage. “That will be all, the summit will resume in five minutes.”

Archie leaned forward on a railing near the door, taking in the news. Rachel stood behind him, her arms crossed. Well, Archie reasoned, it’s to be expected there would be more. At the very least, the kaiju remained spread out. Southeast Asia had become worryingly busy, but other than that no one region or government of the world was beset by multiple attacks. Maybe this will finally be the kick in the -

Life plays cruel jokes. As soon as the thought went through Archie’s head, Taibo could be seen clutching his ear, someone speaking to him through his earpiece. Taibo faced the summit again, and turned the screen back on. “If I can have your attention again, please, we have breaking news of another emergence – Vancouver, Canada. Newton is reporting a name to us now – Dracochelys.”

Archie’s neck snapped to attention. He was from Vancouver. Helicopter footage showed the city, it’s glassy skyline so familiar to him – the sight of home briefly distracted him from noticing the massive tsunami racing between the skyscrapers. The camera turned up, showing English Bay – a monstrous sea turtle was rising from the bay and pushing the water towards land as she waded forward. It stood upright, using its gigantic flippers as legs. Steam rose from its nostrils, and its shell and head were covered in dragon-like ridges.

Archie gripped the railing intensely, a bead of sweat dripped from his forehead. He looked at Rachel, ferocity and anger in his face. “Ms. Pachecho. I don’t much about you, but my instincts tell me we’re on the same side. Someone needs to take charge of this situation, and it’s not going to be any of them,” he said, gesturing vaguely at the summit. “Will you help me? Will you help me do something?”

[SuperPawnageGigan]

Some Where over the pacific ocean

Dirannosaurs was freed from his icy prison and started to swim his way to Hawaii he roared and dove into the deep black water.

Suddenly one of the researchers survived the attack and called for help that a giant dinosaur is making has killed almost all of the researchers but except him.

He spoke into the receiver and said. Help we have been attack by the dinosaur that was trapped in the ice that we were studding and a orange beam came out of the iceberg and it attacked all of the people except me, send a rescue helicopter to help me Hurry!

[Zarm]

Location: Off the coast of southern Alaska

It was midday, yet it was dark as night. Grey stormclouds roiled overhead, promising that the lashing rains which beat against the windows in a cacophonous thrum would only intensify. The deck pitched precipitously as the choppy waves carried the Triton on a brutal ride toward its harvest point; 140 feet of steel rising and falling and pitching about- thrashed around by the tempest’s whims.

And inside the crew cabin, Paul Lowell stared glumly out at the lashing rains as the camera-crew made final checks on their equipment.

“You sure we gotta do this, cap?” he mumbled into his walkie-talkie. His six-foot-ten frame heaved a sigh of frustration, and he swept an unkempt lock of jet-black hair from his swarthy brow.

“’Less you’re ready to make do without the bonus everyone’s got darn-near accustomed to,” drawled the skipper, from the adjoining bridge-cabin, in his strange, not-quite-southern manner of laconic speech. “An’ that book deal you got…”

Paul grunted.

“I know, I know. This just… used to be easier.”

He kicked absently at a pile of broken tackle, shoving his hands deep into his pockets with a scowl. The makeup man took an involuntary step back; more than a few people throughout the years had told Paul that he looked like a lumberjack- a few even said Paul Bunyan himself, and swore it wasn’t just the name that made them say so- and nearly all agreed that when his mood turned foul, his fearsome countenance was about the most terrifying thing this side of the grim reaper.

Paul waved the guy off; the way it was pouring out on the main deck, nothing was going to stick long, anyhow.

He glanced down at the camera-case lying open by one of the fold-down bunks. The Discovery logo was proudly emblazoned on all the documentary crew’s equipment, but the secondary, smaller logo hadn’t yet been updated with the new season’s changes. It still bore the Deadliest Catch Wars branding that had served them well enough for the past few years.

As if this job wasn’t dangerous enough, without making it a competition to boost ratings, Paul thought.

And now the ratings were flagging again- and they were trying to add another successful reality gimmick into the mix.

Reality television, he thought with disgust- all-too well aware that he made too much of his livelihood off of it to get out of the game.

“All right, we’re ready here,” called the scrawny twenty-something that operated the camera over the roar of the storm, giving a nudge to the Gen-Y hipster to hoist his boom mic into place. “You ready?”

Paul sighed again, nudging at a broken crab-pot with the toe of his boot.

“Yeah,” he grunted, after a long moment’s hesitation, and reached down to begin unbuttoning his flannel shirt.

A deep, guttural rumble tore through the deck, sending everyone staggering a half-step to the right, and the lights overhead flickered. Paul paused, shirt half-open, and pressed himself against the window- barely able to make out, through the flickers of distant lightning, the jagged coastline of Alaska in the deep distance. The view was wavery and indistinct, blurred by the sheet of water pouring down the pane- but Paul could swear, as several seconds’ darkness gave way to another burst of light, that the landscape itself was changing. That one rocky prominence was growing in height, waterfalls running from its rising surface as feathery mist boiled off in the high winds.

The lightning flared again, and this time, the prominence had arms.

Paul’s jaw fell open… then dropped further as a ruby-red lance of light lashed out at the distant rocks. A rocky structure standing in the figure’s path vanished in a ball of yellow-orange fire and flying shards of stone.

Gasps erupted from across the cramped cabin, and one of the PAs dropped his binder. Paul bent down, numbly, to retrieve the paperwork- and saw that it bore the updated logo.

“What is that?” one of the crew asked, gaping as the figure hauled itself up through the gap.

As Paul handed him the papers proudly stamped Naked Deadliest Catch Wars, he dazedly mused, “Probably what our civilization deserves.”




Location: McChord Air Force Base - Lakewood, WA, United States

Pete Bradshaw jogged at a brisk pace across the landing field, the alert sirens compelling urgency which- thanks to the hasty briefing he’d just emerged from- Pete knew was entirely insufficient to the circumstances.

He raised a hand in distracted greeting as his wingman- Wing-woman? I can never get the pronouns straight- Shannon Mitchell jogging onto a parallel course.

“Yo, boss-man,” she called- and as usual, Pete couldn’t tell if she really talked like that, or was just putting him on, “Straight out of re-cert; told me we had to get up in the air five minutes ago, radio-briefing en route. Wanna clue me in before we take ‘em up?”

Pete shrugged as she fell into step beside him.

“What else? Our turn for a crack at a kaiju.”

Shannon grinned.

“They’re gonna give us another shot even after we let the St. Helens Juggernaut get away?”

Pete grimaced, remembering well the sight of the ugly top-knot disappearing beneath the waves of the Pacific just as he got a max-range missile lock- on-station just in time to see it disappear thanks to a slow scramble.

“It’s the same one,” he ground out. “Swam it’s way up to Alaska. We get a second crack at it.”

Rounding a corner of the main hangar, he saw both their birds- F-15s polished to a factory-new sheen by the attentive ground crews- already sitting out, the fueling hoses being withdrawn as the cocoon of technicians finished their checks and began to fall back. Of the twenty jets sitting ready for scramble deployment, it looked as if they were the first two to arrive.

“Thing climbed outta the ocean not far from Juneau, but at the rate it’s going, it’s gonna be over the border by the time we get there.”

Shannon’s brow furrowed as she pulled ahead of him, and he knew she was thinking of history repeating itself. Showing up just in time to see the quarry slip out of range, again.

“So, not our problem?” She asked. “Or are we just being good neighbors to the Canucks?”

Pete hopped up onto the bottom rung of his ladder, losing the impromptu race by less than a second, and held there a moment- seeing his other wing, Nick Hiller, still jogging across the tarmac toward them.

“Jurisdiction’s all confused. Politicians are trying to work it out, but the lines of communication in the last two days are…” he shook his head. “They already have their own squadron north of Idaho, dealing with another kaiju- and rumor has it Vancouver just got his by something else. They might hit St. Helens- Trintuarus is his code name now, by the by- themselves after they ice the first two. We might join them on a joint operation- a little international payback for cities trampled. They might ask us in to take care of him and Vancouver if the grizzly keeps their hands full enough.”

He saw Shannon’s eyebrow quirk and the reference, and shrugged.

“Hard to say. We’ve offered our services. Until we get the call, we stay on our side of the border, and drive the ugly sucker back if he tries to come in.”

Nick hit his own ladder, and then all three of them were climbing at a brisk pace.

“Soooo… we’re going to keep him in Canada if he tries to leave?” Shannon asked with a frown, vaulting into her cockpit and securing his helmet. “Won’t that… tick them off?”

Pete shrugged again, but the gesture was lost as he vaulted into his cockpit.

“Might. Might decide they don’t want our help. Might decide they need it anyway, or don’t care.”

The cockpit canopy slapped home, the seals dogged shut, and Pete’s restraints clicked home. He began to toggle through the preflight switches with a practiced ease.

“Either way,” he finished over the radio, “We’ll be there.”




Location: Yakutat, Alaska

Robert Duff stood on the balcony of his affiliate broadcast station, soaked by the pouring rain, and stared open-mouthed at the horizon. His weather report had been pre-empted two-hundred miles to the south-east, by the main station in Juneau, to report the landfall of the kaiju dubbed ‘Trintaurus’- but unlike so many in the state, Robert wasn’t huddled around the television.

He had a front-row seat.

The clouds overhead were grey and dismal, but the black heart of the storm had already blown south over the water, and to the north, the patchy clouds were breaking up enough to let in shafts of harsh light from a cold, glaring afternoon sun. They fell like natural spotlights on the beast that was tearing through Yakutat airport.

It was as if someone had gone to sculpt a centaur from leftover parts; instead of a horse’s four powerful legs, there were six stubby appendages more like the thick, stubby legs of a cartoon caterpillar. The upper half was a body-builder, rippling pectorals and a six-pack that Schwarzenegger would kill for… but not quite arranged in sync with human muscle groups. And all of it covered in the same dismal, ugly blue-grey skin, like an ashen, frostbitten corpse.

The ugly face astride a roughly-human head was pinched, as if in concentration. In the middle of his forehead, faintly glowing, a red jewel sat surrounded by puckered flesh, as if it had been surgically embedded and the wound had ill-healed. A jet-black streak of greasy hair spilled down his back from the top-knot-like formation on the back of his head.

The broad, powerful forearms ended in surprisingly-human hands, clenched into fists.

But what was eeriest about him was the silence. He did not roar, nor below his defiance, he made no posturing, territorial claims. He simply strode forward in determined silence, as if he couldn’t be bothered to cause the chaos that his brethren across the globe were.

Oh, certainly, when the terminal barring his path was too high to step over and too broad to go around without being an annoyance, the jewel on his forehead flared, and a thin beam of light leapt out to consume the center of the terminal in a fiery, overwrought explosion that would make Michael Bay proud. But then, the creature simply stepped through the flames and continued on his way north, toward Kluane National park and the Yukon Territories. Continuing the straight line of destruction that had claimed mostly forest-land, but would have been fearsome in a major metropolis.

And all done with such casual concentration that Robert could see it only as a side effect of the skyscraper-sized beast getting where he wanted to go.

“Wowsers,” he breathed, staring at the creatures departing back, as heedless of the rain as Trintaurus seemed to be of humanity. Wherever the beast was headed, Robert hoped there remained only trees and ice between it and its destination. Heaven help any people that made the mistake of getting in its way.


Location: U.N. Building, New York City

Archie saw the same anger- along with helplessness and fear- mirrored on Rachel’s face. She stared for a long moment, transfixed at the sight of the rampaging kaiju- at one monitor in particular- before shaking herself and turning to Archie.

“There’s a room down below,” she murmured, low and steady and for his ears only. “A sort of high-tech war-room, five levels below the surface. Multiple redundant generators, secure lines to satellite connections with numerous backups; set to coordinate a major effort across the globe. That’s where a things will happen from- military efforts, relief efforts, emergency response. That’s what I’m here to be a part of. That’s all I’m useful for, here- even if I had any talent for diplomacy, the U.N. has made it resoundingly clear that it neither wants, nor cares about, Israel’s opinion. But down there, the countries don’t matter. Down there, it’s about saving lives. Up here, they’d still set policy- but to decide actions, we need a more focused, less political environment where decisions are made across borders instantly, not after a day’s negotiation. Where representatives authorized to speak for the affected regions can give a go or no-go right away. That’s what they planned, and that’s what they built.”

The monitors flashed, the bright red of another incoming alert- and images of a shaggy man-beast trampling into the icy wastes of Mt. Kaslowhub filled the update monitor.

Archie felt his stomach drop. No civilians in the vicinity of this one- but it felt as if Canada was under siege!

Rachel surveyed the images solemnly- late-reported due to the isolated location. Her eyes flashed with determination, and Archie could see contempt twist her features.

“Right now, it’s sitting down there with the lights off and no one home- waiting for enough nations to commit their resources to it to bring it online. It can coordinate the world’s forces, but it has no forces on its own- not even NATO. It has to get through that…” she swept her arm across the chaotic assembly, “-Circus first. Even five would be enough, as long as one of them’s a nuclear power; five nations with enough resources to actually support it in more than spirit- to give the assembled commanders there something to command. The chairs are assigned- I’m on it, and I’m sure I can get you in- but we’re all just sitting on our hands until everyone can put aside their squabbling enough to get it up and running. I haven’t even been able to sweet-talk my own delegation into supporting it; they’re more focused on Iran’s bid to fast-track its nuclear program in the name of kaiju-defense.”

Troubled, she swept worried eyes over the assembly.

“I’ve heard more than a few people opine that the U.N. doesn’t work, that it never has- that it’s just a bigger table for the nations to sit at while they jockey for power and try to advance agendas and gather allies so they can bully smaller nations into doing things their way. A good idea that’s never worked because no one comes here looking to the good of the world, only to make sure their country gets its piece of the pie.”

She turned to fix Archie with an appraising stare.

“Each can hold their own view on whether that’s true- but if ever there was a day to make sure it isn’t any longer, that’s today.”

She frowned, her eyes drifting back up to the Hawaii monitor. Unconfirmed reports suggested another monster in the region, now; and the thought of two of these titans coming together, scrapping like territorial animals with a major city as the ground being trampled underfoot…

Archie could tell that the thought chilled Rachel’s blood as deeply as it did his.

It also felt uncomfortably familiar- all too similar to the debates breaking out anew across the chamber as Taiwo struggled to restore order.

“We need a unified response before this gets any bigger,” Rachel murmured, eyes still fixed on the reports coming in. “Before everyone’s individual responses starting setting policy and overlapping and stepping on toes. This is a critical juncture; one good international incident will get everybody so riled up that they can’t agree on anything, and from there, we’ll devolve into wiping each-other out.”

She grit her teeth and turned to him with renewed determination.

“These kaiju know no borders; we need a command that can operate the same way. Lines of communication are crucial before some hotshot Chinese pilot drops his bombs on a Russian city after the monster he was chasing hopped the invisible line without his noticing, or Canada and the US start butting heads about nuclear policy on a monster that straddles the 48th parallel, or some kaiju-hunt in international waters goes territorial, misses a shot, and dings the paranoid home-guard arrayed in the opposite direction. This-“ She pointed at the world map and its new red points- “Is dry tinder, and a spark could go off at any time. If we don’t have lines of communication and command in place by then- something stronger than NATO, more instantaneous than having to make a call on twelve hotlines before we can make a call in the field- then we’ll have a new world war, and the kaiju won’t have to wipe us out; we’ll do it ourselves.”

She grasped Archie’s forearm, looking intently into his eyes.

“I have the will; I have the position of authority. And it seems,” she smiled wryly, “That I can even give the odd speech here and there. But I don’t have the inroads. The words. Too blunt, too artless; I can talk to anyone here, but I can’t say anything of value to them. But you… you seem to know the game. I left the assembly in despair- but you, you stormed out in disgust. That tells me you know the way things should be, the way they could be, if anyone would listen. If I get you the audiences, you think you can convince them? Five nations, that’s all we need. Five nations, and then we can start doing something.”

[JAGzilla]

Mike shook his head, cursing under his breath. He'd hit the thing, no doubt about it; he'd watched one of the rounds bounce off its side. But if he'd done any damage, no one would've known from the ease with which the animal had disappeared back into the trees. He had the ammo to lay down a barrage on the area, mulch up a bunch of trees and quite possibly finish his target off... but he hadn't been ordered to do it, and he had to grudgingly admit that it would be stupid to try. Eh, but if the monkey's aggression had been anything to go by, it'd be back for a second round sooner or later.

Glancing frequently back up into the canopy, he took stock of the rest of the group as Blade gave the order to move out. Captain Vasquez had moved up the column to confer with the Uruguayan sergeant, Garcia; the squad quickly came back into view, tightening their formation after spreading out had nearly led to disaster. As the captain fell back to cover the scientists, Garcia glanced back at Mike.

"Sorry, amigo," he muttered. "We'll have your back if that freak tries again. Don't know if you need it, though." He grinned sheepishly. "That was a hell of a shot, even if you shouldn't have had to take it."

Mike waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it," he replied. Garcia nodded, and went back to work, scanning a low ridgeline to the left down his AUG's sights.

Mike meant it, too: he didn't blame the Uruguayans in the slightest. They were doing a solid job that would've been adequate against any human enemy, and that was what they'd been trained to fight. Men, not bloody armored monkeys that dropped down on them from the treetops. It wasn't their fault that they hadn't expected it, just as it wasn't that poor old man's fault that he'd run a stop light in his desperate haste to get his grandkids away from a monster that ha come out of nowhere to threaten their town...

But dammit, now was not the time to think about that. Not yet, not for a while. Gritting his teeth, he drove those thoughts from his mind and fell back on his training, putting one foot in front of the other and keeping all his senses focused on the complex and dangerous environment around them.

Twenty minutes of pushing through unnatural foliage and trying not to twist an ankle on leaf-buried roots passed uneventfully; he figured they'd be due to stop for a rest, soon. Suddenly, one of the Uruguayans came to an abrupt halt, dropping to one knee and training his rifle on something in the distance. The rest of the squad did likewise, forming a perimeter; Mike made ready to follow their lead. Blade and Garcia took a look at whatever it was, seemingly not overly concerned; they held a quick, whispered conference that ended with the mercenary shrugging and turning away to watch the canopy. Garcia spoke into his radio, just audible as Mike began to edge closer.

"Major, we have eyes on more of the local wildlife: three deer, sir, or at least that's what they look like. One's a buck, but its antlers look like they're made of metal, just like that monkey-thing's torso. We have a good angle on them; you want us to try and drop one? Might be a good opportunity to get a sample for the biologists."

[Zarm]

“I don’t even know why we’re discussing this; I’m gonna shoot it,” Blade reiterated, frustration beginning to get the better of him.

“And I say we wait,” Garcia insisted, eyeing what he clearly saw as an opportunity, rather than a threat, before them. “We have a chance to take the initiative here, rather than react. Let’s let the Major take the call.”

Their argument was pitched at a whisper, and they both knew enough about the necessities of command and presenting a strong front to civilians to pitch their body language neutral enough that no hint of the tension should be evident to the untrained eye. But Blade was rapidly nearing the end of his patience.

“And do what?”

“If we’re going to fight these things, we need to know more about them. We may want to take this as a sample.”

Blade grit his teeth.

“You’re sitting on your creaky porch in a trailer park in Kansas, and you see a kangaroo coming up. What do you do?”

Garcia looked confused, brow furrowing at the sudden change in subject.

“I-”

“You shoot it!” Blade hissed. “Because kangaroos aren’t from there! We’re working on a different playbook, Sarge- world’s gone crazy. This ain’t National Geographic- it’s The Thing. A frickin’ deer in the middle of the frickin’ Pacific? We go near those things, they’ll probably turn and charge and their chests’ll split open to reveal some sinewy, indestructible alien monstrosity... and everyone'll die because we assumed they were all cute and cuddly and delicious like deer back home! That’s how things work here- if it looks out of place, it’s probably deadly, ‘cause it ain’t natural!”

Garcia’s furrowed brow had deepened to a scowl.

“We’re calling it in. Wait for further instructions.”

Blade shrugged, ambling off so abruptly that Garcia looked even more bewildered. Outside, Blade was amiable disinterest; inside, he fumed.

Play it safe, you idiot. This is weird and unreal and like nothing we know. Stick your neck out, it’ll get chopped off. You want to bring ‘em home alive? Play it safe. Shoot everything that moves.

“Major, we have eyes on more of the local wildlife,” he heard behind him. Blade turned to glare at the buck grazing in the clearing.

Metal antlers.

They thought they were all so smart. But metal antlers…

Metal antlers on a soft-bone skull? Wouldn’t work. Stress of a darting head’d tear ‘em right off. Skull’s gotta be metal. Metal skull on a soft, bone neck? Nah. Vertebrae- probably the whole skeleton’s- gotta be metal. Only way to take it down is the eyes. They won’t think of that…

“…To try and drop one? Might be a good opportunity to get a sample for the biologists.”

Semaj’s reply was lost over the sound of gunfire as Blade stepped into the clearing, pistol held straight in front of him, emptying a clip into the thing’s head. Bloody holes erupted across its cheek, snout, and forehead, any one of them a kill shot on a normal deer… but sparks flashed from the wounds, and he caught a glint of metal as the buck’s head darted up.

All three of the deer turned and bolted- but Blade was sure he caught hatred in the eyes of the buck as it spun to run away. If it hadn’t been startled, it woulda charged. He made the right call.

Silence reigned for several long, angry minutes as the echoes of gunfire faded into the trees.

Missed the eye, though. That’s embarrassing.

Oh, well. He'd probably just saved all their lives, at least.

Blade ignored the hostile stares, slotting another clip into his pistol. He pointed at the dirt-digger.

“Hey lady- bits of meat, some blood if you can get to it before it dries…” he pointed at the grass that the grazer’s head had been bent over, then turned to look smugly at Garcia. “Gotcha your samples, Sarge.”

No one got hurt, and he’d recovered his image nicely. Not a bad day’s work.

The girl came forward to forage for bits while the rest of the expedition turned and milled around, muttering to themselves. Garcia turned disgustedly back to his radio.

“Sorry, Major- didn’t copy. Say again?”

[RamshackleRanger]

Pahoa, Hawaii

It hadn't taken long for Soldera to figure out that the metal beasts attacking her with such fury for were not, in fact, beasts. They were shells. Shells that housed tiny creatures who she had recognized - albeit in a much more primitive state - when she had first left her magmatic womb eons ago. But these intricate nests were new and foreign to her. Upon first entering she was curious. She prodded her snout around the structures these creatures lived in, grabbed the occasional object of interest. Anyone inside ran, of course. Any creature of that size would in her presence.
Stinging. Along her side. A sensation similar to pain. A turn of her gaze introduced her to the source: Shells like the ones that circled her before. The tiny heads sticking out of the tops of these beasts was what made her realize their true nature.

Encoded deep inside of every living being is an instinct. An instinct that tells them to teach any other that may cross their path why doing such is a bad idea. Soldera didn't need this instinct. She knew, as soon as she realized the potential of the insolent creatures that wore these shells, that teaching them to be weary of things greater than they were was necessary.

So she taught them.

Her distortion spilled over the city like an aerial tsunami that left fire and death in it's wake. the shells became shrapnel, the nest tinder. The worms that didn't evacuate immediately suffered for their choice. Their bodies wriggled and morphed, cooking from the inside out. Some felt the organs inside of them melt from their bodily orifices. Others went quickly as explosions of red.

All of this from a weapon that couldn't be seen.

The sun-kissed dragon stood in the center of her destruction, a silhouette of death. She felt the flames course through her body and give her renewed vigor.

Soldera whipped her head back and unleashed an alien cry into the darkened sky.

[Godzilla165]

Alaska


"And here, folks, we stand face to face with one of the largest glaciers in Alaska!" A tour guide enthusiastically said. She was a short woman, with thick framed glasses covering green eyes, and blue hair wrapped up inside a thick, winter coat. She led a group of 80 tourists on a scenic voyage across the Alaskan waters, sharing the various wonders and beautiful sights that the state possessed. Captaining the large boat was a large, graying man with a thick gray mustache, and equally bushy eyebrows. The people oooed and ahhhed as they took pictures of the truly massive body of solid ice, from a comfortably safe distance away, as the tour guide went on the explain how the glacier had formed, how old it was, etc.

"Now remember everyone, glaciers of this magnitude often calve every few hours or so, so just make sure to keep your heads down for any smaller pieces that may come flying this way." The woman stated. The enthralled group didn't seem to heed her warning too much, as all of them were far too focused on getting plenty of pictures and video of the incredible sight before them. Just then, an ear-splitting, "CRACK", rang out from the titanic structure, causing everyone to slowly look up from their phones and cameras, watching the glacier intently. In a split second, a golf ball sized piece of ice came flying directly at the group, and struck the captain of the boat square in his face. The man made a pained, "OOF!", and his head slammed into the console; he was out cold. Unfortunately, this caused for his right foot to depress the gas pedal, now becoming dead weight, and the boat abruptly sped forward directly towards the towering glacier.

The group of now terrified people were screaming and hollering to the top of their lungs, as the vessel got closer and closer to the body of ice. The tour guide did her best to try and calm everyone down, but to no avail; even she herself was beginning to freak out. As the boat drew closer, the glacier began to break off into larger chunks, and quite literally cave in on itself. Massive waves kicked the boat every which way, from the raining shards of ice that plowed into the ocean. A few daring souls even jumped out of the ship, concluding that it'd had to have been safer in frigid waters, than be crushed to death. As the ship came within several feet of the collapsing iceberg, it appeared as though this was the end for all of the passengers on board. That is until suddenly, an enormous form swept in underneath the glacier, and, using her powerful wings, split it right down the middle. The carnage was dissipated safely away from the boat, while the large beast acted as a shield for any additional debris. All of those aboard looked up to see just who, or what their sudden savior was, and were instantly overwhelmed with awe and enthrallment.

Hanjiru peered down at the tiny crowd of humans gazing up at her, and cooed a warm, gentle tune from her crystalline maw. It sounded almost like that of a grand piano and trumpet elegantly harmonizing together. Of course, with modern day society, the group were quick to whip out their phones and get as many pictures and video as they could. With her work now complete, Hanjiru gave the humans one last, peaceful caw, before shooting back into the sky with a single flap. The tourists cheered and praised the gentle Kaiju as she grew smaller and smaller, thanking her profusely for her rescue. The tour guide still couldn't believe what she had just witnessed, but with some work, she managed to sputter, "We..We need to send this to the UN. They need to know that these...Things, aren't all bad."

The captain of the ship eventually began to stir, groaning in pain and rubbing the now huge, red knot left on his forehead. He looked around at everyone with an understandably confused look, blinking the fuzziness in his vision away.

"Uhhh... What the hell happened?" He asked.

[KaijuCanuck]

LOCATION: Marianas Island



“Sorry Major- didn’t copy. Say again?” came the voice of Sergeant Garcia over the radio.

“I said to wait for me to come see it. Was that gunfire?” replied Major Semaj angrily into the radio on his crossbelt, his shotgun slung over his shoulder.

“Blade, sir. He opened fire on a deer but the thing bolted.” Blade, Semaj thought to himself ruefully. Whose idea was it to assign them the mercenary again? Semaj still wasn’t really sure. “Alright Sergeant. Inform Captain Vasquez to halt the group, we’re catching up to your position now. And keep an eye on Blade, I want a word with him.”

Five minutes later Semaj’s small army of Indian, Egyptian and British soldiers, weighed down by equipment, trudged out of the trees and into a small clearing, where the scientists and Uruguayan troops (plus Blade and Private Robbins, who was quickly becoming a man the team could count on) sat waiting. Semaj caught the eye of Ransikoff, a botanistwho was increasingly making the Major unsettled. “Ewaschuk?” he asked simply. Ransikoff pointed to the side – Ewaschuk was crouched into the bushes, gathering something into a jar.

“Major Semaj, I’d really like to talk more about-” Ransikoff tried to say, but Semaj was already walking over to Ewaschuk.

“Major,” was Ewaschuk’s greeting, not bothering to look up from his work. “I’m just collecting a blood and tissue sample.”

“The deer?” asked Semaj. “I heard about that.”

“This place is beyond us,” Ewaschuk replied, though his voice was as flat and unrevealing as always. “There are tiny deposits of the ambrosia and metal all over. They seem to be fully functioning parts of the ecosystem – we’ve encountered two animal life-forms, both of which featured marianisium on their bodies. The deer, and a monkey. The monkey looked like it had medieval armour… I’m calling it a ‘Paladin’ for now.”

Semaj thought about that for a moment. “That’s… how is that possible? Less than two weeks ago this island did not exist. Where did they come from? Where did this jungle come from?”

“Not quite accurate,” said Ewaschuk. He spied a butterfuly resting on a tree-trunk - nimbly, Ewaschuk caught it in a jar. “The island rose from the ocean. It was always here, just underwater. Although that doesn’t quite answer the question.” He finished gathering his samples and stood up.

Semaj changed the subject. “So where exactly are you taking us?”

“The anomaly.”

“I thought I said we’re not going there. We need to wait until one of the powers can spare more warships.”

“It is the most obvious choice for investigation, Semaj. That's literally what an 'anomaly' is.” Ewaschuk replied dryly. “Perhaps our best chance for answers for the whole mess. Not to mention it rests upon a large enough clearing for camp, and it’s inland position makes it a perfect place to launch other surveys from.

“You want to camp there? Are you mad? We’ll be surrounded by god-knows-what else lives in this jungle, without an easy route back to the ship, or direct method of resupply.”

Ewaschuk regarded Semaj for a second. A flash of sympathy behind the old slav’s eyes? “The helicopters can resupply us. That is why we have them in the first place, yes? I know your training demands caution," Ewaschuk said. "You want to gather as much intelligence as possible before facing your enemy. But Major, the real enemy is not here. It is out there, beyond this island. Gathering intelligence is why we are here, and if we have to take risks… so be it. People are dying all over the world, and the longer we take here, the more will die out there.”

Semaj let out a big sigh. “Fine. We’ll go to the anomaly. But from now on, you consult with me on all decisions like this. I don’t like you acting unilaterally, it confuses my men and more importantly, it’s not safe. Okay?”

Ewaschuk looked at Semaj, his face revealing nothing. “Okay.”

Right… Semaj thought. He stalked off, his frustration and fear as bottled up as ever. He spoke into his radio again, this time relaying their intentions to Captain Amanda Stark, the Australian civilian who commanded their small helicopter carrier, the SS Dragonfly (usually, a chartered ship that gave aerial tours of the south pacific, and the suitable ship that had been in the closest port to the island, in Papua New Guinea). Semaj looked around, one last piece of business to attend to. He found Blade leaning against a tree, sharpening a knife. “Enjoying your hunting trip, Mr. Harrison?” Semaj asked rhetorically. Before Blade could respond, Semaj jabbed his finger inches from Blade’s face. “Listen ‘Blade’, I don’t care how scary your ‘name’ is, or how much you think you know better than us. This is a military operation. Just because you are outside of the formal rank structure doesn’t mean you are not under my command. Pull a stunt like that again, disobey an order, so much as pee in the wrong bush, and I’ll make you wish you were in a Pakistani prison. Am I clear?” Blade stared straight into Semaj’s eyes, his nostrils flaring, before finally giving a curt nod. “Good,” said Semaj. “I’m glad we had this little talk”. Semaj turned around and shouted in his best officer’s voice “ALL RIGHT MEN, WE’RE MOVING OUT!”

As Semaj walked away, Sergeant Garcia, who had witnessed the exchange, laughed a little – he caught Blade’s expression, and immediately clammed up.

As UNEIS left the clearing, a small pair of eyes glared down at them from the treetops. A paladin, the same who had ran afoul of the interlopers earlier, clutched a bullet wound in his un-armoured left arm. He looked up, exchanging interested glances with dozens of his kin. Silently, they had been stalking the interlopers ever since they entered the jungle. The interlopers were strange, but resembled pictures the paladin had seen on walls, back in the deep dark they called home. He wondered how they would taste...

LOCATION: UN Headquarters, New York City



Archie nodded, steeled by rising determination. “Make it happen,” he told Rachel.

LOCATION: Moscow, Russia



Sergei Ewaschuk tip-toed as silently as he could through the capital of his adopted country. Ewaschuk had been born in the Soviet era in the Ukraine, on a small farm. Unlike his older brother, a biologist, and someone who had welcomed the fall of the Soviet Union, Sergei had seen it as a tragedy. Needless to say, they did not speak anymore. Ever since Sergei had worked in Russian intelligence, one of the Federation’s most trusted covert operatives. If anyone could sneak through undetected, it was Sergei.

Sergei clutched his gas mask to his mouth, his eyes finally starting to water from the noxious grey-green gas that surrounded him. He couldn’t last out here forever, but his radio was broken and as far as he knew, no-one was left to take him out anyway. Sergei had come in with the Russian army, his job merely to lay low and gather information while the army battled to take back the city. The battle had been one-sided against the army from the start, pure carnage. Sergei peered past a ruined wall –

It was like a scene from the First World War. The whole city was burning, the sky sinister with the other worldly effect of flames filtered through green gas. The ground was littered with ruined tanks, jeeps, crashed jets and helicopters, gigantic artillery craters – there would be dead soldiers too, but well… the Ghagon liked to finish their plate. Almost everything had been tried, and all of it had failed.

Suddenly, Sergei heard movement, and the sound of huge footsteps… petrified, he clung to the wall and looked up to see a massive blue hand grip the top, slime oozing down and hitting Sergei on the face. He next heard the sound of running and frantic screams. You fools… Sergei thought with a heavy heart. The hand disappeared, and Sergei peered past again to see one of the foul, disgusting gargoyle-like creatures known as Ghagons chase down a man and a woman who had made a break for it. The Ghagon took a few steps, then opened it’s mouth. FTT! Its sharpened tongue shout out like a bullet, skewering both people, before slowly drawing back into the mouth of the drooling, grinning monstrosity.

The Ghagon were everywhere, hundreds of them, swarming the skies and the streets of Moscow in search of prey, tearing off every roof, collapsing every structure, their numbers growing every day. They could be killed while still in their eggs, but like the rest of the kaiju, a hatched Ghagon was so far invincible. Moscow had seen off Napoleon, it had stood against Hitler, but against the Ghagon… well, basically, now there was no Moscow. At least the government had been safely relocated… but as a government agent, Sergei knew what their next move in such an apocalyptic situation would be. Protocol ‘Anvil’. Nuclear strike.

The Ghagon’s diversionary snack seemed to have changed his course, and the demon lumbered down the road, away from Sergei. If he could just find a working vehicle, something that still had the keys, maybe he could make it to the countryside.

There! An army jeep sat in the distance, under a bridge that had collapsed on one side. Sergei looked around… nothing nearby. Deftly, he sneaked out of his hiding spot and moved towards the bridge, ducking behind cover at every opportunity. He could see Ghagon in the distance, continuing their grotesque foraging, but for now he was undetected. He kept moving… his foot snagged on something buried in a loose pile of fine rubble. Sergei stopped, peering down – a man’s face shot out of the rubble, tan with plaster and debris. He stared wide-eyed at Sergei, then opened his mouth and SCREAMED.

“No, shut up…” Sergei said as he desperately tried to clamp his hands around the man’s mouth, but already he could hear the beat of wings, the stomping of feet...

Sergei sprinted as fast as he could for the jeep, just in time to escape a Ghagon that landed with a THUD! by the screaming man. Sergei did not look back as he ran – he only needed to hear the scream be cut off and replaced with tortured gurgling to know that he was now the centre of attention. He dove under the collapsed bridge, but a pair of giant blue feet now lay on the other side. Sergei crawled under the vehicle, hoping to God that the Ghagon wouldn't be smart enough to check. Then he heard it… something coming towards them fast. Not a Ghagon, something moving through the sky at supersonic speeds. A plane… no, Sergei realized. Protocol ‘Anvil’. This was it. He closed his eyes and readied himself for the end. He wished he could have patched things up with Grygoriy…

BOOM! The sky lit up with a bright white light, a shockwave issuing forth and rocking the bridge. Then… nothing? Sergei dared to open his eyes, and poke his head out from under the jeep a little. The sky was clear blue, the gas had all gone. The feet of the Ghagon was no longer there. Was it over, did he survive? Sergei pulled off his gas mask – the air was clean. He crawled out from under the jeep. Bad idea. Five Ghagon, alive as ever, were converging on him from all directions. Sergei pulled out his pistol. It wasn’t much (or anything), but he wouldn’t go out without making as much of a fight as possible.

FWOOOOSH!!! A gigantic stream of blue fire blew down from the skies and sweeped the ground. Instinctively Sergei covered his face, barely seeing what happened. He looked up – the Ghagon were gone, replaced with smoking black skeletons. Sergei heard the sound again of something zooming through the sky and looked up. He’d seen the recon footage – but seeing it in person was something else entirely.

……….

Fennikusu soared over Moscow, cleansing the dead city of its slimy infestation with bright blue flame. Ghagon had been a perpetual nuisance when last Fennikusu had been awake, you never quite could get them all. But, they were good scavengers and so a few survivors was always preferable anyway. Good for the environment, until they got out of control again, spreading their death gas and their insatiable hunger.

The world was not like what Fennikusu remembered. The vast wastes of Siberia were much as they were before, but his homeland of Japan, and what he had seen so far of the west, were full of humans. Millions of them, maybe more. That soft, fleshy race of apes had previously been seen barely clinging to their existence on a planet full of things ready to kill them, but they now seemed to be masters of the planet. How long exactly had Fenikusu been asleep, and why had he felt the need to do so in the first place? Answers he did not have. The air felt different too, something had shifted in the atmosphere.

The cries of burning Ghagon filled the air as Fennikusu continued his sweep, careful not to hit anything that looked like it might contain people still. This area was strange, the humans had come far in their settlements. He had seen something like it before… maybe? Fennikusu strained his memory. Something was missing. Nevermind, he was back in the world, ready to protect it and to keep the natural balance. Fennikusu could sense he was not the only one to wake up. His gigantic compatriots were also stirring after the same long sleep. Old friends, and old enemies as well. He would check on them in due course.

…………….

Fennikusu finished his sweep of the whole city and then flew off, once more bound for lands unknown. Around fifty surviving Ghagon, having found each other through the chaos, watched him go. There was nothing left for them here, but already they could smell the bounty that lay to their west. Millions of humans, all packed into small, condensed areas. In the old days, humans had been a rare, tasty treat, but now they were everywhere, and many of them much plumper than had been common before.

The Ghagon beat their wings and set off for Western Europe. They would find somewhere to hide for a while, rebuild their numbers… and then the feast would begin again.

LOCATION: Banff, Alberta, Canada



“ARRR-------” Major Chang’s cry of anguish from a broken wing was abruptly cut off as Tyrosus’ shredder breath sentenced him and his plane to oblivion. Three minutes. It had been three minutes since the squadron arrived, and already Helen was the only one left. Tyrosus watched her as she flew around frantically, and then lost interest. He turned once more to the picturesque town before him, and advanced on the line of tanks. Behind the tanks, infantry desperately loaded civilians onto helicopters, trucks… anything that could take a person.

“Lieutenant Parker, return to base” crackled the radio order from Control. Helen didn’t hear it, dazed, unable to comprehend what she had just been through.

“Lieutenant, NOW. This is a direct order from central command. We need you and your bird back in one piece.”

Helen spied a smashed CF-18 on the ground. The cockpit wiggled – the pilot was still alive! But just as the glass roof was successfully pushed off – SMASH – Tyrosus’ foot came crashing down, as the beast advanced towards the still-firing ground forces.

“Lieutenant Parker, if you do not return to base you will either die, or be court-martialled for disobeying orders. BRING. IT. HOME.”

Bring it home… Helen’s eyes lingered on one of the mountain faces that directly opposed Banff. Tyrosus had first emerged from the side of a mountain. Helen checked her ammunition stores… only one missile left. Not nearly enough, but… an idea began taking shape in her mind. Suddenly, a new voice came through her comms.

“CF-18, this is Captain Nathan Parker of Lord Strathcona’s Horse. Following losses at initial engagement, I am currently the commanding officer on the ground. I have been advised by command to ask that you turn around-”

“Nate, it’s Helen.” Helen cut in excitedly. Her brother’s voice was like a jolt of life to her shocked body.

“Helen? What the hell? You’re not done-”

“They bumped me ahead.”

“Okay…?”

“Is the artillery still there?”

“What? Yeah, they’ve been firing from way back this whole time. No casualties.”

“Listen Nate, this thing definitely takes notice of us. It doesn’t seem to care that we don’t hurt it, it reacts anyways. I need you all to stop firing so I can get it’s attention on me. I’ll lure it to a mountainside, and you guys can then move forward and surround it. I just need a single moment of it trapped in a ring… and then when you see my missile impact, get the artillery to concentrate fire there, and run like hell.”

“Seriously? Helen please, turn around and-”

“I’m doing it no matter what. Radio the artillery commander – and then you can either help or not.”

With a swift jolt of her joystick, Helen veered straight for Tyrosus. She fired her machine gun cannon at the kaiju’s nose, then flew straight past his eyeline. Immediately Tyrosus turned his head and began to follow. He fell back on his front paws and galloped after the plane, determined to destroy his enemy. Behind him, the tanks cut their fire but plowed forward into open country, moving towards Tyrosus.

They hit the mountain face, and Helen jerked her plane up into the sky. For a moment, Tyrosus watched her soar higher and higher, thinking she was retreating. He turned around to leave, only to find himself hemmed in by a line of tanks. Tyrosus stood back up on his hind legs and opened his mouth, a red light coming up from his throat – DSSSSFFFFTTTT!!!! The tanks were eliminated at last. Tyrosus roared, a mighty, victorious bellow that echoed through the Rocky Mountains – just as, above him, a small explosion went off on the mountain face.

Suddenly, a gigantic hail of artillery shells fell around tha same spot. The artillery was pouring everything they had left into the mountain, shaking dirt and rocks loose until finally a massive avalanche tore its way down through the pine forest. Tyrosus turned around too late – the wave of boulders and debris came crashing down, completely burying the bear. Helen flew over, anxiously eyeing the scene. For a minute or two, everything was still.

Then, a section of the rock pile exploded outwards as Tyrosus burst his head through, before heaving himself out of his rocky prison. Helen gasped. No, no, no… then, a new voice came over the radio. “Lieutenant Parker? This is Captain Morris of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. We’ve completed the evacuation. All civilians are safe, I repeat, there are no civilian casualties.”

“Captain Morris?” Helen replied. “Isn’t Captain Parker commanding on the ground?” Even as she said it, Helen could spot the line of burning forest where the tanks had been. Nate…

No more turtles… no more birds… no more humans. Well, whatever had just happened, Tyrosus was now alone. He’d beaten them all. The fangs retracted, and the gigantic Grizzly fell back on his front paws. He looked at the ground - BSSSFFFFT – his shredder breath tore in, digging a tunnel deeper and deeper. Tyrosus crawled inside, disappearing from view as he burrowed underground.

“He’s leaving!” Captain Morris said excitedly over the radio. “Congratulations Lieutenant!... Lieutenant? Oh, wait Captain ‘Parker’… oh…”

Helen watched Tyrosus leave, not knowing whether to cry or scream. Did they win? Did Tyrosus win? Either way, she had lost.