VS.
VS.
Arena:
Author: shippersdreamer
Word Count: 3,540 words
Posted: April 25th, 2020
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It was no secret that Second Impact had changed the world not only for humanity, but for all life forms on the planet. All of the arctic species, to the best of humanity’s scattered knowledge, had all died out or were in the process of evolving into something that would survive in a world where the Earth’s axis itself had been thrown off balance.
But there were creatures that could brave the oncoming changes, as they have done for millions of years before and would continue to do millions of years later. Although most of humanity’s records on these creatures were now lost to the waters of time, those who were old enough could still remember them.
Kaiju.
On an uncharted island, deep in the pacific, a King opened his eyes. The last of his kind, he had spent years in hibernation after the cacophonous fight with the things that had murdered his son. Now he felt their presence again, mixed with former allies that had long since adapted to this broken world.
Rising with purpose, the lone monster sunk into the waves, making out towards Tokyo-III. No one would survive his wrath this time.
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Sirens screamed out and people ran for the shelters that had been erected as a result of the angels. The winds howled mercilessly, and when a vast shadow swept over one of the streets of Tokyo-III, the screaming was lost to the gales as people and vehicles were flown across the city by the flying beast.
A loud, honking roar pierced the air and with an earth-shattering crash, a four legged creature blasted its way through one of Tokyo-III’s skyscrapers, sending the magnificent building imploding on itself and showering the streets with glass, plaster, and groaning metal. Anguirus tilted his head up and howled into the sky towards his comrade, Rodan swooping overhead and screeching back at him.
At Terminal Dogma, everyone in the Geofront was on maximum alert. Gendo Ikari steepled his fingers, watching the chaos unfold above the city. “Are the Evas ready to be sortied?”
There was a wave of confirmation, and Doctor Fuyutsuki gave the commander of NERV a curious look. “Do you think they’ll be able to handle them?”
Gendo said nothing, staring at the screen to watch his son and Asuka Langely in Eva 01 and 02 shoot off towards the surface. “As long as he doesn’t show up,” he said at last, “We should be fine.”
“Shinji, Asuka,” Misato’s voice crackled through the EVA’s radio. “These aren’t angels, as far as we can gather they’re classified as Kaiju, a type of mega-fauna. The one with wings is called Rodan, and the other, Anguirus.” Asuka snorted derisively and Misato snapped at her. “Don’t get cocky. Just because these two aren’t angels doesn’t mean they won’t put up one hell of a fight. Be on your guard and be careful.”
“Right,” They both confirmed gravely, and the second they were released, they made a beeline for the monsters. Anguirus jerked around in surprise when Eva 01 tackled him to the ground, screeching angrily as the machine grappled hard with his forelegs, pushing him back as he bit and snapped his jaws at the robot’s face, pushing his weight against the robot until with a loud cry, Eva 02 tackled him from the side and sent them both crashing down the street.
Snarling angrily, Anguirus roughly shoved the machine off of him, scrambling back to his feet and whipping himself around as Eva 02 pushed itself to its feet. Asuka laughed haughtily as her Eva effortlessly caught the spiked tail. “Do you think I’m going to fall for something like that, you stupid animal!”
“Asuka, look out!”
Unable to heed Shinji’s warning, Asuka shrieked as Rodan swooped above her, grabbing Eva 02’s shoulders with his talons and dragging her across the street before lifting her up into the air. “Asuka!” Shinji cried, pushing Eva 01 forward, only to cry out in alarm when Anguirus tackled him, bellowing angrily as Eva 02 thrashed around, trying to unlodge itself from Rodan’s grip.
“Let go of me, you stupid bird!” Asuka shrieked, unsheathing her progressive knife and stabbing it into the monster’s leg. Shrieking in pain, Rodan quickly dropped Eva 02 above a skyscraper, and with an explosive shower of glass and debris, the ceiling caved in at the top and sent Eva 02 crashing into the building.
Anguirus and Eva 01 were both wrestling for dominance on the ground, rolling across the street and through a couple of shops until Eva 01 planted its foot into the quadruped monster’s stomach and brutally kicked it off, sending Anguirus crashing on his back with a howl of pain. Unsheathing its own Prog Knife, Eva 01 charged forward as Anguirus rolled back on his front, and snarled, barreling forward to gore the machine with his nasal horn.
A few seconds later and with a slash of the Prog Knife, Anguirus shrieked in agony as his nasal horn was cut clean off, the sharp protrusion clattering to the ground, and blood spilling from an open wound on the ancient creature’s snout.
Seeing his comrade in distress, Rodan swooped and made to dive towards Anguirus until Eva 02 launched itself from the rubble of the top of the skyscraper and clenched tightly onto his back. Screeching in surprise, Rodan flailed around in the sky, rocketing past Anguirus and Eva 01 and sending both of them staggering as the winds burst behind them.
Holding up its Prog Knife, Eva 02 was about to stab into Rodan when the creature did a swift barrel roll, knocking the machine’s grip loose and with a loud swear Asuka forced her mech to land neatly on the ground, only to be tackled by an angry Rodan, the spikes on his chest scraping and gashing the metal on the Eva’s stomach plating.
Gritting his teeth, Shinji pushed Eva 01 forward into a run, watching as the kaiju in front of him did the same and reared up on his hind legs before leaping into the air. Eva 01 ducked down and threw itself up, propelling Anguirus in the air with a loud shriek as he collided with another skyscraper. The mighty structure wobbled for a moment as Anguirus struggled to his feet, until a dark shadow loomed over him. Before he had time to react, an anguished howl pierced the air before it was drowned out as the skyscraper collapsed on top of Anguirus, sending glass and dust scattering across the ground.
In Terminal Dogma, a couple computers beeped an ominous warning. “Uh, sir?” Hyuga adjusted his glasses, staring at the messages the computer was telling him in confusion. “There appears to be a spike of radiation from the sea... I-It’s moving towards the city!”
Gendo’s brow furrowed. “So he is alive…”
Crying out in rage, Rodan flapped his wings furiously, whipping up a furious storm of winds that slowly pushed the Evas back. “Shinji!” Misato called out, watching as various objects and vehicles flew past Eva 01 in a massive cloud of debris and dust. “Plant yourself into the ground! Asuka, leap off Eva 01’s shoulders and propel yourself towards Rodan above the windstream!”
“Right!”
Stabbing the Prog Knife into the ground, Eva 01 dug its feet into the concrete of Tokyo-III’s streets and wobbled amongst the perilous winds Rodan was making. From the corner of his eye, he watched Eva 02 scale one of the buildings before leaping outwards towards him, touching down on Eva 01’s shoulders and launching itself high above the windstream. Rodan jerked in surprise before he cried out in alarm and pain as Eva 02 tackled him to the ground, throwing up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
Righting itself, the ground underneath Eva 01 caved in and soon the robot was tumbling down into a sinkhole, Anguirus bursting from the dirt beneath and clamping his jaws around the machine’s arm, sinking his teeth in and shaking wildly like a rabid dog. Shinji cried out in pain and beat the determined monster in the face with his Eva’s other fist, digging the foot into Anguirus’s stomach before finally throwing him off, Anguirus scurrying away and digging himself back in the dirt.
Eva 01 stayed quiet, circling slowly and trying to find any trace of Anguirus, the ground rumbling around it before from behind the monster burst out with a bellowing howl, Shinji quickly spinning the robot around and grabbing Anguirus within Eva 01’s grip and slamming him down to the ground, before hauling itself out of the sinkhole Anguirus had made.
“Sir, the radiation spike is growing larger and moving faster towards the city! It… it appears to be another monster!”
Fuyutsuki’s eyes narrowed in concern. “So he really did survive… is that why you held Rei back? In case he showed up? You know they can’t beat him.”
Gendo’s face remained impassive as he watched the screens. “No, but they can push him back.”
The water swelled ominously, and all four combatants stopped what they were doing and watched as a giant wall of water engulfed the docks of Tokyo-III and flooded the streets. Greyish-white dorsal plates glinted in the afternoon sun as water dripped from his charcoal black hide. Marching ashore, his eyes burned with hatred and fire and when he opened his mouth, a high-pitched shriek of utter murderous intent echoed across the empty city.
Godzilla had finally come, and no one would be safe.
Anguirus and Rodan looked hesitant as Godzilla strode inland, never taking his eyes off of the Evas. Anguirus took a step forward, and called out.
“What are they doing?” Asuka asked, as Godzilla finally looked towards his former friend and gave a long, bassy roar of anger.
“I think they’re communicating,” Ritsuko informed them over the radio, all eyes transfixed as Anguirus howled angrily, pawing his feet against the ground. Godzilla gave out another low, bass roar and his spines lit blue and a wave of atomic energy poured out of his mouth, the street in front of Anguirus exploding in a shower of sparks. Godzilla’s eyes remained narrowed.
Anguirus howled in unrivaled fury and made a beeline for Godzilla. The King of the Monsters shrieked and met his former ally’s charge, the two crashing against one another and resuming the eon’s old rivalry the two species had in an instant. Anguirus wrestled with Godzilla, the two monsters grappling for dominance before Godzilla hauled Anguirus off of his feet and slammed the monster back down with a shriek of anger. Snarling furiously, Anguirus quickly reared up and bit Godzilla on the neck, the monster king’s dorsal plates flashing as an Atomic Breath washed down Anguirus’s shell, forcing the monster to back off with a wail of pain as smoke curled off of his burnt shell.
Seeing his friend in trouble, Rodan bellowed his own challenge to the King of the Monsters and soared up in the air, charging Godzilla as he roared back his own challenge. Firing his atomic breath wildly in the sky, Rodan hovered over the ground and screeched, pecking at Godzilla’s face angrily, the other monster flailing his limbs and trying to bat Rodan away.
“Shinji, Asuka,” Ritsuko’s voice broke the stunned silence the pilots were in at this gruesome display, watching as Godzilla spin around and slammed his tail into Rodan’s chest, bowling the flying monster over on his back and kicking out at Anguirus’s face, blood splattering across the pavement. “I want you to hold back and let them fight it out. When…” Her voice quivered a little despite herself. “When it’s over, give Godzilla everything you’ve got.”
Backing off slowly, Godzilla gave a shriek of pure fury and straining his muscles, hefted Anguirus up and threw him directly at the Evas, forcing them to dodge to the side as the monster cried out in pain. Quickly rising to its feet, Eva 01 recoiled when Godzilla barreled forward, dorsal plates flashing as an Atomic Breath ripped from Godzilla’s mouth, only to slam into an AT Field at full force.
Shinji grit his teeth as his arms burned in pain, Godzilla firing another breath at the AT Field. He could see cracks beginning to form along the edges before with a sharp cry of pain, the AT Field shattered completely and Godzilla stampeded closer, decking Eva 01 square in the jaw and clubbing the machine’s stomach with his other fist.
Pain flooded Shinji’s mind and his vision swam as Eva 01 reared back and clapped one hand against Godzilla’s claws, before the other did the same. The two were locked in a test of strength, Godzilla easily pushing the machine back before Eva 01 kneed Godzilla in the stomach, winding the monster before a swift uppercut sent Godzilla sprawling back on the ground with an almighty crash. From his position on the ground, Godzilla swept his tail out and bowled Eva 01 over, quickly standing up and firing his Atomic Breath at the downed machine. Shinji shrieked in agony as the force of the monster king’s atomic fury sent Eva 01 skidding down the road, chest smoking from the attack.
Whirling around, Godzilla smacked the charging Eva 02 full in the face with his tail, moving forward and grabbing the machine’s arm before wheeling around and actually judo throwing the machine up over his head and slammed it back down on the ground. Dorsal plates flashing blue, Godzilla reared back to fire another Atomic Breath before a great gust of hurricane-like winds whooshed through the air and topped Godzilla over, the King of the Monsters shrieked in surprise and anger as his breath attack flew off into the sky, cleaving into a skyscraper and blowing a massive chunk out of the structure. Debris rained down on the battlefield as the ground shook slightly from the upper portion collapsing onto the ground.
Rodan flew back in and hovered over Godzilla, keeping the King of the Monsters down by pelting him with a nonstop barrage of wind. His cries of anger drowned by the furious windstorm being generated, Godzilla fired off an atomic breath erratically, forcing Rodan to swerve to the side to let Godzilla climb back on his feet, only to screech in pain when Anguirus tackled him from behind and sent both of them sprawling back to the ground.
Tokyo-III had caught on fire at this point from all of Godzilla’s constant attacks. The flames burned around the two brawling monsters and filled the sky with black, acridic smoke. With a herculean effort Godzilla threw Anguirus off of him and stood back to his feet. Anguirus howled back angrily and the two ancient rivals once again charged towards each other in the middle of the inferno, ready to fight to the death as Godzilla once did so many years ago.
Until Eva 01 charged through the flames, Prog Knife in hand and stabbed Godzilla directly in the side. Godzilla shrieked in agony as Shinji cried out, carving up Godzilla’s side before being shoved off. Godzilla clutched his side, blood seeping out of the wound that was already closing. The rich tang of blood mixed with the smoke and Anguirus leaped forward, shredding his teeth into the King of the Monster’s throat and throwing them both straight through a wall of flames and out the other side screaming bloody murder at one another.
Wrestling savagely against Anguirus, Godzilla tilted his head back and screamed out in abject fury until Eva 01 leapt onto his back and wrenched his arms backwards, exposing his chest as he thrashed to fight the machine off of him. Anguirus trudged backwards and turned around, flinging himself back first against Godzilla. His shell crashed into Godzilla’s chest and all three combatants were sent careening into the flames again, burning chunks of building falling around them.
Asuka felt paralyzed with fear. She had watched as Godzilla almost killed her, the hatred in his eyes palpable, wanting nothing more than to wipe her and her Eva off of the face of the planet, and who saved her? No Shinji, but Rodan. The bird didn’t even do it because it liked her, it was merely an accident.
Her life was saved thanks to an accident.
And now Shinji was fighting for his life against not one, but two monsters in the middle of an inferno. She watched as Eva 01’s arm was mangled by Anguirus’s jaws and Godzilla slammed into them both. She watched his Prog Knife glint in the light of the fire and slash out wildly, both monsters crying out in pain.
He wouldn’t survive unless she intervened.
“No…” She whispered. Eva 02 began to rise. “No…” She said louder. Eva 02 moved forward.
“NO!” She shrieked, and Eva 02 rocketed forward, thundering towards the war at the heart of the city and with a loud cry her own Prog Knife flashed before she sunk it into Godzilla’s neck. Godzilla reared back in alarm as Eva 02 ripped the knife out and stabbed it again against Godzilla’s shoulder, who cried out in pain and rammed his elbow against Eva 02, forcing the machine back.
Godzilla turned his full attention towards Eva 02. Asuka saw his eyes burn with unholy and determined hatred, and she knew nothing short of his own death would stop him from killing her. She would give him hell for trying.
The two moved forward as one and Eva 02 ducked a wild swing by the King of the Monsters, decking him across the face with a well aimed punch of her own before swinging her foot around and slamming him in the side of the head with a vicious roundhouse. Godzilla staggered and Rodan flew overhead, raking his spiked chest across both their heads and finally forcing Godzilla down with a pained howl.
“Hey! Back off you stupid bird! This is MY fight!” Asuka roared, flipping out her Prog Knife as Rodan swooped around for another run at them, only to get blasted square in the chest by Godzilla’s atomic breath, sending the flying monster crashing down on top of Eva 01 and Anguirus with a loud screech of pain.
Down in Terminal Dogma, the situation went from bad to worse.
“There’s reports of something coming rapidly from space! There’s...there’s a blue reading!” Misato gaped at Hyuga, and looked back up at the chaos in Tokyo-III. An angel coming now? Her mind reeled with possibilities until Ritsuko’s voice broke her from her thoughts.
“No! It’s not an angel!” She leered down at the readings, her face pale and white. “Whatever’s coming down has an angel on it. It… it’s coming down on Tokyo-III! It appears to be a meteor of some sort…” Her eyes widened with shock. “We need to brace for impact! It’s coming down right on top of the city, on top of us!”
The clouds swirled ominously in the sky as the atmosphere burned the intruding object. Although none of the five in the burning city would recognize the glittering object through the fighting as the meteor rocketed down towards the earth, the Angel it had taken along charred and sizzled as it breached through the atmosphere.
Godzilla was the first to sense it, looking up in alarm and stopping cold. Rodan and Anguirus paused, then too stared up at the sky. The Evas followed their gaze, and everyone was stunned into silence. A gigantic meteor was careening down towards Tokyo-III, faster than anyone could escape.
Asuka and Shinji heard Misato screaming into the radios but it was lost amongst all of the noise and chaos as the meteor carrying the Angel had completely eviscerated the strange alien creature and with a deafening noise, crashed onto the city. It created a massive sinkhole as it tunneled its way down through each protective layer separating Tokyo-III and the Geofront until it broke through the final layer connecting the surface world and the Geofront, smashing into the ground as dirt, broken buildings, and concrete began falling down into the sinkhole, burying both Evas, Rodan, Anguirus, and Godzilla under a mountain of man-made rubble. They all fell down and down towards the Geofront, where with an almighty and thunderous crash, they finally landed in a massive heap on the ground before being quickly buried by more debris.
The computers were screaming bloody murder. “Sir, the Angel is dead, but something is coming from the meteor! There’s an insanely strong magnetic force being generated.”
Gendo’s eyes narrowed at the chaotic scene before him. “Sortie Eva 00. Whatever it is, we can’t let it get anywhere near us, or get back to the surface.”
The meteor had cracked open, and with a great gout of flames, a golden dragon cackled madly. Its three heads bellowed evilly into the sky as the Geofront made the scales across its entire body glitter magnificently. All three heads zeroed in on the NERV base, the only source of human life in this vast, underground caverns, and tore off for it.
Rei’s face was calm as Eva 00 walked out, sniper rifle in hand as King Ghidorah charged towards her. She would be the last line of defense for everyone.
Or she would die trying.
Spoiler:
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