Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Ashram52
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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I’d be interested in seeing what you have in mind. Which country were you planning on covering?
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Canada and Albania.


For those who like the silly Showa era (Which is of course most of us) I suggest a look at "The Templin institutes" youtube video "Megalon Showa Era." Its a serious look at a very unserious topic that I used for my research. Its hysterical to hear someone discuss Megalon with lethal sincerity. Also, well, Seatopia.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Yep, they took it very serious. :huge:
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Hey enjoying the new chapters. You keep adding mysteries. Lasers coming out of the water, but Godzilla's on ice. And yet the shooter decided not to shoot at Mothra. Very curious. As soon as the ships started convoying my first thought was "this will not end well. Your dealing with Kaiju, not pirates or UBOATs." And it went pretty much the way I figured. So a nice mix of "Huh>?" And "Yeah that would happen." You keep us guessing; and yet the world follows enough logical consistency to still be predictable enough to understand.


Had a thought though. In his initial appearance and to start the story off Anguiros seemed to be attacking the US in response to them trailing oil and death through his home. It seemed a self-defense response to a perceived attack. And one could argue he fought Godzilla possibly in response to historical or personal animosity; or simply Kaiju's struggling for dominance. But now he seems to be destroying things to destroy things. Remember claws and teeth are for predators (bears, lions, wolves) armor and spikes are for herbivores (Stegosaurus, turtles, moose, deer). Anguiros shares many similarities to Ankylosaurs and Stegosaurs, it seems likely he would follow their habits and eat plants not people. Of course the argument could be made that anything Kaiju sized would HAVE to be an omnivore, just to survive. But then again a counter argument could be made that since their sheer size and near invulnerability are physically impossible it seems Kaiju in some way bend or break the natural order of things. Example Godzilla clearly eats radiation; Hedorah eats pollution, etc. Of course it could be inferred that the leaking ship did not "challenge" Anguiros, it simply either intrigued and/or woke him or was simply an obvious trail to follow. So in summary I guess I'm confused whether Anguiros in this universe is more akin to his classic portrayal as largely inoffensive unless challenged or provoked or if something is controlling\manipulating him somehow in order to make him act so aggressive. Another mystery.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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mpsoldier wrote: Thu Nov 17, 2022 9:06 pm Hey enjoying the new chapters. You keep adding mysteries. Lasers coming out of the water, but Godzilla's on ice. And yet the shooter decided not to shoot at Mothra. Very curious. As soon as the ships started convoying my first thought was "this will not end well. Your dealing with Kaiju, not pirates or UBOATs." And it went pretty much the way I figured. So a nice mix of "Huh>?" And "Yeah that would happen." You keep us guessing; and yet the world follows enough logical consistency to still be predictable enough to understand.


Had a thought though. In his initial appearance and to start the story off Anguiros seemed to be attacking the US in response to them trailing oil and death through his home. It seemed a self-defense response to a perceived attack. And one could argue he fought Godzilla possibly in response to historical or personal animosity; or simply Kaiju's struggling for dominance. But now he seems to be destroying things to destroy things. Remember claws and teeth are for predators (bears, lions, wolves) armor and spikes are for herbivores (Stegosaurus, turtles, moose, deer). Anguiros shares many similarities to Ankylosaurs and Stegosaurs, it seems likely he would follow their habits and eat plants not people. Of course the argument could be made that anything Kaiju sized would HAVE to be an omnivore, just to survive. But then again a counter argument could be made that since their sheer size and near invulnerability are physically impossible it seems Kaiju in some way bend or break the natural order of things. Example Godzilla clearly eats radiation; Hedorah eats pollution, etc. Of course it could be inferred that the leaking ship did not "challenge" Anguiros, it simply either intrigued and/or woke him or was simply an obvious trail to follow. So in summary I guess I'm confused whether Anguiros in this universe is more akin to his classic portrayal as largely inoffensive unless challenged or provoked or if something is controlling\manipulating him somehow in order to make him act so aggressive. Another mystery.
Anguirus’ motivation at the very start of the story really just boils down to one thing: The military depth-charged him and he got pissed off about it. The trail of oil is what allowed him to follow them all of the way back to Pearl Harbor. Given the distance, I figured there needed to be an explanation as to how he didn’t lose them over so many miles. I just thought that would be a clever way for him to track them down.

The personality I’m aiming for with Anguirus is somewhere between his initial character from ‘Godzilla Raids Again’ (where he is described as a death machine who will literally kill anything that comes in his path) and the other (much more popular) Showa era version of Anguirus who is way more chill.

I think most people have come to know and love that interpretation of the character, but I’m not looking to write him that way. There’s kind of an ongoing meme that Anguirus is basically just the family dog and a pushover. I totally get those jokes and even get a good chuckle out of them myself, however, I want Anguirus to get a little more respect this time around and not just be the whipping boy for every other Godzilla character.

I’m writing him as the type of Kaiju that won’t back down from any fight (which is pretty true to his original character) but make him so he’s tough enough to actually back up his tenacious / never give up, never surrender, attitude. (You get into a fight with Anguirus in this story and you’re going to know you were in a fight). We’ll see examples of that later in the story.

(In case there is any lingering doubt for anyone: What Mothra was selling Anguirus at the end of the last chapter wasn’t a fight).

Anyhow, to address your point about Anguirus potentially being a herbivore. The first thing that occurs to me is that our armored friend does have pretty sharp teeth. In particular, his incisors are very over-developed and formidable if he is indeed a plant eater. Now I’m not saying Anguirus eats people, (In fact, I’ll go on record right now saying that this story’s version of Anguirus does not) but strictly speaking, (armor aside) there’s nothing in his history to suggest that he’s a vegetarian. I’d guess that ‘Omnivore’ is indeed probably the most likely dietary choice for Anguirus.

Also, Anguirus does have claws. They’re not super sharp, but they’re clearly not nubby like an Ankylosaurs or any other common Quadrupedal herbivore dinosaur. Maybe Anguirus has a little bit of Dimetrodon in him though? The teeth and the claws are somewhat similar.

Anyways, going back to ‘Godzilla Raids Again’, I believe at least in the one of the versions of the movie (if not both) they suggest that Godzilla and Anguirus are somehow related. Something along the lines of being from the same branch of family tree in terms of dinosaur species. Interestingly, I don’t think we’ve ever seen Godzilla eat anyone either. It’s unclear if the ‘base’ version of his species leans on the side of veggie-saurs or meat-a-saurs. Radiation exposure could have radically changed him either way. As you correctly pointed out, the only thing Godzilla subsists on now is radioactive materials.

I think when it comes to Kaiju, they’re a little more complicated than black and white.

Anyhow, to circle back around to my overall point, Anguirus in this story is not as aggressive as O.G. Anguirus, but he ‘is’ more aggressive than 70s Showa Anguirus. Hopefully I can find a happy medium between the extremes serial killer and family doggo. :Anguirus:
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Really enjoyed the Anguiros battle. The modelling was incredible. The sea, the cliff, the defensive positions, it really set the scene. I love the Anguiros model. The tail makes him look almost demonic; whereas usually he sort of looks like a cross between a cool dinosaur and a cute plushie. It fits his more powerful take in this story. I'm curious though, will we be seeing his sonic roar? It seemed a perfect time for it. We've seen radiation breath and lightning powers and mind control already so theres a precedent for it. Then again Rodan hasn't used his lava powers in this story either; and there's nothing wrong with Kaijus being unstoppable tanks. Its pretty much what they are there for.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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I just discovered this story and am completely infatuated with it, read the whole thing from start to finish. My favorite parts so far have been Baragon’s attack on the Zao-Ming conference, the Rodans’ fight with Godzilla, and the Matango island.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Also while I don't encourage profanity when I tried to type "Godzilla Tactical assault" into my phone hurriedly (with some spelling errors) it was auto corrected to "Godzilla Tacky a** salt." Just had to share.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Yeah, now that I have some mountains and forests made, I can really expand the types of battlefields I present. They were very time consuming to make, but they really improve the quality of the scenes.

That Anguirus is a ‘high grade Iwakura figure’. They’re great quality for their size and they scale up very nicely with Gashapon figures (which represent a lot of my other character models). You’ll be seeing more Iwakura figures pop up before I’m done. Off the top of my head, the Gezora and Manda figures I’m using are also Iwakuras. I wish they made more Godzilla characters. They are fantastic.

I would consider giving Anguirus a ranged attack like the sonic roar. He is after all sorely missing a ranged option. I’ve ‘mostly’, tried to limit changing the film’s presentation of Kaiju powers (unless the said character had a very limited arsenal and needed a little bump). Manda is the biggest offender to me so far. He’s got his strangle hold with his body and probably a mean bite. But what else can he do? :lol:

Anguirus ‘somewhat’ falls into this category, but to a much lesser degree. He does already have a pretty good gimmick of heavy armor and quick healing. I’d say giving him an extra power is at least on the table. The video games set a prescient for him having a sonic roar, so I’d feel a little less like I was going rogue with it. I’m a traditionalist at my core, but a little innovation isn’t bad. :huge:

The Rodans won’t be getting lava powers though. It’s a step too far out of the realm of what is reasonable to me. Kind of in the same vein I don’t have Anguirus doing his ‘bouncy roller-ball’ attack. Stuff like that is a little too ‘out there’ and silly for me. I can believe in my head cannon that Anguirus can be heavily armored and a bad ass brawler, but I can’t believe in him bouncing around like a ping pong ball. I think the Rodans having the lava powers in the Legendary movies is fine, but lava is what killed the original pair of Showa Rodans, so it’s not in line with what they are reasonably capable of. I mostly prefer the Showa and Heisei era of Godzilla movies, so for the most part, characters I write will align with those interpretations of the characters. Not ‘strictly’ speaking of course, (there’s some wiggle room), but as a general rule.

As far as mind control, are you referring to Kiki or Mothra?

If you’re talking about Kiki. Yeah, she’s certainly capable of that. If you mean Mothra, that’s not exactly what she does. The things (visions etc…) that characters are experiencing with her is more like Mothra ‘influencing’ them. She’s able to touch their minds, and in that way communicate with people, but she doesn’t actually impose her will on anyone.

I forgot his name, but that French scientist who went off the rails did all of that stuff of his own accord. The appeal and allure of Mothra’s aura had him ‘charmed’ in an almost zealous religious sort of way, but his actions were still his own. I’m planning to come back to that and introduce something familiar and yet unique to this story in the near future.

On that note, I’m going to say at this point that I’m taking the remainder of the year off the rest, prepare for my family holidays, and begin to put some story notes back together. (Yes, that does mean I’ve decided to carry on the story a little further at this point). I’m going to try to have a new chapter out in January-ish. There was going to be a time jump in the storyline anyways, so a long break will kinda feel natural.
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Gojira 41mk11 wrote: Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:13 am I just discovered this story and am completely infatuated with it, read the whole thing from start to finish. My favorite parts so far have been Baragon’s attack on the Zao-Ming conference, the Rodans’ fight with Godzilla, and the Matango island.
Welcome to the party Gojira 41mk11. I appreciate you throwing me a little shout out. Always good to hear I’m doing a good job. Suffice to say, I had a whole bag of tricks for future content before my thumb drive tapped out on me, but as MP pointed out, sometimes a distaster is an opportunity. The good ideas I had will hopefully come back to me and this presents me with the challenge of coming up with some completely fresh ideas.

MP, I do Christmas jokes every year and if ‘Godzilla tacky a*% salt’ was a product I could buy, someone would be getting it. :lol:
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Wow thats impressive Gojira. This story has grown massive. It's like Romance of the three Kingdoms. But With Kaiju! Godzilla as Liu Bei. Malak as Cao Cao. Enjoy your break Ashram. Maybe I can fill the void of your abscense with another short story. And I think we all have a friend or loved one deserving of some Godzilla Tacky a** salt.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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mpsoldier wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 2:13 pm Wow thats impressive Gojira. This story has grown massive.
At first I was a bit deterred by the length, but I got so invested I didn't really care. Consuming large media in very short amounts of time isn't all that foreign me anyway.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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I’ll keep an eye out MP.
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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Just a heads up everyone,

I’m finished with the writing portions of the next chapter, but I still need to do all of the miniature work. If you would like to read the story right away, it’s up on fanfiction.net. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to be at least another week before I’ll finish up with the miniature work and get it posted here. There’s a number of things I have to craft and paint before I can really dive into it.
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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We can wait. Your modeling is superb. I appreciate it even more since after tracking down a Godzilla 1985 figure for my brother I've come to realize how huge the Godzilla collection is (and expensive!) Your modeling is art.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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mpsoldier wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 5:05 pm We can wait. Your modeling is superb. I appreciate it even more since after tracking down a Godzilla 1985 figure for my brother I've come to realize how huge the Godzilla collection is (and expensive!) Your modeling is art.
Thanks MP, I appreciate that.

Yeah, Godzilla collecting is expensive. I had quite the journey collecting figures of the various characters that all scaled relatively well together (and vehicles). It really can put a dent in your wallet. I think I got just about all of the Godzilla characters though. There’s still one thing on my wish list, but it’s a non-cannon character, so there aren’t really official or even unofficial figures made for it. I tried to make one on my own with modest success and then I tried to get a 3D artist to make one, with questionable results. Maybe someday I’ll get lucky and some one will make one that looks good.

Suffice to say, there are still plenty of surprises to come. I won’t run out of Godzilla/Kaiju characters for a long time.

Anyhow, I finished fabricating two set pieces necessary for the next chapter today. Also did a fair amount of painting. Took forever though, painting miniature vehicles is a pain in the butt. The Good news is I’m all of that done with that for now. So tomorrow I can start setting up and taking pictures.

There will be a lot of pictures in the next chapter. In fact, I would say as far as introducing new miniatures go, this is going to be one of the biggest chapters since the first one. There will be ‘two’ new monsters, various new military pieces, the fore-mentioned set pieces, and even some new civilian vehicles.

If all goes well, I should be able to post by the end of the day tomorrow. Worst case scenario, I get it posted next weekend.
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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No rush. Art takes time to do it right. Believe it or not most countries militaries have an "approved camouflage pattern" that you can look up easily to guide you with painting vehicles. Yes I know it somewhat defeats the very purpose of camouflage to have a recognizable pattern but it is a very common practice. I spent several years bedecked in the good old "running rabbit" camo. Although when they are camouflaged later it's generally a more random, individualized job. I personally find the old Zebra camo on ships both beautiful and distracting.

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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

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...

Chapter 32: Godzilla vs. King Kong

In the aftermath of the confrontation with Anguirus, a long stretch of peace was looming. Things were simply starting to quiet down. However, before the relative tranquility could ensue, the Maser weapon platforms would have one more grand opportunity to prove their offensive capabilities. A new kaiju appeared in Samoa. The monster was lesser in size and strength than any of its predecessors, but it was still a threat beyond the ability of a conventional military force to counter. Their firepower was simply inadequate to deal with the menace on their own.

Image

The monster was insectoid by nature and dubbed Inagos. Its armored shell was not nearly as heavy or durable as kaiju like Rodan, Anguirus, or Varan. In the end, the Masers were flown to Samoa and the monster was driven off by their firepower. A single shot from a Maser managed to blow off one of Inagos’ limbs and sent the monster scurrying away into the sea. With that, it had been proven that Kaiju could no longer ignore the firepower of standard militaries, as long as they included Masers.

Image

Following the battle, most countries were clamoring for Masers units of their own. Masers however were extremely expensive pieces of machinery, even by military standards. Thus, mass producing them like tanks or jets was off the table. They could only be produced by the handful, and only very affluent nations could afford to purchase them. Japan applied for, and was granted, a production license to manufacture their own Masers. Given the alarming frequency that their country had been attacked compared to others, it was only logical. The defensive pact between Japan and the United States was only growing stronger over time.

For other, less prosperous countries in the United Nations, the Archimedes organization pledged to defend them with their own machines. The only exceptions were China and Russia, who were still considered hostile nations by the western powers that contributed the lion’s share of the Archimedes organization’s funding. It’d been all but confirmed that the Russians had stolen the blueprints for the Maser weapon designs in any case. All of the perpetrators had been killed during the operation; thus, it was hard to get them to testify as witnesses, but most people had made up their minds and the resulting resentment prevented any olive branches from being extended in their direction.

Over time, further modifications were made to the Masers. The defect that had caused all the units to breakdown during battle had been resolved. They could fire as much as they needed to now. Armor trials were also conducted to address the vulnerability concerns. Unfortunately, adding a significant amount of armor made the machines exceedingly heavy and slow, which hampered their tactical maneuverability, even on paved roads. Unless the machines were positioned well ahead of their target waiting for them, they’d never be able to catch them. The issue was even worse off road. The engines were taxed enough with the existing chassis before the addition of armor. Driving the Masers on grass was pushing their limit, but rocks, mud, or sand proved nearly impossible to overcome. Consequently, it was decided that the armourless variant was a necessary evil for the time being.

The peculiar metal fragment that had been taken from the mysterious attack on the Red Bamboo base was thoroughly analyzed in the lab and came back as unidentifiable. Apparently, it was some new type of alloy. No one knew what to make of that. Research was ongoing.

Finally, after a long period of decline in Kaiju activity, the Archimedes fleet returned home for some much-earned leave. Marcus got to see Shauna and his children for the first time in months. The reunion was joyous, tearful, and well earned. A full year of relative peace followed. No new Kaiju emerged, and the only active monsters were the Rodans in their own neck of the woods. They were still a menace to the Russians, but nobody else much cared. Under the continued leadership of Admiral Malek, the Archimedes organization was happy to avoid getting involved and just let the Russians continue to deal with that problem on their own.

Nothing good lasts forever though. After eleven months, the first signs of trouble on the horizon began to crop up. It started with a second outbreak of Meganulon, this time in Korea. The local Korean military was able to contain and eliminate the Meganulon on their own without much difficulty. Still, the second outbreak raised concerns that there could be other pockets of eggs just waiting to surface elsewhere on the globe. Both occurrences came with a high cost in civilian lives before they were stamped out. Only heavy military-grade weapons had much of an impact on the giant insects.

A month after the second Meganulon incident, there was an unconfirmed sighting of Varan in North Sea off of Norway. Dr. Steiner was very agitated when he heard the news. Marcus had read up on the Essenheim attack during his time off and well-understood Reinhart’s anger. The German scientist was probably praying for the monster to make landfall just so he could test the strength of his Masers against him. Varan did not end up reappearing, but the sighting was enough for everyone in the Archimedes organization to be recalled to active duty. They were gathered for Varan, but ultimately, it would be a different foe they would face off against on the battlefield…



In San Deigo, the Archimedes fleet was preparing to set sail. A portion of the armada had already been dispatched to Chile to help with the ongoing earthquake relief efforts there. Since Kaiju activity had been so quiet, the Archimedes organization was being utilized in other ways to stay useful during that time period. A series of earthquakes had decimated the South American country and could use all of the help they could get.

The Archimedes fleet had transformed during its down time. Admiral Malek had lobbied hard to modernize his forces and ultimately, he was successful. The USS Essex was retired, and a new flagship had taken its place. USS Independence, CN-62, was a modern supercarrier that was designated to take over as the operational center of the fleet. She could carry ninety modern jet aircraft, including the latest top of the line F-4 phantoms. The supporting vessels were also upgraded to include many missile cruisers.

In the fleet yard, the Essex and the Independence were floating next to one another. Marcus saw them both when he arrived. To him, it looked like a symbolic passing of the torch. The difference between the two vessels was immediately apparent. It was like looking at a big and little brother. The Essex’s displacement was a respectable twenty-seven thousand tons, while the Independence’s was a remarkable sixty thousand. The modern carrier was well-over a thousand feet long compared to the Essex’s length of about eight-hundred and seventy-two feet.

As Marcus stood there staring, he fondly recalled seeing the Enterprise for the first time and being impressed. The carrier’s legacy was strong. There was now a nuclear-powered carrier bearing the name Enterprise roaring the seven seas. Marcus wished that she was the vessel assigned as their new flagship, but it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps having a nuclear carrier at the center of a fleet meant to fight giant monsters was seen as too much of a risk at that juncture.



Marcus was soon joined by the rest of the boys on the Independence. None of them really wanted to be there but was good to see everyone again after so long, Brock in particular. It almost felt like a class reunion. The men’s bond of brotherhood and comradery helped make the forced combat duty seem more worthwhile.

Image

Before long, the fleet got underway. The team gathered in the lounge to catch up with each other and shoot the shit. They happened to be listening to a broadcast of United Nations News in the background. The host was talking about the earthquakes in Chile before changing topics to something else that caught Marcus’ attention. He mentioned the submarine Seahawk, one of the Archimedes fleet’s own ships. The broadcaster indicated that Seahawk was sailing somewhere in the Bering Sea. The submarine had been dispatched with an assortment of prominent scientists onboard. Dr. Orsini had been invited on the voyage himself, but he’d declined. What they were investigating really wasn’t his area of expertise.

Image

Evidently, a large group of icebergs were slowly floating down southward towards Japan from the artic. They were rapidly becoming a hazard for shipping. The whole thing was particularly strange because the Oyashio current, which was carrying the icebergs south, was registering an unusually high temperature for that time of year. It was shattering all the previous records.

The newsman was talking directly to the commander of the Seahawk, Captain Roberts, via satellite. The picture shifted and showed that the submarine was closing in on its objective. Marcus recognized the voice of the captain. He had met Roberts once. Roberts was a friendly, portly man. Command had probably chosen him to lead the mission because he was the sort of officer who’d be good at hosting the flock of scientists. Captain Roberts was firm but not inflexible. He was polite but brief with the news host. He signed off as the situation over in the Bering Sea began to unfold.



Image

“Captain, water temperature is 68 degrees.” An ensign reported from his station onboard the Seahawk.

“68 degrees…?” Captain Roberts echoed with skepticism. “That can’t be, there aren’t any warm currents in the Artic Ocean. Double check that temperature.” He ordered.

“Yes sir.” The Ensign replied, nodding.

“Captain, I see a strange light behind the iceberg dead ahead.” Robert’s second in command noted peering through the periscope. Roberts came over to see for himself. Upon looking, he saw an ominous light emanating from within the iceberg. Whatever it was, it was illuminating the entire mountain of ice.

“That must be it.” Captain Roberts announced. “Let’s go down and have a look. Take her down fast.” He ordered.

“Emergency dive.” The commander echoed him. The diving alarm sounded, and the submarine began to submerge beneath the waves. A special underwater camera was activated to give them a full view of the iceberg. The viewscreen inside the bridge was large enough for all of the scientists on board to watch as the same time.

“Doctor, what do you make of that?” Captain Roberts asked. Everyone could see the strange glow coming from the iceberg. The intensity of the light waxed and waned periodically.

“It looks like the Chelenkhov light.” The head German scientist answered.

“Chelenkhov light…?” Roberts asked perplexed. “What can that be…?”

“Yes, I’m almost sure of it.” The scientist went on. “It looks very much like the light generated by a nuclear reactor.” Roberts frowned, not understanding how that was possible. It made him feel anxious.

“Captain, we’re getting a Geiger response.” The commander announced as they got closer.

“Stand by.” Roberts replied considering the situation. The scratchy sounds of the counter seemed to climb higher and higher with each passing second.

“Depth at 85 meters.” An ensign announced. “Still heading towards the iceberg.”

“We’re getting closer, up underwater periscope.” Roberts ordered.

“Sir, we’ve getting some interference.” The commander reported. “It’s affecting our navigational instruments. I’m not sure we can trust the readouts anymore.”

“Prepare to resurface.” Roberts instructed. “We’ll have to steer the old-fashioned way.” He saw that the scientists looked nervous. “No cause for alarm gentlemen. Everything is under control.” He smiled to put them at ease.

“The interference is also disrupting the sonar sir.” The commander relayed. “We can’t see what’s around us.”

“Damn, surface immediate……” Captain Roberts was cut short as the Seahawk collided with something. There was a shutter and rumbling as the submarine ground to a stop. Everyone aboard lurked forward as the power went out.

“Emergency lights.” Roberts ordered, staying calm. Red lights came on in the bridge. An alarm started to blare. “All stations report damage.”

“What did we hit?” One of the scientists asked Roberts urgently.

“It must be an iceberg.” He replied coolly. There was little other explanation.

Image

“Periscope out of order.” The commander announced.

“Atomic fuel room damaged... and leaking.” One of the engineers reported over the intercom. There was a second wave of rumbling and crackling from outside which rocked the sub.

The impact of the Seahawk crashing into the iceberg had caused large fissures to form in the ice walls, weaken them. The cracks were spreading fast. Chucks of ice fell away from the top of structure and could be heard splashing into the water and hitting against the hull of the Seahawk. The proper was hit and put out of action.

“Captain, the propeller shafts and engines are badly damaged.” An officer ran into the bridge and informed Roberts. “Engine room reports repairs impossible.”

“Oh great…” Robert’s face was finally starting to show the growing stress inside him. He was sweating profusely now.

“Captain, do something before we are crushed to death.” The head scientist started to panic.

“Fire mayday water signal.” Roberts ordered wiping his brow. He did not know what else to do at that point. A yellowish-green dye began to pour out of the aft section of the Seahawk.

“Sir, the atomic fuel contamination hasn’t spread outside of the engine room.” The commander informed Roberts in what appeared to be good news.

“How is that possible?” Roberts asked confused. “I’m surprised half of the ship hasn’t been affected by now.”

“I don’t know sir, but if you look at the Geiger counter, the levels of radiation on the ship are in fact dropping.” The commander replied.

“It’s a damned miracle!” One of the scientists remarked. Roberts wasn’t so sure though.

“Captain, the Geiger response is climbing again!” An ensigned announced.

“Captain, sonar is out of order.” A junior officer added yet another thing to the growing list of problems.

“I’m sure a rescue party will come looking for us.” The head scientist noted optimistically. “There’s nothing we can do but wait and pray that they see the mayday signal.”

Roberts said nothing, but the scientist was right to hang on to hope. Their last known position was well documented. Even the news anchor had noted their exact coordinates last time they had broadcast. Once HQ realized they had lost contact with the Seahawk, they’d know right away where to come looking for them. The enthusiasm was short lived though. Renewed rumblings disrupted the conversation. Roberts heard the sound of stressed metal giving way, which could only be a hull breach.

“Water in the engine room!” A voice sounded over the intercom.

“Secure all bulkheads.” Roberts replied. He had to keep the cold seawater contained.

“Captain, water in the conning tower!” An alarmed voice announced from above.

“Secure the hatch.” Roberts ordered. A startling amount of water began to pour into the bridge from above. The commander ran up the latter to address the issue personally.

“Engine room flooding rapidly!” A more urgent voice came over the PA. The bleak situation on board the Seahawk was escalating quickly.

“Captain, do something!” The head scientist demanded frantically.

“Abandon ship, all hands prepare to abandon ship.” Roberts ordered over the intercom. He hated that the situation had deteriorated that far out of control, but he didn’t see any other choice.

“The escape hatch is jammed!” A panicked voice came from above. “Captain, we’re TRAPPED!!!”

A massive roar echoed throughout the Seahawk and a moment later a fireball engulfed the entire bridge and everyone inside.



In the Eastern Pacific, the USS Independence was sailing south with her small task force of escorts. Unexpectedly, the whole fleet all started to change direction sharply. They shifted from their Southern heading, on route towards the Panama Canal, to a nearly the opposite course bearing Northwest.

“Hey, what’s happening?” Marcus asked. “Why are we changing course?”

“We’re being redirected.” Brock replied.

“What, where to?” Marcus asked.

“Japan.” Brock informed him. Hearing that, Marcus immediately got worried. “The USS Seahawk has gone missing.” Brock went on. “No one is sure what’s going on yet. It might be nothing, but the brass seems to know something they’re not telling the rest of us yet.” Brock frowned and looked right at Marcus knowingly. “I’ve been around long enough to know you don’t send out a military submarine to investigate unusual weather patterns.” He noted astutely. “I think they already have a pretty good idea what is happening up there.”



Back at the site of the Seahawk’s wreck, a chinook search helicopter was approaching the area. The pilot, Fred Gates, and his co-pilot, Al Simons, had been dispatched from Hopper naval base, a U.S. outpost just north of the Japanese islands. The base was meant to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the Russian fleet, and also on the Rodans to ensure they didn’t venture too far out of their home skies.

Usually, Fred and Al flew recon missions, visually searching for enemy submarines and dropping sonar buoys. So, looking for the Seahawk was second nature to them. Ahead of their Chinook lay the vast field of icebergs. It took Fred only a fraction of a second to realize their sonar wasn’t going to help them find the missing submarine in there. Too many other things for the pings to bounce off of. They’d have to rely on visual scanning. They flew over the masses of ice for a couple minutes until finally, they got lucky and spotted the greenish-yellow dye on the water.

“Look there Al.” Fred nudged his friend to get his attention. “In the water… a marker around the iceberg. That’s got to be them. Let’s go down.”

The Chinook descended. As they drew in closer, the iceberg below began to crumble. The peak was being pushed upwards by some unseen force. Huge chucks of ice fell away from the structure as they were displaced. The whole iceberg suddenly lit up, making it resemble a crystal amulet a gypsy might use to tell someone’s fortune. The portents Fred read from it were menacing.

“What do you make of that Al?” Fred asked apprehensively. Al clearly had no idea. He just grimaced, sensing that something bad was about to happen.

Finally, a huge section of ice was punched away near the top of the mountain and the roof of the iceberg collapsed. As it fell apart, a dark figure frosted by the ice became visible and began to move around freely inside. An angry roar vibrated the glass cockpit of the helicopter as more and more of the iceberg buckled, crumbling away.

“Godzilla!!!” Fred cried out in horror, not believe his eyes.

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The King of the Monsters had melted his way out of the icy prison he’d be trapped inside. The field of icebergs around him were the only remnants of the once massive island that had kept him at bay for over a year… but no longer. The nuclear energy of the Seahawk’s reactor had given him the final boost of strength he needed to complete the process of escaping. Godzilla was now free to do as he wished, and he’d been refreshed enough to do just that.

Fred and Al wisely turned their chopper around and escaped just as quickly as they could while reporting back to base what they’d seen. It didn’t take long for the news to spread like wildfire. The world was shocked and horrified by Godzilla’s abrupt and unexpected return. Fred and Al flew directly back to Hopper naval base. When they landed, there was already a sense of panic at the outpost. They were the only thing between Japan and Godzilla, and he was heading right for them.



Two hours later, Godzilla was already within visual range of Hopper. The base’s defenses were all rapidly deploying in response. A company of twelve Shermans were scrambled from the outpost’s underground bunker. The tanks had been stored there to avoid detection from the air. If the Russians had ever tried to invade the island, they would’ve gotten a nasty surprise. The twelve tanks rolled towards the harbor area were Godzilla was approaching.

Fred and Al were watching the action play out from an observation tower near the airfield portion of the base. They could see the heavy shore batteries, which were meant to protect the harbor entrance from enemy ships, heaving eight-inch shells at Godzilla. The volleys burned red as they arced towards the King of the Monsters. The first couple salvos missed, passing by Godzilla harmlessly. The fire became more accurate as Godzilla closed in, but they didn’t do much good, even when they did hit.

Every gun on the base opened up as Godzilla got closer. Anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, and finally the tanks as they got into position. None of it mattered. The constant shower of artillery and bullets did nothing beyond annoy Godzilla. They might as well have been fireworks toasting his return to the world for all the good they were doing. Godzilla roared, closing in step by step as he waded through the chilly water.

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Godzilla made landfall nearby the oil storage tanks before coming even closer to the Shermans facing off against him. The rate of fire from the defenders started to diminish. They had to slow down and aim carefully to ensure they didn’t hit the oil tanks with a stray shot. Godzilla meanwhile began to fight back. He used his atomic breath to incinerate two of the Shermans positioned out front. The non-metal portions of the tanks melted away instantly while the armor began to burn red hot. The crews inside cooked while the Shermans slowly melted into slag.

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Seeing what had become of the first two tanks was enough for the other crews to turn tail and run. Those remaining ten Shermans sped away as quick as they could from Godzilla. They’d given up trying to defend the base and left it to its fate. Fred and Al took the hint themselves and ran down the stairs of the tower. Once there, they made their way towards the entrance of the underground bunker. Many gun crews in the back of the base were still firing wildly.

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Godzilla meanwhile marched forward, stepping on and through the first row of buildings he found. His tail dashed across a barracks nearby the oil storage tanks. Then it barreled through a water tower, knocking it clear over. Godzilla watched as the Shermans continue retreat. He seemed content to let them do so. He advanced further until he’d reached base’s airfield. Godzilla turned and knocked over the control tower where Fred and Al had been moments earlier. The pair were running for their lives as debris rained down near them. They had just made it to the underground entrance when they were nearly run down by a Sherman thundering past them. The tanks crew was too focused on saving their own lives.

Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath again, destroying a cluster of personnel quarters. The resulting fires spread quickly, engulfing a large proportion of the base. The monster turned, sensing that he had missed something. He saw the oil tanks and focused his fire onto them. An immense explosion followed, which rained burning fuel down over the entire landscape.

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What was left of the base by that time was devastated by the massive fires that followed. Only those who had retreated underground had escaped Godzilla’s wrath. The bunker doors were slowly closing behind the survivors. Fred and Al watched as the destruction behind them continued until the shelter was finally sealed. Godzilla’s ongoing rampage cut the electricity just moments after the doors closed. The soldiers inside had no other alternative but to wait in the dark to see if Godzilla was going to pass them by or not.



Following the attack on the U.S. base, Godzilla returned to the ocean and had not been seen since. A few days of uncertainly passed. On the fourth day, contact was lost with a passenger liner called the Danishinsei Maru in Japan’s coastal waters. Everyone feared the worst. The Japanese government decided Godzilla was to blame for the ship’s disappearance and announced that the monster indeed appeared to be returning to Japan as many experts had speculated. This caused mass panic to spread in the general population. Meanwhile the Archimedes task force was steaming across the pacific towards Japan as well.

“We know right where he is.” Marcus said, pointing to a position on the map hanging up in the Independence’s lounge. “The Danishinsei Maru went missing right around the southern portion of the Kuril Island chain. Compared to Godzilla’s last known position at Hopper, there’s little doubt, he’s heading back to Japan. Bad news is we’re still several steps behind him trying to play catch up.”

“Last known heading puts him on course to land around Hokkaido.” Dr. Orsini examined the map with Marcus.

“Hey, have you guys heard?” Brock asking, coming into the room. “Radio contact has been reestablished at Hopper. A chopper miraculously went untouched during Godzilla’s attack. Turns out a good number of men survived the raid. But almost all of their supplies, and the base itself, was wiped out. They’re getting by on emergency rations. Our supply ships are being diverted to them, along with two of our cruiser escorts.”

“Are they going there to pick up survivors?” Marcus asked.

“No, they say the base is too strategically important to abandon.” Brock answered. “They’re planning to rebuild it. I suppose they’ll evacuate anyone who isn’t immediately useful, but they can’t just leave it empty for the Russians or anyone else to take over. They have to keep some boots on the ground.”

A TV was in the background broadcasting United Nations News. On the program, they were interviewing the curator of the natural history museum of New York. He was attempting to explain Godzilla to the general public. The curator’s name was Dr. Arnold Johnson. They presented him as an esteemed authority of prehistoric animals. Everyone in the lounge turned to listen to what he had to say. Dr. Orsini in particular seemed interested.

“Hang on a second guys, lets listen to this.” Dr. Orsini suggested.

Dr. Johnson began his lecture, allowing the reporter Eric Carter to ask some general questions that had obviously been staged for the benefit of the audience. Dr. Johnson pulled out a book about dinosaur species and conjectured that Godzilla was a cross between Tyrannosaurus and Stegosaurus. He went on to explain how Godzilla, and other monsters like Godzilla, might be reappearing after so long. He further theorized that Godzilla was definitely coming back to Japan, attributing this hypothesis to fossils that had been unearthed near Mount Fuji within the last year. The bones in question shared some traits that were oddly similar to Godzilla. Dr. Johnson shared a few other theories before concluding the interview.

“You think he’s got the right of it Doc?” Marcus asked.

“He’s spit-balling a bit.” Dr. Orsini replied. “But his theory about Godzilla is somewhat interesting though. He said that they recently discovered fossils nearby Mount Fuji that somewhat resemble Godzilla’s species. That could very well explain why he keeps coming back to Japan.” Orsini scratched his chin considering it. “This is what, his third visit already? The world is a big place, twice could be a coincidence, but three times is a pattern. The differences Dr. Johnson noted between the fossils and Godzilla himself could be a consequence of his mutations. Thus, what they found may very well be the species he originated from.” Orsini observed.

“Fascinating.” Marcus remarked.

“However, I’m not prepared to back up the rest of what he said.” Dr. Orsini added cautiously. “There was some amateurish science thrown in.”



“You’re not even going to believe this fucking report that just came in…” Brock said, walking into the lounge the next morning with a smirk.

“Oh, I just might…” Marcus had a copy of the transcript in front of him with a cup of coffee and a donut.

“Ok, so let me get this straight, just to ensure I got all my facts right.” Brock went on with a bemused look on his face. “A pharmaceutical company’s CEO decided he wanted a flashy new corporate mascot, so he sent two of his underlings to a remote island in the south pacific to collect a giant monster? And… against all of the odds, they somehow managed to pull it off? How did they do it?”

“Apparently they drugged the giant ape with soma berry juice.” Dr. Orsini joined the conversation. He had photos of taken from a Japanese newspaper that broke the story. “It says that Dr. Akira Makino, a renowned pharmacologist, discovered a special type of berry called soma on a remote island named Farou.”

“Where abouts is that?” Marcus asked.

“About sixty-two miles South of the Solomon Islands.” Dr, Orsini answered. “The doctor went there for the berries. He suspects they could become a key ingredient for a new type of chemotherapy. But he also found the monster they are calling Kong. Brock has the rest of it about right, but there was also an incident with a giant octopus. Kong fought it.” He presented a few photos.

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“As I understand it, the fight was pretty one-sided Doc.” Marcus added. “After that, they got Kong juiced up and the islanders sang him to sleep.”

“That is so ridiculous, I love it!” Brock laughed.

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“What I find more interesting is how they got him on the raft.” Marcus remarked. “I got no clue how they pulled off that little miracle.” He looked to Dr. Orsini, who just shrugged. “The reports all kind of gloss over that detail. In any case, it’s quite remarkable. I’m legitimately impressed with their ingenuity. Do you think this is the same ape they brought to New York all those years ago? This can’t be a coincidence, right?”

“Hey, look.” Brock pointed up to the television. “Another special report is coming on. It’s Dr. Johnson again.” They all listened intently while Johnson talked about Kong with the host of the show. It seemed news about Kong was spreading fast. Dr. Johnson was discussing the relative differences in brain size between Godzilla and Kong. The main message was Godzilla was a creature of brute force while Kong was a thinking animal. The conversation was fairly brief before they threw the program over to a reporter in Tokyo.

“He’s talking out of his ass now.” Dr. Orsini remarked, referring to Johnson. “He can’t know any of those things. I’m convinced he’s making it all up.”

“What do you mean Doc?” Marcus asked. “It sounded fairly reasonable to me.”

“This guy is a paleontologist, he knows dinosaurs, so he tends to think about things in terms of dinosaurs.” Dr. Orsini began to explain. “But I think it’s important to remember gentlemen, despite the obvious superficial similarities, Godzilla is not a dinosaur. Godzilla’s species, whatever it was prior to his radiation exposure, had to have been drastically different from what he is now. Dr. Johnson is assuming Godzilla’s brain size is miniscule…” He paused briefly. “Based on what data exactly?

“Well…” Marcus thought about it.

“There is none.” Dr. Orsini answered his own question. “He’s going on the assumption that Godzilla’s brain is comparable to dinosaurs that roared the earth seventy-five million years ago. Let me tell you what is wrong with that. First, Dr. Johnson is discounting the possibility of any natural evolutionary strides forward over that extensive stretch of time. Second, there’s a distinct possibility that not only was Godzilla’s body was altered by his radiation exposure, but also his mind. If his body grew substantially, why not his brain as well? We have all seen moderate signs of intelligence from Godzilla. For Dr. Johnson to suggest that he’s just brute force and nothing more is shortsighted and irresponsible. He’s dismissing that Godzilla might be capable of more, badly underestimating him. You military boys have learned to do such is unwise.”

“Getting a little edgy there Doc.” Brock observed.

“It’s just not good science.” Dr. Orsini went on with a grimace. “He’s jumping to conclusions and presenting theories as facts. I’m not saying that he’s wrong or I’m right. I’m just saying he has no solid evidence to back up his theories. More time and research needs to be invested. What we know about Godzilla in terms of facts is indeed quite limited at this juncture. Unfortunately, due to Godzilla’s innate hostile nature and his passive levels of lethal radiation, any close studies of him will be quite difficult for the foreseeable future. So, I’d take what Dr. Johnson says with a grain of salt.”

“I see what you mean doc.” Marcus remarked. “He’s assuming Kong’s level of intelligence without much information too. Perhaps at this point we shouldn’t be assuming anything and let their actions and behaviors be more of a guide on their levels of intelligence?”

“That’s the way to do it.” Dr. Orsini agreed. “There’s one thing I will say that Dr. Johnson definitely has completely wrong.” He continued. “Godzilla has never existed in his current state before the intrusion of man, so that battle of the giants that he was alluding to absolutely never happened before now.”



The next day, a report came in that the Danishinsei Maru had arrived safe and sound into a Japanese port. It turned out the liner had not been destroyed by Godzilla as thought. Rather, the ship simply had engine troubles which slowed it down and the radio antenna was malfunctioning due to inclement weather. However, the news that morning was not altogether good. Only a couple hours later, Godzilla arrived in Japan. He was marching southward through Hokkaido. His rampage was being broadcast live.

By that evening, a large contingent of men had gathered around the TV in the Independence’s lounge to watch. Godzilla was stomping over a train in a remote mountainous area of the Japanese countryside. Hundreds of terrified passengers were running for their lives along the tracks just a couple hundred yards ahead of him. It was absolute pandemonium.

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Ahead of the fleeing masses was a hastily thrown together evacuation zone full of trucks and buses. Each vehicle filled up quickly with terrified passengers. Residents of the local village were piling out of their homes to escape the looming threat. It was rapidly becoming clear that there wasn’t enough room for everyone. Fights were breaking out as vehicles pulled away and panic took hold. Those who were left behind had no other recourse but to try to get away on foot.

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A small detachment of Japanese army soldiers arrived and were doing their best to direct people out of harm’s way. Godzilla trudged forward without pause. He was closing in more and more on the cluster of humanity in front of him. The slopes ahead filled with people running along the mountain roads.

Very quickly, the Japanese officers realized moving the civilians further southwards wasn’t a good approach. Godzilla was walking much quicker than they ever could ever hope to run, and most of the people were already getting tired. It was just a matter of time before the monster overtook them and the trampling began. The soldiers started to direct the people westward, up into the mountain paths. Godzilla was walking along the easier route next to the train tracks that followed the creek south. If he kept going that way, he’d bypass the mountains and the hills.

Godzilla did just as they expected, avoiding the arduous climb over the mountains. His goal wasn’t poultry human lives anyways, so why go out of his way to pursue them? He moved forward and out of the area. For the time being, the civilians were safe. The broadcast ended there. Just as the mood in the lounge on the Independence was starting to ease, a sailor ran in with urgent news.

“Kong is free and on his way to Japan!!!” He reported.

“What?!” Marcus exclaimed. “How…?”

“The Japanese navy intercepted the ship towing Kong, and they ordered them to turn back, but before they could, the monster broke free from his restraints and swam away towards land.” The Sailor explained.

“Great, that’s a fucking disaster!” Brock’s temper boiled over. “Now there are two monsters closing in on Japan instead of just one? You got to be kidding me!”

“Did they at least arrest the little shit responsible for it?” Marcus asked frustrated.

“Yeah, the Japanese navy plucked Mr. Tako of Pacific Pharmaceuticals off of the passenger vessel and took him into custody.” The sailor answered.

“Mr. Taco…?” Brock laughed. “Does this guy happen to run a Mexican restaurant on the side?”

“You’re hilarious Brock, you know that?” Marcus said with annoyance. “When did this happen?”

“Just a few hours ago.” The sailor answered.



Things moved very quickly over the next two days. Kong made landfall and was moving up northward while Godzilla continued southward, putting the two on a collision course. The two monsters were both rapidly converging on the Nasu plain for a confrontation. The USS Independence and her task force finally reached Japan. Admiral Malek, along with a team that included Marcus, Brock, Ling, and Dr. Orsini, flew out to observe the meeting of the two titans for themselves firsthand.

Their helicopter had to stop once along the way to refuel, but the team managed to arrive just in time to witness the outset of the battle. Godzilla was loitering in the Nasu area, advancing from time to time, but mostly just looking around and waiting. He seemed to anticipate trouble coming. There were numerous helicopters in the area, as well as ground units observing. A good many people were interested in seeing what would happen once Kong arrived. The Japanese army had to erect several roadblocks to keep unauthorized personnel away from the area.

Kong finally appeared and he was an impressive specimen. While Kong was shorter than Godzilla in stature, he was built very stout with wide shoulders. It was clear to see that Kong was hiding strong muscular physic underneath his dark brown coat of fur. Kong walked upright, which somehow surprised Marcus. Kong was ape-like, but clearly not just an overgrow gorilla. Kong approached Godzilla, throwing up his arms in a threat display and roaring. Godzilla noticed Kong’s arrival and advanced from the opposite direction to meet him.

Godzilla quickly found a nice spot on high ground and stopped. He seemed to recognize the strategic advantage of it. Godzilla issued out a challenge to Kong in the form of a roar of his own. Perhaps he wanted to draw Kong in towards him? Kong replied in kind, beating his chest aggressively. Godzilla held his strong defensive position, roaring in an almost taunting way. It was all but certain now that he trying to set Kong up for something. Kong came forward and stopped short of the ridge Godzilla was perched upon. The two giants seemed to size each other up.

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One of the Japanese helicopters circling the battlefield recording the confrontation decided to come in low and get a better look. The pilot very foolishly flew in between the two giants. Godzilla took the opportunity to show his power and blasted the helicopter out of the sky with his atomic breath. The chopper exploded into a hundred pieces and the burning debris fell to the ground in front of Kong. Kong saw it all and immediately seemed to lose confidence. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting that.

Kong tried to recover his courage, picking up a huge boulder and then launching it towards Godzilla. The rock fell short. It landed harmlessly at Godzilla’s feet. If it was meant to impress Godzilla, it failed to do so. Kong wasn’t distressed though. The attack was in part meant to gauge Godzilla’s reaction to it. Kong threw a second boulder. This time, it hit Godzilla in the chest. Godzilla didn’t seem impressed with that either. He immediately retaliated by letting loose a stream of atomic breath at Kong’s feet. The dry foliage in front of Kong instantly burst into flames and rapidly spread to the ground under Kong’s feet.

Kong instinctively backed off. There was noticeable fear in his eyes as he quickly backpaddled. Kong didn’t entirely understand what had happened. He’d never seen such a thing. The heat had scorched his fur. Godzilla noted the vulnerability and let loose a second time, driving Kong even further back. Godzilla celebrated, flapping his arms back and forth while his tail twitched up and down. This was new behavior on his part. Perhaps Godzilla was just excited, rearing for a good fight after so long? Kong stood there looking himself over, raising his arms to examine them. Even more of his fur had been charred away. It smoked as the flames burnt themselves out.

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Kong instantly decided that he didn’t want any part of Godzilla’s atomic breath. The wall of flames between Godzilla and Kong were spreading fast. For Kong to continue the fight, he would have to barrel his way through the fire to even get close to Godzilla again. Godzilla sat at the top of the ridge taunting Kong, seemingly enjoying himself more than anyone had seen before. He was exhibiting more personality in this fight than all of his previous encounters combined. Kong just stood there pondering on his next move.

Godzilla grew visibly tired of waiting for Kong to act, so he started to work his way off of the ridge and around the giant wall of flames. Kong stood there watching him, thinking about what to do next. The giant ape turned, scratching his head, and began to wander away. Godzilla bellowed after him, as if to call him back to the fight, but Kong simply ignored him, putting more and more distance between the two of them.

Just like that, their first encounter was over. Godzilla had asserted his dominance and totally emasculated Kong. Kong’s own title of King looked to be in doubt after such an embarrassing battlefield performance. There had been a slew of men who had decided to bet on the battle’s outcome, and those who had sided with Kong were taking a beating from the guys who bet on Godzilla. The humiliation would be ongoing for some time.



Without Kong to hold him up, Godzilla continued onward towards Tokyo. The Japanese military had not been idle over the last couple of days. On the road to Tokyo, they were in the final stages of preparing a special trap for Godzilla. It was a massive undertaking. Having learned that attacking Godzilla with troops was a losing proposition, they had gotten more creative. Their plan was relatively simple: Dig out a huge pit trap, line it with TNT, and fill the void with poisonous gases.

General Masami Shinzo, the commander of the Japanese defense forces, was masterminding the operation. While the Russians and Germans had both previously tried to use gas on other monsters, this was the first time anymore had tried to use it against Godzilla. He didn’t have the wings like the Rodans to blow the chemicals away and he could fly away from it like Varan did. The pit would ensure Godzilla couldn’t just walk away of the deadly vapors. It was a creative idea and certainly worth a shot. Admiral Malek and the team were there at the command post observing the preparations.

To carry out the operation, hundreds of pieces of construction equipment were pressed into service. The amount of soil they displaced over just a couple of days was impressive. Bulldozers, cranes, and excavators were working at a feverish pace. Huge lines of trucks were lined up going in and out of the area constantly. The pit itself was pretty well dug out by that point, but they had yet to cover the top to conceal the hole. Huge sections of netting were waiting.

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Unfortunately, time was running out. Godzilla was already closing in on the area and the trap was far from ready. The monster was less than twenty miles away by that point. General Shinzo ordered the Japanese fighters he had waiting at his dispose to attack Godzilla and delay him as best they could. Shinzo needed to buy more time to finish. Over the site’s PA system, he had one of his underlings encourage his workers.

“Godzilla is sighted.” They announced. “Please work as quickly as possible. Get the dynamite ready.” There was a real sense of urgency. Everyone scrambled to finish their tasks. The heavy equipment was evacuated from the hole via a large dirt ramp they had erected during the process. At the same time, hundreds of boxes of TNT were placed at the bottom of the pit. While that was going on, the cranes started to put nets into place above them. Extremely thin strips of sod were put on top of the nets to minimize the weight and conceal the trap. There was a mad rush to get the netting into place. Off in the distance, the popping of rockets could be heard as the Japanese fighters made their attack runs.

Meanwhile, dozens of gas trucks were preparing their portion of the plan. They were to pour thousands of gallons of gasoline into the creeks surrounding the pit trap. Once lit, the resulting fires were going to be used to attract Godzilla’s attention and ensure that he approached the trap. It was going to be dark before Godzilla arrived on site. Having learned of his attraction to light from the battle in Osaka, the Japanese figured they could lure him into position with the fires. Both creek beds converged on the trap zone.

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“Open the values, release the gasoline.” An order over the PA announced. The smell of gas became heavy in the air as the fuel flew down over the cliffs like an artificial waterfall.

Finally, hoses were lowered into the pit and began to pump in the clouds of the deadly nerve gas. The composition of the gas was heavier than air, so it settled at the bottom of the pit in a murky pool where it stayed waiting for Godzilla to arrive.



Only thirty minutes after preparations were complete, Godzilla was entering the operational zone. Tension was thick in the air. The soldiers were hiding, hoping to God they weren’t spotted by the gigantic King of the Monsters. Godzilla was walking right along a road, the nearby power lines bounced up and down from the impact of his footfalls. The Japanese soldiers could feel every one of his steps. Closer and closer they got and stronger and stronger they felt. If anyone lost their nerve and ran away, it could give away the position of the rest. Each man’s metal was being tested.

Several brave soldiers eventually did brake their cover and lit up torches exposing themselves. They were high up in the cliffs overlooking the creeks. From the command post, Marcus could see their torches being hurled from the bluffs. Three torches had been thrown to ensure that at least one of them hit the mark. All three landed on target and the creek caught fire as planned. A second set of soldiers on the other side of the valley nearby a waterfall performed the same task. They were likewise successful. Both rows of flames marked out the path forward. Godzilla roared, not seeming to understand what had caused the fires, but none the less, continued his march forward unafraid. As expected, he was enthralled by the flickering light.

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The plan was working. Godzilla walked down the corridor of flames towards the trap. Clusters of soldiers looked on from a distance. Moonlight was reflecting softly off of their helmets. They were in such tightly clumped groups that their helmets resembled bunches of grapes. The anticipation was growing greater with each step Godzilla took, he was getting so close to the pit now.

Suddenly, Godzilla stopped a few steps in front of the trap and looked around. Everyone froze. Did Godzilla somehow sense the danger? Could he see the pit they worked so hard to disguise? The moment dragged on for an eternity. Just when hope was starting to fade, Godzilla started forward again, this time more cautiously. He seemed to have a sense that something was about to happen, though he didn’t know what. His instincts were shouting at him that something was wrong.

Finally, Godzilla took one step too far and the sod and netting collapsed under his weight. He fell forward, plummeting into the pit. Some of the poisonous gas at the bottom lofted up and over of the rim of the hole, being displaced by Godzilla’s mass. The Japanese soldiers waited a moment, allowing Godzilla to breath it in before setting off the dynamite. A cascading series of explosions erupted throughout the pit. Soil was sent rocketing up into the night’s sky.

There was an eerie quiet that gripped the whole battlefield. Not a single soldier made a sound. There was no movement in the pit. A helicopter flew over the crater, but the smoke and residual gas kept the crew from seeing anything. Slowly, the Japanese soldiers began to emerge from their hiding spots approaching the pit. Just as they came up to the brim, Godzilla’s hand came up to grip the side of the ravine. A second later, his head popped up. The monster began pulling himself up. Surprised and horrified, the Japanese soldiers immediately turned away to run.

The operation was a complete failure. Godzilla roared defiantly behind them, alive and well. The priority from that moment forward was to get the men and equipment clear of the area. Godzilla was having a hard time getting out of the hole, which bought them precious minutes to escape. The pit wouldn’t hold him for long though.



With the failure of the pit trap, there was a general feeling of unease across Japan. Rumblings from government sources indicated that they were considering the use of atomic bomb. However, the Japanese couldn’t just decide to do that of their own accord. They had no nuclear weapons of their own, and if they chose to pursue that option, they would have to borrow one from a friendly government, most likely the United States.

Masers were brought into the discussion. Unfortunately, the Japanese factories that were producing them had yet to complete any of their units. They were in the final stages of construction but simply were not ready for combat. The Archimedes’ Masers weren’t in the country either. Admiral Malek had assumed the Japanese weapons would’ve been ready by then and hadn’t sent a request to Reinhart to send theirs. The mistake was remedied, and the order sent out, but it would still be days before the Masers could arrive.

The Japanese military wasn’t entirely out of options though. They still had one final line of defense around Tokyo. The Japanese had restored and reinforced the electrical towers they’d built to repel Godzilla’s first assault on Tokyo. There were many detractors of that plan, but there was some hope of success. The strength of the current running through the lines had been increased to one-million volts. That was significantly more shock power than the first fence which failed to repel Godzilla in fifty-four. Marcus was piloting the team over a section of the power lines inspecting them. Again, the effort put into the project was quite impressive.

“This didn’t work last time, what makes them think it will be any different this time?” Brock asked.

“I think it’s just sheer desperation.” Marcus replied. “They’ll do anything to prevent what happened to Tokyo before from happening again.”

Down in Tokyo, they weren’t taking any chances. Mass evacuations were well underway. Air raid alarms and police sirens echoed throughout the city. There were extensive lines of cars on all of the roadways leading out of the city. The Japanese automotive industry had boomed since the fifties, and yet, there were still scores of people running along the shoulder of the roads, carrying anything they could take with them. Many were even pulling carts behind them loaded with valuables. There was no way to know if they’d have homes to return to when the crisis was over, so they saved what they could. Much of Tokyo had been rebuilt over the years. It was tragic to think so much of it might be knocked down again.

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Traffic cops were blowing their whistles and directing the mass of humanity out. Trains ran non-stop, city buses were pressed into service, and ships were piling out of the harbor in Tokyo Bay, each filled to the brim with civilians. Every available ship was being used, but it still wasn’t enough. Tokyo was one of the biggest cities on the planet and had a substantial population to evacuate.

In the end, the Archimedes’ task force was called in to help. Washington sent down a special order to employ them. Admiral Malek didn’t much like the idea of having civilians jammed into his warships, but unless he wanted to be stripped of command, he had no choice. The USS Independence on her own could hold thousands upon thousands of people. The flight deck, cargo holds, and hangers were all filled to capacity. Most of the aircraft were temporarily transferred to a nearby Japanese base to make more room. A good number of school children were brought aboard the carrier. The excitement of being on an aircraft carrier helped distract them from the looming danger.



Hours later, power was cut to Tokyo. The authorities did this for two reasons. First, they didn’t want any lights on in the city to attract Godzilla. Second, they wanted all available power diverted to the electrical wires for the city’s defense.

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Soon after, Godzilla arrived at the edge of Tokyo. He slowed, inspecting the power lines, seeming to remember them from before. He could see that they ran for miles in each direction and were blocking him from reaching his destination. Godzilla wouldn’t be deterred so easily though. He reached out and slashed through the wires. One by one, the cables snapped under the strain. Godzilla got a potent jolt with each and every one of them, but they didn’t stop him.

Godzilla stepped though the crackling lines and continued on his way. Oddly, he kept towards the outskirts of town. The monster wasn’t heading for the city center as anticipated. He kept walking for miles until he finally reached the far side of the city and the electrical wires there. Godzilla looked annoyed when he discovered a second line of power towers that he couldn’t avoid. Having no choice, he barreled through them too, roaring with pain as he was punished for every step he took along the way.

Godzilla moved onward away from the city. No one knew what to make of it. Everyone had been certain that Tokyo was his goal. From the command post, Admiral Malek instructed Marcus and Brock to out after him. They climbed into their helicopter and set a course to keep up with Godzilla as he lumbered onwards. Behind Godzilla, the Japanese were rushing to replace the broken wires. Kong was reportedly on his way to Tokyo too. They had evaded one disaster just for another to take its place.



Kong arrived just in time for the power lines to be restored. He was more cautious than Godzilla had been. The line of towers reminded him of the wall the islanders had built to separate their village from the wilds of Farou island. Kong reached out and touched one of the hanging wires and discovered that there was a key difference to this barrier. His index finger took the full force of the million-volt electrical discharge. Kong reared back in pain, which quickly turned into anger, and then finally put him into an uncontrolled rage.

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Kong turned and found a boulder. He pulled it up from the ground and hurled towards one of the towers in his fury. The pylon crumpled and collapsed from the force of the collision. The wires on both ends frayed and fell to the ground making a large opening in the defense. Kong beat his chest, sensing victory, and went through the gap.

Within minutes, Kong was nearing the heart of Tokyo. He was confused by the terrain. He didn’t entirely understand what buildings were. He punched one out of frustration and was intrigued by the outcome. He could see that the structure inside was mostly hollow. Memories of his brief time in New York came back to him. He had been very young at the time, but Tokyo felt much the same.

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Kong wandered around exploring his environment. The city was mostly deserted due to Godzilla’s earlier visit. That was one thing separating this from his experience from New York. New York had been overflowing with screaming people everywhere he went. The quiet in Tokyo was preferable, though the city also felt cold and empty. Kong did hear something that proved he wasn’t entirely alone. He found a small vehicle roaming the streets ahead of him with yellow flashing lights. It was making noise.

“King Kong has entered Tokyo; all civilians must evacuate.” The emergency vehicle reported as it drove down the boulevards. It sped away when Kong got close.

As the vehicle disappeared over a hill, something else got Kong’s attention off in the distance. It was the lights and whistle of an approaching train. Kong moved to meet it, waiting at an overpass that would take the train across the road. As the train came near, Kong could see that it was red. In fact, it was a shade of red very similar to that of the soma berry juice. This made it irresistible for him. Kong reached out and grabbed the train as it was passing by. The train came to a stretching halt and the passengers inside all flew forward in the car, piling up against one another. Many people were hurt.

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Kong ripped the car away from the rest of the train and brought it up towards his face for a better look. Several passengers fell out the doors along the way. During the ensuing chaos, Kong saw one woman in particular hanging on by a thread. Her arm strength for a such a small woman was remarkable. She clung on to the side rail tenaciously, as her life depended on it. She was screaming in terror, not seeing a way out of her predicament. Kong watched her intently for a few seconds, then he reached out and plucked her off of the train. While the woman was no longer in danger of falling, her situation had only improved marginally. She was in the grasp of the beast now, and his intensions were wholly unclear. She could be just moments away from being a light snack.

Kong brought her up close to his face. He inspected her closely. For a girl who was losing her mind, she still managed to be quite beautiful. Kong was so focused on the girl that he discarded the train car in his other hand without seeming to notice. He just let it drop from his hand. The boxcar went crashing down into a nearby building. Any other survivors who had still been on the train got a short and terrible ride.

Kong walked away with his newly found prize. He crashed through the elevated section of train tracks. One of the other cars was knocked over as he did, spilling down into the streets. Kong roamed through a small amusement park, aimlessly walking further into Tokyo proper. A long line of cop cars, jeeps, and Sherman tanks had caught up to Kong and were trailing behind him as he went.

Kong soon found himself at the National Diet Building. The wing of the structure that Godzilla had smashed through during his last visit had been fully restored. The pursuing tanks and other vehicles began to form a perimeter around the capitol building and started getting organized for an all-out attack on Kong. Spotlights sprang to life all around the capitol to illuminate Kong for the gunners.

Before they knew it, Kong had climbed up onto the Diet Building. Surprisingly, the structure was able to hold up his weight. The sturdy stone material was apparently worth every penny of its cost. Kong mostly ignored his pursuers. He sat fixated on the woman he’d taken off the train. This behavior mimicked his actions years before in New York. Kong had an inexplicable fascination with women. It was a weakness they were able to exploit in New York, but Kong was only an adolescent at that time. Now he was a fully matured adult.

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Glare from the spotlights below were bothering Kong. He covered his eyes with his free hand to prevent them from shining directly into his face. Down in the command tent, General Shinzo relayed an order for all units to hold fire. He had been convinced to try a pretty unorthodox plan to neutralize Kong without risking the girl’s life. They were going to try to replicate the events that led to Kong’s capture on Faruo Island. Their intention was to fire and detonate soma juice in the sky over King Kong. They believed that if Kong inhaled enough of the resulting mist, they could drug the great ape and put him back to sleep.

Slowly but surely, the Japanese soldiers rigged up loudspeakers all over the area to simulate the singing of the natives of Faruo Island. The islanders would placate Kong as a god with offerings of music and soma juice, it had always worked for them. It was hoped that it would work this time. Specially prepared rockets filled with soma were in position and ready.

The word was given, and six canisters filled with soma were fired just above Kong’s head. One by one, they popped, filling the air with red vapors. The resulting mist floated down towards Kong. He nosed up sniffing the air. What Kong found there seemed to please him. He inhaled deeply, taking in large quantities of the drug. A second salvo of soma was launched, spreading even more of the depressant into the air.

A man who turned out to be the brother of the woman being held captive began to play drums over the speakers while a recording of the Farou island natives was pumped into the system. Kong heard it and couldn’t believe his ears. How could the tribespeople be there? But he didn’t think about it too much, the soma was working its magic. Kong was getting drowsy and didn’t much care to work out the details of what was going on. He just wanted to relax and enjoy himself.

Kong tilted back and forth on the Diet Building, threating to fall. A moment later, he stepped down off of the roof, nearly losing his footing as he did. He only kept his balance by gripping onto the tip of the Diet Building’s pointed spire. Kong sat down onto the front entrance of the capitol. The pillars alone couldn’t hold his weight though, and they collapsed under him. Kong’s hindside slid down to street level. He tittered down onto his side and then splayed out on the ground with a loud thud.

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A man jetted out into the street between the troops and Kong. As the man got close to the huge furry mass that was Kong, his courage faltered a little bit. Kong let out a gurgling growl as he continued to slip further out of consciousness. The man came to a stop, watching Kong cautiously. The great ape was near motionless though. The soma was in full effect. Kong’s eyes finally shut, and his grip loosened on the woman. She had been put out by the soma right along with Kong. The man’s determination returned to him. He ran forward once more, braving the clutches of Kong to retrieve the woman.

“He’s got her!” Soldiers in the crowd roared.

The woman was carried back to the army’s defense line and then put into an ambulance to assess her condition. It looked like she was going to be just fine. The big question at that point was what to do with Kong? They couldn’t just leave him sitting in the middle of Tokyo, and they likely only had hours before he’d revive. If they didn’t figure something out quick, they’d be right back to where they started.

In the command tent, there was more discussion of using an atomic bomb on both monsters, but they were worried that it might not work on Godzilla and hitting Kong in the middle of Tokyo was out of the question. The Prime Minister of Japan was on hand and came up with radical idea. He proposed forcing Kong and Godzilla into a second fight. His earnest hope was that each monster would be mortally wounded by the other in the resulting melee.

To enact the unconventional plan, Kong needed to be carried out of the city. The same man who had managed to capture Kong in the first place on Faruo came up with another creative solution. He suggested that they move Kong in a massive airlift, utilizing a combination of barrage balloons and Japan’s fleet of helicopters. General Shinzo and the Prime Minster decided it was worth a shot. Perhaps just crazy enough of a plan to work. A special type of wire, which was recently developed, would be employed to hold up Kong.

The troops rigged Kong up the best and could and began to deploy twelve barrage balloons. At the same time, eight helicopters arrived and took position over Kong. The wires were attached to everything while the balloons were inflated. In the end, it was a spider’s web of cables and wire, but as the balloons began to lift off, the plan came together. The balloons by themselves were not enough to lift Kong off the ground, but they made him light enough for the helicopters to finish the job. To the surprise of everyone, Kong actually lifted up into the air. He looked like some type of gruesome marionet. The common soldiers on the ground were shocked as they looked up in awe.

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The helicopters began to pull Kong forward, moving him westward out of the city. They passed over the entertainment district of Tokyo, where the lights had been turned back on. It would have been quite a view for Kong if he was still awake. For anyone still wandering the entertainment district, they would have seen an equally impressive sight with Kong floating overhead.



For hours, Marcus had followed Godzilla like his shadow. It was morning now and they were nearly to Mount Fuji. Godzilla looked all around him as he entered the area, but he didn’t appear find what he was looking for.

After some time, Godzilla came upon the fossil bed site Dr. Johnson mentioned during his TV broadcast. The king of the monsters came to a full stop and just stood there starring down upon the ancient bones. There was a great mass of them all in one place. This wasn’t typical of fossil findings. Paleontologists theorized the reason there were so many skeletons in one area was due to all of them being killed at once in a violent volcanic eruption that occurred thousands of years, if not millions of years ago. They were buried in a thick layer of ash and preserved. At last, what Godzilla was doing there became clear to Marcus.

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“Maybe his is more than just instinct.” Marcus suggested. “Perhaps Godzilla is actively trying to find other members of his species? Maybe he is seeking companionship? Imagine for a moment that you woke up one morning and you were the last person left on the planet. Wouldn’t you be lonely and go looking for someone else, anyone else…? You’d probably go a little mad. Maybe this explains a some of Godzilla’s behaviors?”

There wasn’t any time to discuss it further though. The Japanese flotilla of helicopters was approaching with Kong in tow.



From the helicopters carrying Kong, they had a wonderful view of Mount Fuji in the morning sky. The dose of soma they’d used the night before to drug Kong wasn’t nearly as strong compared to the amount Kong had ingested on Faruo Island. Thus, it was already starting to wear off.

Kong stirred underneath the choppers. He saw the enormous volcanic mountain in front of him and had no idea where he was or how he’d gotten there. Kong looked around and saw that he was entangled in wires and floating high in the air. He also noticed some of the helicopters in front of him dragging him along. The crews of the helicopters also noticed Kong coming to his senses and rightly began to get anxious.

At about the same time, the lead helicopter spotted Godzilla mulling around the mountainside. As soon as Kong saw him, he started to become very agitated and animated. He struggled against the wires holding him, destabilizing the formation. The helicopters were being pulled closer together and threatening to collide with one another.

On the ground, Godzilla heard the mass of helicopters and turned to see Kong floating above him. The strangeness of it all didn’t seem to bother him very much though. All Godzilla saw was an enemy approaching. The commander of the flotilla decided they’d gotten Kong close enough to Godzilla already. He didn’t like the instability Kong was creating below them and the probability that Godzilla would decide to use his fire upon them was increasing with each passing moment. Just as they passed over Godzilla, the commander ordered the detonation of the cables holding the balloons and helicopters to Kong.

A long series of crackles followed as the cables were severed. It sounded like a string of firecrackers. No longer being propped up, Kong dropped out of the sky like a stone. He roared on the way down, not much liking the sudden noise or sensation of falling. Kong liked the sudden landing even less. He crashed onto the rocky side of the mountain and began to slide down towards Godzilla.

The King of the monsters was marching up the mountain towards Kong. He failed to recognize that his adversary was coming at him way too fast and out of control until it was already too late. Kong had quickly gained momentum on the way down the mountainside and collided into Godzilla. Godzilla was knocked clear off his feet and went rolling down the slope along with Kong.

Crashing into Godzilla had managed to slow Kong down enough to where he was able to grab onto a tree and stop himself from tumbling even further. He got to his feet and retreated back up the mountainside to regroup. Kong glanced back to see what had happened to Godzilla. The King of the Monsters had also managed to recover by that point using a combination of his arms, legs, and tail to slow himself down. Godzilla was dazed, off balance, but also very angry. He roared and started to pursue Kong.

Kong continued to retreat, stomping through a tiny remote village located on the mountainside. He carelessly crushed a few houses along the way. Kong turned back to taunt Godzilla a little, beating his chest and inviting him to come after him. Godzilla did not need the encouragement though. He was already set on doing just that. He roared up to Kong again to let him know he was on his way.

Godzilla wasn’t afraid of Kong in the slightest. He didn’t have any respect for him at that point. Their first encounter had gone a long way of lowering his estimation of Kong’s level of threat. He’d chase the giant monkey away just like last time, and maybe give him a good thrashing in the process. After all, the second fight had only just started, and Kong was already running away again.

Further up the mountain, Kong found a plateau with a large outcropping of rocks that he could hide behind. It gave him a perfect place to wait and ambush Godzilla when he arrived, while simultaneously giving himself a moment to rest. It was clever. By the time Godzilla got up there, he would be huffing and puffing from the climb, which would give Kong an extra edge. Godzilla continued roaring as he trudged upwards, which let Kong know exactly where he was every step of the way.

Finally, Godzilla reached the plateau. He stood there for a moment scanning the area expecting to see Kong. Kong however was nowhere to be found. Godzilla was visually puzzled and annoyed not to find him there. He marched forward past the rockface where Kong was hiding behind. Godzilla didn’t notice Kong as he went by because the formation of rocks was concave. It allowed Kong back up inside of it and stay out of sight.

Kong watched and waited patiently, holding steady until the perfect opportunity presented itself. Godzilla meanwhile was growing more and more agitated that he couldn’t locate Kong. He looked up the mountainside and saw no trace of him. Godzilla thought that Kong had run away just like last time. His tail flickered back and forth with frustration. Unknowingly, it was darting right in front of Kong’s face over and over again until finally he could resist grabbing at it.

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Kong seized the tail and pulled Godzilla back using pure brute force. It was a mistake though. As soon as Godzilla realized what was happening, he lurched forward using the powerful muscles within his tail to send Kong flying to the ground. Kong had badly underestimated Godzilla’s own strength. Just like that, Kong’s advantage of surprise was gone, but he made the best of it, rapidly getting back to his feet.

Remarkably, Godzilla didn’t try to take advantage of the situation. Instead, he tried put some distance between himself and Kong. The sudden scare Kong had achieved apparently still had Godzilla on the backfoot. Kong didn’t let Godzilla get away so easily though. He leapt forward and once again seized the tip of Godzilla’s tail. Godzilla came to a halt nearby a rocky cliff. He dug his clawed fingers into the side of the rockface, grasping to gain a hold for leverage, but the soil was too loose. It kept crumbling away. Kong got to his feet and pulled even harder on Godzilla’s tail.

Godzilla finally stopped trying to move forward and held his ground. He changed tactics, and again, focused on using his tail to fling Kong backwards. Kong lost his grip and landed on his back. Godzilla turned to face him. Kong had oddly not seemed learn his lesson the first time, but now he realized he needed to change his strategy.

Godzilla paused for a moment, which was all the time Kong needed to recover and pick up a boulder. Kong raised it over his head and launched it at Godzilla. The massive rock hit Godzilla in the shoulder and temporarily knocked him off balance. As soon as he recovered, Kong already had another boulder waiting and threw it. Godzilla reacted this time, turning and using his tail to knock the boulder back at Kong. The rock hit Kong square in the chest, but he took the impact without even flinching. In fact, it only seemed to anger him. Kong raised his clinched fists up roaring. He quickly found a smaller rock to toss at Godzilla who was trying to retreat on out range. When the third rock struck Godzilla in the back, he turned and unleashed a short burst of his atomic breath in retaliation. This took Kong by surprise. He backed off like he had before and examined his arm where the fire had struck him. His fur was singed, but the damage was overall pretty minimal.

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Kong charged forward and grappled with Godzilla. He assumed Godzilla wouldn’t be able to use his breath again while he had him tied up like that. Kong tried to take Godzilla to the ground, but Godzilla’s tail prevented him from entirely bowling him over. Each monster struggled hard to push the other over to gain the advantage, but they were about equal in strength. Kong punched at Godzilla the best he could, but as the two rivals were so close together, he couldn’t get any momentum behind the strikes. In return, Godzilla raked his claws against the turfy fur of Kong’s hide, trying to force him away. Kong’s pelt was too thick for him make much headway though. They were at a stalemate.

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The two monsters dipped back and forth, at times threating to titer over as they struggled against each other. Godzilla and Kong completely turned themselves around pivoting before Godzilla pushed Kong away just enough to use his breath again. The blue stream hit Kong in the right chest and shoulder. Kong was again stunned for a moment. Godzilla celebrated as if he had already won the battle, perhaps expecting Kong to turn tail and run again, but he was mistaken. Kong’s resolve only hardened, and he charged Godzilla once more, this time managing to take him off of his feet.

Godzilla skillfully used their momentum to his benefit and rolled them over to the side. He then employed his tail to shift his weight and got on top of Kong. Kong however had a greater advantage in arm strength and immediately maneuvered himself back on top. In their jockeying for position, the pair had rolled right up to the edge of the plateau and spun right over the side of it.

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On the slope, neither monster had the advantage. For a time, they rolled out of control down the hill. When they at last came to a stop, Kong was on top again. He reared up and punched Godzilla’s head using gravity to his advantage. Godzilla shifted his weight and the two rolled some more. Kong untangled himself, disengaging from the struggle while Godzilla kept rolling down by himself. After turning over several more times, Godzilla finally came to a halt. He was quite dizzy by that point and had to fight hard to get back to his feet. The terrain was uneven though, and he was having a very difficult time compensating.

On the hill above him, Kong sensed that he’d gained the upper hand. He controlled the higher ground and Godzilla was fumbling around trying to regain his footing. Kong found a fist-sized hunk of rock and chucked it at Godzilla like a baseball. He was on target and hit Godzilla in the face, which added to the King of the Monster’s troubles getting upright.

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Kong jumped up, nearly dancing with his excitement as he came down the hill towards Godzilla. Things were starting to go his way. Kong found a bigger boulder and launched it. Then he rolled forward, flipping over in a showboating sort of way. Kong was starting to get a little cocky. Unfortunately for Kong, Godzilla got up just as he was rolling up on him. Godzilla sidestepped Kong and used his tail to knock Kong even further off balance going down the hill. Kong stumbled and then dashed his head against an outcropping of rocks, knocking himself silly.

Kong was slow to get up. He turned over and then slumped back down. He’d knocked himself out cold. Godzilla flapped his arms celebrating, not fully realizing Kong was out. Godzilla stood there taunting Kong when he should have taken advantage of the situation and moved in on him while he was defenseless. After all of Godzilla’s jeering, Kong only twitched a little bit. Godzilla moved in closer and used his tail to knock a pile of rocks onto Kong. Kong still did not move a muscle.

Godzilla turned to see that Kong had not responded whatsoever. He looked down at Kong, as if he was disappointed. Apparently, Godzilla still wanted more of a fight. Kong’s head turned back and forth slightly, showing that he wasn’t dead. Godzilla turned, climbing over some rocks, and then started to kick them back at Kong, as if to provoke him back into the fight. Kong came back to consciousness at that point but decided to play possum for a little while longer. He needed more time to recover, and Godzilla wasn’t laying into him very hard at that moment. He could afford to wait.

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When kicking rocks onto Kong failed to get a reaction, Godzilla decided to employ his tail to beat against Kong’s chest and belly. Again and again, he rained down blows on Kong. Unlike the rocks, those tail shots were starting to take their toll. It was about the fifth strike when Kong suddenly came alive again and shot up to attack Godzilla in retaliation.

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Somehow, almost unnaturally, Godzilla seemed to sense Kong coming at him. Godzilla turned and drove his head into Kong’s belly, knocking the wind out of him. Kong paused, trying to breath. Oddly, Godzilla chose that moment to turn his back to Kong once more, inviting another attack. Kong beat his chest and foolishly took the bait, rushing at Godzilla. Godzilla turned back again with fantastic timing and kicked Kong with both of his feet. Godzilla used his tail to push off against the ground and Kong flew backwards going head over heels off balance stumbling down the hillside. Just as it seemed Kong would regain his balance, the back of his legs hit a rocky ridge and he once again fell backwards rolling over the rocks out of control. Kong’s momentum kept him rolling until collided with another rockface. He put his hands out just in time to prevent his head from being dashed against the rocks.

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Godzilla gave Kong no time to recover. He marched down the hill after him, kicking rocks along the way. Kong was forced to dodge to avoid them, though there were simply too many to escape each one. Godzilla let loose again with his atomic breath, setting the nearby trees on fire. Kong was forced to retreat further down the hill to steer clear of the wall of flames.

Godzilla closed the gap, going right through the fire. He tried to hit Kong with his tail, but Kong caught the blow and used the momentum of the attack against Godzilla. He swung Godzilla around, lifting him up off the ground and sent him tumbling downwards. Kong jumped on Godzilla’s back and pummeled him with blows. Godzilla shifted under Kong’s weight, pushing him over.

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Kong got right back on Godzilla and forcibly opened his mouth with his hands. Kong was trying very hard to break Godzilla’s jaw, a move he learned to use against other reptilian foes. It was a mistake though. Godzilla used his atomic breath to break out of the hold. Kong nearly lost his fingers in the process, pulling them back just in time. If he hadn’t noticed Godzilla’s spines lighting up, he wouldn’t have ever been able to make a fist again. Kong had escaped that fate, but it had been close enough to where Kong felt vulnerable. He reached down, grabbing a handful of soil and grew it up into Godzilla’s face.

Godzilla was blinded for a moment, he turned around thrashing with his tail. Kong stepped forward to attack, but Godzilla turned again and landed a lucky blow which took Kong by surprise. By that point, the fire Godzilla had started was spreading all around them. Godzilla could take the heat, Kong simply could not. Kong elected to retreat further down the mountain. Godzilla recovered and came after Kong in hot pursuit. Kong turned just in time to see Godzilla head butt him in the chest, which sent him back to the ground. While there, King tore a tree out from the earth and used it like a baseball bat to hit Godzilla in the face.

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While Godzilla was stunned, Kong grabbed him by the neck and forced the root-ended side of the tree into his mouth. Godzilla started to choke as Kong force it further down into his throat. His arms waved wildly. Finally, one of Godzilla’s clawed hands found its way to Kong’s face and raked against his eyes. Kong immediately backed off. Kong recovered quickly, but before he could resume his attack, Godzilla blasted the tree out of his mouth using his atomic breath. The tree ignited and flew into Kong’s face and chest. It fell away quickly, but not before burning Kong a little more.

Kong issued a challenging roar to Godzilla, which seemed to motivate the King of the Monsters into charging. Godzilla came up and tried to slash Kong with his claws for a second time. Kong however stepped forward into the attack, catching Godzilla’s arm short and grappled with him. Kong used both of his arms, leaned over, and threw Godzilla over his shoulder with a technique that would have made judo master proud.

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Godzilla landed directly onto his back, shocked at how wrong the exchange had gone, but it didn’t stop him. Godzilla sprang right back up to his feet and hit Kong with an upper cutting blow with his claws. He tore away a chunk of fur and left scratch marks in Kong’s side. This made Kong angry. He launched himself at Godzilla, pushing him backwards crushing several buildings. The two monsters had entered the residual area of Sagami. It didn’t matter to them. Godzilla and Kong wrestled on their feet, each using all of their strength to dominate the other. Again, both monsters were fairly evenly matched. Godzilla finally turned the corner and slammed Kong to the ground as he tripped over a building.

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The fight continued as the two monsters approached the local landmark, Atomi castle. Kong pushed Godzilla backwards, but Godzilla stayed on his feet and turned, using his tail to sweep the legs right out from under Kong’s feet. Kong fell hard, landing on his shoulders. Kong tried to get back up, but Godzilla again used his tail to swipe at him again. Godzilla caught him in the shoulder and knocked him onto his side. Kong recovered and barreled into Godzilla, slamming him even closer to the castle. Godzilla fell backwards but once more used his tail to proper himself back up. Kong seemed to be getting tired. Instead of going right after Godzilla again while he was unsteady, he just lazily kicked rocks at him, to little effect. Godzilla blasted away with his breath, only narrowly missing Kong.

Kong jumped through the resulting flames and smoke, trying to close the gap. Fighting at a distance was not to his advantage. Godzilla once more let loose with his atomic breath, this time seemly just toying with Kong, meaning to slow down his momentum. Kong came to a brief stop, this time waiting for the smoke to clear before proceeding. Godzilla ducked behind Atomi castle, using it as a barrier to prevent Kong from directly attacking him. Kong began to rip into the structure, tearing it down one floor at a time. Godzilla joined in, smashing away sections of the priceless castle. Within moments, there was little left of the Japanese treasure.

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As the last of the building fell, Kong noticed that Godzilla was standing with his back against a very high cliff. If he could just force Godzilla back a little bit more, he’d fall right off of it. With a plan in mind, Kong lunged forward trying to get at Godzilla through the rumble. Unfortunately, Kong’s footing slipped as the loose debris of the castle gave way under him. Kong ended up flat on his face as Godzilla sidestepped him. Kong tried to recover but he was in a bad position.

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As soon as Kong stood up, he found Godzilla was right there waiting for him. Godzilla kicked Kong hard in the middle of his chest with all of his might. Kong fell backwards off of the high cliff. He hung in the air for only a few seconds, but it felt like ages, time seeming to slow down as he fell. There was water below. Kong hit it hard, headfirst. An enormous splash followed, and a tidal wave rushed up scouring the nearby shoreline city. Boats were sent up and over into the streets while buildings were toppled over by the surging water.

A few seconds later, Kong reemerged from the sea. Godzilla looked down upon him from the top of the clifftop. Kong had given him a very hard fight, redeeming himself from their first encounter. He’d earned a certain level of respect from Godzilla, but there could only be one monster king, and it was going to be him.

Kong looked up and found Godzilla gazing down at him. The two stared at each other for a moment. Godzilla waited to see if Kong would come back onto land and resume the battle. Kong looked around considering his options. It was a long way back up to Godzilla from where he was, and he was nearly exhausted from fighting already. Godzilla on the other hand seemed to still have a lot of go in him. Kong couldn’t believe it. Sure, Godzilla was showing a little battle damage, but how could he still have so much damned energy after a fight like that?

Kong made the only viable decision he could. He opted to retreat out to sea. Tired as he was, he could still swim just fine. Kong turned and started away. Godzilla roared down to him, apparently still not satisfied. Kong ignored him, he was done letting Godzilla goad him. Godzilla thrashed his tail seeing Kong continuing to retreat. Unwilling to accept that the fight was over, Godzilla jumped in after him, sending a second big wave at the shore.

Kong noticed that he was being pursued and picked up the pace, swimming like hell to get away. He definitely could not defeat Godzilla on the water. His only hope was to escape.




Damn, really came down to the wire, only had a half-hour to spare, but I got it posted today.

Oh, and I was wrong MP, it wasn't two new monsters, it was three. Forgot about the old octopus.

It was actually the yellow bulldozers and orange trucks that were giving me so much grief with painting. Neither of those colors like to go onto models easily. You have to put on layer and after layer to get them looking even. And you have to wait between each coat. What a pain.... :lol:

Well, it's late. Enjoy the chapter.
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Ashram52
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

Post by Ashram52 »

...

Alternate versions of both Kong and Godzilla:

For continuity reasons, I couldn't really use 62 Godzilla, despite his awesomeness. And in Kong's case, it was actually very hard for me to pick between the two versions. I went with the one I did because it better resembles Showa Kong and the figure itself has more moving pieces (which is good for combat photos). Also, there's a 'calm' and 'pissed off' version of the newer figure. So, it wins out. Still, I like the look of O.G. Kong. It was a hard choice.

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Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, Inagos is another Dark Horse Comics character. He has a Wikizilla page for anyone who's interested.

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mpsoldier
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

Post by mpsoldier »

Good work as always. Glad to see Kong. Always was one of my favorites. I even saw the original 1940s black and white original. I was curious what sort of spin you would put on the character. Despite all his incarnations overall Kong has been the most consistent of all the Kaiju in portrayal. At least in personality. I have to say though your excellent modeling creates an amusing contrast when paired with the Dark Horse comic cover that you closed with. That has to be the ugliest Godzilla picture I have ever seen. Dark Horse is known for very adult horror comics; but that Godzilla looks like a greedy meth addict seeing a delivery truck. It's very memorable, though probably not in the way they intended.

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