…
It’s really the “read aloud” feature I like with Word for editing. I catch a lot more mistakes listening to it than I otherwise would. My current work-around is going to be staying late at work some afternoon and then use the software there. Once I get to the actual editing portion of things, I can zip through a chapter in a couple of hours.
What is your idea?
…
Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
Moderator: GodzillavsJason
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Ashram52
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
Custom Godzilla Modeler
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mpsoldier
- Monsterland Worker
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Wed May 19, 2021 3:37 pm
Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
The Easter Bunnies insidious plan to use Kaiju eggs to overthrow the World. Naturally Santa and his Elves get involved.
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Ashram52
- Interpol Agent
- Posts: 414
- Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:53 am
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Ashram52
- Interpol Agent
- Posts: 414
- Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:53 am
Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
...
Chapter 51: Jungle Encounters.
Mechagodzilla disappeared almost as quickly as he’d arrived, blasting his way into the sky and vanishing without a trace. In the aftermath of his attack on Mechani-Kong, there wasn't much left of the opposing robot or its pilot to recover. The fallout from the one-sided clash had already begun. Marcus was summoned to Admiral Malek's temporary office inside of the secret G-Force base nearby Seattle. When Marcus arrived, he found Admiral Malek sitting behind his desk quietly shifting through some paperwork.
"You didn't like Johnny much, did you Lieutenant?" Malek asked.
"Regardless of what I thought of him on a personal level, he died a hero, sir." Marcus replied flatly. "He saved the President's life by forfeiting his own."
"He died like a damned fool." Malek retorted with a scoff. "Johnny was an idiot. He should have let that mechanical monster crush the President. We could have had any number of other politicians sworn in to office by now. Men are a dime a dozen, but the Mechani-Kong robot, on the other hand, was entirely irreplaceable. We can't just pull another one out of our asses. Because of Johnny's foolhardy impulsiveness, we're practically defenseless now!" Marcus was a little shocked by the bluntness of Admiral Malek's statement. If anyone else heard what he said, the admiral might find himself facing a court-marshal. However, Marcus considered what Malek said, and it was hard to avoid the harsh truth that his statement was more-or-less accurate. Losing Mechani-Kong was a great blow to G-Force, the United States, and humanity as a whole. "And is the President grateful for this organization's noble sacrifice?" Admiral Malek went on, spitting venom. "No... he isn't." Malek tossed a short stack of paperwork across the table to Marcus who had to slide it around to read it. "I'll save you the trouble of reading the fine print. Those are my marching orders. My long-awaited transfer has finally come through. I'm being replaced effective-immediately by an Airforce General named Stapleton. He is on his way even now to relieve me of command."
"You're being demoted to G-Force Special Projects?" Marcus asked, only to confirm what he already knew.
"Correct." Admiral Malek confirmed. "So, in a way, I'll still be part of the fight. They just don't want me making strategic decisions anymore. They simply want me to supply them with new weapons. I know you haven't always approved of my methods Marcus, but they have always been for the good of the country. Someday, when you are in a position of power yourself, you'll begin to understand what the burden of command is like. Sometimes you got to make the hard and even distasteful decisions for the greater good. I only hope my tenure in command of Archimedes will be looked back upon fairly."
"I do believe your actions have helped to advance our cause greatly Admiral, even the ones I found… disquieting." Marcus admitted. "But you're not to blame for what happened with Mechani-Kong. I don't think we had the slightest chance of winning that battle against Mechagodzilla. Our robot was simply outclassed."
"Yes, about that..." Admiral Malek cut back in. "I have to tell you Marcus, I was impressed with your tactical instincts during the fight. I think Johnny only lasted as long as he did thanks to your insights. My last act as Commander of G-Force is to add you to the list of prospective pilots for the mech program."
"What Mech program?” Marcus scoffed. “You only had the one machine, and it's toast now."
"We may have lost our material resources, but this isn't the end of the mech program.” Admiral Malek countered. “The fact that a more-advanced robot destroyed our own is all the more reason for further development in the future. We still have the blueprints and the knowledge to construct more robots. And in time, we will build more of them. We’ll build many more of them if I have anything to say about it. We're going to need men with brains in their driver's seats. Having a steel set of balls only takes you so far when it comes to combat. Anyways, I need to go now. Play nice with your new boss. Even if he doesn't realize it yet, he's going to need your help in the wars to come." Admiral Malek got up to leave but paused to shake Marcus' hand on the way out. "It's been nice serving with you. I'll see you around kid." He continued towards the door. "Oh, I left one last mission for you and your buddy Brock. The file is still sitting on my desk. It's something I think the two of you should enjoy…”
...
In the Kingdom of Mu, Samara had returned and delivered the news about the clash between Mechani-Kong and the newly arrived Mechagodzilla. The revelation about their stolen weapons technology being employed by Mechani-Kong did not go over well for Malchius. The Empress had him put to death in front of the entire council to send a message. Despite Mechani-Kong’s defeat, it was now clear that the surface dwellers had made a major jump towards parity with them in terms of technology.
Mechagodzilla's bold appearance in front of the entire world was also a cause for concern. Even though he was being controlled by their supposed allies, such a blatant attack made everyone in Mu a little nervous. They generally preferred to operate from the shadows. Their M.O. was to strike with the surgical precision of a scalpel, not with the brute force of a sledgehammer. But then, brute force always was one of the hallmarks of the Simian race. Subtlety was simply not their strong suit.
Following the council meeting, Samara was walking with Phameas and Esmer when they met Barca and Hamilcar in the corridor, Malchius' two chief lieutenants. The two warriors had mixed feelings about the demise of their superior. On the one hand, it meant that one or both of them would likely climb the ranks of the Mu warrior cast. On the other hand, they did have some semblance of loyalty to Malchius and were incensed to have seen his downfall come at the hands of information provided by spies whom they considered dishonorable at best. They each eyed Phameas, Esmer, and Samara as they approached.
"Behold and hail our heroes from the intelligence branch!" Barca chided sarcastically.
"Yes, they have protected the Empire once again from our enemies!" Hamilcar added with a sneer. Samara bristled at their taunts and moved to answer the challenge, but Phameas stepped in front of her and addressed the matter himself.
"I don't revel in the death of Malchius." Phameas started coolly, cutting right to the heart of the matter. "He was as much of a loyal servant to the Empress as any of us. We may not have agreed on a great number of things, but protecting our people was always at the heart of what he did. His voice will be missed in the council, and he will be missed as one of our greatest warriors. Whoever should take his place would do well to learn from the example he set." Both Barca and Hamilcar were surprised to hear genuine praise coming from the man who was undoubtably Malchius' chief rival. It went a long way to deflate the tension between the two groups. "As soldiers of the Empire, what do you make of these recent events on the surface?" Phameas subtly shifted subjects.
"I think the Simians just saved us the trouble of destroying the surface dweller’s robot ourselves." Barca replied. "They couldn't be allowed to wield our technology for themselves, don’t you agree?"
"No, I do not." Phameas answered plainly. "I think it would have been wiser to allow the surface dwellers to have their own mechanical monster. That way they'd stand a better chance of defending themselves from invaders. If any of the outsiders gain a strong foothold on the surface of this world, it will only put our own warriors and monsters at a great disadvantage when taking that territory back. It would be better to allow the surface dwellers to defend their own territory."
"You don't think such a robot could have been turned against our own people?" Hamilcar asked impatiently.
"As crude as the surface dweller’s robot was, there was no real threat of it going underwater.” Phameas observed. “Until such a time that they perfect a method of waterproofing their mechs, which seems to me like it will be decades from now, they won’t pose a serious threat to us."
"I'm glad you're not in charge of our defenses old man.” Hamilcar barked frustrated. “The Empire would fall within a week!" He declared boldly before he and Barca both stormed away red in the face.
"I really envy that guy; he'll never have to play dumb in his entire life." Samara said spitefully.
"Ha, you might be right Samara." Phameas snickered quietly. "By the way, your suspicions about Mechani-Kong are correct. The surface dwellers did not design that machine on their own. Mechani-Kong was in-fact designed by the Simians."
"Really, how did the surface dwellers end up getting a hold of it then?" Esmer asked curiously.
"That’s unclear, but the Simians certainly didn't want their technology in the hands of anyone else, in particular, the surface dwellers.” Phameas replied. “That's why Mechani-Kong was so thoroughly dismantled. The Simians were ensuring nothing useful could be recovered from the wreckage. And of course, they wanted to make a statement too."
"Mission accomplished on that account.” Esmer noted.
“I guess that kind of explains why an ape-like robot like Mechani-Kong was constructed in the first place.” Samara added. “After all, why would a robot meant for digging ever need to look like a great ape? But if the designers were Simians, that would go a long way towards explaining it."
"That's possible." Phameas agreed. "However, there could also be a much simpler explanation. It's not far-fetched to assume that the Simians were simply trying to imitate King Kong. Much in the same fashion that their newer robot is trying to mimic Godzilla."
"Why would they want to do either of those things?" Esmer asked.
"Well, just think about it a little.” Phameas suggested. “Put yourself in the Simian's shoes. Say you are a great interstellar power with designs on conquering Earth. You have rivals both in space and on the planet itself who are all closely monitoring the balance of power on the globe. So, you want to quietly infiltrate the planet and get your weapons in place ahead of time in the same way that a chess player wants to get his pieces set on the board. You want to start preparing for a larger invasion, namely by softening up the planet's defenses ahead of time. Wouldn't it make sense to covertly eliminate several of Earth’s terrestrial threats while at the same time hiding your own assets in plain sight? If both Godzilla and King Kong were killed and replaced with doppelgängers, that would go a long way towards achieving their goals. All the Simians would have to do is fabricate synthetic flesh to cover their robots to help them pass for the genuine article. That way, the surface dwellers would be unaware of the mounting threat around them. And the Simian’s rivals in space also may not notice a stealthy buildup of forces on Earth. When the timing was right, the Simians could reveal themselves and ambush all of their enemies. Who knows how many of earth's monsters might have been replaced before they were done. Of course, none of that subterfuge is necessary anymore. The Simians don't need to be subtle since open war is now on the horizon.”
"Hang on a second, if Mechagodzilla was meant to replace Godzilla, then why is the robot we've seen only half the size that it should be?" Samara asked.
"That should be rather obvious by now Samara.” Phameas pointed out. “Mechagodzilla was undoubtably built months ago. At that time, Godzilla would have only been a fraction of the size he is now. You'll recall he went through a somewhat painful and forced growth spurt due to the efforts of the surface dwellers."
...
Akira had just gotten out of the shower and was drying himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist and then went to the mirror to look himself over. An hour earlier, he’d received orders from Admiral Malek. He was to join a mission with Brock, Marcus, and Ling. They were going to South America, but not to trail Godzilla as he’d been expecting. No, they were instead being assigned to a very different sort of mission. There had been a second outbreak of Meganulon in the jungles of Brazil. Brock and Marcus were being sent with a contingent of marines to wipe them out and to test a new weapon at the same time. Admiral Malek wanted Akira along too because of his first-hand experience with the initial Meganulon infestation in Japan. Akira stared at the scars on his shoulder and felt the uneven grooves with his fingers. He flashed back to that fateful night and the events that had transpired. So many bad memories. It sent a chill up his spine. He had almost died on several occasions. If not for some quick thinking and a lot of luck, he wouldn't have survived.
Akira was afraid to face up to that terror again, though his pride wouldn't allow him to reveal that fact to anybody else. First and foremost, he needed to be a warrior, and warriors did not fear pain or death. Warriors served the greater good no matter the cost. Warriors were expected to make sacrifices when necessary. Akira stared at himself in the mirror and willed himself to find the courage to carry on stoically.
Minutes later, Akira was dressed and gathering the things he needed for the mission, trying to act normal. Kiki could see right through him though, and she was concerned for his physical and mental well-being. She put her arms around Akira to comfort him. She did not try to affect his state of mind, restraining her efforts to comfort him like an ordinary woman. In her heart, she knew this fear was something Akira needed to overcome on his own. He would be stronger once he was on the other side of it. That didn't stop her from empathizing though and she had to fight back tears. As much as he needed to be strong for himself, she needed to be strong for him as well.
"Any advice?" Akira asked Kiki, touching her arm gently.
"Stay close to Ling." Kiki replied calmly and firmly.
Akira gave her a strange look but then nodded, trusting her.
...
Two days later, the corpse of a lesser kaiju washed ashore in Singapore. From the wounds, it was determined that Mechagodzilla was responsible for the attack. One of his finger missiles was still sticking out of the charred carcass. The reason for the attack was unclear, but the assault had been very brutal. The body of the kaiju was covered in wounds.
Dr. Orsini and Reinhart were dispatched to investigate, but the rest of the team was already committed to Admiral Malek’s prior mission. At that very moment, Brock, Marcus, Ling, Akira, and a platoon of G-Force marines were flying over northwestern Brazil. They found themselves on approach to a remote military base deep in the rainforest which was built for border security. Brazil was the largest country in South America, and it had an extensive border that neighbored nearly every other nation on the continent. Securing such a vast frontier over such rough terrain was a nearly impossible task. The Columbian border was a particularly dangerous area to patrol. The Columbians were engaged in a long-running and messy civil war. Drug running and kidnappings were one of the various ways rebel groups funded their operations, and sometimes the conflict would spill over the border into Brazil. Because of this, there were ongoing tensions between the two countries.
The Brazilians had developed another problem in the area though. A village bordering the Amazon River basin had been overrun and destroyed by the second outbreak of Meganulon. Like the first infestation in Japan, the colossal insects were extremely hostile towards human life and not many civilians escaped the settlement in time to raise the alarm. The new swarm of Meganulon had already been active for over a week. It was unclear what might happen if they were left to their own devices, but at the very least, they were expected to procreate given enough time. That was unacceptable to everyone concerned. The bugs simply couldn't be allowed to breed. If left unchecked, hordes of the creatures might one day start attacking the more civilized parts of the world in overwhelming numbers. For that reason, Admiral Malek had dispatched troops to Brazil to stomp them out. Brazilian Army soldiers were struggling to combat the Meganulon with their standard weapons. Admiral Malek's other reason for sending Akira and the rest of the team was to test out some newly developed weapons.
Given the rise of small and mid-sized kaiju, small arms weapon manufactures had dedicated a significant number of resources into producing new weapons specifically meant to counter them. One of the first great successes was the M21A Heavy Assault Rifle which featured a revolutionary type of ammo: explosive tipped rounds. Given that the intended targets would most likely be insectoid in nature, the projectiles were designed to penetrate a modest amount of armor. Once the exoskeleton of the target was breached, the cartridge would detonate, causing massive internal damage. The rifles fired forty-caliber rounds which put them at about the same level of stopping power as an elephant gun. For this reason, a fully automatic mode was not feasible for the weapon, and thus, was not implemented. It was felt that an average soldier would not be able to withstand the recoil and be knocked off their feet if it were attempted. Even a burst-fire mode was deemed too risky. Thus, the M21A could only fire a single slug at a time. But if that one shot connected with a target, the damage it was able to inflict was devastating. It would literally blow a man in two. The Meganulon weren't known to be particularly fast, so hitting them wasn’t expected to be very difficult. Thus, they would be the perfect opponent to test the M21A rifle out against. This mission was going to be the weapon’s first real field test.
The C-130s that were transporting the marine team landed on a barren airstrip in the middle of the jungle with a thud. The landing field was little more than a dirt road beaten into the ground, but fortunately, the Hercules transport planes were rugged aircraft that were designed just for such difficult conditions. One by one, each plane landed and came to a stop. The first three aircraft lined up in a neat row and then opened up their cargo bay doors. From each hold, two jeeps with mounted 50 caliber heavy machine guns rolled out into the open. The Hercules had an impressive cargo carrying capacity. It could haul a lot of troops and equipment all at once. Its designer didn’t believe in making two trips. The soldiers unbuckled themselves and came out to check out the surrounding jungle. It was quite the change of scenery from the States. The Amazon jungle was quite exotic and beautiful but also hot and oppressively humid. While the six jeeps were being fueled and armed, Akira eyed the fourth Hercules transport which was at the far end of the airstrip away from the others. It was not unloading troops or equipment like the rest. There was definitely something different about it.
"I thought we were only taking six jeeps, what’s the last bird for?" Akira asked Brock.
"You'll see..." Brock said with a smirk before turning his attention to fiddling around with his new rifle. All the Marines were inspecting their new weapons, better familiarizing themselves with them. "The briefing is in about fifteen minutes. You'd better get ready."
...
After meeting with the local Brazilian officers, Marcus and Ling came back to present the operational notes to the marines. Utilizing a large map and table, they outlined the location of their objective. They'd need to drive through a jungle trail to reach the small village in question. The Brazilians had sent out a force to quell the Meganulons themselves, but none of their soldiers had returned. It was feared that they had been wiped out. Akira grew nervous upon hearing that. The Meganulon had been tough in Japan, but regular IJA soldiers had managed to overcome them there. What was different in this case?
"Okay boys, pay attention, because this is important.” Brock spoke up, pulling Ling’s attention back to the active conversation. “Don’t try to fire off another round if your rifle jams. The explosive-tipped rounds do not take kindly to being all jammed up, if you know what I mean." He warned. Brock took the time to run through all the key aspects of the weapons again, just as a reminder.
“Are there any other questions?” Marcus asked as Brock wrapped up his weapons demonstration.
“Yeah, is it true that Godzilla is closing in on the area, Lieutenant?” One of the grunts asked.
“It sure is.” Brock grumbled, answering for Marcus. “It figures that the Admiral would put us in harm’s way one last time for his final mission. It’s very on-brand for him.”
"You're just feeling sore because nobody is here to ‘pull rank’ for you Sargent." Marcus smirked at Brock knowingly. It was a private joke just between the two of them.
With the briefing concluded, the soldiers loaded up in their jeeps and departed for the mission. The Brazilians sent along a very nervous guide to help the marines locate the village. He joined Marcus, Ling, Brock, and Akira in the lead vehicle. To help pass the time, the guide told them about the area. Ling had to translate, but Portuguese was not his strongest language. Ling had been expecting to be translating Spanish, and thus, he hadn't prepared very well for Portuguese. Though he was fairly-well educated, Ling had somehow missed that Brazil was one of the few places in South America where Spanish was not the primary language. This was due to a Pope dividing South America between the Spanish and Portuguese Empires hundreds of years ago when they were both rising colonial powers. It was a measure designed to keep peace between the two catholic nations, giving each of them a sphere of influence in the Americas to expand into.
Ling's translations were a little rough, but he still knew enough to get by. The guide was telling them about the rainforest and the nearby Amazon River. It was the largest and arguably longest river in the world. Its average width was six kilometers across and one hundred meters deep, but it could be as wide as fourteen kilometers and one-hundred and fifty meters deep. Impressive to say the least. Akira was sitting next to Ling per Kiki's instruction. He was listening to the stories but getting distracted by the local wildlife. He saw a veritable swarm of butterflies congregating in a nearby tree. Their mass of colors was gorgeous.
'Why should I stay close to Ling?' Akira thought bitterly, looking back to Ling as he continued to talk. 'He's not a soldier. He's not even particularly tough. The man waxed his eyebrows and even wore cologne daily for god's sake. He was a pampered and effeminate Chinaman, and Akira didn't want to get any closer to him than he absolutely had to. Ling had already begun to notice his ongoing proximity in the early portions of the mission, and it was starting to get awkward.
As they continued to drive through the jungle, the line of jeeps came across the body of a Brazilian soldier and the mood in the convoy shifted drastically. Everybody was on alert now. As the jeeps rolled by, Akira could see that only the top portion of the man's torso remained. The other half was simply gone through some ultra-violent encounter they'd never entirely be able to piece together. But it looked like the corpse had been chewed on right up to the ribcage.
The convoy’s gunners started to swivel their barrels into the endless jungle, prepared for any would-be attackers. None came though. Based on the decomposition of the body, the Brazilian soldier had been there for quite a while already. Whatever had attacked him was long since gone. There were no other bodies to be seen. Since he was on the road so far away from the village, it was a good bet the lone soldier was the last survivor of his group. He hadn't quite made it back to safety. This was the thought that ran through the minds of the marines heading into the same hell that had claimed the man and all his friends. Would it come to this for them as well?
Akira looked over to Marcus who was noticeably disturbed by the scene. This surprised him. Akira figured Marcus would still be very much gung-ho for a mission like this. He could get up close and personal with a very dangerous type of kaiju. The odds of coming back for a man with his level of reckless abandon were not great. However, Marcuss seemed to have changed since his last outing. His Devil-may-care attitude had evaporated. In fact, his confidence in general seemed to have diminished. Marcus was trying to hide it, but he was concerned about the danger, notably keeping his weapon at the ready.
After a couple more miles of rough jungle roads, the column came to the outskirts of the village, but they did not approach any closer than the outer perimeter. Marcus signaled with his hands and the six vehicles formed a loose line fifty meters away from the closest building. The gunners positioned the 50 cals to intercept any targets which might present themselves. The marines hopped out of their vehicles and took positions crouched down below the aim of the heavy gunners to stay clear of their line of sight. One by one, the engines of the jeeps fell silent and everyone waited and listened. It was eerily quiet. Only the background noises of tropical birds calling punctuated the long silences. The rumbling of the jeep’s motors apparently hadn’t drawn the attention of anyone or anything within the village. There was no movement to be seen.
Brock was the first to make a move. He stood up and took a few steps out into the open. Marcus followed suit, eyeing over to him to get an impression of what he was thinking. Akira watched them and could see a stark difference between the two men. Brock was calm and confident while Marcus' movements were marked with caution. Over the last couple of missions, Marcus had developed a reputation for being a badass, and it seemed like a part of him was attempting to live up to that expectation in front of the men, but Akira could sense that he was scared. This made Akira feel a little better about his own fear. If Marcus really was scared, that meant he'd be a lot more level-headed in combat and not lead them into dangerous situations needlessly. Everybody would be just a little bit safer.
Brock looked over to Marcus and nodded before looking back to the rest of the platoon and signaling for them to advance. Everyone got to their feet. The only men left behind were the soldiers manning the fifty-caliber guns on the jeeps. They were being left behind for fire-support and guarding the group’s rear flank. If the rest of the platoon needed to fall back, the big guns were rally point and safety net. They'd be able to cover any retreat with their heavy firepower if things got too hairy.
The marines advanced in a defensive formation. Everybody was on the lookout for trouble. The M21A Heavy Assault Rifles were really heavy though. All the marines were used to handling smaller and lighter weapons. Thus, they were struggling to bear the extra weight. A lot of them resorted to slinging the rifle’s band over their shoulder to make it easier to carry. It meant they'd be a little slower to fire their weapons when the time came, but at least they could focus on their surroundings to identify threats without being distracted fidgeting with their arms. In the end, the only person who was carrying their rifle with a free hand was Brock, but that was only because he was built like an ox. The M21A almost seemed like it was designed for him personally.
Even though Marcus was the ranking officer, he let Brock take the lead and give out most of the orders. It was the smart call. After all, Brock did have a lot more field experience, so, to a certain degree, this made sense. As the platoon got closer to the village, they could all see signs of combat. There were bullet holes riddled into the wooden buildings and shell casings littered about on the ground. Some of the dwellings had walls which were collapsed inwardly, as if something large had forced its way inside. There was also explosive damage where grenades must have been employed. There were shallow pools of blood scattered about too. Akira could see some of the same butterflies he'd noticed in the trees earlier congregating around the edges of the pools, seemingly drinking from them. Akira got a sick feeling as the grim reality of it settled in. Such beautiful creatures committing such a vile act. Nature could be quite strange sometimes.
The one thing that was conspicuously absent from the scene were bodies. There weren’t any of the bugs corpses to be found, nor any dead soldiers from the team sent in to exterminate them, and no dead villagers either. It wasn't hard to imagine what happened to them. The bodies must have been consumed by the ravenous appetite of the creatures, even their own fallen. Nothing was wasted.
The Brazilian village was modest in size. There were perhaps as many as forty huts in all. Each of them needed to be cleared one by one. Marcus and Brock decided they needed to split the platoon into two groups. If they tried to stay clumped together in one big cluster, they could be easily surrounded or flanked. Marcus and Brock each took command of a half. At that point, Akira had a tough choice to make. Would he follow Brock or Marcus? He felt more comfortable with Brock in the lead, but he saw that Ling was already moving towards Marcus' contingent. Kiki's words echoed in his head and forced his hand. He joined Marcus and the men following him.
The two groups each took one side of the settlement and began clearing buildings carefully. Akira tried to stay behind the regular grunts and let them do most of the investigating. He clung to the outer walls of the huts, keeping an eye on things from the outside. For a time, the operation proceeded quietly. Each house was methodically cleared and everything was quiet.
About halfway through the sweep, Akira heard a noise from the jungle which bordered the village. He brought his rifle up to the ready and carefully moved towards the sound. Two Marines picked up on the sound as well and flanked Akira. Together, they advanced as a team. The soldiers knew Akira's primary role in the mission was as a tactical expert, not as a combatant, so each of them outpaced him and took the lead. Akira was happy to let them do so. The jungle’s humidity seemed to spike in those tense moments. Sweat was trickling down Akira’s forehead, threatening to drip into his eyes.
Suddenly, an angry looking Meganulon came crashing through the wall of an adjacent hut and lunged towards Akira. The two marines were out of position to be of any immediate help. They began to whorl around, but their heavy weapons were unwieldy and proved difficult to get up into firing position quickly. Akira was on his own. The insect was nearly on top of him when he finally brought up the barrel of his rifle and fired. The gun's kickback sent Akira falling backwards towards the ground. He had not been bracing himself, and in truth, he wasn't even on balance. Despite that, Akira's shot hit home. His attacker was so close that it was almost impossible to miss. The projectile struck the Meganulon in the head and the resulting detonation from the explosive shell completely blew the giant insect's head apart. Without its nerve center to give the body commands, the corpse slumped to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood poured out of it afterwards, which started to run down the dirt street.
Akira lay on the ground just feet away. The natural curvature of the road spared him from having to get out of the way of the crimson stream. Akira was in a mild state of shock. Everything had happened so fast that he didn't really have time to process it while it was happening. When Akira realized that he had slain one of the Meganulon, he felt a great sense of relief. Not just because it had kept him from being killed in the moment, but in the larger scheme of things too. He'd reclaimed some of his pride. If he could so easily kill one of the Meganulon, there was little reason to fear them going forward. The two marines pulled Akira to his feet. Each of them gave Akira a pat on the shoulder for a job well-done, knocking off some dirt in the process.
Marcus had heard the commotion and came over to see what was happening. Within an instant, he understood what had gone down. He nodded to Akira in approval. From the jungle, a second Meganulon emerged. This one was much less stealthy. It came right out into the open without any fear of the marine squad or their weapons. It had learned through earlier encounters that humans weren't much of a threat. The creature was holding the remains of a capybara that it had caught and killed. The oversized rodent was not enough to satisfy the creature’s appetite though. It yearned for more. It craved the taste of human flesh.
Marcus wasn't about to let that happen though. He aimed carefully, allowing Akira and the two marines to duck out of his line of sight. He fired once and the butt of his rifle hammered into his shoulder as it recoiled. Even though Marcus held the weapon tight against his body, it still hurt. He didn't let that stop him from focusing on the task at hand though. The first round hit the Meganulon in the shoulder, inflicting a grievous wound as the ammo burst inside. The creature slowed down but didn't stop. Marcus shot off a second round, this one hitting his target in the chest. The subsequent shot must have hit something a little more crucial because the giant insect slowly came to a stop this time. It wasn't quite dead, but it was no longer a threat. The two marines sprang up from their hiding spots and finally put it out of its misery.
After that, the operation resumed. There were a couple more brief firefights here and there, but in the end, only a handful of the Meganulon were found. Far less than they had been expecting. The reports indicated dozens of specimens, and they had only killed a grand total of six. It begged the question: where were the rest of them?
"You know, that was so easy, it was almost fun." Brock remarked confidently. "I thought Akira said these things were pretty tough. With these new rifles, we can practically one-shot them."
"Yeah, well these new weapons also have a hell of a kick." Marcus complained, rubbing his shoulder. "Remind me to tell the tech boys they need to add a little more cushion to the stocks before our next outing."
"Eh, they feel just fine to me." Brock replied with a smirk, flexing his muscles in an intentionally obnoxious way.
"Yeah… yeah… whatever you overgrown jarhead." Marcus eyed over to him. "I bet you eat crayons when I'm not paying attention."
"Only the red ones, they're my favorite." Brock replied with a smile. The rest of the marines got a good laugh out of the back-and-forth exchange.
"Where is Akira anyways?" Marcus asked looking around for him.
Akira was nearby, closely examining one of the fallen Meganulon's corpse. There was something strange about it. These Meganulon specimens were a slightly different color from the ones he'd seen in Japan. In each case, their shells were quite mundane. A muddy mixture of muted browns and tans. But in the case of the Japanese specimens, they were darker in appearance. These new ones looked dull and faded by comparison. However, there was one particular region on the creature’s bodies that wasn't. The areas around the wounds where the explosive rounds had penetrated the armored exoskeleton had a curious characteristic around the edges. There was a second layer of armor under the first which was bright and vibrant. The colors were swirls of green and purple. It was hard to distinguish the splashes of color from the splatters of their wounds. If Akira hadn't seen the wounds of a dead Meganulon before, he probably wouldn't have even noticed.
Akira thumbed around the edges of the gash and some of the outer armor flaked away from the creature's body. The dermis was drier and more brittle than Akira was expecting. Underneath, it was more of the vibrant armor composition. Very odd. Was the creature molting? Akira knew enough about invertebrates to know they needed to occasionally shed their outer shells to continue growing. This was probably no different for mega-fauna. Akira heard Marcus calling for him to rejoin the others. He left the body be and returned to the group.
The platoon assembled around the village’s mining tunnels. Based on Akira's reports from the first outbreak, that was where they expected to find the rest of the missing Meganulons. To the shock of everybody, none of the giant insects were found inside of the tunnels, just discarded eggs from where they had hatched in the lower levels. Based on the number of eggs they saw within the caverns, there should have been at least three dozen specimens running around.
"There's supposed to be a lot more of them than this.” Marcus noted grimly. “Where are they?"
From their vantage point at the mine’s entrance, Akira could see all the way to the bank of the river nearby and spotted what appeared to be the body of one of the Meganulon floating on the water. Investigating it might give them a clue to the missing creature’s whereabouts. The platoon carefully made their way back through the village and then to the river.
"Did it drown?" Brock asked, looking over the discolored body. The corpse was much paler than the specimens they'd seen thus far. It was just drifting in the shallows, caught up against a wooden dock the villagers had build for their canoes and fishing. It was keeping the current of the river from pulling the corpse downstream. Akira noticed something odd about the eyes and Marcus seemed to pick up on it too. Akira used the barrel of his rifle to poke into the thorax. With a little pressure and a slight crunch, the metal passed right through the shell and beyond. It was then that everybody realized what they were looking at, an empty husk. This was simply the shed exoskeleton of a Meganulon.
One of the marines at the end of the dock was distracted, staring at something in the river below. There was a sliver of light reflecting in the water, drawing his gaze. Before he knew it, something large was coming up to meet him. A Meganulon burst violently from the water and snatched the man up, nearly pulling him out of his boots and back into the river. The rest of the squad barely even saw what happened because it was over so quickly.
"Fall back!!!" Brock ordered reflexively to the rest of the men who were still standing on the boardwalk.
The order came none too soon. A second Meganulon came crashing up through the wooden planks only a second later. The marines retreated back onto dry land and then turned their weapons on the giant insect which had inadvertently trapped itself between broken splinters of wood, making itself a perfect target. After a number of shots had hit home, the creature was reduced to just chunks of meat. It was so thoroughly obliterated that it was barely even recognizable anymore. A third Meganulon emerged from the water, but it was gunned down immediately by a hail of fire. After that, all was quiet for a time. There didn't seem to be any more of the monsters in the water. If that was indeed the case though, that meant there was still a large number of specimens unaccounted for.
At that point, Marcus was hoping that they hadn’t spread out all over the river. Tracking them down would be nearly impossible if that were the case. But then he remembered that one of the bugs had emerged from the forest. It was worth investigating there before going anywhere else. After regrouping, the platoon entered the jungle and spread out in a wide search pattern. In the trees, the mosquitoes were thick and a constant nuisance. However, amongst the tree trunks, any Meganulon they found would have a very hard time advancing on them while the soldiers would have no trouble firing around the foliage themselves.
Eventually, the group entered a small clearing where the villagers had cut away some of the forest. Nearby an old dead tree, they found another discarded husk of a Meganulon. This time, it was immediately obvious that it was simply an empty shell. And that was because it had been partially crushed. But it hadn't been trampled on. No, it looked more like it had fallen and broken on impact. Akira and Marcus came to the same conclusion almost instantaneously, first looking over to each other and then up to the treetops. Above them, they could see dozens of discarded skins. The rest of the marines followed suit. A chill ran throughout the group as they processed what this meant.
"You know, this kind of reminds me of cicadas." Brock said quietly.
"Yeah... or dragonflies..." Marcus replied, noticing that higher up in the trees, amongst the leaves, there was more than just empty husks. He could make out clear membraned wings which were long and veinous. They were attached to a creature which very closely resembled a dragonfly, only much bigger and fiercer looking. Its carapace was mostly green, but with splashes of purple.
The local guide, who had been tagging along with the group the entire time, spotted the monsters and did not wait around to see what would happen next. He made a break for the village. He was amongst the trees before any of the monsters could react, but the sudden movement had caught their attention. The first creature took flight and darted above the canopy. After that, a surge of other insects joined.
"Withdraw to the forest." Marcus ordered, trying to keep his men calm and organized. If they lost their cohesion now, they were done for. Maintaining discipline was essential. The marines fell back in good order. They trekked through the jungle and back towards the village. The Meganula dragonflies were not able to attack the soldiers while they were using the forest for cover. When the platoon reached the far side of the jungle, they saw their guide making a break for the jeeps. He didn't get halfway through the village before he was picked off by the Meganula. He was scooped up into the air and only a spattering of blood came back down. The soldiers in the jeeps on the far side of the village spotted the monsters and opened fire. They managed to down two of the Meganula before others fell upon them.
Seeing them massacred from afar, Marcus and Brock had their squads set up a firing line at the edge of the tree line on their side of the settlement. The Meganula darted around the village, waiting for the marines to try to cross. They seemed to understand that the soldiers wanted to reach the vehicles. Unfortunately, the creatures never stopped long enough to present a tempting target. The M21A rifle was not the ideal weapon for the mission anymore. Hitting a fast-moving flying target just wasn't what they were designed for. The marines would take occasional pot-shots at the Meganula when they thought they had a chance at hitting one of them, but they were coming up empty.
This presented Marcus with a real dilemma. If they stayed where they were, they’d eventually run out of ammo, leaving them defenseless. The group could try waiting for nightfall to make a break for the jeeps to escape, but there was a very good chance that the Meganula could see just as well in the dark as the daylight. Thus, waiting around for darkness could be to their disadvantage. If the bugs were patient enough, they could even starve the soldiers out after a couple of days. The marine’s options suddenly looked pretty bleak. Marcus knew that their best bet was to try to make it to the jeeps, but they'd have to be careful about it. He crawled over to discuss the matter with Brock to get his two cents. Soon, they both agreed that it was their best course of action.
Akira was listening in on the conversation and got a sudden sense of dread, realizing that the squad was going to have to cross out into the open, exposing themselves to the creature's ravenous appetites. However, unlike the guide, the marines were not going to make a headlong run for the vehicles. Instead, they were going to move from hut to hut in the village for cover. That would make them much more difficult targets, though the first stretch of the journey would be the most dangerous. There was a long open area between the woods and the first set of huts.
The rest of the marines were informed of the plan and then formed up. The order was given and the mass of soldiers poured out into the open. They double-timed it across the field but were constantly keeping an eye on the skies with their weapons ready. It didn't take long for the first Meganula to dive down at them. The squad came to a halt as a unit and waited for the creature to get in close before finally opening fire. Many shots missed, but enough of them hit to send the monster careening off course. The creature slammed into one of the huts, caving in the roof. The marines got moving again, but one man was picked off by a creature that had escaped the group's notice by sneaking around low from the other direction. There was nothing that could be done for the marine. He was gone in a flash.
After seeing their friend go down, two men broke ranks and high-tailed it towards the nearest hut. With the unit's cohesion broken, Brock ordered everybody else to follow suit. They were already halfway to safety by that point anyways. Akira was just steps away from a hut when he was pulled down from behind. He feared the worst, but looked back to see that Ling had tackled him to prevent one of the diving creatures from snatching him up. Unfortunately, the man who’d been running behind them was decapitated by the monster's attack.
With no time to lose dwelling on it, Akira and Ling got back to their feet and fled into one of the huts. From a window, they watched as other members of the platoon struggled to escape. One of the Meganula had landed, knocking several men down in the process. As one of the marines fell, his weapon went off, blowing the man standing next to him in half at the waist. The soldier popped like a flesh balloon, spattering the other men around him. One of the other soldiers was so frightened that he hadn't noticed his gun jam and went to fire a second shot. This resulted in one explosive round being slammed into the back of another and they both detonated inside the rifle, maiming its user. Akira tried to cover the survivors using his own rifle to shoot at the grounded Meganula. His aim was true, and he blew off the creature's left pair of wings, immediately distracting it from any soldiers it might have a mind to attack.
Eventually, all of the remaining marines found refuge inside one of the huts and the whole squad paused to catch their breath. Marcus and Brock took the time to get a head count and figure out how many men they’d lost in the mad dash. It involved a lot of shouting from one hut to another. In all, five men were missing. Four were confirmed to have been taken by the creatures. The other was assumed to have been as well, though no one had seen it happen. After taking a moment for everyone to reload their weapons and mentally prepare themselves, the platoon started moving again in squads. One group would move while being covered by the rest. The space between the huts was fairly narrow and proved to be difficult for the Meganulon to fly through. Most of the time the men were moving so quickly that the bugs couldn't react fast enough in the first place.
Things were starting to look up. Though the process was slow, consistent progress was being made without further casualties. The group still had to cross one final open gap between the village and the waiting jeeps, but Marcus had a plan in mind for that. He still had one last card up his sleeve. The platoon was over halfway through the village when the next complication reared its ugly head.
Suddenly, the roof of the hut Akira's group occupied was ripped open by one of the bolder Meganula, exposing the men inside. The soldiers had to quickly scatter to the next building over. Several other creatures mimicked the behavior of the first and landed on top of the huts. The buildings were not very sturdy and creaked under the weight. Marines started firing through the roofs to keep the creatures at bay. More of the bugs landed on the ground around the huts, trapping the marines inside.
"Marcus, I think it's time to play your ace in the hole!" Brock shouted from his shelter.
"I'm forced to agree Sargent!" Marcus called back before turning to the radio man. "Call in the gunship." He instructed. "Everybody pop your smoke!" He shouted to the rest of the platoon.
One by one, each squad set off a canister of green smoke to mark their position in the village. After only a few moments, the marines could hear the hum of an aircraft approaching. It was the fourth C-130. It was a specialized bird with one purpose in mind: Close air support for ground troops. It was outfitted with one 105mm Howitzer, one 40mm Bofors gun, two twin 20mm Vulcan rotary cannons, and one 7.92mm minigun mount. The Hercules gunship turned to bring its weapons to bare. The ensuing barrage was intense. Three of the Meganula on the ground got caught up in the firestorm and the rest took flight to avoid being cut to pieces.
"Okay, let’s move!" Marcus shouted out for everybody to hear. With the creatures distracted and in disarray, this was there chance to pull out.
In the sky, the crew of the C-130 was still trying to hit targets, but it was next to impossible. They weren't meant to engage in air-to-air combat. Thus, the Hercules turned to avoid the swarm of Meganula that were climbing up to meet it. The pilot peeled away, and for a time, the creatures followed the aircraft before finally giving up.
On the ground, the platoon was arriving back at the jeeps. The men piled into them and prepared to make a hasty retreat. Before they could pull away from the village, they heard a rumble coming from nearby.
"Ground forces, be advised, Godzilla is approaching the area from the northwest." Akira could hear the gunship's captain warning Marcus over the radio.
"Big G walked a quarter of the way through South America just to squash a few mosquitos?" Brock scoffed.
"I don't know..." Marcus replied. "But we're not going to sit around speculating, we're going to get the hell out of here while we still can."
"The northwest is our escape route." Brock rightly pointed out.
"I know that." Marcus replied frustrated. "But we can't stay here waiting for the bugs to come back."
Marcus and Brock were interrupted by a billowing noise, which was followed by a whooshing sound coming from the river. Suddenly, it sounded like a waterfall had sprouted up out of nowhere, but it was something much, much worse. From the depths of the Amazon, a monster was emerging from the murky water. As the water rolled off it, the creature began to take form. It was easy enough to make out wings and a dark horned insectoid exoskeleton that had yellow protruding ridges. Two big red compound eyes could be seen as well.
"Is that Battra?" Brock asked.
"No... it is not." Marcus replied as more of the monster became clear.
What they thought was black chitinous armor was in fact a dark purple carapace. This new creature's wings were shaped similarly to Battra's, though they lacked the signature red and yellow patterns that defined Battra's markings. Several other features, which were quickly becoming visible, also helped to distinguish the new monster. The first trait that stood out was the new kaiju's long and segmented tail which had a very distinct stinger attached to the end of it. Second, was a very nasty maw which did not resemble an insect’s mouth in the slightest. It gave the creature's face a menacing and unhinged grin that was filled with sharp teeth. The monster also had two front appendages that were almost crustacean-like in appearance. Something akin to a pair of lobster's claws, though more narrow and jagged. As the new monster took to the sky, it became clear that it closely resembled a larger and meaner version of the Meganula. Like its smaller counterparts, it had three sets of thin legs connected under its thorax. As the kaiju’s wings got up to speed, beating fast and hard, both air and water around it were displaced by the rapid motion. Even far away at the edge of the village, the marine platoon was getting pelted by water droplets.
"Akira, what the hell is that?" Brock asked.
"I don't know..." Akira replied stupefied as the Meganula started to gather around the new arrival.
"Alright, let's get the hell out of here while we still can." Marcus announced. "I'd rather take my chances with Godzilla than this thing."
The line of jeeps bolted away from the village, getting onto the jungle trail and putting as much distance between themselves and the newly arrived monster as possible. Marcus looked back to see the Meganula swarm flying high above the tree line. Some of the Meganula spotted the jeeps amongst the trees and dove down at them. Marcus shouted for men to reoccupy the gun mounts and defend the convoy. They had an advantage in that the giant insects could only approach the line of vehicles from one direction and through the narrow split in the high rising jungle canopy the road occupied. This limited the bugs ability to dodge incoming fire. The convoy was also quickly moving away from them, which gave the gunners more time to get a bead on their targets. After a brief but intense surge of fire, several of the Meganula fell from the sky. The rest of the swarm was forced to give up as their losses rapidly mounted.
The column of jeeps came to the crest of a high rising hill and caught a glimpse of something terrible. Over the line of trees, they could see Godzilla walking through the jungle and heading in their direction. He was very close to the road and his path intersected with the marine's escape route miles ahead of the Brazilian airbase. The platoon was effectively cut off. Marcus signaled for the jeeps to pull off the road and take refuge under the cover of the jungle canopy.
"What are we supposed to do now?!" Brock said, his face was growing red.
"We wait." Marcus said flatly.
"You think this problem is going to solve itself while we just sit here?" Brock asked impatiently. Marcus eyed over to him.
The conversation was cut short by Megaguirus passing closely over the column. The branches of trees swung wildly as she went by. She wasn't moving particularly fast through the air, but the rapid beating of her wings was displacing a lot of air. Branches snapped, and limbs fell to the ground all over the jungle. The marines had to be wary of where they were standing and a few of them had to move to avoid near misses. Megaguirus ignored the soldiers entirely and moved onward towards Godzilla being escorted by the remaining swarm of Meganula.
Megaguirus began to circle around to flank Godzilla, which did not go unnoticed by the King of the Monsters. His course shifted away from the road sharply. Marcus just looked over to Brock and smirked. In time, their path forward would be clear, but for the moment, Godzilla was still too close to their escape route to risk making a move. Godzilla’s passive level of radioactivity was a big concern. For the time being, their best course of action was to be patient and see how things played out. With any luck, the impending battle would move away from their position.
Megaguirus made the first move of the fight by employing a distraction. She accomplished this by vibrating her wings in a particular way. She beat them furiously until she produced high-frequency vibrations. For Godzilla, it was a minor annoyance, just a sort of buzzing, but for the men in Marcus' platoon, the noise was ear splitting and painful. Every man had to cup his ears or risk permanent hearing damage. Megaguirus then sent a handful of her Meganula escorts to fly into Godzilla's face, temporarily obstructing his vision. That was the opening she needed to rush the gap between them. With an impressive burst of speed, Megaguirus accelerated in the blink of an eye and found herself right next to Godzilla. Once there, she used the sharp edges of her wings to scratch at his face. Godzilla caught sight of her just in time to react. He moved ever so slightly away which prevented the worst of the impact, though the clawed ends of Megauguirus' wings still dug into his flesh, leaving three long red streaks from the top of his shoulder to the midpoint of his chest.
Angered by this, Godzilla instinctively retaliated, throwing a clawed hand back at her. Megaguirus displayed an uncanny ability to dodge though. She sprang backwards in a blur of speed and Godzilla hit nothing but air. He was shocked by this. Even Mothra couldn’t evade attacks so easily. Megaguirus was incredibly fast and agile. She came back forward in the flash and struck Godzilla in the face with one of her pincered forelimbs. The impact rocked Godzilla’s head back and made him stagger backwards a step.
When Godzilla recovered, he employed his atomic breath. Megaguirus evaded again, and Godzilla's beam sliced through the air trying to keep up with her as she darted around. She seemed to have an answer for everything he could throw at her. With a little distance between the two of them now, Megaguirus reared back revealing her underbelly. Her tail swung down under her body, curling forward aggressively. Intermingled within the segments of her tail were curious red orbs. They glowed with faint energy and a fireball materialized out of nowhere. Unable to dodge, Godzilla had little other choice but to absorb the oncoming impact. The fireball collided with the King of the Monsters but disintegrated almost immediately. Its effects seemed pretty unsubstantial. Godzilla simply shrugged it off, unimpressed. Megaguirus hovered in place, seemingly disappointed by the total lack of results her attack yielded.
Out of frustration, Megaguirus rushed forward and used her body to try to topple Godzilla over, but he was able to widen his stance and cushion the impact with his outstretched arms. Still, Megaguirus was powerful enough to drive him backwards, toppling over trees as Godzilla’s feet scraped across the jungle floor. In an impressive feat of strength, she pushed him back two hundred yards. The close-quarters attack was a mistake though. With the two monsters locked together, Godzilla now had the advantage. He struck Megaguirus in the face, disorienting her, and then tossed her towards the ground. Even sailing through the air upside down, Megaguirus was able to get her bearings and recover midflight. She rotated back around and wheeled to face Godzilla once more.
Godzilla picked up a boulder and lobbed it at Megaguirus, trying to intercept her. As she saw the projectile closing in on her, she went from a nearly seamless linear trajectory, to perfectly juking out of the way at the last second, raising herself up. While Godzilla's focus was entirely centered on Megaguirus, he had failed to account for her numerous underlings. He felt a series of stings pierce into his back. Several of the Meganula had landed on him and had plunged in their stingers. Godzilla could not reach them with his arms, but the tiny attackers soon withdrew of their own accord.
The Meganula retreated back to their Queen, landing on top of her exoskeleton. They plunged their stingers into her flesh and then something strange happened. One by one, they went limp and fell away, skidding across Megaguirus’ armored back and then down into the jungle below, dead. Godzilla and the marines watching were all confused by this turn of events. They didn't understand what was happening.
Megaguirus' next move shed some light on the matter. She once again employed the fireball from her tail, though this time, the attack packed much more punch. When it hit Godzilla, he was blasted off his feet and the forest around him caught fire too. The flames quickly spread, and a large portion of the jungle was now burning. Marcus recognized that it was time to leave. If the battle continued to progress like this, then they may no longer have an escape route to retreat to anymore. They needed to risk getting closer to the action, even as it was still unfolding.
With Godzilla on the ground recovering from the fireball, he was a sitting duck for Megaguirus' next attack. She fully committed herself to a course of action that she felt would end the battle. She flew in low and clenched at Godzilla's shoulders with her pincers, holding him in position. With his movements temporarily under her control, she deployed her most potent weapon. She stabbed Godzilla in the side with her stinger and injected him with venom. As the poison pumped in, she also sucked out a portion of Godzilla's energy.
Sensing danger, Godzilla rolled, forcing Megaguirus to withdraw her stinger or risk being dragged under his heavy mass. Megaguirus was disappointed with this outcome. She had not yet completed the process. She'd only gotten a small taste of his full power. Little more than a sip. But what she had obtained was enough to fully energize her attacks. The orbs in her tail were engorged with energy. She unleashed another fireball, though Godzilla now understood that they were not to be taken lightly anymore. He dodged the projectile entirely.
Megaguirus' powerful fireball landed just beyond the road that Marcus and his men were driving on. As it impacted, all the soldiers could feel their mortality tremble in the bowels of their stomachs. The heat and power of it was profound. The jeeps raced along the burning jungle path as fast as they could, hoping to avoid any more close calls like that.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Godzilla found himself out of position once again after dodging Megaguirus' attack. She was moving in behind the King of the Monsters with the intention of getting her stinger back inside him to finish what she had started. Godzilla sensed Megaguirus there though and surprised her by whipping his tail down onto her back. Megaguirus crashed into the forest, for the first time, she had been taken completely off guard.
Godzilla turned to see that he had inflicted some meaningful damage. Megaguirus was fast, but she was also fairly frail for a Kaiju. One of her pincers had been crushed under the weight of his tail and she was still stunned by his attack. Godzilla aimed to take advantage of the situation and moved in for the kill. The remaining Meganula swarmed around his face, doing all in their power to protect their Queen. Megaguirus took full advantage of the diversion and intended to puncture Godzilla’s belly with her stinger. Unfortunately for her, Godzilla was already in the process of using his nuclear pulse to clear away the pesky Meganula that were harassing him, and Megaguirus was caught up in the same blast wave. There was simply no dodging it. The attack was moving in all directions at once. As fast as Megaguirus was, there was simply nowhere to run from such an assault.
The smaller Meganula were nearly vaporized by Godzilla’s nuclear pulse. They exploded into tiny balls of fire and fell from the sky. Meanwhile, Megaguirus was caught up in the energy wave and was pushed back over a hundred yards. She sustained a lot of damage but managed to survive the attack.
Marcus and his platoon arrived at the Brazilian airfield and wasted no time getting back into the transports. It was time to go. Godzilla was in the process of mopping up what was left of their primary mission objective. The Meganulons were all gone. The Meganulas, which had taken their place, were all dead now too. Their Queen appeared to be on her last legs. There was no need to stick around and see what Godzilla would do next once he was done amusing himself with his fallen opponent. Even without Godzilla to contend with, the fires the two monsters had started during their battle were rapidly burning out of control. The Brazilian base personnel were evacuated onto the Hercules transports and the aircraft took to the sky.
Back on the battlefield, Megaguirus looked up to see Godzilla closing in on her. She was confused. How could Godzilla still be fighting so hard? Surely her poison should have had some effect on him by then. But it hadn't. Godzilla's regenerative abilities had already completely neutralized Megaguirus’ venom, as well as replenish the energy she had stolen from him.
Marcus was watching the final act of the battle play out from the side window of his transport plane as it climbed into the air. It looked like Megaguirus was done for. Through the smoke, he could see that her wings had been damaged by Godzilla's nuclear pulse, and he was almost close enough to step on her now. Without her mobility, and Godzilla closing in, she was as good as dead.
"Shit!!!" Marcus could hear the pilot curse from the cockpit. The transport lurched as the pilot maneuvered the plane to avoid a collision. Mothra came soaring past Marcus’ window and made for the battleground.
Before Godzilla could step on Megaguirus' head, Mothra came down and plucked her up from the ground. Godzilla roared angrily as Mothra lifted her away, but otherwise, he did little to stop her.
The Hercules transport turned north and the last thing Marcus could see was Mothra clutching Megaguirus with her tiny legs.
Down on the ground, Godzilla just watched as the other two monsters disappeared. A storm was moving into the area, and a downpour of rain began to subdue the fires that were consuming the rainforest. The sudden monsoon could not have been better timed to preserve the delicate balance of life below. It also served to cool Godzilla’s rage.
...
Chapter 51: Jungle Encounters.
Mechagodzilla disappeared almost as quickly as he’d arrived, blasting his way into the sky and vanishing without a trace. In the aftermath of his attack on Mechani-Kong, there wasn't much left of the opposing robot or its pilot to recover. The fallout from the one-sided clash had already begun. Marcus was summoned to Admiral Malek's temporary office inside of the secret G-Force base nearby Seattle. When Marcus arrived, he found Admiral Malek sitting behind his desk quietly shifting through some paperwork.
"You didn't like Johnny much, did you Lieutenant?" Malek asked.
"Regardless of what I thought of him on a personal level, he died a hero, sir." Marcus replied flatly. "He saved the President's life by forfeiting his own."
"He died like a damned fool." Malek retorted with a scoff. "Johnny was an idiot. He should have let that mechanical monster crush the President. We could have had any number of other politicians sworn in to office by now. Men are a dime a dozen, but the Mechani-Kong robot, on the other hand, was entirely irreplaceable. We can't just pull another one out of our asses. Because of Johnny's foolhardy impulsiveness, we're practically defenseless now!" Marcus was a little shocked by the bluntness of Admiral Malek's statement. If anyone else heard what he said, the admiral might find himself facing a court-marshal. However, Marcus considered what Malek said, and it was hard to avoid the harsh truth that his statement was more-or-less accurate. Losing Mechani-Kong was a great blow to G-Force, the United States, and humanity as a whole. "And is the President grateful for this organization's noble sacrifice?" Admiral Malek went on, spitting venom. "No... he isn't." Malek tossed a short stack of paperwork across the table to Marcus who had to slide it around to read it. "I'll save you the trouble of reading the fine print. Those are my marching orders. My long-awaited transfer has finally come through. I'm being replaced effective-immediately by an Airforce General named Stapleton. He is on his way even now to relieve me of command."
"You're being demoted to G-Force Special Projects?" Marcus asked, only to confirm what he already knew.
"Correct." Admiral Malek confirmed. "So, in a way, I'll still be part of the fight. They just don't want me making strategic decisions anymore. They simply want me to supply them with new weapons. I know you haven't always approved of my methods Marcus, but they have always been for the good of the country. Someday, when you are in a position of power yourself, you'll begin to understand what the burden of command is like. Sometimes you got to make the hard and even distasteful decisions for the greater good. I only hope my tenure in command of Archimedes will be looked back upon fairly."
"I do believe your actions have helped to advance our cause greatly Admiral, even the ones I found… disquieting." Marcus admitted. "But you're not to blame for what happened with Mechani-Kong. I don't think we had the slightest chance of winning that battle against Mechagodzilla. Our robot was simply outclassed."
"Yes, about that..." Admiral Malek cut back in. "I have to tell you Marcus, I was impressed with your tactical instincts during the fight. I think Johnny only lasted as long as he did thanks to your insights. My last act as Commander of G-Force is to add you to the list of prospective pilots for the mech program."
"What Mech program?” Marcus scoffed. “You only had the one machine, and it's toast now."
"We may have lost our material resources, but this isn't the end of the mech program.” Admiral Malek countered. “The fact that a more-advanced robot destroyed our own is all the more reason for further development in the future. We still have the blueprints and the knowledge to construct more robots. And in time, we will build more of them. We’ll build many more of them if I have anything to say about it. We're going to need men with brains in their driver's seats. Having a steel set of balls only takes you so far when it comes to combat. Anyways, I need to go now. Play nice with your new boss. Even if he doesn't realize it yet, he's going to need your help in the wars to come." Admiral Malek got up to leave but paused to shake Marcus' hand on the way out. "It's been nice serving with you. I'll see you around kid." He continued towards the door. "Oh, I left one last mission for you and your buddy Brock. The file is still sitting on my desk. It's something I think the two of you should enjoy…”
...
In the Kingdom of Mu, Samara had returned and delivered the news about the clash between Mechani-Kong and the newly arrived Mechagodzilla. The revelation about their stolen weapons technology being employed by Mechani-Kong did not go over well for Malchius. The Empress had him put to death in front of the entire council to send a message. Despite Mechani-Kong’s defeat, it was now clear that the surface dwellers had made a major jump towards parity with them in terms of technology.
Mechagodzilla's bold appearance in front of the entire world was also a cause for concern. Even though he was being controlled by their supposed allies, such a blatant attack made everyone in Mu a little nervous. They generally preferred to operate from the shadows. Their M.O. was to strike with the surgical precision of a scalpel, not with the brute force of a sledgehammer. But then, brute force always was one of the hallmarks of the Simian race. Subtlety was simply not their strong suit.
Following the council meeting, Samara was walking with Phameas and Esmer when they met Barca and Hamilcar in the corridor, Malchius' two chief lieutenants. The two warriors had mixed feelings about the demise of their superior. On the one hand, it meant that one or both of them would likely climb the ranks of the Mu warrior cast. On the other hand, they did have some semblance of loyalty to Malchius and were incensed to have seen his downfall come at the hands of information provided by spies whom they considered dishonorable at best. They each eyed Phameas, Esmer, and Samara as they approached.
"Behold and hail our heroes from the intelligence branch!" Barca chided sarcastically.
"Yes, they have protected the Empire once again from our enemies!" Hamilcar added with a sneer. Samara bristled at their taunts and moved to answer the challenge, but Phameas stepped in front of her and addressed the matter himself.
"I don't revel in the death of Malchius." Phameas started coolly, cutting right to the heart of the matter. "He was as much of a loyal servant to the Empress as any of us. We may not have agreed on a great number of things, but protecting our people was always at the heart of what he did. His voice will be missed in the council, and he will be missed as one of our greatest warriors. Whoever should take his place would do well to learn from the example he set." Both Barca and Hamilcar were surprised to hear genuine praise coming from the man who was undoubtably Malchius' chief rival. It went a long way to deflate the tension between the two groups. "As soldiers of the Empire, what do you make of these recent events on the surface?" Phameas subtly shifted subjects.
"I think the Simians just saved us the trouble of destroying the surface dweller’s robot ourselves." Barca replied. "They couldn't be allowed to wield our technology for themselves, don’t you agree?"
"No, I do not." Phameas answered plainly. "I think it would have been wiser to allow the surface dwellers to have their own mechanical monster. That way they'd stand a better chance of defending themselves from invaders. If any of the outsiders gain a strong foothold on the surface of this world, it will only put our own warriors and monsters at a great disadvantage when taking that territory back. It would be better to allow the surface dwellers to defend their own territory."
"You don't think such a robot could have been turned against our own people?" Hamilcar asked impatiently.
"As crude as the surface dweller’s robot was, there was no real threat of it going underwater.” Phameas observed. “Until such a time that they perfect a method of waterproofing their mechs, which seems to me like it will be decades from now, they won’t pose a serious threat to us."
"I'm glad you're not in charge of our defenses old man.” Hamilcar barked frustrated. “The Empire would fall within a week!" He declared boldly before he and Barca both stormed away red in the face.
"I really envy that guy; he'll never have to play dumb in his entire life." Samara said spitefully.
"Ha, you might be right Samara." Phameas snickered quietly. "By the way, your suspicions about Mechani-Kong are correct. The surface dwellers did not design that machine on their own. Mechani-Kong was in-fact designed by the Simians."
"Really, how did the surface dwellers end up getting a hold of it then?" Esmer asked curiously.
"That’s unclear, but the Simians certainly didn't want their technology in the hands of anyone else, in particular, the surface dwellers.” Phameas replied. “That's why Mechani-Kong was so thoroughly dismantled. The Simians were ensuring nothing useful could be recovered from the wreckage. And of course, they wanted to make a statement too."
"Mission accomplished on that account.” Esmer noted.
“I guess that kind of explains why an ape-like robot like Mechani-Kong was constructed in the first place.” Samara added. “After all, why would a robot meant for digging ever need to look like a great ape? But if the designers were Simians, that would go a long way towards explaining it."
"That's possible." Phameas agreed. "However, there could also be a much simpler explanation. It's not far-fetched to assume that the Simians were simply trying to imitate King Kong. Much in the same fashion that their newer robot is trying to mimic Godzilla."
"Why would they want to do either of those things?" Esmer asked.
"Well, just think about it a little.” Phameas suggested. “Put yourself in the Simian's shoes. Say you are a great interstellar power with designs on conquering Earth. You have rivals both in space and on the planet itself who are all closely monitoring the balance of power on the globe. So, you want to quietly infiltrate the planet and get your weapons in place ahead of time in the same way that a chess player wants to get his pieces set on the board. You want to start preparing for a larger invasion, namely by softening up the planet's defenses ahead of time. Wouldn't it make sense to covertly eliminate several of Earth’s terrestrial threats while at the same time hiding your own assets in plain sight? If both Godzilla and King Kong were killed and replaced with doppelgängers, that would go a long way towards achieving their goals. All the Simians would have to do is fabricate synthetic flesh to cover their robots to help them pass for the genuine article. That way, the surface dwellers would be unaware of the mounting threat around them. And the Simian’s rivals in space also may not notice a stealthy buildup of forces on Earth. When the timing was right, the Simians could reveal themselves and ambush all of their enemies. Who knows how many of earth's monsters might have been replaced before they were done. Of course, none of that subterfuge is necessary anymore. The Simians don't need to be subtle since open war is now on the horizon.”
"Hang on a second, if Mechagodzilla was meant to replace Godzilla, then why is the robot we've seen only half the size that it should be?" Samara asked.
"That should be rather obvious by now Samara.” Phameas pointed out. “Mechagodzilla was undoubtably built months ago. At that time, Godzilla would have only been a fraction of the size he is now. You'll recall he went through a somewhat painful and forced growth spurt due to the efforts of the surface dwellers."
...
Akira had just gotten out of the shower and was drying himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist and then went to the mirror to look himself over. An hour earlier, he’d received orders from Admiral Malek. He was to join a mission with Brock, Marcus, and Ling. They were going to South America, but not to trail Godzilla as he’d been expecting. No, they were instead being assigned to a very different sort of mission. There had been a second outbreak of Meganulon in the jungles of Brazil. Brock and Marcus were being sent with a contingent of marines to wipe them out and to test a new weapon at the same time. Admiral Malek wanted Akira along too because of his first-hand experience with the initial Meganulon infestation in Japan. Akira stared at the scars on his shoulder and felt the uneven grooves with his fingers. He flashed back to that fateful night and the events that had transpired. So many bad memories. It sent a chill up his spine. He had almost died on several occasions. If not for some quick thinking and a lot of luck, he wouldn't have survived.
Akira was afraid to face up to that terror again, though his pride wouldn't allow him to reveal that fact to anybody else. First and foremost, he needed to be a warrior, and warriors did not fear pain or death. Warriors served the greater good no matter the cost. Warriors were expected to make sacrifices when necessary. Akira stared at himself in the mirror and willed himself to find the courage to carry on stoically.
Minutes later, Akira was dressed and gathering the things he needed for the mission, trying to act normal. Kiki could see right through him though, and she was concerned for his physical and mental well-being. She put her arms around Akira to comfort him. She did not try to affect his state of mind, restraining her efforts to comfort him like an ordinary woman. In her heart, she knew this fear was something Akira needed to overcome on his own. He would be stronger once he was on the other side of it. That didn't stop her from empathizing though and she had to fight back tears. As much as he needed to be strong for himself, she needed to be strong for him as well.
"Any advice?" Akira asked Kiki, touching her arm gently.
"Stay close to Ling." Kiki replied calmly and firmly.
Akira gave her a strange look but then nodded, trusting her.
...
Two days later, the corpse of a lesser kaiju washed ashore in Singapore. From the wounds, it was determined that Mechagodzilla was responsible for the attack. One of his finger missiles was still sticking out of the charred carcass. The reason for the attack was unclear, but the assault had been very brutal. The body of the kaiju was covered in wounds.
Dr. Orsini and Reinhart were dispatched to investigate, but the rest of the team was already committed to Admiral Malek’s prior mission. At that very moment, Brock, Marcus, Ling, Akira, and a platoon of G-Force marines were flying over northwestern Brazil. They found themselves on approach to a remote military base deep in the rainforest which was built for border security. Brazil was the largest country in South America, and it had an extensive border that neighbored nearly every other nation on the continent. Securing such a vast frontier over such rough terrain was a nearly impossible task. The Columbian border was a particularly dangerous area to patrol. The Columbians were engaged in a long-running and messy civil war. Drug running and kidnappings were one of the various ways rebel groups funded their operations, and sometimes the conflict would spill over the border into Brazil. Because of this, there were ongoing tensions between the two countries.
The Brazilians had developed another problem in the area though. A village bordering the Amazon River basin had been overrun and destroyed by the second outbreak of Meganulon. Like the first infestation in Japan, the colossal insects were extremely hostile towards human life and not many civilians escaped the settlement in time to raise the alarm. The new swarm of Meganulon had already been active for over a week. It was unclear what might happen if they were left to their own devices, but at the very least, they were expected to procreate given enough time. That was unacceptable to everyone concerned. The bugs simply couldn't be allowed to breed. If left unchecked, hordes of the creatures might one day start attacking the more civilized parts of the world in overwhelming numbers. For that reason, Admiral Malek had dispatched troops to Brazil to stomp them out. Brazilian Army soldiers were struggling to combat the Meganulon with their standard weapons. Admiral Malek's other reason for sending Akira and the rest of the team was to test out some newly developed weapons.
Given the rise of small and mid-sized kaiju, small arms weapon manufactures had dedicated a significant number of resources into producing new weapons specifically meant to counter them. One of the first great successes was the M21A Heavy Assault Rifle which featured a revolutionary type of ammo: explosive tipped rounds. Given that the intended targets would most likely be insectoid in nature, the projectiles were designed to penetrate a modest amount of armor. Once the exoskeleton of the target was breached, the cartridge would detonate, causing massive internal damage. The rifles fired forty-caliber rounds which put them at about the same level of stopping power as an elephant gun. For this reason, a fully automatic mode was not feasible for the weapon, and thus, was not implemented. It was felt that an average soldier would not be able to withstand the recoil and be knocked off their feet if it were attempted. Even a burst-fire mode was deemed too risky. Thus, the M21A could only fire a single slug at a time. But if that one shot connected with a target, the damage it was able to inflict was devastating. It would literally blow a man in two. The Meganulon weren't known to be particularly fast, so hitting them wasn’t expected to be very difficult. Thus, they would be the perfect opponent to test the M21A rifle out against. This mission was going to be the weapon’s first real field test.
The C-130s that were transporting the marine team landed on a barren airstrip in the middle of the jungle with a thud. The landing field was little more than a dirt road beaten into the ground, but fortunately, the Hercules transport planes were rugged aircraft that were designed just for such difficult conditions. One by one, each plane landed and came to a stop. The first three aircraft lined up in a neat row and then opened up their cargo bay doors. From each hold, two jeeps with mounted 50 caliber heavy machine guns rolled out into the open. The Hercules had an impressive cargo carrying capacity. It could haul a lot of troops and equipment all at once. Its designer didn’t believe in making two trips. The soldiers unbuckled themselves and came out to check out the surrounding jungle. It was quite the change of scenery from the States. The Amazon jungle was quite exotic and beautiful but also hot and oppressively humid. While the six jeeps were being fueled and armed, Akira eyed the fourth Hercules transport which was at the far end of the airstrip away from the others. It was not unloading troops or equipment like the rest. There was definitely something different about it.
"I thought we were only taking six jeeps, what’s the last bird for?" Akira asked Brock.
"You'll see..." Brock said with a smirk before turning his attention to fiddling around with his new rifle. All the Marines were inspecting their new weapons, better familiarizing themselves with them. "The briefing is in about fifteen minutes. You'd better get ready."
...
After meeting with the local Brazilian officers, Marcus and Ling came back to present the operational notes to the marines. Utilizing a large map and table, they outlined the location of their objective. They'd need to drive through a jungle trail to reach the small village in question. The Brazilians had sent out a force to quell the Meganulons themselves, but none of their soldiers had returned. It was feared that they had been wiped out. Akira grew nervous upon hearing that. The Meganulon had been tough in Japan, but regular IJA soldiers had managed to overcome them there. What was different in this case?
"Okay boys, pay attention, because this is important.” Brock spoke up, pulling Ling’s attention back to the active conversation. “Don’t try to fire off another round if your rifle jams. The explosive-tipped rounds do not take kindly to being all jammed up, if you know what I mean." He warned. Brock took the time to run through all the key aspects of the weapons again, just as a reminder.
“Are there any other questions?” Marcus asked as Brock wrapped up his weapons demonstration.
“Yeah, is it true that Godzilla is closing in on the area, Lieutenant?” One of the grunts asked.
“It sure is.” Brock grumbled, answering for Marcus. “It figures that the Admiral would put us in harm’s way one last time for his final mission. It’s very on-brand for him.”
"You're just feeling sore because nobody is here to ‘pull rank’ for you Sargent." Marcus smirked at Brock knowingly. It was a private joke just between the two of them.
With the briefing concluded, the soldiers loaded up in their jeeps and departed for the mission. The Brazilians sent along a very nervous guide to help the marines locate the village. He joined Marcus, Ling, Brock, and Akira in the lead vehicle. To help pass the time, the guide told them about the area. Ling had to translate, but Portuguese was not his strongest language. Ling had been expecting to be translating Spanish, and thus, he hadn't prepared very well for Portuguese. Though he was fairly-well educated, Ling had somehow missed that Brazil was one of the few places in South America where Spanish was not the primary language. This was due to a Pope dividing South America between the Spanish and Portuguese Empires hundreds of years ago when they were both rising colonial powers. It was a measure designed to keep peace between the two catholic nations, giving each of them a sphere of influence in the Americas to expand into.
Ling's translations were a little rough, but he still knew enough to get by. The guide was telling them about the rainforest and the nearby Amazon River. It was the largest and arguably longest river in the world. Its average width was six kilometers across and one hundred meters deep, but it could be as wide as fourteen kilometers and one-hundred and fifty meters deep. Impressive to say the least. Akira was sitting next to Ling per Kiki's instruction. He was listening to the stories but getting distracted by the local wildlife. He saw a veritable swarm of butterflies congregating in a nearby tree. Their mass of colors was gorgeous.
'Why should I stay close to Ling?' Akira thought bitterly, looking back to Ling as he continued to talk. 'He's not a soldier. He's not even particularly tough. The man waxed his eyebrows and even wore cologne daily for god's sake. He was a pampered and effeminate Chinaman, and Akira didn't want to get any closer to him than he absolutely had to. Ling had already begun to notice his ongoing proximity in the early portions of the mission, and it was starting to get awkward.
As they continued to drive through the jungle, the line of jeeps came across the body of a Brazilian soldier and the mood in the convoy shifted drastically. Everybody was on alert now. As the jeeps rolled by, Akira could see that only the top portion of the man's torso remained. The other half was simply gone through some ultra-violent encounter they'd never entirely be able to piece together. But it looked like the corpse had been chewed on right up to the ribcage.
The convoy’s gunners started to swivel their barrels into the endless jungle, prepared for any would-be attackers. None came though. Based on the decomposition of the body, the Brazilian soldier had been there for quite a while already. Whatever had attacked him was long since gone. There were no other bodies to be seen. Since he was on the road so far away from the village, it was a good bet the lone soldier was the last survivor of his group. He hadn't quite made it back to safety. This was the thought that ran through the minds of the marines heading into the same hell that had claimed the man and all his friends. Would it come to this for them as well?
Akira looked over to Marcus who was noticeably disturbed by the scene. This surprised him. Akira figured Marcus would still be very much gung-ho for a mission like this. He could get up close and personal with a very dangerous type of kaiju. The odds of coming back for a man with his level of reckless abandon were not great. However, Marcuss seemed to have changed since his last outing. His Devil-may-care attitude had evaporated. In fact, his confidence in general seemed to have diminished. Marcus was trying to hide it, but he was concerned about the danger, notably keeping his weapon at the ready.
After a couple more miles of rough jungle roads, the column came to the outskirts of the village, but they did not approach any closer than the outer perimeter. Marcus signaled with his hands and the six vehicles formed a loose line fifty meters away from the closest building. The gunners positioned the 50 cals to intercept any targets which might present themselves. The marines hopped out of their vehicles and took positions crouched down below the aim of the heavy gunners to stay clear of their line of sight. One by one, the engines of the jeeps fell silent and everyone waited and listened. It was eerily quiet. Only the background noises of tropical birds calling punctuated the long silences. The rumbling of the jeep’s motors apparently hadn’t drawn the attention of anyone or anything within the village. There was no movement to be seen.
Brock was the first to make a move. He stood up and took a few steps out into the open. Marcus followed suit, eyeing over to him to get an impression of what he was thinking. Akira watched them and could see a stark difference between the two men. Brock was calm and confident while Marcus' movements were marked with caution. Over the last couple of missions, Marcus had developed a reputation for being a badass, and it seemed like a part of him was attempting to live up to that expectation in front of the men, but Akira could sense that he was scared. This made Akira feel a little better about his own fear. If Marcus really was scared, that meant he'd be a lot more level-headed in combat and not lead them into dangerous situations needlessly. Everybody would be just a little bit safer.
Brock looked over to Marcus and nodded before looking back to the rest of the platoon and signaling for them to advance. Everyone got to their feet. The only men left behind were the soldiers manning the fifty-caliber guns on the jeeps. They were being left behind for fire-support and guarding the group’s rear flank. If the rest of the platoon needed to fall back, the big guns were rally point and safety net. They'd be able to cover any retreat with their heavy firepower if things got too hairy.
The marines advanced in a defensive formation. Everybody was on the lookout for trouble. The M21A Heavy Assault Rifles were really heavy though. All the marines were used to handling smaller and lighter weapons. Thus, they were struggling to bear the extra weight. A lot of them resorted to slinging the rifle’s band over their shoulder to make it easier to carry. It meant they'd be a little slower to fire their weapons when the time came, but at least they could focus on their surroundings to identify threats without being distracted fidgeting with their arms. In the end, the only person who was carrying their rifle with a free hand was Brock, but that was only because he was built like an ox. The M21A almost seemed like it was designed for him personally.
Even though Marcus was the ranking officer, he let Brock take the lead and give out most of the orders. It was the smart call. After all, Brock did have a lot more field experience, so, to a certain degree, this made sense. As the platoon got closer to the village, they could all see signs of combat. There were bullet holes riddled into the wooden buildings and shell casings littered about on the ground. Some of the dwellings had walls which were collapsed inwardly, as if something large had forced its way inside. There was also explosive damage where grenades must have been employed. There were shallow pools of blood scattered about too. Akira could see some of the same butterflies he'd noticed in the trees earlier congregating around the edges of the pools, seemingly drinking from them. Akira got a sick feeling as the grim reality of it settled in. Such beautiful creatures committing such a vile act. Nature could be quite strange sometimes.
The one thing that was conspicuously absent from the scene were bodies. There weren’t any of the bugs corpses to be found, nor any dead soldiers from the team sent in to exterminate them, and no dead villagers either. It wasn't hard to imagine what happened to them. The bodies must have been consumed by the ravenous appetite of the creatures, even their own fallen. Nothing was wasted.
The Brazilian village was modest in size. There were perhaps as many as forty huts in all. Each of them needed to be cleared one by one. Marcus and Brock decided they needed to split the platoon into two groups. If they tried to stay clumped together in one big cluster, they could be easily surrounded or flanked. Marcus and Brock each took command of a half. At that point, Akira had a tough choice to make. Would he follow Brock or Marcus? He felt more comfortable with Brock in the lead, but he saw that Ling was already moving towards Marcus' contingent. Kiki's words echoed in his head and forced his hand. He joined Marcus and the men following him.
The two groups each took one side of the settlement and began clearing buildings carefully. Akira tried to stay behind the regular grunts and let them do most of the investigating. He clung to the outer walls of the huts, keeping an eye on things from the outside. For a time, the operation proceeded quietly. Each house was methodically cleared and everything was quiet.
About halfway through the sweep, Akira heard a noise from the jungle which bordered the village. He brought his rifle up to the ready and carefully moved towards the sound. Two Marines picked up on the sound as well and flanked Akira. Together, they advanced as a team. The soldiers knew Akira's primary role in the mission was as a tactical expert, not as a combatant, so each of them outpaced him and took the lead. Akira was happy to let them do so. The jungle’s humidity seemed to spike in those tense moments. Sweat was trickling down Akira’s forehead, threatening to drip into his eyes.
Suddenly, an angry looking Meganulon came crashing through the wall of an adjacent hut and lunged towards Akira. The two marines were out of position to be of any immediate help. They began to whorl around, but their heavy weapons were unwieldy and proved difficult to get up into firing position quickly. Akira was on his own. The insect was nearly on top of him when he finally brought up the barrel of his rifle and fired. The gun's kickback sent Akira falling backwards towards the ground. He had not been bracing himself, and in truth, he wasn't even on balance. Despite that, Akira's shot hit home. His attacker was so close that it was almost impossible to miss. The projectile struck the Meganulon in the head and the resulting detonation from the explosive shell completely blew the giant insect's head apart. Without its nerve center to give the body commands, the corpse slumped to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood poured out of it afterwards, which started to run down the dirt street.
Akira lay on the ground just feet away. The natural curvature of the road spared him from having to get out of the way of the crimson stream. Akira was in a mild state of shock. Everything had happened so fast that he didn't really have time to process it while it was happening. When Akira realized that he had slain one of the Meganulon, he felt a great sense of relief. Not just because it had kept him from being killed in the moment, but in the larger scheme of things too. He'd reclaimed some of his pride. If he could so easily kill one of the Meganulon, there was little reason to fear them going forward. The two marines pulled Akira to his feet. Each of them gave Akira a pat on the shoulder for a job well-done, knocking off some dirt in the process.
Marcus had heard the commotion and came over to see what was happening. Within an instant, he understood what had gone down. He nodded to Akira in approval. From the jungle, a second Meganulon emerged. This one was much less stealthy. It came right out into the open without any fear of the marine squad or their weapons. It had learned through earlier encounters that humans weren't much of a threat. The creature was holding the remains of a capybara that it had caught and killed. The oversized rodent was not enough to satisfy the creature’s appetite though. It yearned for more. It craved the taste of human flesh.
Marcus wasn't about to let that happen though. He aimed carefully, allowing Akira and the two marines to duck out of his line of sight. He fired once and the butt of his rifle hammered into his shoulder as it recoiled. Even though Marcus held the weapon tight against his body, it still hurt. He didn't let that stop him from focusing on the task at hand though. The first round hit the Meganulon in the shoulder, inflicting a grievous wound as the ammo burst inside. The creature slowed down but didn't stop. Marcus shot off a second round, this one hitting his target in the chest. The subsequent shot must have hit something a little more crucial because the giant insect slowly came to a stop this time. It wasn't quite dead, but it was no longer a threat. The two marines sprang up from their hiding spots and finally put it out of its misery.
After that, the operation resumed. There were a couple more brief firefights here and there, but in the end, only a handful of the Meganulon were found. Far less than they had been expecting. The reports indicated dozens of specimens, and they had only killed a grand total of six. It begged the question: where were the rest of them?
"You know, that was so easy, it was almost fun." Brock remarked confidently. "I thought Akira said these things were pretty tough. With these new rifles, we can practically one-shot them."
"Yeah, well these new weapons also have a hell of a kick." Marcus complained, rubbing his shoulder. "Remind me to tell the tech boys they need to add a little more cushion to the stocks before our next outing."
"Eh, they feel just fine to me." Brock replied with a smirk, flexing his muscles in an intentionally obnoxious way.
"Yeah… yeah… whatever you overgrown jarhead." Marcus eyed over to him. "I bet you eat crayons when I'm not paying attention."
"Only the red ones, they're my favorite." Brock replied with a smile. The rest of the marines got a good laugh out of the back-and-forth exchange.
"Where is Akira anyways?" Marcus asked looking around for him.
Akira was nearby, closely examining one of the fallen Meganulon's corpse. There was something strange about it. These Meganulon specimens were a slightly different color from the ones he'd seen in Japan. In each case, their shells were quite mundane. A muddy mixture of muted browns and tans. But in the case of the Japanese specimens, they were darker in appearance. These new ones looked dull and faded by comparison. However, there was one particular region on the creature’s bodies that wasn't. The areas around the wounds where the explosive rounds had penetrated the armored exoskeleton had a curious characteristic around the edges. There was a second layer of armor under the first which was bright and vibrant. The colors were swirls of green and purple. It was hard to distinguish the splashes of color from the splatters of their wounds. If Akira hadn't seen the wounds of a dead Meganulon before, he probably wouldn't have even noticed.
Akira thumbed around the edges of the gash and some of the outer armor flaked away from the creature's body. The dermis was drier and more brittle than Akira was expecting. Underneath, it was more of the vibrant armor composition. Very odd. Was the creature molting? Akira knew enough about invertebrates to know they needed to occasionally shed their outer shells to continue growing. This was probably no different for mega-fauna. Akira heard Marcus calling for him to rejoin the others. He left the body be and returned to the group.
The platoon assembled around the village’s mining tunnels. Based on Akira's reports from the first outbreak, that was where they expected to find the rest of the missing Meganulons. To the shock of everybody, none of the giant insects were found inside of the tunnels, just discarded eggs from where they had hatched in the lower levels. Based on the number of eggs they saw within the caverns, there should have been at least three dozen specimens running around.
"There's supposed to be a lot more of them than this.” Marcus noted grimly. “Where are they?"
From their vantage point at the mine’s entrance, Akira could see all the way to the bank of the river nearby and spotted what appeared to be the body of one of the Meganulon floating on the water. Investigating it might give them a clue to the missing creature’s whereabouts. The platoon carefully made their way back through the village and then to the river.
"Did it drown?" Brock asked, looking over the discolored body. The corpse was much paler than the specimens they'd seen thus far. It was just drifting in the shallows, caught up against a wooden dock the villagers had build for their canoes and fishing. It was keeping the current of the river from pulling the corpse downstream. Akira noticed something odd about the eyes and Marcus seemed to pick up on it too. Akira used the barrel of his rifle to poke into the thorax. With a little pressure and a slight crunch, the metal passed right through the shell and beyond. It was then that everybody realized what they were looking at, an empty husk. This was simply the shed exoskeleton of a Meganulon.
One of the marines at the end of the dock was distracted, staring at something in the river below. There was a sliver of light reflecting in the water, drawing his gaze. Before he knew it, something large was coming up to meet him. A Meganulon burst violently from the water and snatched the man up, nearly pulling him out of his boots and back into the river. The rest of the squad barely even saw what happened because it was over so quickly.
"Fall back!!!" Brock ordered reflexively to the rest of the men who were still standing on the boardwalk.
The order came none too soon. A second Meganulon came crashing up through the wooden planks only a second later. The marines retreated back onto dry land and then turned their weapons on the giant insect which had inadvertently trapped itself between broken splinters of wood, making itself a perfect target. After a number of shots had hit home, the creature was reduced to just chunks of meat. It was so thoroughly obliterated that it was barely even recognizable anymore. A third Meganulon emerged from the water, but it was gunned down immediately by a hail of fire. After that, all was quiet for a time. There didn't seem to be any more of the monsters in the water. If that was indeed the case though, that meant there was still a large number of specimens unaccounted for.
At that point, Marcus was hoping that they hadn’t spread out all over the river. Tracking them down would be nearly impossible if that were the case. But then he remembered that one of the bugs had emerged from the forest. It was worth investigating there before going anywhere else. After regrouping, the platoon entered the jungle and spread out in a wide search pattern. In the trees, the mosquitoes were thick and a constant nuisance. However, amongst the tree trunks, any Meganulon they found would have a very hard time advancing on them while the soldiers would have no trouble firing around the foliage themselves.
Eventually, the group entered a small clearing where the villagers had cut away some of the forest. Nearby an old dead tree, they found another discarded husk of a Meganulon. This time, it was immediately obvious that it was simply an empty shell. And that was because it had been partially crushed. But it hadn't been trampled on. No, it looked more like it had fallen and broken on impact. Akira and Marcus came to the same conclusion almost instantaneously, first looking over to each other and then up to the treetops. Above them, they could see dozens of discarded skins. The rest of the marines followed suit. A chill ran throughout the group as they processed what this meant.
"You know, this kind of reminds me of cicadas." Brock said quietly.
"Yeah... or dragonflies..." Marcus replied, noticing that higher up in the trees, amongst the leaves, there was more than just empty husks. He could make out clear membraned wings which were long and veinous. They were attached to a creature which very closely resembled a dragonfly, only much bigger and fiercer looking. Its carapace was mostly green, but with splashes of purple.
The local guide, who had been tagging along with the group the entire time, spotted the monsters and did not wait around to see what would happen next. He made a break for the village. He was amongst the trees before any of the monsters could react, but the sudden movement had caught their attention. The first creature took flight and darted above the canopy. After that, a surge of other insects joined.
"Withdraw to the forest." Marcus ordered, trying to keep his men calm and organized. If they lost their cohesion now, they were done for. Maintaining discipline was essential. The marines fell back in good order. They trekked through the jungle and back towards the village. The Meganula dragonflies were not able to attack the soldiers while they were using the forest for cover. When the platoon reached the far side of the jungle, they saw their guide making a break for the jeeps. He didn't get halfway through the village before he was picked off by the Meganula. He was scooped up into the air and only a spattering of blood came back down. The soldiers in the jeeps on the far side of the village spotted the monsters and opened fire. They managed to down two of the Meganula before others fell upon them.
Seeing them massacred from afar, Marcus and Brock had their squads set up a firing line at the edge of the tree line on their side of the settlement. The Meganula darted around the village, waiting for the marines to try to cross. They seemed to understand that the soldiers wanted to reach the vehicles. Unfortunately, the creatures never stopped long enough to present a tempting target. The M21A rifle was not the ideal weapon for the mission anymore. Hitting a fast-moving flying target just wasn't what they were designed for. The marines would take occasional pot-shots at the Meganula when they thought they had a chance at hitting one of them, but they were coming up empty.
This presented Marcus with a real dilemma. If they stayed where they were, they’d eventually run out of ammo, leaving them defenseless. The group could try waiting for nightfall to make a break for the jeeps to escape, but there was a very good chance that the Meganula could see just as well in the dark as the daylight. Thus, waiting around for darkness could be to their disadvantage. If the bugs were patient enough, they could even starve the soldiers out after a couple of days. The marine’s options suddenly looked pretty bleak. Marcus knew that their best bet was to try to make it to the jeeps, but they'd have to be careful about it. He crawled over to discuss the matter with Brock to get his two cents. Soon, they both agreed that it was their best course of action.
Akira was listening in on the conversation and got a sudden sense of dread, realizing that the squad was going to have to cross out into the open, exposing themselves to the creature's ravenous appetites. However, unlike the guide, the marines were not going to make a headlong run for the vehicles. Instead, they were going to move from hut to hut in the village for cover. That would make them much more difficult targets, though the first stretch of the journey would be the most dangerous. There was a long open area between the woods and the first set of huts.
The rest of the marines were informed of the plan and then formed up. The order was given and the mass of soldiers poured out into the open. They double-timed it across the field but were constantly keeping an eye on the skies with their weapons ready. It didn't take long for the first Meganula to dive down at them. The squad came to a halt as a unit and waited for the creature to get in close before finally opening fire. Many shots missed, but enough of them hit to send the monster careening off course. The creature slammed into one of the huts, caving in the roof. The marines got moving again, but one man was picked off by a creature that had escaped the group's notice by sneaking around low from the other direction. There was nothing that could be done for the marine. He was gone in a flash.
After seeing their friend go down, two men broke ranks and high-tailed it towards the nearest hut. With the unit's cohesion broken, Brock ordered everybody else to follow suit. They were already halfway to safety by that point anyways. Akira was just steps away from a hut when he was pulled down from behind. He feared the worst, but looked back to see that Ling had tackled him to prevent one of the diving creatures from snatching him up. Unfortunately, the man who’d been running behind them was decapitated by the monster's attack.
With no time to lose dwelling on it, Akira and Ling got back to their feet and fled into one of the huts. From a window, they watched as other members of the platoon struggled to escape. One of the Meganula had landed, knocking several men down in the process. As one of the marines fell, his weapon went off, blowing the man standing next to him in half at the waist. The soldier popped like a flesh balloon, spattering the other men around him. One of the other soldiers was so frightened that he hadn't noticed his gun jam and went to fire a second shot. This resulted in one explosive round being slammed into the back of another and they both detonated inside the rifle, maiming its user. Akira tried to cover the survivors using his own rifle to shoot at the grounded Meganula. His aim was true, and he blew off the creature's left pair of wings, immediately distracting it from any soldiers it might have a mind to attack.
Eventually, all of the remaining marines found refuge inside one of the huts and the whole squad paused to catch their breath. Marcus and Brock took the time to get a head count and figure out how many men they’d lost in the mad dash. It involved a lot of shouting from one hut to another. In all, five men were missing. Four were confirmed to have been taken by the creatures. The other was assumed to have been as well, though no one had seen it happen. After taking a moment for everyone to reload their weapons and mentally prepare themselves, the platoon started moving again in squads. One group would move while being covered by the rest. The space between the huts was fairly narrow and proved to be difficult for the Meganulon to fly through. Most of the time the men were moving so quickly that the bugs couldn't react fast enough in the first place.
Things were starting to look up. Though the process was slow, consistent progress was being made without further casualties. The group still had to cross one final open gap between the village and the waiting jeeps, but Marcus had a plan in mind for that. He still had one last card up his sleeve. The platoon was over halfway through the village when the next complication reared its ugly head.
Suddenly, the roof of the hut Akira's group occupied was ripped open by one of the bolder Meganula, exposing the men inside. The soldiers had to quickly scatter to the next building over. Several other creatures mimicked the behavior of the first and landed on top of the huts. The buildings were not very sturdy and creaked under the weight. Marines started firing through the roofs to keep the creatures at bay. More of the bugs landed on the ground around the huts, trapping the marines inside.
"Marcus, I think it's time to play your ace in the hole!" Brock shouted from his shelter.
"I'm forced to agree Sargent!" Marcus called back before turning to the radio man. "Call in the gunship." He instructed. "Everybody pop your smoke!" He shouted to the rest of the platoon.
One by one, each squad set off a canister of green smoke to mark their position in the village. After only a few moments, the marines could hear the hum of an aircraft approaching. It was the fourth C-130. It was a specialized bird with one purpose in mind: Close air support for ground troops. It was outfitted with one 105mm Howitzer, one 40mm Bofors gun, two twin 20mm Vulcan rotary cannons, and one 7.92mm minigun mount. The Hercules gunship turned to bring its weapons to bare. The ensuing barrage was intense. Three of the Meganula on the ground got caught up in the firestorm and the rest took flight to avoid being cut to pieces.
"Okay, let’s move!" Marcus shouted out for everybody to hear. With the creatures distracted and in disarray, this was there chance to pull out.
In the sky, the crew of the C-130 was still trying to hit targets, but it was next to impossible. They weren't meant to engage in air-to-air combat. Thus, the Hercules turned to avoid the swarm of Meganula that were climbing up to meet it. The pilot peeled away, and for a time, the creatures followed the aircraft before finally giving up.
On the ground, the platoon was arriving back at the jeeps. The men piled into them and prepared to make a hasty retreat. Before they could pull away from the village, they heard a rumble coming from nearby.
"Ground forces, be advised, Godzilla is approaching the area from the northwest." Akira could hear the gunship's captain warning Marcus over the radio.
"Big G walked a quarter of the way through South America just to squash a few mosquitos?" Brock scoffed.
"I don't know..." Marcus replied. "But we're not going to sit around speculating, we're going to get the hell out of here while we still can."
"The northwest is our escape route." Brock rightly pointed out.
"I know that." Marcus replied frustrated. "But we can't stay here waiting for the bugs to come back."
Marcus and Brock were interrupted by a billowing noise, which was followed by a whooshing sound coming from the river. Suddenly, it sounded like a waterfall had sprouted up out of nowhere, but it was something much, much worse. From the depths of the Amazon, a monster was emerging from the murky water. As the water rolled off it, the creature began to take form. It was easy enough to make out wings and a dark horned insectoid exoskeleton that had yellow protruding ridges. Two big red compound eyes could be seen as well.
"Is that Battra?" Brock asked.
"No... it is not." Marcus replied as more of the monster became clear.
What they thought was black chitinous armor was in fact a dark purple carapace. This new creature's wings were shaped similarly to Battra's, though they lacked the signature red and yellow patterns that defined Battra's markings. Several other features, which were quickly becoming visible, also helped to distinguish the new monster. The first trait that stood out was the new kaiju's long and segmented tail which had a very distinct stinger attached to the end of it. Second, was a very nasty maw which did not resemble an insect’s mouth in the slightest. It gave the creature's face a menacing and unhinged grin that was filled with sharp teeth. The monster also had two front appendages that were almost crustacean-like in appearance. Something akin to a pair of lobster's claws, though more narrow and jagged. As the new monster took to the sky, it became clear that it closely resembled a larger and meaner version of the Meganula. Like its smaller counterparts, it had three sets of thin legs connected under its thorax. As the kaiju’s wings got up to speed, beating fast and hard, both air and water around it were displaced by the rapid motion. Even far away at the edge of the village, the marine platoon was getting pelted by water droplets.
"Akira, what the hell is that?" Brock asked.
"I don't know..." Akira replied stupefied as the Meganula started to gather around the new arrival.
"Alright, let's get the hell out of here while we still can." Marcus announced. "I'd rather take my chances with Godzilla than this thing."
The line of jeeps bolted away from the village, getting onto the jungle trail and putting as much distance between themselves and the newly arrived monster as possible. Marcus looked back to see the Meganula swarm flying high above the tree line. Some of the Meganula spotted the jeeps amongst the trees and dove down at them. Marcus shouted for men to reoccupy the gun mounts and defend the convoy. They had an advantage in that the giant insects could only approach the line of vehicles from one direction and through the narrow split in the high rising jungle canopy the road occupied. This limited the bugs ability to dodge incoming fire. The convoy was also quickly moving away from them, which gave the gunners more time to get a bead on their targets. After a brief but intense surge of fire, several of the Meganula fell from the sky. The rest of the swarm was forced to give up as their losses rapidly mounted.
The column of jeeps came to the crest of a high rising hill and caught a glimpse of something terrible. Over the line of trees, they could see Godzilla walking through the jungle and heading in their direction. He was very close to the road and his path intersected with the marine's escape route miles ahead of the Brazilian airbase. The platoon was effectively cut off. Marcus signaled for the jeeps to pull off the road and take refuge under the cover of the jungle canopy.
"What are we supposed to do now?!" Brock said, his face was growing red.
"We wait." Marcus said flatly.
"You think this problem is going to solve itself while we just sit here?" Brock asked impatiently. Marcus eyed over to him.
The conversation was cut short by Megaguirus passing closely over the column. The branches of trees swung wildly as she went by. She wasn't moving particularly fast through the air, but the rapid beating of her wings was displacing a lot of air. Branches snapped, and limbs fell to the ground all over the jungle. The marines had to be wary of where they were standing and a few of them had to move to avoid near misses. Megaguirus ignored the soldiers entirely and moved onward towards Godzilla being escorted by the remaining swarm of Meganula.
Megaguirus began to circle around to flank Godzilla, which did not go unnoticed by the King of the Monsters. His course shifted away from the road sharply. Marcus just looked over to Brock and smirked. In time, their path forward would be clear, but for the moment, Godzilla was still too close to their escape route to risk making a move. Godzilla’s passive level of radioactivity was a big concern. For the time being, their best course of action was to be patient and see how things played out. With any luck, the impending battle would move away from their position.
Megaguirus made the first move of the fight by employing a distraction. She accomplished this by vibrating her wings in a particular way. She beat them furiously until she produced high-frequency vibrations. For Godzilla, it was a minor annoyance, just a sort of buzzing, but for the men in Marcus' platoon, the noise was ear splitting and painful. Every man had to cup his ears or risk permanent hearing damage. Megaguirus then sent a handful of her Meganula escorts to fly into Godzilla's face, temporarily obstructing his vision. That was the opening she needed to rush the gap between them. With an impressive burst of speed, Megaguirus accelerated in the blink of an eye and found herself right next to Godzilla. Once there, she used the sharp edges of her wings to scratch at his face. Godzilla caught sight of her just in time to react. He moved ever so slightly away which prevented the worst of the impact, though the clawed ends of Megauguirus' wings still dug into his flesh, leaving three long red streaks from the top of his shoulder to the midpoint of his chest.
Angered by this, Godzilla instinctively retaliated, throwing a clawed hand back at her. Megaguirus displayed an uncanny ability to dodge though. She sprang backwards in a blur of speed and Godzilla hit nothing but air. He was shocked by this. Even Mothra couldn’t evade attacks so easily. Megaguirus was incredibly fast and agile. She came back forward in the flash and struck Godzilla in the face with one of her pincered forelimbs. The impact rocked Godzilla’s head back and made him stagger backwards a step.
When Godzilla recovered, he employed his atomic breath. Megaguirus evaded again, and Godzilla's beam sliced through the air trying to keep up with her as she darted around. She seemed to have an answer for everything he could throw at her. With a little distance between the two of them now, Megaguirus reared back revealing her underbelly. Her tail swung down under her body, curling forward aggressively. Intermingled within the segments of her tail were curious red orbs. They glowed with faint energy and a fireball materialized out of nowhere. Unable to dodge, Godzilla had little other choice but to absorb the oncoming impact. The fireball collided with the King of the Monsters but disintegrated almost immediately. Its effects seemed pretty unsubstantial. Godzilla simply shrugged it off, unimpressed. Megaguirus hovered in place, seemingly disappointed by the total lack of results her attack yielded.
Out of frustration, Megaguirus rushed forward and used her body to try to topple Godzilla over, but he was able to widen his stance and cushion the impact with his outstretched arms. Still, Megaguirus was powerful enough to drive him backwards, toppling over trees as Godzilla’s feet scraped across the jungle floor. In an impressive feat of strength, she pushed him back two hundred yards. The close-quarters attack was a mistake though. With the two monsters locked together, Godzilla now had the advantage. He struck Megaguirus in the face, disorienting her, and then tossed her towards the ground. Even sailing through the air upside down, Megaguirus was able to get her bearings and recover midflight. She rotated back around and wheeled to face Godzilla once more.
Godzilla picked up a boulder and lobbed it at Megaguirus, trying to intercept her. As she saw the projectile closing in on her, she went from a nearly seamless linear trajectory, to perfectly juking out of the way at the last second, raising herself up. While Godzilla's focus was entirely centered on Megaguirus, he had failed to account for her numerous underlings. He felt a series of stings pierce into his back. Several of the Meganula had landed on him and had plunged in their stingers. Godzilla could not reach them with his arms, but the tiny attackers soon withdrew of their own accord.
The Meganula retreated back to their Queen, landing on top of her exoskeleton. They plunged their stingers into her flesh and then something strange happened. One by one, they went limp and fell away, skidding across Megaguirus’ armored back and then down into the jungle below, dead. Godzilla and the marines watching were all confused by this turn of events. They didn't understand what was happening.
Megaguirus' next move shed some light on the matter. She once again employed the fireball from her tail, though this time, the attack packed much more punch. When it hit Godzilla, he was blasted off his feet and the forest around him caught fire too. The flames quickly spread, and a large portion of the jungle was now burning. Marcus recognized that it was time to leave. If the battle continued to progress like this, then they may no longer have an escape route to retreat to anymore. They needed to risk getting closer to the action, even as it was still unfolding.
With Godzilla on the ground recovering from the fireball, he was a sitting duck for Megaguirus' next attack. She fully committed herself to a course of action that she felt would end the battle. She flew in low and clenched at Godzilla's shoulders with her pincers, holding him in position. With his movements temporarily under her control, she deployed her most potent weapon. She stabbed Godzilla in the side with her stinger and injected him with venom. As the poison pumped in, she also sucked out a portion of Godzilla's energy.
Sensing danger, Godzilla rolled, forcing Megaguirus to withdraw her stinger or risk being dragged under his heavy mass. Megaguirus was disappointed with this outcome. She had not yet completed the process. She'd only gotten a small taste of his full power. Little more than a sip. But what she had obtained was enough to fully energize her attacks. The orbs in her tail were engorged with energy. She unleashed another fireball, though Godzilla now understood that they were not to be taken lightly anymore. He dodged the projectile entirely.
Megaguirus' powerful fireball landed just beyond the road that Marcus and his men were driving on. As it impacted, all the soldiers could feel their mortality tremble in the bowels of their stomachs. The heat and power of it was profound. The jeeps raced along the burning jungle path as fast as they could, hoping to avoid any more close calls like that.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Godzilla found himself out of position once again after dodging Megaguirus' attack. She was moving in behind the King of the Monsters with the intention of getting her stinger back inside him to finish what she had started. Godzilla sensed Megaguirus there though and surprised her by whipping his tail down onto her back. Megaguirus crashed into the forest, for the first time, she had been taken completely off guard.
Godzilla turned to see that he had inflicted some meaningful damage. Megaguirus was fast, but she was also fairly frail for a Kaiju. One of her pincers had been crushed under the weight of his tail and she was still stunned by his attack. Godzilla aimed to take advantage of the situation and moved in for the kill. The remaining Meganula swarmed around his face, doing all in their power to protect their Queen. Megaguirus took full advantage of the diversion and intended to puncture Godzilla’s belly with her stinger. Unfortunately for her, Godzilla was already in the process of using his nuclear pulse to clear away the pesky Meganula that were harassing him, and Megaguirus was caught up in the same blast wave. There was simply no dodging it. The attack was moving in all directions at once. As fast as Megaguirus was, there was simply nowhere to run from such an assault.
The smaller Meganula were nearly vaporized by Godzilla’s nuclear pulse. They exploded into tiny balls of fire and fell from the sky. Meanwhile, Megaguirus was caught up in the energy wave and was pushed back over a hundred yards. She sustained a lot of damage but managed to survive the attack.
Marcus and his platoon arrived at the Brazilian airfield and wasted no time getting back into the transports. It was time to go. Godzilla was in the process of mopping up what was left of their primary mission objective. The Meganulons were all gone. The Meganulas, which had taken their place, were all dead now too. Their Queen appeared to be on her last legs. There was no need to stick around and see what Godzilla would do next once he was done amusing himself with his fallen opponent. Even without Godzilla to contend with, the fires the two monsters had started during their battle were rapidly burning out of control. The Brazilian base personnel were evacuated onto the Hercules transports and the aircraft took to the sky.
Back on the battlefield, Megaguirus looked up to see Godzilla closing in on her. She was confused. How could Godzilla still be fighting so hard? Surely her poison should have had some effect on him by then. But it hadn't. Godzilla's regenerative abilities had already completely neutralized Megaguirus’ venom, as well as replenish the energy she had stolen from him.
Marcus was watching the final act of the battle play out from the side window of his transport plane as it climbed into the air. It looked like Megaguirus was done for. Through the smoke, he could see that her wings had been damaged by Godzilla's nuclear pulse, and he was almost close enough to step on her now. Without her mobility, and Godzilla closing in, she was as good as dead.
"Shit!!!" Marcus could hear the pilot curse from the cockpit. The transport lurched as the pilot maneuvered the plane to avoid a collision. Mothra came soaring past Marcus’ window and made for the battleground.
Before Godzilla could step on Megaguirus' head, Mothra came down and plucked her up from the ground. Godzilla roared angrily as Mothra lifted her away, but otherwise, he did little to stop her.
The Hercules transport turned north and the last thing Marcus could see was Mothra clutching Megaguirus with her tiny legs.
Down on the ground, Godzilla just watched as the other two monsters disappeared. A storm was moving into the area, and a downpour of rain began to subdue the fires that were consuming the rainforest. The sudden monsoon could not have been better timed to preserve the delicate balance of life below. It also served to cool Godzilla’s rage.
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HistoricalBrazilian
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
Really good writing.
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Ashram52
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
…
Glad you like it.
Based on your screen name, I’m guessing this chapter was right up your alley?
Welcome to the story.
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Glad you like it.
Based on your screen name, I’m guessing this chapter was right up your alley?
Welcome to the story.
…
Custom Godzilla Modeler
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mpsoldier
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
Ah I see some of my small arms suggestions came up. Most people don't realize that older World War era weapons were generally much more powerful then modern ones. At least in terms of rifles and machine guns. Nice to see more appropriate weaponry taking hold. Was not expecting the Simian aliens. I guess I should have given that they did first appear in MechaGodzilla. I was more thinking along the lines of the Cockroach aliens or perhaps something original. With the more serious, sombre tone of this narrative (usually) the Simians don't seem to fit. To me they always seemed more a planet of the apes cash in then genuine Godzilla antagonists. But to be fair it does make the MechaniKong tie in make alot more sense as well as explain the leap in robotic technology. I'm hoping Godzilla doesn't "magnetize" himself again. Even at 12 my brother and I just face palmed and sighed when that happened. Its not quite "tail slide of terror" bad or "Godzilla victory dance" silly but those two have rule of funny involved.
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Ashram52
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
Yep, this chapter was a very much a: “Things MP should like chapter.” The guns for one. The giant bugs too. The small infantry squad plot. The c-130 gunship. (The insanity of putting a Howitzer on an aircraft is pretty interesting btw). And for anybody that doesn’t know, that is a ‘real thing’ the American Military industrial complex has produced. That is not my own brand of crazy. That’s ‘real life’ crazy.mpsoldier wrote: ↑Sun May 25, 2025 10:51 am Ah I see some of my small arms suggestions came up. Most people don't realize that older World War era weapons were generally much more powerful then modern ones. At least in terms of rifles and machine guns. Nice to see more appropriate weaponry taking hold. Was not expecting the Simian aliens. I guess I should have given that they did first appear in MechaGodzilla. I was more thinking along the lines of the Cockroach aliens or perhaps something original. With the more serious, sombre tone of this narrative (usually) the Simians don't seem to fit. To me they always seemed more a planet of the apes cash in then genuine Godzilla antagonists. But to be fair it does make the MechaniKong tie in make alot more sense as well as explain the leap in robotic technology. I'm hoping Godzilla doesn't "magnetize" himself again. Even at 12 my brother and I just face palmed and sighed when that happened. Its not quite "tail slide of terror" bad or "Godzilla victory dance" silly but those two have rule of funny involved.
Well, I’m not big on silliness, so my version of the Simians is going to be a little different. Something more serious and dangerous. I have a few ideas on how to update them. And they won’t be the only aliens we see during the course of the story. You may yet be seeing something along the lines of giant cockroaches.
We’ve only seeing the opening moves of the larger intergalactic war. The Mysterians on one side, the Simians in the other. They’re not the only players in the game though. The next chapter is going to be significant for the Simians. It’s mostly going to center around Mechagodzilla and what he is getting up to.
Yeah… no Godzilla magnetizing will be found in this story. And that other stuff won’t happen either. It just wouldn’t fit the tone of the narrative. I might slip a little humor in here and there, but only in ways that make sense to me and hopefully the wider audience.
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mpsoldier
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
You made a mistake on the new "assault rifle," though. There's slightly differing opinions on what exactly constitutes an assault rifle but the general consensus is that it fires a scaled down rifle round in a semi automatic design. Your new rifle fires a scaled WAY up round. It's the opposite of an assault rifle. An assault rifle is also used to lay suppression fire and engage multiple targets at short to medium-long range. Think Ak 47 or m-16. A .40 calibre rifle round's recoil is not something the average human shoulder could take much of, much less one after another. The old anti tank rifles recoil was known to detach retinas, dislocate shoulders and bruise the trigger finger black with a single round. Granted those are more powerful then yours but still firing that rapidly isn't going to happen outside of a 50 pound machine gun. I suggest a new class of weaponry be named. Perhaps the KER (Kaiju Engagement Rifle)..
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mpsoldier
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Re: Godzilla: Tactical Assault.
Perhaps the APE rifle. (Armour piercing explosive)The military loves acronyms. Plus it gives a nod to a class of the intended targets and a subtle pun on the musculature needed to handle such a hefty weapon. Soldiers also love nicknames and it's best to head them off with an appropriate one before they have a chance to come up with their own. Like the Stench (Sten) gun, the Chau**** (Chauchat) or even the much less damning Grease Gun.
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Ashram52
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