Godzilla: Tactical Assault.

[Ashram52]

…

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?

…

[mpsoldier]

The Easter Bunnies insidious plan to use Kaiju eggs to overthrow the World. Naturally Santa and his Elves get involved.

[Ashram52]

The Easter Bunnies insidious plan to use Kaiju eggs to overthrow the World. Naturally Santa and his Elves get involved.

Naturally…

[Ashram52]

...

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.

...

[HistoricalBrazilian]

Really good writing.

[Ashram52]

…

Glad you like it.

Based on your screen name, I’m guessing this chapter was right up your alley?

Welcome to the story.

…

[mpsoldier]

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.

[Ashram52]

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.

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.

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.

[mpsoldier]

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)..

[mpsoldier]

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.

[Ashram52]

Maybe… I’ll think it over.

[Ashram52]

…

Chapter 52: Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Following the battle between Megaguirus and Godzilla, Marcus and the rest of his team were flying north out of the jungle. All four C-130 Hercules transport planes were speeding away and putting as much distance between themselves and the monsters as they could. However, Mothra had not only caught up with them, but also managed to pass the line of aircraft carrying Megaguirus under her.

Marcus saw Mothra gliding by via the side window of his transport plane and followed her progress all the way up the cabin to the cockpit. The mystery of what she was up to was far too enticing for Marcus to pass up. He ordered his pilot to break formation and match Mothra's course and speed. Brock couldn't help but notice what was happening and came up to interrupt Marcus' deep thoughts.

"What are you doing?" He asked frustrated. "Galivanting all over South America chasing giant bugs was not part of our mission."

"Come on Brock, this aircraft is like a sky-camel.” Marcus began. “We have plenty of fuel to spare for a brief side-trip."

"That's not the point." Brock countered. "Don't you think there have been enough complications to this mission already? We should quit while we're still ahead."

"Aren't you the least bit curious Brock?" Marcus asked. "Don't you want to know what Mothra is doing abducting Megaguirus?" Brock's eyes shifted over to Mothra who was flying about six hundred yards ahead of them. He was quiet for a moment.

"Alright fine…" But only for an hour. "If we haven’t figured out what’s going on by then, we resume course back to base, deal?"

"Deal." Marcus took his hand and shook it."

…

Forty-five minutes later, they’d followed Mothra all the way to the coast. They were no closer to understanding what she was doing than when they’d started. Marcus was staring at Mothra's wings flap back and forth. It was majestic. He could’ve sat there all day watching the motion. It was hypnotic in a way. He felt very at peace.

"It's a good thing she's encumbered the way she is." Brock noted, breaking the silence. "I don't think this crate could keep up with her if she wasn't carrying another monster under her belly. So, what do you think is going on?" He asked.

"I don't know." Marcus answered. "Maybe Mothra is planning to dump Megaguirus down into the ocean like she's done to other hostile monsters before. Maybe she's going to find a nice quiet island, like she did with Bagorah, where Megaguirus won't bother anyone."

"You think she'll go as far as the Monster Islands again?" Brock asked curiously.

"Could be…" Marcus acknowledged. "For some reason, she didn't want Godzilla stomping the life out of Megaguirus though." Marcus’ attention was drawn to a beeping on one of the Hercules’ instrument panels. He'd been at the controls of enough aircraft to recognize what it meant. There was something new being detected on the plane's radar. It was closing in from behind.

"Sir, there's…" The pilot began to report.

"Yes… I see it." Marcus cut him short. He began to walk out of the cockpit and into the cargo bay. Brock shadowed him.

The resting marines eyed him quietly as he went by, sensing trouble afoot. Marcus made his way to the back of the plane and peered out of the windows to try to see what was coming with a naked eye. But there was nothing. Brock tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. Once he had, he handed Marcus a pair of binoculars to aid his search. Still nothing. The window was small and impaired his ability to scan the air behind them.

Marcus knew there was a better way and looked to Brock. Brock understood what he was thinking and began to move forward, buckling all the soldiers into their seats as he went. At first, he did so one by one, but soon enough, everyone understood the message and started buckling themselves in tight. Once everyone was secure, Brock went to the cockpit to warn the pilots what Marcus was up to. Once that was done, he sealed the cockpit to help them avoid the change in cabin pressure that was imminent. As soon as he’d done so, Marcus pulled the lever that unfastened the cargo ramp. He'd used a hooked strap to tether himself to the plane. It was a good thing that he had, because when the ramp came down, the sudden change in cabin pressure nearly sucked him out of the cargo door. Marcus had to clutch onto his binoculars so they wouldn't fly right out of his hands.

For a moment, Marcus lost his nerve, suddenly not sure that this was a wise course of action. The men strapped into their seats thought he had lost his mind. As Marcus got used to the change in pressure, the whipping of the wind, and the chill of the altitude, he refocused his efforts to the task at hand. He pulled the binoculars up to his face and scanned the skies behind them.

At first, there was nothing. Just blue sky which was broken up by the occasional wisp of clouds. But Marcus knew things were not as peaceful as they seemed. No, danger was lurking just beyond what he could see. Finally, a figure broke out from the clouds two thousand yards behind them. At first, it was difficult to identify what it was. There was just a flash of silver shimmering in the mid-day sun. It looked like a fighter gliding in behind them, but Marcus quickly understood what was closing in on them was far more dangerous than just a standard aircraft. It was Mechagodzilla.

Marcus got another chill that shot all the way up his spine. He closed the ramp and unhooked himself from the rail that had been holding him in place. He ran back up the cargo hold and tried to think what to do. The first and most obvious thing was to get his plane and crew out of the way. But he also wanted to warn Mothra. She was about to be ambushed by Mechagodzilla. How could he signal her? If they were in the gunship, he could fire a warning shot with the howitzer across Mothra's face to get her attention, but that wasn't an option in his cargo-outfitted C-130. It had no weapons to speak of.

Marcus was starting to get anxious. He could feel that time was running out. Mechagodzilla was closing in very quickly and there was nothing he could do about it. He thought about pulling ahead of Mothra and then tilting the wings of his aircraft the way he might warn a wingman of danger, but his C-130 wasn't fast enough to overtake her in time.

Suddenly, Marcus’ fear melted away. It was replaced by a warm feeling that was filling him up. Somehow, he knew everything was going to be alright. He looked out to see that Mothra was well-aware of the threat. Marcus smiled and then informed his pilots to break off. Whatever was going to happen next, he wanted to ensure they were a safe distance away from it.

It was none too soon. Five of Mechagodzilla's finger-missiles came streaming by, passing within fifty meters of the transport plane on the way to their real target. Mothra gracefully dodged away. The finger missiles were guided and gave chase, but they were limited in what they could do in the air and Mothra simply glided away from them. Once they'd passed their target, the missiles fell away towards the water. They were not meant to be long-ranged, and they’d run out of fuel. Undeterred, Mechagodzilla utilized an auxiliary booster in his tail to close the gap even faster. The robot used his rainbow ray to fire at Mothra again. Mothra dipped down just in time to avoid the stream of energy.

"How did Mechagodzilla get here so fast?" Brock asked. "I thought he was reported to have killed a monster in Singapore within the last twenty-four hours? He flew to the other side of the globe in a day?"

"I don't know, but with Mothra weighed down the way she is with Megaguirus, she's going to have a hell of a time fighting Mechagodzilla in the air.” Marcus noted grimly. “She's very vulnerable right now."

Mechagodzilla fired all of the weapons he could muster, which forced Mothra to release Megaguirus to defend herself. Megaguirus sailed downwards until she hit the water. Her wings kept her afloat on the ocean's surface while Mothra turned to face her opponent. She fired back with her yellow antennae rays. She hit Mechagodzilla in the chest which disrupted his normal flight. The robot spread his arms and legs to recover, but he'd lost all his momentum in the process. He hung in the air, nearly hovering while arresting his descent.

Before the robot could gain full control, a second Mothra appeared from below. He rammed into Mechagodzilla's chest and sent the machine tumbling out of control. The robot hit the water and sank below the waves. The first Mothra took the opportunity to scoop up Megaguirus and resumed her flight westward. The second Mothra held his position to ensure that Mechagodzilla didn’t resume his attack. He waited patiently monitoring the surface of the ocean.

Mechagodzilla did not re-emerge though. The robot might have sunk to the bottom, it might have beaten a retreat unnoticed, or it might have been waiting just below the surface. Whichever was the case, it wasn't clear in the moment. What was clear to Marcus was that they'd overstayed their welcome. It was time to resume course back home. Otherwise, they might not survive the next surprise.

…

Over the next couple of hours, Marcus’ plane caught up and rejoined the other C-130s on their way back to the United States. They refueled along the way, and eventually, they reached the G-Force base they'd departed from in Washington state. Marcus was happy to finally be done with the mission. It had been a long and stressful one. The cargo bay doors opened up and what remained of the marine squad disembarked.

Now that they had slowed down enough to take stock of the situation, and the men were all gathered in one place again, it had become clear to Marcus just how many of his soldiers hadn't made it back. For the first time, He'd lost men that were directly under his command. It wasn't a good feeling. He couldn't help but feel responsible. While Marcus had lost numerous comrades over the years, they'd never been soldiers he was personally responsible for, just men who fought beside him. And there was a world of difference between those two things.

While Marcus was lost in thought, a group of jeeps approached the disembarking marines. It looked like a welcome party at first, but the mood quickly changed when the marines realized the soldiers in their welcome party where members of the Air Force. These men were the base's new security force. Apparently, Admiral Malek's replacement had arrived, and he'd brought many of his own people with him. The leader of the arriving security force requested that Marcus and his men relinquish their arms before proceeding onwards towards the base. This incensed Brock and many of the other marines, but Marcus defused the situation by agreeing.

Upon entering the base, it was clear that things were changing. The base was swarming with new Air Force personnel. Most of them were so new that they didn't even have G-Force uniforms yet. They were already making themselves at home. Many of the faces Marcus was used to seeing were nowhere to be found. They'd seemingly been replaced by the new arrivals. Even Marcus was starting to feel offended now. It wasn't clear if the regular staff had been transferred out, but the whole situation was starting to feel like a hostile takeover. As they proceeded further into the base, the marines could see that the Air Force were assuming control of everything. They'd even put up their own banners in the hanger. Suddenly, Marcus and his men felt like outsiders. Brock seemed unfazed, but Marcus was growing nervous.

The group was led to their quarters, which were blessedly untouched. With the amount of friction that had already built up, Marcus wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his men in line if their personal effects had been tampered with.

Dr. Orsini had returned from his previous mission and was waiting to fill Marcus in on what had gone on during their absence. When General Stapleton arrived, he began to reorganize everything to align with Air Force standards. It was clear that his aim was to change Admiral Malek's way of running the show. Many of the base personnel had indeed been reassigned to other duties on other bases. Only the most essential members of G-Force had retained their positions, and that only seemed to be the case until they had a chance to properly bring their replacements up to speed. Marcus wasn't sure what this meant for himself and Brock, but he suspected it wouldn't be long until he found out.

…

While Marcus waited to learn of what his new status would be, he got to work writing letters to the families of the men he’d lost during the mission. As he was the highest ranked officer left amongst Malek's men, and since he led the operation personally, the responsibility landed squarely on his shoulders. It was difficult though. Even under regular circumstances, this would be a very difficult duty, but given the strangeness of their branch, it was even more trying. How was he supposed to explain to grieving mothers how their sons died? The truth, that giant insects had eaten them for lunch? No. He needed to find a more delicate way. He needed to finesse this.

Brock could sense Marcus struggling and decided to help lighten his burden. He’d had the sorry duty of writing out a lot of condolence letters in the past. While he didn’t enjoy it, he did have a certain talent for it. Marcus couldn’t help but wonder if this was a big reason why Brock was so protective of his comrades in the field. Marcus never wanted to write another one of these letters for as long as he lived, and he assumed Brock must feel the same way.

Only minutes into writing, Marcus was summoned to General Stapleton's office for debriefing. He was almost relieved to have an excuse to take a break from it. It was only a short walk to where the General had taken up residence. Marcus was brought directly before General Stapleton who immediately looked up from his work. Marcus saluted and the General returned the gesture.

"Report." General Stapleton inquired impatiently, not wasting any time with small talk or pleasantries. He wanted to get straight to business.

"The field test of the new weapon was a success sir." Marcus began. " It has indeed proven effective against slower, moderately armored targets."

"So, you achieved your primary mission objectives?" General Stapleton asked.

"Yes sir." Marcus answered. "The Meganulon were all killed off. At least as best we can tell. We couldn't stop to do an exact body count, but the ones we didn't kill ourselves transformed into Meganula." General Stapleton looked lost for a moment. "A second dragonfly-like stage of the Meganulon's life cycle sir." Marcus clarified. Apparently, General Stapleton really wasn't up to speed yet. Marcus and his men being permitted to stay on the base for the time being was starting to make sense. “In any case, the Meganula were all killed in the subsequent battle with Godzilla."

"Good." General Stapleton almost allowed himself to smile but fell just short.

"Though one individual specimen was alive at the end of the battle." Marcus went on and General Stapleton's good humor vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. “The queen.”

"Go on…" General Stapleton said gruffly.

"During the mission, we discovered a Kaiju-sized member of the Meganulon species. It proved to be far more dangerous than the human-sized specimens. It's unclear if she is capable of perpetuating their species or not. I spoke with Dr. Orsini earlier today and he suspects her role in the swarm might have been more along the lines of protector than matriarch. Their species evolved during a time when giant monsters were all but commonplace. Megaguirus may have been an evolutionary adaptation of the Meganula to protect themselves from their giant-sized neighbors. Dr. Orsini says they've found evidence that the Rodans may have been one of many predators that preyed upon the giant insects."

"So, Megaguirus may not have been a breeder." General Stapleton seemed legitimately relieved. "That would be a bit of welcome news."

"We took some casualties during the mission." Marcus volunteered without being asked. "But that was mostly due to unforeseeable circumstances." He reasoned, trying to satisfy his own conscious as much as General Stapleton. "Since the Meganulon had a second stage in their life cycle that we didn't know about, it caught us off guard. After molting, they gained wings and the ability to fly. It made them exceptionally fast and dangerous considering the weapons we had on hand." Marcus was feeling guilty again, thinking about the gruesome deaths of his men.

"Casualties are just a reality when fighting kaiju." General Stapleton remarked coldly. It was clear that he didn't put much value on men's lives that were not his own. This bothered Marcus, but he tried to hide it.

"When Godzilla arrived, it presented us with an opportunity to escape, and we took it." Marcus went on with his report, trying to move past the unpleasantness as quickly as possible. "We were totally outmatched by that point."

"And yet, you took it upon yourself to do a little side-mission?" General Stapleton observed.

"Yes, I wanted to collect more information on the developing situation.” Marcus went on. “Mothra had arrived and intervened on behalf of Megaguirus. I found that strange. First, that Mothra would interfere at all in a battle that Godzilla had clearly already won, but in particular, that she seemed to be siding with Megaguirus.

"So, you followed her while she was carrying the new monster away?" General Stapleton asked.

"Yes sir." Marcus answered. "I was hoping to find answers."

"And what conclusions have you come up with?" General Stapleton inquired.

"Not many at this point.” Marcus admitted. “We couldn’t follow Mothra long enough to discover what she was up to, but we did witness something else interesting. Mechagodzilla reappeared and attacked Mothra."

That revelation got General Stapleton's full attention. He dropped his pen and leaned forward, listening quite intently. He had not been expecting such a twist.

"And what happened next?" He asked.

“Well, the long and short of it was that Mechagodzilla was knocked into the ocean when a second Mothra appeared.” Marcus answered.

"Did the robot survive being submerged in ocean water?" General Stapleton inquired.

"I couldn't say, sir." Marcus replied. "But we didn't see it resurface. It could have sunk to the bottom, but maybe it just didn't like the odds of squaring off against two adult Mothras."

"Do you have any theories about who built it and what it's mission is?" General Stapleton asked.

"We don't know yet, but there are theories." Marcus answered. General Stapleton raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue. "Well, there are some who think it could be the Russians, but I don't see that as being likely."

"No, the Russians would have had to stolen it from us first." General Stapleton's stony demeanor softened for the first time during the whole conversation. "They haven't had the time or opportunity to do so yet. I think we can safely rule them out, as well as the Chinese."

"Yes, I agreed sir." Marcus concurred. "We have people on the inside, and according to those agents, the Chinese are just as concerned about those developments as we are."

"Very good." General Stapleton noted.

"It's possible that Mechagodzilla is the work of a scientist named Dr. Who, but he is presumed dead. I find it very unlikely that he survived the attack on his base, and it's also unlikely that he could have built a brand-new robot in just a couple of months. While we can't confirm that he was killed, I think we can still safely rule him out. It's also possible that a similar terrorist organization could have constructed that robot, but they'd have to be extremely well-funded and organized. It seems doubtful to me. And why would any government who supports a terrorist organization arm them with technology more advanced than their own? That would be bad policy."

"What about those Sea-Dwellers you discovered?" General Stapleton inquired.

"That's also possible, but it doesn't feel right." Marcus replied. "They have thus-far operated pretty quietly. This seems too blunt and bold for them. What concerns me is Mechani-Kong was a cutting-edge piece of technology, and it was still totally outmatched."

General Stapleton was just listening to Marcus as he theorized. He added very little to the conversation, allowing Marcus to get all his thoughts out. Eventually, Marcus came around to what seemed outlandish, and yet, the most-likely explanation for the appearance of two advanced robots in the last couple of months. He recalled the odd saucer-like aircraft that had retreated into the sky during Moguera's battle with Godzilla.

"Sir…" Marcus began, trying to carefully broach the topic. "Would you give any credence to the possibility of an extraterrestrial origin?" "I've seen things that are hard to explain."

"What have you seen?" The tone of General Stapleton's voice changed.

"Odd aircraft in the field during a Kaiju battle, like nothing I’ve seen before." Marcus replied. General Stapleton was suddenly very quiet. He just studied Marcus with his eyes.

"When was this…?" He asked.

"During Godzilla's battle with Moguera." Marcus replied.

"Do you have any hard evidence of those craft's existence?" General Stapleton asked eagerly.

"Sadly no." Marcus responded. "We didn't even get them on film." General Stapleton seemed unbothered by that bit of news. At that point, Marcus began to realize that the general was no longer asking him questions to get answers, but rather just to ascertain what Marcus knew.

"Sir, what about the incident at Roswell?" Marcus decided to take a risk. "Surely there could be answers found there?"

"That's classified." General Stapleton immediately shut him down.

Marcus wasn't disappointed by that. General Stapleton’s evasiveness only confirmed what he already suspected. The Air Force was hiding information from other branches of the military. They knew more than they were letting on. Perhaps having an Air Force General in command of G-Force wasn't such a bad thing and maybe it wasn't such a coincidence that one was appointed just when Mechagodzilla, Moguera, and King Ghidorah all appeared. Marcus could sense that things were changing all around him. The world suddenly felt both larger and smaller. He was caught up in events that were taking shape around him. He was more than a little scared, but he had to try to keep his head.

"What is our next move sir?" Marcus asked.

"There is no: Our next move, lieutenant." General Stapleton replied. "Only mine." He leaned back in his chair. "This organization needs a blood transfusion badly. Admiral Malek was a poison that contaminated every aspect of G-Force. His influence needs to be removed. I have something for you." General Stapleton handed Marcus a piece of paper. “These are your transfer orders. I'm taking you out of active combat and sending you to G-Force's new command center near Seattle. You're going to be an instructor. I've read your file, and I can see that you have invaluable experience with Kaiju. There's going to be a great influx of new recruits soon. I need them trained in how to handle Kaiju encounters by someone who knows what they are doing."

"What about current field missions, sir?" Marcus asked concerned. "There is a lot going on at this point. Someone needs to keep tabs on what is happening.”

"I've already got a new team lined up to address urgent missions.” General Stapleton assured him. “You can consider yourself semi-retired. After seeing so much action, you have to be ready for a little peace and quiet. Dismissed…"

…

By the end of the day, Marcus, Brock, Ling, Dr. Orsini, Kiki, and Akira were all on a bus heading towards Seattle. Dr. Reinhart was the only member who wasn't immediately being put out to pasture. He was being kept in the program since he was still working on the weapons development team. His expertise was considered too unique and too vital for the program going forward to remove him from his position. He was still working with the peculiar but brilliant Dr. Klaus. Reinhart was focusing his energy on new Maser designs while Dr. Klaus was continuing to develop robotics. Reinhart was a little distressed to see the rest of the team depart, but his main goal in life was to create weapons to fight and defeat Kaiju. He had not yet realized that goal, and so he didn't see much of a choice but to carry on with his work where he was. It was unfortunate, but that was the reality of the situation. The work was more important to him than friendships.

Most of the team understood and respected Reinhart's feelings, but Dr. Orsini couldn't help but feel a little offended. The two of them had bonded in their time together and he took Reinhart's decision to embrace his work as a betrayal to the team and a slight to him personally.

When the team arrived at the new G-Force HQ, they couldn't help but be impressed. General Stapleton may have forced them out of the field, but he’d ensured that their retirement from active combat was at least cushy. The building was modern, and the furnishing was exceptional. The G-Force base had a twin facility in Japan to symbolize the partnership between the two nations. Both were fully committed to combating Kaiju.



As the team settled in, most of them began to enjoy the new facility. They were given a tour and saw just how many amenities were at their disposal. There was a recreation center with an Olympic-sized pool, several hot tubs, a steam room, and even a gym in the lower level. It almost felt like they were checking into a hotel. It was far beyond the dusty old air station that was G-Force's first operations base. Everything here was clean and new.

Marcus had to admit; he didn't hate it. Being stationed there would be like being placed on extended leave. His life wouldn't be at risk every other day, and he could serve in relative comfort, and he didn't mind that. The one person who was still entirely unhappy with their lot was Brock. He was pissed about being shelved.

"What are you so mad about?" Marcus asked while working out with Brock in the gym. "Just think of this like paid leave. We're not responsible for anything now. Eventually, we'll be teaching like college professors, but for now, we can take the opportunity to relax a bit."

"I'm a professional soldier Marcus.” Brock growled impatiently as he pumped some iron. “This duty is demeaning for me. I feel like we are at a day spa."

"I'll see about getting someone to manicure your toenails and then call for that mud thing that girls think is so great for their skin." Marcus joked.

"You're hilarious Marcus." Brock rolled his eyes. "But here's an unpleasant truth for you: While we are sitting here relaxing, things are still happening in the world. Bad things. And without us out there to help combat them, things are going to get worse. Eventually, it's going to get bad enough to reach us here. General Stapleton is sending out rookies in our place. They don't know what they’re doing. Mark my words, this is going to lead to trouble. I'm not going to wait for it to come to that." Brock dropped his weights and then walked away.

…

Later, Marcus was watching the news and saw a breaking story coming out of San Javier, Peru. Mechagodzilla had appeared yet again and struck. He'd attacked another Kaiju who'd just recently emerged from hiding. As the local news media had been tracking the monster who they'd dubbed Burtannus, there was live footage of the battle as it began.

Burtannus was swimming in the shallows with what appeared to be two offspring. Burtannus was a rather plain Kaiju with few distinguishing features, though her most notable trait was her head and face. Like many Kaiju who'd appeared before her, she was reptilian in nature but had an almost bird-like beak on her upper jawline. Her lower mandible had a very strange inward groove which allowed the sharp point of her beak to settle into place when her mouth was closed, but she had two sharp tusk-like teeth which breached upwards. She must have had a nasty bite. The other notable feature of Burtannus was a horn protruding upwards from her beak. It almost gave her the appearance of a ceratopsian dinosaur, though she lacked any other horns. She did however have a large bony frill which also was a defining feature of their kind. Burtannus' body was mostly brown and tan in color and she had thin plated armor covering a good portion of her skin. Her last distinguishing feature was a long tail which had long sharp spikes protruding out from the tip.



Through the lens of the camera, Marcus could see Mechagodzilla arrive from above. Unprovoked, he immediately launched an attack. Burtannus' armored plates were strong enough to tank the shots, but her body was not entirely covered in them. There were many gaps where the projectiles could sneak in and bypass her defenses. Burtannus' main priority was to protect her offspring. The three of them retreated back to land where they could take cover in the jungle. The camera caught sight of a large opening in the ground. Marcus assumed it was their subterranean lair. Burtannus and her young were trying to make their way towards it. Mechagodzilla detected it as well and deduced their plan. He came down and landed between them and their safe haven.



With no choice now, Burtannus had to fight. Her babies instinctively stayed behind while she rushed forward to meet the threat. Mechagodzilla let loose with a barrage which was moderately successful. Burtannus persisted through it and collided with Mechagodzilla. She tried to use her horn to gore the robot, and if he had been an organic target, she may have inflicted some critical damage, but as Mechagodzilla was covered in gleaming metal armor, the blow simply glanced off his skin harmlessly, leaving only a superficial scratch. The force of Burtannus hitting Mechagodzilla did force the robot back though. He had to give ground otherwise he risked being bowled over.



The robot screeched out a roar, as if to show his displeasure. Mechagodzilla responded with a blast of his rainbow ray, which struck Burtannus in the chest. The damage was minor, but noticeable. Burtannus retaliated by stepping forward and swinging around, using her long-spiked tail. It struck Mechagodzilla's face with an unsettling clang. There wasn't any visible damage, but the robot's internal mechanisms must have taken a jolt because he was staggered for a moment before recovering. Burtannus took advantage of the robot's lack of coordination and clamped her jaws around his right arm. Once she had a good strong hold, she wrenched at it. Mechagodzilla’s frame creaked under the strain, but the joint held strong. The sharp edge of Burtannus' beak began to sink into the armor. She was actually able to penetrate it given enough effort.



In the meantime, Mechagodzilla used his free arm to start chopping at Burtannus' head. The first blow hit her armored frill and bounced right off. The second blow glanced off her horn, again, totally ineffective. Seeing such action as futile, Mechagodzilla changed tactics. He used one of his pointed fingers to aim for a more vulnerable point, and poked Burtannus in the eye. She immediately relinquished his arm and backed away. However, the pain enraged Burtannus, and she utilized her most powerful attack to strike at Mechagodzilla. Her whole body pulsated with energy and a powerful electrical bolt emitted from her horn. The stream of energy darted out and struck Mechagodzilla's body. The power systems in the robot shuttered as they were shorted out. The light in Mechagodzilla's eyes flickered before entirely blacking out. Steam rose up from between the openings of his chassis. The robot slumped down but stayed on his feet. He looked entirely out of action. Burtannus warily watched Mechagodzilla for a moment, unsure if he was playing a mechanical form of possum or not, but after twenty seconds, he still hadn't budged an inch. He looked like a silver statue. Finally accepting victory, Burtannus retreated back to her young to tend to them. It had been a hard-fought battle, but she had come out on top.



Behind her, Mechagodzilla's CPU was rebooting, and the mechanical monster’s systems were slowly coming back online. His eyes lit up again and the engines started firing. The giant came back to life and reacquired his targets. Burtannus sensed something was amiss and turned back to see her opponent beginning to move again. His shrill battle-cry split the sky and instilled terror into Burtannus. From her perspective, it was like he'd resurrected himself from the dead.



Mechagodzilla sinisterly targeted Burtannus’ young, forcing her to throw her body between them and the onslaught of projectiles. She absorbed the punishment and then turned to charge Mechagodzilla once more, moving the fight away from her babies. When she reached him, she attacked savagely like a mother bear. She swiped at Mechagodzilla’s face with her claws, but he blocked each blow with his arms. Seeing those attacks fail, Burtannus used her tail to try to swipe the legs out from under him, but Mechagodzilla was prepared for that and used the rockets in his feet to fly up backwards and avoid the attack altogether while unleashing his rainbow ray in retaliation.

Undeterred, Burtannus continued to pursue Mechagodzilla. She was dead set on ripping him to shreds. That way, he wouldn't be able to come back again so easily the next time she killed him. However, her over-aggressiveness left her vulnerable. She failed to adequately defend against Mechagodzilla's next move. He came down and landed nearly on top of her, shoving his right hand into her mouth. Burtannus didn't recognize the danger and sought to bite his hand off. The metal crunched under the strain, but before she could crush it, Mechagodzilla fired off all four missiles which exploded inside her esophagus and stomach causing extensive tissue damage. Burtannus was dead before she realized what happened. Mechagodzilla slid his hand out and she collapsed to the ground.



Satisfied with his work with the mother, Mechagodzilla turned his attention to the two juvenile Kaiju who were practically defenseless now. Marcus shut off the television at that point. He didn't want to see what came next. Seeing a mother and two offspring killed off hit a little too close to home for him. After a few minutes of sitting quietly reflecting by himself, Brock entered Marcus' office with a folder.

"What is this?" Marcus asked, accepting the folder as Brock presented it to him.

"A report that should interest you." Brock said cryptically.

Marcus opened the file and quickly read through its contents. The summary was that General Stapleton had dispatched a U2 spy plane over the Monster Islands and took many pictures. They discovered that Mothra had taken Megaguirus there just like Bagorah. In fact, there were many new monsters amongst the islands that couldn’t have emerged there on their own. The two Mothras were actively collecting monsters from around the world and depositing them there on the islands. The two of them had apparently been very busy. There were at least a dozen new specimens.

"What do you make of that?" Brock inquired, seeing that Marcus had just finished.

"Well, based on the footage I just saw come out of Chile, I'd say the Mothras are trying to collect as many of the worlds monsters in one place so they can protect them from Mechagodzilla." Marcus remarked. "He seems to be hunting them down one by one. Just like he did with Mechani-Kong, he appears to be focused on eliminating threats. Since we’re being freezed-out, how did you come by this report?" Marcus asked suspiciously.

"Well, an officer in the operations room just happened to leave it sitting out in the open." Brock replied slyly. "It was just there for the taking."

"I see. Put it back before someone realizes it's missing." Marcus requested patiently, sliding the folder back to him. Brock nodded and started for the door. "And Brock…" Marcus called to him just as he stepped out. "…Good work."

…

The next day, Brock snagged another important report which indicated that Anguirus had once again re-emerged. This time in Chile. Suddenly, South America had become a hot bed for Kaiju activity. Perhaps this is what had drawn Anguirus to the area, or perhaps it was simply a coincidence. Either way, he'd appeared on the coast and was slowly making his way north towards Santiago. The Chilean Army was preparing to repulse him, but they'd sent a request for help from G-Force.

General Stapleton had already dispatched his new team of hand-picked men for the mission. He was also preparing to send the newly built Masers down to aid them. Masers had proved to be somewhat effective against Anguirus the last time he'd appeared, but Marcus also recalled they weren’t powerful enough to stop him, only potent enough to provoke him. Marcus didn't see another engagement utilizing Masers going well, but General Stapleton hadn't asked for his opinion.

It turned out that Brock hadn't limited his activities to taking reports from the operations room. He'd also acquired a much thicker stack of papers with even more sensitive information contained within.

"Are you serious?" Marcus asked incredulously. "How did you get your hands on this?"

"I snuck into General Stapleton's office, borrowed his keys, and then made a copy from his personal files." Brock replied bluntly.

"Are you taking espionage lessons from your girlfriend?" Marcus quipped, trying to keep his voice down. He went to his office door and then shut it tightly to keep any passersby from hearing their conversation.

"If General Stapleton isn't going to share information with us, then we need to gather intelligence on our own.” Brock reasoned. “If we ever do go back out on field missions, we need to know what we'll be up against. Johnny might still be alive right now if the Air Force had told us what was out there. And G-Force might still have an operational robot as well."

It was hard for Marcus to argue with Brock on this point. But if they got caught with the documents he'd stolen, they'd be in a world of hurt. Marcus wasn't even sure what the punishment would be. A court-martial would be way too public for the Government to risk letting any sensitive information leak. Marcus and Brock might alternatively just disappear one day never to be heard from again. Such was the importance of the information that Brock had uncovered.

The files in question contained evidence which described alien subjects being recovered from a wrecked spacecraft at Roswell in 1947. It went into some detail about their anatomy. The manuscript from the on-site doctor described them as insect-like. Vastly different from human life. This was curious. The popular theory that had come out after the Roswell affair was that the aliens were humanoid with grey skin and large black eyes. The reality of what they'd actually found was far more disturbing.

One name that jumped out from the report was General Stapleton's. He was one of the officers on duty who'd helped to recover the craft and its occupants. The report outlined how the alien bodies were taken to the infamous Hanger 18 for further study. That meant that General Stapleton was waist-deep in the cover-up that followed.

Did this prove that Mechagodzilla and Moguera were extraterrestrial in origin? And if it did, did it mean that they were being controlled by these giant bug people? What else was General Stapleton holding back? Marcus was suddenly unsure about everything he thought he knew. His mind was whirling. This revelation changed everything. Aliens did exist, and they were actively meddling in the affairs of the human race. Or worse… they might have designs on the world itself. Why try to wipe out the Kaiju if they weren't planning to occupy the planet for themselves? Marcus was suddenly very worried.

…

In Chile, the military was gathering along the coast to repel Anguirus. Their forces were mostly made up of older equipment imported from other countries and then modernized as best as they could be. The bulk of the ground forces was made up of tanks, but they were supported by artillery and numerous types of aircraft. The Chileans knew they couldn’t stop Anguirus with the firepower they had on hand, but they hoped to deflect his course away from the capital.

The army dug in along a ridge that they assumed would provide them with some level of protection. It was a sheer climb, and it would be an inconvenient detour to ascent, even for a giant like Anguirus.



Colonel Ruben Lorenzo was in command and supervising the disposition of the ground forces. He knew the odds of success weren't good, but he had a plan in mind. He left a small portion of his forces on the ground below. Anguirus had proven to be a temperamental creature. Previous battles had shown that he could be goaded into attacking. Colonel Lorenzo was planning to capitalize on that weakness. His strategy was quite simple: Get Anguirus' attention. Get him to chase the fast ground units that were out in the open. Lead him to the coast. The aircraft would take over from there, flying out over the water and continue to antagonize Anguirus, hopefully luring him into the ocean. The plan hinged on the idea that once Anguirus was back in the water, he’d choose to remain in the sea if he got far enough out. It wasn't a fool-proof plan, but it was the best they could do with the equipment they had on hand. The American Masers had not yet arrived, so legitimately winning a firefight against Anguirus was far out of reach.

As Colonel Lorenzo watched his tanks begin to fill in the bunkers dug out for them, he heard the sound of an engine whining off in the distance. He looked up puzzled. The aircraft backing him up shouldn't have arrived already. In fact, they shouldn't have even launched yet. Anguirus wasn't meant to hit their lines for at least another twenty minutes…

…

Back at G-Force Headquarters, Marcus and Brock were in the control room. They were allowed to watch the upcoming operation unfold. The new field team was in a helicopter enroute to observe the Chilean operation against Anguirus. They had a camera transmitting a live feed of the action.

As the helicopter rushed towards the coast, Marcus could see flashes of light waxing and waning along the shore. It seemed as though Anguirus had arrived at the battleline ahead of schedule and the Chilean military had already begun their bombardment. As the helicopter got closer though, it became clear that something was wrong. The aircraft that were meant to attack Anguirus out at sea were already engaging over where the field battle was taking place. Something had not gone according to plan. That was made even more clear as a bright glimmering ray shot one of the aircraft out of the sky.

The G-Force helicopter crested a ridge and found Mechagodzilla crushing all the Chilean forces. Half of the tanks were already in flames. The ridge they occupied was pockmarked by explosions. The Chilean Air Force was trying to rescue their army counterparts, but Mechagodzilla was easily picking them off as well. None the less, the Chilean military was at least putting up a decent fight. Mechagodzilla's armor was constantly clanking as rounds and missiles exploded against the machine.





The G-Force team got closer to better document the unfolding battle. Fresh air reinforcements came into the area in the form of a flight of attack helicopters. They launched a volley of rockets which proved to be no more effective than any of the other attacks by the Chilean forces. Little by little, the rate of return fire from the Chileans died down as more of their forces were destroyed. Mechagodzilla was very efficiently destroying them with the various projectiles in his arsenal.





Watching through the feed, Marcus could see that the G-Force helicopter was venturing too close to the action. Running out of combatants to divide his attention, Mechagodzilla’s sensors detected the loitering aircraft. In a moment that must have been terrifying for the crew, Mechagodzilla’s face turned to focus on them. His cold motionless expression was locked on to the helicopter as it hovered right at his eye level. The pilot realized his mistake and jerked at the controls, but it was far too late for that. Mechagodzilla blasted them, and everyone and everything aboard the aircraft was vaporized as the beam engulfed them. The feed was severed and everyone in the command center was left watching only static.



"They made the crucial mistake of getting too close.” Marcus remarked to no one in particular. “They should have kept their distance after Mechagodzilla demonstrated his willingness to target regular military units."

Back on the battlefield that they were no longer able to see, things were continuing to develop. Anguirus had arrived and was witnessing the final demise of the Chilean forces. Ironically, none of the units meant to attack him even got a single shot off in his direction. The rampant destruction did not intimidate Anguirus in the least. He proceeded forward into the fray while Mechagodzilla's attention was still elsewhere. He got a running start and crashed into Mechagodzilla’s back. The robot was in the process of firing one of his finger missiles at a patch of Chilean survivors, but the rocket was sent whizzing off course and blew up the crest of a nearby mountain top. Powdered snow and rocky sediment rained down into the surrounding area.



The remaining military units were granted a reprieve as Mechagodzilla's attention was drawn away from them. He turned to face Anguirus who was already rearing to attack again. Mechagodzilla tried to disrupt this attack by firing both his rainbow ray and his finger missiles, but these weapons were rebuked by Anguirus' heavy armor. Anguirus charged right through the firestorm and clipped Mechagodzilla's side. His spikes left a pattern of deep scratches etched into the robot's silver skin.



Mechagodzilla fired another volley of finger missiles at Anguirus as he was turning back around. The missiles impacted against Anguirus' carapace and some of them were deflected off course as they navigated through the dense forest of spikes which jutted out in all directions from Anguirus' back. The missiles that did impact properly were completely absorbed by the thick armor. Anguirus was entirely unharmed by the salvo.



Undeterred, Mechagodzilla simply used a different weapon. His chest opened up and a powerful electric beam discharged from a bulky emitter that was hidden within. This weapon could inflict damage by bypassing most of Anguirus' protective armor. Still, the beam was more painful than devastating. Even without any armor, Anguirus would remain tough as nails. He came charging forward again and used his paw to smash the emitter in Mechagodzilla's torso. With his most potent weapon out of action, Mechagodzilla retracted his chest flap to protect the rest of the inner mechanisms and then chopped down on Anguirus with his hands. The first blow hit Anguirus' crest horns and was deflected away harmlessly, but the second strike landed on his neck, bypassing his heavy armor and hitting one of the few vulnerable spots on Anguirus' body.

Anguirus slumped down, stunned by the blow for a second. Mechagodzilla tried to take advantage by kicking his opponent under his armored shell, but Anguirus tilted just enough so that the robot's toes landed in the bed of spikes on his back. Mechagodzilla's foot got caught and Anguirus rolled over, making the robot loose his footing. Mechagodzilla came crashing down on his back and Anguirus scrambled over to him while he was down, biting into his neck. If Mechagodzilla hadn't been a machine, the fight would have been over right then and there, but as it was, Anguirus' teeth couldn’t entirely penetrate Mechagodzilla's throat. Thus, the damage wasn't fatal, though there was still harm being done to the robot’s ventilation flaps. Anguirus was clamping down more and more with each passing second.



Mechagodzilla was forced to perform an emergency takeoff. In the air, he hoped Anguirus would lose his grip. As the robot blasted away from the ground, Anguirus was dragged up with him, tenaciously refusing to let go. Mechagodzilla was impressively managing to maintain a steady flight even with Anguirus attached to him, and Anguirus' jaw strength was impressively holding out while Mechagodzilla climbed even higher.

Mechagodzilla used his arms to chop at Anguirus while in flight. Eventually, Anguirus was forced to let go and he came crashing down to earth with an ugly thud which kicked up a lot of dirt and dust. In a testament to his toughness, Anguirus almost immediately popped back up to his feet, seemingly no worse for wear. Mechagodzilla meanwhile just hovered above watching and calculating. The robot emitted a signal before it resumed firing finger missiles. The projectiles rained down around Anguirus but did little more than annoy him.

Mechagodzilla remained above Anguirus for a time, taking pot shots, but mostly just loitering. Eventually, he tried a new tactic. First, he fired off his standard finger missiles and then replaced them with a non-explosive harpoon variety. Mechagodzilla landed on the smoldering cliff the Chileans had once occupied and fired off the specialized projectiles. Out of the eight, only three of them found a fleshy enough spot to penetrate, sticking out of Anguirus' front legs. Even the thinner armor in those areas was enough to prevent deep penetration though. The wounds inflicted were fairly shallow, though they did draw blood.

One by one, Anguirus bit into the barbs and pulled them out with his teeth. Mechagodzilla just sat at the top of the mound, waiting for Anguirus to climb up the hill and reengage. Anguirus moved forward to do just that, but he came to a stop when a second Mechagodzilla came down out of the sky and landed right next to the first one. And then a third came down right behind the other two. The third Mechagodzilla was different from the others. The most notable difference was that it stood nearly twice as large as the other robots. The actual design was very similar, save a few key differences. First, it's finger missiles were proportionately larger. Second, it had a slightly different paint scheme with grey panels mixed in with the primary silver color. The patterns in the armor were also different, though still fairly similar to the smaller units. The final difference, which was almost entirely cosmetic, was a marking on the arm. Where the first two units had an ‘MG’ bolted on, the newest unit had an ‘MG-2’ prominently displayed in its place.





Suddenly outnumbered, Anguirus wasn't so certain about his chances anymore. He actually took a few steps backward, his eyes shifting from one opponent to the next. Finally, the standoff was broken as all three Mechagodzillas opened fire. Anguirus crouched down, pulling his legs as far under his carapace as he could to weather the onslaught. His armor proved its worth, but Anguirus was held in check by a steady stream of firepower. If something didn't change, his defeat was inevitable.



The barrage was disrupted by a powerful beam of blue fire which knocked the central Mechagodzilla from his perch. The robot fell backwards and tumbled down the other side of the hill. The other two Mechagodzilla units held their fire to assess the oncoming threat. Anguirus rose to his feet and turned to see Godzilla advancing behind him. But it wasn't the Godzilla he'd once fought. No, this Godzilla was twice as big and dwarfed him by comparison. Anguirus instinctively moved aside. He'd been defeated by a lesser version of the same monster. He didn't want to take his chances against this one. He knew it was the same individual he’d once battled because of his scent. It was undoubtedly him, and yet, he’d changed so much over the years. At one point, Anguirus could have considered himself his rival, but not anymore. Anguirus couldn't wrap his mind around it. He also couldn’t wrap his mind around what came next. Godzilla marched passed him, entirely ignoring his presence and advanced on the pair of Mechagodzillas.





The larger Mechagodzilla unit re-emerged from the other side of the hill and joined the other two. The robots once again unleashed a barrage of projectiles, this time solely focused on Godzilla. His body was covered in explosions, and yet, he just shrugged them off. Only when two out of the three robots used their electric chest beams did Godzilla take proper notice of their firepower. He shuttered and stopped for a moment, roaring in rage, before resuming his course. He marched up the hill and head-butted the central robot, which again, threatened its stability. With it temporarily thrown off balance, Godzilla focused his attention to the leftmost unit. He turned and slammed his tail full force against the robot. It went down in a heap. By that point, the central unit had regained its balance and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Godzilla, chopping at him with its arms. The rightmost unit joined it, and Godzilla couldn't keep up with both of them at the same time.



In a blur of speed, Godzilla saw something rush past him. It was Anguirus. He sprang up and caught the rightmost Mechagodzilla unit by the arm, preventing the robot from continuing its assault. Having been weakened by Burtannus' bite earlier, Anguirus managed to completely tear the robot’s arm out of its socket and ripped it completely free from the chassis. Sparks flew as vital circuitry was shredded.



Godzilla was quick to capitalize. Seeing there was a wide gap in the robot's protective armor, he used his nuclear breath to flood the opening. The robot began to collapse from the inside as the system which fed missiles into the now missing arm went up in a cascading rumble of explosions. Eventually, Godzilla's fire made it into the engine core and the robot’s power system was destroyed. The unit crumbled to the ground. It wasn't capable of fighting anymore. That didn’t stop Anguirus from bashing it with his front paws one more time just for good measure. When the machine didn't respond, he knew it was no longer a threat.



The other two Mechagodzilla units tried to rally. Mechagodzilla-2 recognized that things were going poorly, so he employed his final-resort weapon. His right index finger was not a normal finger missile like the rest. It was specifically designed for one purpose: To capture Kaiju it deemed strong enough to be recruited into the war effort. Godzilla demonstrated that he fit the bill by taking out one of the Mechagodzilla-1 units. Mechagodzilla-2 fired the weapon into Godzilla's chest. The King of the Monsters ignored the attack, as all of the previous finger missile assaults had barely scratched him before.

Mechagodzilla-2’s unique finger missile was designed very much like the harpoon-missiles the smaller Mechagodzilla units utilized. It sank into Godzilla's flesh. While it didn't do much physical damage, it had a transmitter lance with metal wires that linked Mechagodzilla-2 directly to Godzilla. The robot started to use that physical connection to influence Godzilla's mind. The computer whispered in his brain, telling the King of the Monsters to relinquish control.

Before the process could get very far, Anguirus’ jaws munched down onto Mechagodzilla-2's ankle. He jerked at the leg, nearly pulling the robot off his feet. The wire connected into Godzilla's chest got tugged as well, pulling him forward and making Godzilla aware of the connection. At first, Godzilla tried to pull the lance out, but it was rooted in fairly good, so instead, he grabbed the metal wire and proceeded to rip it out of Mechagodzilla-2's finger port. Being anchored down by Anguirus, Mechagodzilla-2's lower body couldn't move, and thus, his head and upper body was pulled downwards. Godzilla took advantage by kicking him in the chest, sending him backwards. Anguirus let go of him at that point and Mechagodzilla-2 teetered off balance, threatening to go tumbling down the hill once more. Godzilla guaranteed that it came to pass by blasting him a second time with his atomic breath.

Mechagodzilla-2's chest had soaked up a lot of damage by this point in the battle. He'd taken two shots of nuclear fire now, and the second blast was at point blank range. With only two units left, and both of them damaged, it was starting to look like a losing fight. The Mechagodzilla robots were recalled to their base. Each of them engaged their engines and blasted away from the battle zone. That left Godzilla and Anguirus standing there alone.



Anguirus was suddenly unsure of himself. He backed away from Godzilla now that they lacked a common enemy to fight. Anguirus expected that Godzilla would turn his rage in his direction next. They'd been enemies in the past after all. Anguirus eyed him suspiciously, waiting for Godzilla to make a move. Godzilla turned and took notice of Anguirus. The King of the Monsters just stared at him for a time, and this did little to quell Anguirus' misgivings. He stared back with an intensity that suggested, are we friends now or what?



Godzilla grunted and slowly moved off. Anguirus just watched him for a time, uncertain what to do. After getting a few steps away, Godzilla stopped and looked back. He was waiting for Anguirus to join him. Anguirus had unknowingly earned Godzilla’s respect. Anguirus finally understood and trotted behind Godzilla to catch up. Together, the two of them made for the coast and entered the ocean. The victory was theirs to share.



….

Added in 47 minutes 14 seconds:
…

For those who are interested, Burtannus was another Dark Horse Comics character. Her issue had perhaps the best cover from the series:



Her actual character design was a little generic. In fact, I think the figure I used to represent her actually had a better design. She looked better on the cover than in the actual comic, where she looked pretty bland.











…