KWCE Match: Gudis vs Bogun, Barrangas, and Majaba

[EarthbaragonOG]

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Author: Earthbaragon
Banner: Voyager
Word Count: 35,484



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Prologue:
Life Beyond the Stars




The frigid, empty, and endless black voids of space swamped and encased the metallic shuttle. The airless, barren cosmos was all that could be seen within the ship's tempered aluminosilicate glass windows. The space vessel, which was called the Moonlight SY-3, was American made, and the first and only one of its kind. Armed with the most advanced scientific equipment and technology, the spaceship was nearing the end of its six month long final destination.

The outer rings of Jupiter.

Infinite roads of twinkling jasmine stars were stretched as far as the eye could see. Their bright light was reflecting off the swirling bodies of dust and small rocks. There were sweltering sheets of gaseous fumes that were dancing and floating about the gigantic spheroid planet. And all of this untold beauty was now being seen, firsthand, through the eyes of four astronauts.

Twin pairs of delicate brown eyes watched from the side porthole, and gawked at the swirling storm on the planet Jupiter with the fascination of a child. The two people were peering into the deepest regions of man’s universe that had been traveled. For them, space was more than just a job. It was a passion; fiery and spirited. This place, of which they had found themselves in, was pure heaven. It was untold, unbound, and immeasurable by any human standard or word. They could die happy at that moment and they would pass on to the afterlife with no regrets to weigh them down.

Stanley Haggard lovingly looked at his wife, who was standing next him. She was his first. She was his only love; the center of his world. The beautiful woman had the same desire for the stars that he had. The desire that he had for the stellar system, ever since he was a child, was only matched for the love that he now had for his wife. Stanley could see the unchained and boundless beauty of the astral bodies and quasars, as they were reflecting in his wife’s siren-like eyes. This current mission is what each of them had dreamed about doing with their lives, even before either of the lovers knew of each other's existence.

Stanley’s soul leapt with utter vivacity as his enchanted angel reached over and embraced his hand. The angelic touch was like a light warming flame. It was soothing and caressing his heart and mind with a rapturous embrace. His life’s hopes and dreams were fulfilled. Hardwork and drive were finally revealing compensatory results.

“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful,” his wife, Melinda Haggard, whispered in a melodic harp-like grace. She did not even dare to blink when she uttered her statement. Melinda did not want to waste one precious second of the time that she had to watch the stars that so fascinated her. Just beyond the vantage of her tempered glass porthole was the swirling gas giant Jupiter, in all of its fabled glory.

“I have seen nothing more ravishing or more beautiful,” Stanley replied gently. He was completely oblivious to what his wife was really talking about. His attention was not on the stars at the moment. It was on the wordless pulchritude of his wife. The words were slipping from her lips like a sigh in the wind. The slim and athletic light-haired woman finally turned from her window, only to behold her husband’s loving eyes. A thin Cheshire smile curled the woman’s lips.

“Were you talking about me, or the stars,” she mused jokingly with her dark haired husband. Stanley removed his leaning frame from the cabin’s side, by pushing off with his arms. The zero gravity environment sent his body floating backwards. A growing grin adorned his face. His brown eyes were wide with playfulness.

“Of course I was talking about the stars,” he spoke, trying to hold back his coltish smile. He loved to play. He did ever since he was a child. Laughter and levity was a way to take the crushing weight of the world off of one’s shoulders, even if it was for only a brief moment of time. It took away the nerve-wracking tension that would accompany any of his NASA space missions. His wife however, could see through his little pranks. She always did.

“Oh really Mr. Haggard,” she mocked back with a jest. Giving a quick push with her legs, the young blonde woman rocketed herself towards her soul mate. With her hands outstretched, she latched onto Stanley when they collided with each other. The two body masses laughed and giggled like school children as they tumbled in each other's arms through the massive silvery ship. Their hearts were alive with the flames of love. Seconds passed before the lanky man was able to pin her arms to one of the ship's walls.

“You give up,” he chuckled, visibly short of breath from the quick interlude. Melinda though just looked on lovingly at her husband, fluttering her dark eyelashes and perking her red succulent lips. An adorning smirk lit Stanley’s face. The day was his, he won. Now he was going to claim his prize. He leaned his body closer to the young lady’s innocent face. He was within mere inches of touching her soft lips with his own, when Melinda squirmed away by breaking his grip.

“Try again,” she yelled light heartily as she spring-boarded away from the wall, and her would-be keeper. “You never could beat me,” she grinned. The man merely smiled back at his loving wife. One of these days he would win. He had to eventually, right?

“Children, if you mind, I think we better get back to our work. We are not paid to have fun up here,” a heavy toned voice boomed from the head of the ship.

A gray-haired man, with a spare tire gut and tired eyes, floated from out of the darkness. His dull blue eyes tinged, and his beard itched. Professor John Silverton learned to push past the discomfort of what his age would bring, and the effects of what space travel had on his mind and body. The days were long, and the nights longer. Keeping up with the two lovebirds was pressing to a man his age. But he enjoyed the care that they had for each other. It reminded him of his wife that he was forced to leave back home. The usual laconic man oftentimes looked at himself as being an unofficial uncle to Stanley and Melinda. He was always trying to keep them out of trouble, and focused on their work.

“Houston will be just a little peeved if we did not complete our work here. We are out in the outer rings of Jupiter, further out in space than any human has ever been. Now I have been lenient, but I must insist that we get a little work done today,” the professor grumbled like an old bear that had just woken up from a deep sleep.

“Getting work done has always been one of ‘Mel’s’ recurring dilemmas.” Another man entered the room from another section of the ship. This was Jamra Miller—Melinda’s older brother. He currently was working on some of the wiring for the escape pod that was latched onto the side of their spaceship. It was based off of the Soyuz capsules that were built for the international space station. Ideally if the SY-3’s hull would ever be compromised, or her navigation be irreparable, then the escape pod should be able to get them back to Earth. But that was only if it worked properly. Which, at the moment, the main door that led to the pod was being very fidgety. When lives were on the line, they could not take the chance of the door malfunctioning and not sealing properly. Close only ever counted in horseshoes and hand grenades.

“What a way to talk about your little sister,” Melinda snapped back. Her face was scrunched up with an annoyed look. “But I guess I shouldn’t expect anything more from the great Mr. Jamila.”

The young woman made sure to emphasize the name in which she just addressed her big brother. As a two year old, Melinda had a slight speech impediment and was unable to call her brother by his real name—Jamra. She would always call him ‘Jamila.’ It always seemed to get a rise out of the eight year old sibling, and so she stuck with it. Whenever they would get into a heated argument Melinda would always make sure to pull out the big guns and use that childhood name.

Jamra gave a laconic huff and went back to working on the hatch of the escape pod. He was not going to get pulled into another childish spat with his sister. The name of Jamila didn’t bother him as much as it once did when he was little; especially since he found out that it was an actual Arabic work that meant ‘beautiful or lovely’. He may or may not have used that piece of information on a date or two with women in his past. The dating world was a cruel mistress and he needed any help that he could in order to impress a potential girlfriend. Jamra was not exactly what you would call a handsome man. So telling a woman that kids would call him Jamila, which meant beautiful, was a good way to break the ice with people. Self deprecating humor was a skill he learned a long time ago.

“What is that?” Melinda suddenly whispered with a growing awe in her voice. She was pointing towards the front windows of the Moonlight SY-3 ship. The baffled crew of the shuttle watched as a light green glittering mass of swirling gas-like substance floated its way towards their ship. The strobe of emerald haze crawled and slithered closer and closer as the seconds ticked by.

“Captain,” the young girl stammered with the word. The fear from seeing the unknown substance was growing and dripping from her being. The quartet of scientists helplessly watched in complete dismay. The miasma of sparkling material flourished and flowed around the earthly creation. It consumed the ship, wrapping its icy fingers into the corpulent metal of the spaceship.

“Stanley,” the woman whimpered as she drew close to her lover’s arms. Her husband roped his body around her form. She could feel that his heart was trembling with the same absolute horror that gripped her own. Melinda could feel her lover stroking her silky hair. He was whispering to her, trying to comfort her fear that threatened to still her beating heart.

The young man's words did little to calm his one true love though. Stanley watched with little emotion as the green mist hailed its way into their technologically advanced space faring vessel. The vapors rained and flowed into the ship with an eerie intelligence.

The living cloud was somehow able to squeeze its way into the ship. It should have been impossible. The Moonlight SY-3 was like any other shuttle that NASA had ever constructed. The seals of the ship were coated in silicon. The material was used to withstand the extreme temperatures that were experienced in space. Nevertheless, it was happening right before their very eyes.

John was the first one to feel the phantom thing’s aura. The captain screamed out in unbridled horror. The man’s skin burned and blazed as the twisting fumes swallowed his body. Stanley and his wife soon followed suit when the corporeal fog reached them.

Stanley tried to scream as well. He wanted to evoke his utter torturing agony to the heavens. But the sound never came out. His cries of pain were stripped and stolen from him by the growing shiny fog. He watched through the hazy veil of deceit and death, as the jade mist gripped both him, his wife, and his captain. The young couple could see their flesh dripping and peeling from their bodies. Their frothy blood was slowly drifting away from them in great scarlet rivers. The two lover’s mouths were twitching and gaped. They continued to try and screech their suffering to God, but their voices were as dead as night.

Jamra’s eyes were filled and consumed by the vivid and terrifying images of his fellow astronauts dying. He tried to call out to his sister, but his voice was choked with emotion. His sense of self preservation lanced through his mind and pushed his paralyzed muscles to act quickly. The man quickly shut the door to the escape pod in which he was trying to fix only a few moments ago. The metal machinery gave off a soft hiss as the pod made sure that the airtight seal was engaged.

Jamra wanted to collapse and cry, but he knew that it was not the time to do that. He needed to escape, or he was going to meet the same fate that everyone else did. His fingers quickly dance across the control panel. The monitor readout told him that the coupling fittings were releasing the escape pod from the SY-3 vessel. It took almost thirty seconds for five of the cables to detach. Only three more remained and he would be able to escape to freedom. He only needed a little more time…

The grainy sands of time were laggard with their passing. Several lifetimes of hellish cruelty were experienced in but a fraction of a minute. Not nearly enough time for Jamra to finish with his escape procedures.

Suddenly, and almost mercifully, the ship gave into the strange alien cloud’s power. The hulls were torn and screamed in protest as they were ripped asunder by fuel fed explosions. The blossoming crimson flames flashed with the intensity of a shattering star, but soon were sucked away. With no life giving air around to support them, the flaming masses were forced to disappear into the vacuum of space.

In place of the former billion dollar spaceship, which was a creation of man’s wisdom, only rubbish now remained. Bits of gnarled metal, shredded wires, and fragments of plastic, drifted into the blackness of space. There was no noise or cries. There was nothing to mark and lament its passing from the living world.

Nothing that was human born that is….

Within the center of the calamity, a deathly shroud swirled about. The jade cloud was growing and pulsing as it moved. The alien fog took no remorse in the death it had bestowed. Feeding and assimilation through domination and brute strength was the key to its power. Its supremacy over all life is what drove the cloud.

Having assimilated the living flesh that was within the aircraft had allowed the entity to access the minds of the humans it consumed. It knew everything that they did. The humans had come from a planet that was called ‘Earth’. The tiny sapphire world was some distance away. But it was overflowing with life. Billion, upon billions, of lifeforms for it to assimilate and control. It would prove to be a feeding ground the likes of which the alien had never even thought to be possible.

There was a problem though. This was a world that housed great and powerful beasts. The being looked through the human’s memories and saw the faces of titanic creatures that dwelled on the planet. Normally the alien would bear no concern of any creature that dared to stand before it. But the tiny human’s memories showed the alien that a cackling, three-headed dragon had descended upon the world some time ago.

The jade mist of discretion knew of this golden terror. The demon was known as King Ghidorah throughout the known galaxy. Its power rivaled that of even the true form of the bacteria-like lifeform. It had even clashed with the dragon. It failed to assimilate the beast and was forced to flee. Never before had the entity been forced to retreat. King Ghidorah’s power was unbound and the jade mist was unable to gain control over the monster. The golden demon was far older and much more calamitous than any lifeform that he had come across. It would seem that there were eldritch things in the universe that not even the alien could defeat with his current power.

But the creatures on the Earth did just that. It took nearly a dozen of the beasts, but they did succeed with their concerted effort in the end. Their vanguard leader, a gargantuan monster known as Godzilla, led the charge into the battle. The memories of the humans that the alien cloud consumed, told the alien of the power that the nuclear saurian wielded. If the entity wanted to feed upon the new world that he had discovered, then he was going to have to become stronger. Paltry little planetoids of sparse lifeforms was not going to cut it. The emerald bacterial mist was going to need more flesh to consume if it was going to exert its domination over the monsters that dwelled on the Earth.

The alien’s intangible senses picked up on several large lifeforms that were nearby. They were located in one of the many moons that orbited the gas giant that he was nearby. The living retrovirus could feel their flowing blood, the beating rhythm of their cells, and the electrical signals that were firing away in their synapses. These were giant organisms that would greatly increase his alien power. There were also thousands of smaller and measly little things on the floating rock. They would not add much to the strength that he would need, but the living virus’ greed to consume and dominate overwhelmed his better judgment. He had vowed, after his defeat from King Ghidorah, that the extraterrestrial entity would never allow any life to escape his grasp. No matter how great or how small it was. All would become a part of perfection within the swirling malevolent cloud.

The mysteriously baneful specter slowly started to move away. The being was heading away from the destruction it caused and heading to its new destination. There was more life out there. There were more planets that were teeming with it. The icy celestial winds of space would take him to those places.

Soon…very soon…Earth and its inhabitants would know of the beryl colored entity. It was the ultimate lifeform in the universe and it vowed that it was going to bring a new and untold terror to all living organisms in every galaxy with its exodus mission. Abject horror was in the Earthlings future, and the name of Gudis would be on everyone’s dying lips.




Chapter 1:
Memories of a Home




The cold, glossy, metal floor spanned across the scientific lab. Hundreds of calculating machines were ticking away and buzzing with life. The lights of a hundred different colored knobs, buttons, and dials, pulsed with luminosity. Watching these computers was a pair of small lidless black eyes. They were shark-like orbs; glaring with focused alien intelligence. The being’s mind absorbed the information that his resolute vision was glaring at and took in every last detail of the data like a veracious hound. The gears in his mind were chiming away with mental computations and analytical conclusions.

The humanoid-like creature, Zerlar, sighed and lowered his head. Exhaustion was something that the Nonmalt Seijin was familiar with. The past few weeks though had pressured that understanding to his body’s breaking point. He so badly wanted to get a full eight hours of sleep. Hell, even six would do at this moment. His little power naps in between his experiments and lab procedures were not cutting it anymore. He felt like he was at his breaking point.

He had to remind himself, though, that his people needed him. His king needed him. The Nonmalt kingdom needed to return to their original home from which they were beaten and chased away from so long ago. The Nonmalt were among the first sentient beings to inhabit the planet called Earth. It was a wondrous and prosperous time, according to the alien’s history books. Other races soon began to emerge after them. These races covered every facet of the planet. There were the Seatopians, the albino Sumerians, and the Underground people, who claimed the lands beneath the soil. The Muans, the people of Nilai-Kanai, and Atlantians, laid claim to the oceans. The Baradhi Kingdom, the Arimaspi people, and Watchuki People, were but only a handful of the many different races that claimed the surface world.

Peace would not last long though. The human-like nations attacked the Nonmalt like a pack of starving wolves that were lusting over a fresh kill. They viewed the Nonmalt as lesser beings. The aquatic-like creatures vaguely resembled the humans in only body shape. Their heads were more fish-like. A Nonmalt’s face was composed of scales, gills, and small black lidless eyes. Perhaps it was the fear of the unknown or differences, which drove the humans to attack them. Maybe it was coded in their DNA to hate whatever did not resemble themselves. Zerlar would not have believed this, if it was not for the written tombs of his people being filled with tales of the humans fighting among themselves as well. The creatures would make war with anyone, and that included their own kind.

The humans and other races used their technology and their great beasts and gods against the Nonmalt. His people could not overcome such a military force. In the end, the earthly hominids were forced to leave the planet, or face extinction. Survival was the only thing that mattered to the Nonmalt, so they left their homeworld. It would be over a year before they would find a suitable planet to live on. A small little planetoid that was located amongst the asteroid debris of Mars and Jupiter. The planet was habitable, but it was far removed from the paradise that Earth was. And so, Zerlar and his people had remained. Nearly fifty thousand years had passed since that faithful day of defeat.

All the Nonmalt people knew of this history. It was taught to everyone. Most were sad about it, but learned to live with the outcome. Dwelling on the past of what once was, was not a healthy way to live a life. Zerlar envied those members of his race. Ignorance is bliss he mused. To remain so blind and accepting to their tragic history was something that both Zerlar and his king could not let go of. Hatred for the humans on Earth is what flowed through their icy blood. It is the cowl that wrapped them in the guise of a promised multi-millennia old retribution that they so longed for.

If Zerlar’s experiments came to fruition, like he hoped, then the answer to his vengeance would soon have a tool for which he could use to strike back at the ancient humans that exiled his race. He just needed more time….that is all.

With a small huff, the Nonmalt scientist turned away from his computer counsels. The fish-like humanoid was pondering away with deep thoughts. Flickering gills, and tapping webbed feet, echoed into the barely lit room. The sound broke the constant and mechanical beats that his instruments were intrusively buzzing away with. The opal blue slash that adorned the alien’s body, dangled lifelessly against his black austere jumpsuit-like armor. The germination of all of his hard work was about to bear its luscious fruit. Revenge was within his clawed grasp.

Suddenly, from behind the alien, twin stainless steel doors opened. A dark shadow moved within the spewing hail of light that was coming from outside of the newly opened door.Craning his head around, the working Nonmalt scientist watched as his lord crossed the liminal spaces and entered into his lab.

“How is the work progressing,” a low chilling growl whisked through the air.

Zerlar awaited a second before answering. The long hours and constant checks on his work were enough to shatter even the calmest of minds. He took a long sighing breath. “The chemical agents are nearly finished, and they will be ready for the weapons within a few days.”

The Lord, Magnevars, looked on with a slight growing displeasure. The soulless black eyes reflected a silent rage at the answer he just received. The crimson sash and cape, which cloaked his powerful form, flared from the brief blasts of cool air that was blowing across the lab. Crossing his muscled arms across his raven plated armor, Magnevars clinched his fish-like mouth.

“You do know that we do not have that much time left,” he hissed. The king had waited nearly three full orbits of their desolate red planet, just for the weapons to be created. And now, he was forced to wait even longer for the serum. Time was not an option for the lord. They had to make their strike on the planet Earth soon.

“I am aware of your orders and time, my lord. But the chemical agent is the very key to the success of your plans. The compound has to be correct in its mixtures, if the bioweapons are to disperse it across the Earth and kill every last human that breathes. If the agent fails, then we will fail my lord,” the scientist was groveling half heartedly. His words floated away from his lips on a cold trail. Frightful feelings of failure were gnawing at him.

“No, not we, you will be. It will be you failing me and our people,” the creature barked back heatedly; momentarily holding the tongue hostage of his head scientist. “And I warn you, no one fails me. You have two more days to finish it and prepare it for the weapons, or I will find someone who can.”

“Yes my lord,” the servant bowed, holding his shamed head to the floor. “I will not fail you, or the colony. Earth will be within our grasp.”



***



Stanley Haggard’s eyes lazily opened with much strain. A hazy fog was clouding his mind. His muscles ached to the point that he almost felt like he was going to fall apart if he tried to stand. It took almost everything he had to just sit up. He felt around his body to make sure he was still in one piece. His fingers brushed over his arms, chest, and legs, and were searching for any signs of injury. His breath came in shallow bursts, and his pulse was pounding in his ears. Everything seemed intact though. Still, the lingering ache in his limbs suggested he wasn’t out of danger yet. And when he looked up to see his surroundings, the astronaut’s fears were confirmed that he was right.

Stanley’s light brown orbs were greeted with a hellish nightmare that laid out before him. He was no longer in the SY-3 spaceship. Hell, he wasn’t even in space either! The liminal space that surrounded him was composed of walls of pulsating flesh and pools of viscous green liquid that bubbled. It was horrifying and made the astronaut's heart freeze for a brief few seconds.

Suddenly a sound started to click and snap throughout the room. Stanley turned his head to the origin and was greeted with a monstrous visage. A gigantic pair of unblinking, ember yellow eyes were looking down on him. Beneath the demon’s fiery gaze sat a horizontal mouth that was full with twitching mandibles. The spider-like limbs were sending small, skittering shudders throughout the room of writhing flesh and blood. Above the eyes sat a pulsing mass of brain-like matter that swayed and stirred with each passing second. The body of the gigantic creature was harder to make out. Its flesh was merging with the walls of bloodied meat that surrounded the young man. Only the demon’s terrible head was visible.Stanley couldn’t imagine what the rest of the alien could possibly look like.

Stanley’s breath was caught in his throat as a terrible realization dawned on him. It was a grotesque truth that seemed more like a nightmare than reality. The heartbeat of the room echoed in the space, blending with the unnatural rhythm of the creature’s breathing. Each twist of the air, each shift in the landscape of the room, seemed to be a deliberate movement of a larger, more ominous force. The room was an extension, a mere piece of the horrifying creature that had him locked in its gaze. The human was quiet figuratively and literally in the belly of an unknowable beast.

Stanley’s fear made him instinctively take hold of his body and forced the man to crawl backwards, as his mind scrambled for an answer on how to flee from the hell that he found himself in. The temperatures fluctuated. First they would grow warmer, and then colder. As the celestial breathed, so too did the room do so in response. Deliberate, deep breaths pulsing in response to the monster. The room—the creature—was watching Stanley. It was feeling him, and reacting to his fear.

The astronaut’s hands trembled and his heart was racing. There was no way he could fight something like this—something that was both a space and a living, breathing entity. He could feel the alien nature of the thing that surrounded him. The rules of physics, time, and space, all seemed to bend to its will. The longer Stanley sat there, the more the oppressive force of the creature grew. It was suffocating him in a thick fog of uncertainty and dread.

But what had caused this to happen? How did Stanley end up here? Where was his captain and his wife?

Melinda…

His wife’s visage briefly flashed through his mind. It was the last time he had seen her. Her countenance was full of fear and pain from that emerald smog as it consumed her. The image burned in his mind, searing through his thoughts like a blazing fire. Every detail, every moment replayed with vivid clarity—his wife's face twisted in agony, her body crumpled in despair.

Stanley’s face transformed into a mask of rictus hatred. It was an image that fueled a fire in his chest, a fire that consumed him with an intensity he had never known. Hatred, that was both dark and raw, surged through his veins and ignited his soul with a fervor that threatened to overwhelm him. This thing that surrounded him had to be connected with the emerald cloud that destroyed his world and caused Melinda’s painful death. Stanley’s safety no longer concerned him. All that mattered was the rage that was clutching his heart. His anger drove him to stand up and yell out at the dark and unrelenting force that surrounded him.

“What the hell are you!” The man screamed out his question with the most primal of emotion that he had ever mustered in his life.

The entity, unsurprisingly enough, said nothing in return. It continued to stare, unblinkingly, with its searing golden eyes. The spider-leg mandibles were clicking away with almost mirthful mocking. The brain-like mass on the top of its head was pulsing and thrumming with a life of its own. The trapped human surmised that the entity was pondering about the man’s reaction. Like a scientist studying a lab rat after an experiment that was carried out.

“It was you that attacked our ship!” Stanley continued to rage against the loss of his wife against the unknown entity. “Why spare me? What not kill me as well?”

Tears began to well up from the broken human. He felt like he was seething at nothing more than an animal. This thing, whatever it was, was not a being with any true sentient intelligence. It was just a beast that was acting out of curiosity. Like a lion that was playing with this food.

It was impossible for Stanley to truly understand the entity that surrounded him. Gudis was a being that was as old as time itself. It was a living paradox to the universe. The Space Bacteria was born in the primordial ooze that arose in the wake of the Big Bang. The alien had existed before there were stars and galaxies. It had taken root before planets and life were given form. In that chaotic soup of matter and energy, when the universe was young and formless, Gudis emerged into existence. Traditional biological processes known by mankind did not create the alien. Gudis was a manifestation of the very essence of existence itself. The immortal beast was an entity that was woven into the fabric of time and space. No mere mortal could ever truly comprehend what Gudis was. Only a mere concept is what most sentient beings could muster about understanding what he was.

"That is no way to act toward our savior, my love." The haunting words drifted from the shadows that surrounded the astronaut. The words were light and lyrical, and yet they stirred within Stanley a strange blend of warmth and fear. The man turned slowly, his breath catching in his throat, as if the words themselves were pressing weight down on him. The air around him seemed to thicken and become palpable.

For a moment, he saw nothing—just the dark wall of writhing flesh in front of him. His heart was pounding in his chest. “Gudis is here to bring peace and order to all life.” The feminine voice’s words were thick and suffocating to the man. Through tear soaked eyes, Stanley watched as a figure emerged from out of a manifesting cloud of shimmering emerald mist. He knew that silhouette quite well. It was delicate and poised with confidence. It was a shape that he had fallen in love with many years ago.

Like a wisp of smoke, the wife of Stanley Haggard—Melinda, took form.

“How?” The man’s voice trembled, barely a whisper in the heavy stillness. “This can’t be real. It just can’t be.”

The woman’s voice came again. It was softer this time, but still carrying that same haunting cadence. "Oh I am very real tiger, and I am better than I have ever felt before"

Tiger….

The word snapped away any doubt that the man had in his mind. It was a pet name that his wife used to love to tease him with. Stanley was always a fan of Spider-Man comics. The love interest in the comics—Mary Jane Watson, would oftentimes call the arachnid themed hero by that name. Stanley thought it was corny whenever his wife would do it to him; but hearing that word come from her alluring lips always made him weak in the knees. Melinda would oftentimes use that pet name to get out of trouble. It would work every time with him.

Stanley’s knees weakened as the form of his wife began to approach him. His body was caught in a primal urge to run, but an amorous smile from the woman zapped his will and brought about an unexplainable pull towards her. The warmth he felt was unsettling, as though it was wrapping around him. It was soothing, and yet suffocating, all at once.

The light-haired woman brought her soft hands towards his face, and caressed his cheeks with all the care of a siren that was tempting a sailor into the briny depths of the sea. Stanley was entrapped in her eyes. Oh, how he missed looking into those almond-colored eyes, the ones that always seemed to hold a thousand unspoken ‘I love yous’. They had once been the warmth of his home, the spark that ignited his every heartbeat.

But as Stanley stared deeper into them, he saw something else there now. There was a hint of green that floated around the outer rim of the cornea. It shimmered and danced with a life of its own. These were not the eyes of his wife. These eyes were like broken mirrors now. These were mirrors that were reflecting something darker, something that Stanley couldn’t quite grasp.

“No. You are not Melinda…” The man pulled away from his wife’s tender embrace with a shudder.

The woman gave a small look of hurt, which caused Stanley to regret his words. “Stanley…it’s me. I am the same woman that you first saw who was sitting alone at that Starbucks table nearly ten years ago.”

The statement brought about a wave of warm remembrance from the damaged cosmonaut. “How is any of this possible then?”

“He saved us,” the woman answered flatly, as she pointed towards the titanic ghoulish face that manifested from the walls of bloody flesh of the room. Her gaze held her husband like a captive, drawing him deeper into her testimony. “He is called Gudis. He is a savior from the stars and he has been alive since the beginning of time as we know it.”

“Us?”

As if on demand, the swirling emerald mist gave form to yet another enigmatic shape. This dark shroud took on the form of the captain of the SY-3 ship—Professor John Silverton. The former scientist gave a sympathetic smile to his fellow crewmate. “Hello Stanley.”

“Is that really you John? Are you really alive?”

The figure didn’t answer back right away. Instead the bearded man kept his compassionate smile, and moved closer. Stanley couldn’t help but notice that the shadows of the room were clinging to his form like a shroud. Suddenly a new feeling struck him. He felt the presence of a thousand eyes that were looking down upon him.

“Melinda and I are just as alive as you are my old friend.” The professor’s words were said with overwhelming confidence. “Gudis saved us. He has shown us that there is indeed a better path for humanity. The answer was always in the stars—like how we had always envisioned.”

So much visual input was thrown at Stanley that his body was threatening to shut down. He felt his knees getting weak, and his breath getting short. His wife, or rather the entity that was claiming to be his wife, moved to his side and placed her hand on his chest. He would have thought that the feeling of her touch would be alien and strange. He was wrong though. Her delicate hand brought about a wave of warm tingling. Time was slowed and the air had thickened because of the soft pulse of her presence. It was a gentle whisper. For a moment, Stanley felt both grounded and weightless while he was in the belly of an eldritch horror. He was suspended in the space between his own heartbeats.

“Where’s Jamra?” Stanley softly whispered as he was still trying to grasp what was going on. His captain gave a solemn look as an answer. Stanley took the doleful wordless reply as his brother in law did not survive the alien’s assault.

“I imagine that you have a lot of questions,” the older astronaut moved past the question of Jamra and continued on with his proclamation of humanity's future with a smile in his voice. “I guess introductions should be made for formality sake. Stanley, I am humbly honored to introduce you to mankind's future—Gudis.”

The captain looked skyward and opened up his arms to the room of flesh and blood that they were in. Like a man that was feeling the first droplets of rainfall in the summer, John was basking in the greatness of the living entity that had arrived from the depths of outer space.

“Like your wife stated earlier, Gudis has been alive since the dawn of the Big Bang. He was a nascent microbe, a prokaryotic if you will. But he was unlike any single cellular organism that we would ever know. Gudis was not a creature of biology; he transcended such definitions. He is as much of a concept as he is by being a sentient god.”

John, referring to the alien that surrounded them as a god, sent a shiver down Stanley’s spine.

“Gudis played a part in the cosmic dance that shaped the very fabric of the cosmos. He was a witness to the formation of stars, the birth of planets, and the eventual emergence of life. Over the eons, Gudis grew and learned and evolved, all the while, it watched the development of other lifeforms that were beginning to pull themselves out from the pools of genetic tapestries that were on the worlds around him. Gudis became an observer of consciousness, and began to understand the fragility and beauty of thought and emotions within other living things. As civilizations around him rose and fell, Gudis sat by and watched with detached curiosity. He never intended on interfering with others and their evolutionary courses. But war and hatred changed that.”

Melinda moved closer to her husband. The beautiful woman gave a slight wave with her delicate hand towards the wall of meat and sinew. Tiny particles appeared from out of thin air and began to take shape. In seconds, the once small glowing gilings collided together and took the shape of several different creatures. The miniature beings were floating in the sky and only between eight to ten inches in height. While their shapes were humanoid like in appearance, their faces and bodies were far from it. One had a raven-like bird head, while the other two were vaguely reptilian in appearance. Stanley knew it almost instantly when he saw them. These were other sentient races that the Gudis had come across in its travels throughout the universe.

“There are many intelligent races out there Stanley,” the captain continued on with informing his former shipmate. “They may look different than us, but I assure you that there is a guiding principle to all of these other races—a central tenant if you will.”

The captain gave a weighty pause before he finished his own statement. Stanley saw a hint of a cheshire like grin from the man. It frightened him.

“Survival at any cost, through violence and hatred. These are not creeds that are strictly attached to us humans. We like to think that advanced technology would lead to universal peace and concord. But if that were the case, then the Spanish would have brought prosperity to Mesoamerica, instead of death. The new found Americans would have been in a treaty with the Indians—as opposed to systematically trying to wipe them out. These creatures that you see before you are far more advanced than our little world, and yet they are still beholding to the vices that come about from war.

The astronaut walked forward and sliced his hand through the miniature aliens. The little things cried out, before they disintegrated into a cloud of shimmering green. The Gudis cells faded and rejoined with the flesh that surrounded them in the eldritch room.

“Hatred and violence have woven themselves so deeply into the fabric of every civilization that these feelings have become indistinguishable from the people themselves that harbor it. Wars are fought over nothing more than pride and differences; countries and families are torn apart by fear and mistrust. Every world in this cosmos, that is occupied by an intelligent race, is broken. These beings refuse to understand anyone that they view as different. The cries of the innocent that echo in the streets, go unheard. At least….they were unheard. Gudis intends to rectify that.”

“Unity through collective understanding,” Stanley let the words slip from his lips in dismay, as if the weight of his friend's words had become too much to bear.

“Exactly!” The older cosmonaut clapped his hands together. His smile was now wide and broad because his friend was beginning to truly understand the greatness of the monstrous entity that was around them. ”Everyone with the same values and goals through single conciseness. Famine, war, division…these will all be things of the past.”

“And you and Melinda are part of this thing?” Stanley looked at his wife with a longing face.

“Yes. And we feel better than we have ever felt before.”

Melinda gave a slight smile in agreement with the captain.

“I don’t feel like that,” Stanley shot back. Anger was starting to bubble in his heart. The fear of the situation was now being replaced by the outrage that was beginning to dawn on him. Seeing his wife act like a smiling doll was rankling to his soul. “I feel weak and hatred at what that thing has done to you both! Your Gudis is a failure on that part!”

The walls began to shudder as a deep rumbling thunder began to roll across the ethereal space of blood and meat. The pools of rich green and yellow liquid were bubbling even faster now. There seemed to be a heat rising from within them. Stanley looked up and saw the giant beast’s great burning eyes looking down upon him. He tried to steady his breath and focus his thoughts away from primal fear. His survival instincts were screaming at him to act and fight back. It was a foolish thought—Stanley knew better. He was only alive right now because this alien wanted something from him. The human needed to find out what that answer was. What did the creature want with him?

A brief look of fear flashed in the other two astronauts' eyes. Their heads were on swivels—looking back and forth at both Stanley and the face of Gudis.

“Gudis is benevolent, but I would not disrespect and anger him,” Professor Silverton breathed with wary trepidation. “The fate of humanity lies within you Stanley; moreover it lies within your genetic code. Gudis has been able to bond with Melinda and me. We will never grow sick and we will never hunger. We will be a part of perfection. The rest of our lives will be free from pain and suffering, and we will be able to live in peace and harmony. That is what the Gudis will give humanity.”

“You can call it bonding, but I see it as assimilation John.”

The older astronaut sighed. “And what would you rather have for us Stanley…death? Because that was in our future and in every human’s future. We can argue about semantics later. For now, I need you to understand that there has never been an individual whose biology is unreceptive to Gudis’ gift. Your cells are inviolable if you will. Your body and genetic sequence will be able to hold his essence and carry him from world to world and aid him in bringing peace.”

Stanley was about to argue back towards the older professor, but a booming voice arose from out of the darkness. The words were deep, resonant, and powerful. It was as if thunder had taken form and spoken to him.

“You will be my herald.” The creature’s eyes flared with his dominating command.

Fear retook and gripped Stanley, sinking into his chest like a heavy weight. The alien before him was a nightmare made of putrid flesh. The pulsating mass of shifting shadows and soft, pungy skin moved unnaturally, What unsettled the man the most was the voice. Not only could the creature understand his speech, but it could speak it as well, perfectly. There was no garbled distortion, or strange guttural growls. Its words were clear and precise; albeit, it had an eerie, unnatural, deep cadence to them.

“You will carry my essence to your world so that I can preserve my strength,” the eldritch horror continued on with his orders. “It will take all of my power to cover your world and save it. There will be those who will stand against me, but in the end they will see the gift that I will bring them. Your words to your people will stem the violence and death that will come from my arrival.”

Gudis’ eyes narrowed and focused their will into the untainted human. “In exchange for this, I will allow you, your wife, and whomever you choose, to shape your world into the paradise that it can be. You will be kings among your people.”

“And if I refuse,” Stanley tried to hold back any mocking tone, but he failed. His emotions got the best of him.

Gudis wasted no time in delivering his answer. The omnipotent being was done with trying to court the human and have him aid in his future plans willingly. Force was going to be needed instead. And Gudis was well versed in using pain and torment in order to get what he desired.

The alien’s eyes turned and set their fiery gaze upon the professor and Melinda. The thin, spider-like appendages, which aligned the sides of the grotesque hole like mouth, closed tightly. The light in the demon’s eyes went from a subtle shimmer, to an all out blaze. Almost instantly John and Melinda began screaming at the top of their lungs.

Stanley’s eyes widened in pure unadulterated horror. The flesh of his wife and friend was dissolving into molts of green glowing particles.The cosmonaut ran to his wife, but was stopped in his tracks. A slimy tentacle sprang from out of the fleshy ground and ensnared Stanley in a vice-like grip.

“Let them go!” It was a primal scream that lifted from the bottom of the terrified man’s gullet.

Gudis did not utter a reply. Instead he turned his gleaming glare, which was filled with unblinking intelligence, towards the trapped human. Melinda and John’s screams continued to fill the room. Their eyes were wide as saucers and their mouths were gapped like little black pits. In a handful of seconds the horror show was over. The two humans disappeared. Their bodies were now a floating graveyard of twinkling green debris. Even that didn’t last long, for soon the phantom radiance floated down and merged back with the pulsing flesh.

“Nooo!” Tears were pouring from Stanley’s eyes. “Bring them back!”

“You can see them again, when we are on Earth.” The gigantic demon growled and seethed with malevolence. “You will bring me to your world. Once I have gathered enough strength, I will cover the planet and consume every bit of life. Once that is complete, I will leave. You will be able to live out the rest of your life with your wife and the rest of humanity. They will be an extension of me. No war or disease will ever grace your world again. It will be a paradise. My gift.”

Stanley fell to his knees weeping. His heart was racing and his pulse quickened. Every fiber in his body was telling him that the creature was lying to him and that he would be better off letting it kill him then and there. But the loss he felt by watching his wife being snatched away from him a second time broke the man’s logical spirit. All he could do was nod his head in agreement with the monster’s Faustian deal. Stanley would be Gudis’s herald. He could be the bearer of alien’s tidings of ‘peace and prosperity’.




Chapter 2:
Weapons of War




Hundreds of aquatic humanoid workers scurried back and forth along the high rise walkways of the Nonmalt military complex. There was only one conscious thought that was burning in their minds. Their beloved lord of their empire was about to make an appearance before them. The leader wanted to see the bioweapons—of which they had spent the better part of several years constructing and growing—-in person. In the dark hearts of the fish-like men, this was the day they had all dreamed of. Their hard work, pain, and sweat would bear the fruits of their labor. The only creature that refused to move with the rest of the workers, was waiting by the twin steel doors of the complex with growing pleasure.

Zerlar looked on, like a great overseer, at the buzzing activity filled facility. Countless of his brothers and sisters were running back and forth across the glossy metal floors. Some of them were carrying papers, while others held various instruments from experiments in their webbed hands. The project leader’s beady black eyes peered into the lit hall that was just off to his right. There was the containment area that held his genetic weapons; they were slumbering at the moment. Soon his almighty leader would see the miracle and salvation that was made for the Nonmalt empire.

Suddenly a cacophony of terrible, screeching banshee-like cries drifted down the hallway. The thunderous roars of his ‘weapons’ were slowly filling the facility's main room. Apparently the creatures were awake. Men and women stopped in their tracks when they heard the monster’s bellowing. The creatures were unusually vocal today. It was as if they knew of the test trials that were about to be performed on them.

“It won't be much longer my children,” Zerlar hissed through his thin, pondering lips. “Soon you will prove yourselves to be worthy of the great king’s admiration.”

As if in reply to the scientist’s statement, the doors behind him opened. A wisp of stagnant air expelled from the opened doors. The king, Magnevars, stepped into the room. His lidless sable eyes watched the stunned faces of his loyal servants. Magnevars knew that his presence was a light to these workers' dreary little lives.

“Welcome my lord,” Zerlar spoke with deep emotion as he bowed his head in reverence. His blue satin slash, which was slung over his chest and right shoulder, dripped to the floor and nearly touched it. “We are honored by your presence for this historic day.”

“As well as you should be,” the ghastly fish-like king spat back with subtle venom. “I do hope that for your sake, as well as our people, that your weapons will exceed my expectations. We have little time left. Our resources on this word are diminishing. Scarcity of food and energy is just on the horizon. Everything we have left has been funneled into this project. To say that the future of our entire kingdom is at stake, would be in understatement.”

The harsh, but truthful words stabbed at the aquatic creature’s soul. The brief expression from the king tore the corpulent essence from the scientist’s mortal flesh. The ideas of death and suffering of his people, because of his own failure, was now lingering in his mind.

“Show me the weapons now,” the dominating king coldly ordered aloud. The king had waited long enough. He would be shown the creations right then and there. Time was not an option. Their strike had to be made soon.

“If you will follow me, my king,” Zerlar humbly spoke, trying to hold back the fear of failure that now quivered and swelled within his heart.

Together, the duo moved down the hallway tunnel, which was still filled with the cries of monstrous beasts that lay hidden beyond them. Trailing behind them were a few of Magnevars’ most loyal guards. It took a few minutes of walking, before the handful of humanoid aliens reached a crystal clear glass window, which was embedded in one of the tunnel's walls.

“This is the first weapon,” the scientist spoke with returning confidence. The sight of his creation now had managed to wipe away the fear and doubt that he momentarily had a few minutes ago. Inside the giant steel chamber was a massive green beast that stirred. The king’s small beady eyes grew in astonishment. The monster behind the glass was both amazing and bizarre. It had a long slender oak green neck, which was dotted with several strange fleshy craters and small fins. It hoisted its terrible head high into the air. The creature visage bore a pair of savage golden eyes, a fenced toothed maw, and glistening cranial horn. All of these features reflected a killing nature for the animal. Also on top of its crown, was a long whip-like, black tendril. Whenever the giant would casually throw its head from side to side, the appendage would crash against the walls of its cell, and leave a wake of battered and twisted metal.

The king’s eyes followed down the animal’s neck and to the rest of its body. His lips curled and gave a slight smile when he saw that the creature had another monstrous head. Jutting from the lower part of the leviathan’s body was a second vicious head. This one had a long muzzle-like maw that was snapping at the empty air. Its mouth was adorned with hundreds of small ivory teeth, and drooled with savoring lust. On the end of its snout was a stout, ribbed, trunk-like nose. Magnevars mused that the giant beast would have been a truly immovable object, if it were not for the two muscular webbed feet that dangled from behind the monster.

“We call this one Bogun,” Zerlar announced with pride. “As you can see, from his little show, he is fiercely aggressive—more so than the rest unfortunately. Even though he was the last one to be created, his metabolic rate quickly eliminated that disadvantage. Standing at nearly eighty-eight meters, he is the second largest of the three bioweapons.” Zerlar had a beaming smile that was comparable to that of a newborn father. He let the moment linger on for a few more seconds before he waved his hand in the direction of the hallway.

“Now if you will follow me, I will show you the last two weapons.”

Magnevars, as stoic as a monolith, nodded in agreement and quickly moved down the hall with the head scientist.

“As I was saying, his metabolic rate was increasing each day; growing by leaps and bound,” the worker informed his king. “However, so too did his ferocity. We had to keep Bogun separate from the other two for the time being. His lust for blood was overwhelming at times. On several occasions, he tried to attack the other two weapons. He nearly killed one of them. So in lieu of this, it was our decision to keep the other two in one area, away from Bogun for the time being. For the best interest in the project you understand. Our technicians are hurrying to correct the slight biological defect in Bogun. He should be ready to fight alongside the other two when our attack on the humans begins.”

More minutes crawled by as the group arrived at the second and finally containment area. The Nonmalt aliens looked through the clear glass, and once again beheld a marvelous sight. Within the giant cell were two creatures, completely different in every way, that moved about and screamed their primordial roars into the empty void.

The reptilian creature to the left was a stocky and squat quadruped beast. Its skin, a swirl of pale pinks and magenta hued colors, reflected the ceiling light’s radiant beams to the far corners of the room. The animal’s head was adorned with a massive thick bony skull. The eyes and duo tusked fangs, burned with longing hunger for battle. Along the monster's back was a gigantic pair of bony growths, which had vent-like openings along them. A veiny sheet of membrane grew between the bone’s two points. It almost gave the monster the appearance of a pair of immovable wings. Behind the monster was a short, thick, and powerful tail. Walking forward, the creature’s feet—which resembled that of wool mittens—sounded like small bombs detonating when they hit the ground. The stomping tons of sculpted flesh echoed in the chamber like thunder in a rolling storm..

The other creature was just as menacing in appearance as the purple lizard. This one was a bipedal leviathan that resembled a colossal green mantis. Snapping mandibles graced the insect beast’s mouth. Above that were three orb-like eyes. Each of the segmented organs were brilliantly colored with lavender, and each glowed and pulsed with a curious and attentive aura. Dangling in front of the giant was four separate scythe-like clawed arms. They were sweeping around like a serial killer playing with a knife. The sickle daggers, each ranging in different sizes, glistened in the illuminated room. Lumbering across the room, on single taloned feet, the king watched as the massively armored insect’s spiked-tipped tail smashed against the metal floor.

“The four-legged one we have named Barrangas,” the scientist once again boasted his creation. “He stands at a little over seventy meters when on his hind legs. His skull is several feet thick—almost impenetrable. The creature is a living mountain of unmanageable strength and power. The green one is called Majaba. At over a hundred meters, she is the largest of the group. And as you can see, she is well equipped for hand to hand battle.”

“Well, well, doctor. I must admit I am very impressed with your designs.” The king held an admiring gaze as looked at the twin behemoths. “The weapons so far have proven to exceed my expectations. However, how do they fare in combat?” Magnevars’ ridiculing voice was softened and his words lightened. The alien’s anger slightly lifted and was momentarily forgotten. The weapons were beyond what he thought they would be.

“None of our high particle weapons have even been able to hurt them,” Zerlar smiled. “Based on what our intelligence has gathered, the humans have nothing that will be able to stop them. I estimate that it will take a week of their time to complete the first phase of your plans.”

The Nonmalt lord turned and gave a suspicious look of doubt to the now boastful scientist.

Zerlar saw the uncertainty in his king and wasted no time in dispelling it. “If your majesty wishes to see a demonstration of the bioweapon’s raw power; I have taken the liberty to set up an “exhibition bout”. A trail run, if you will.

Before the king could utter his answer, Zerlar had already ordered the other scientist to enact the showcase that he had already planned for. The master scientist was sure that his king would doubt his bioweapons. After all, their entire civilization was dependent on these giant’s success. Zerlar wanted there to be no doubt from anyone in the Nonmalt empire. His scientific prowessness and commitment to his people would not be called into question. Majaba, Barrangas, and Bogun would see to that.

Dozens of webbed hands played with levers, dials, and switches, at the various control panels that were around the room. A look of determination was etched on all the workers' faces. This was going to be their time to shine.

The ground began to quake and shiver. Barrangas and Majaba turned their heads towards the disturbance. Ropes of saliva were dripping from their fangs and mandibles. The anticipation was so thick that you could cut it with a blade. The monsters knew what was coming for them.

A challenge….

On one of the large monitors that was overlooking Bogun’s cell, the king could see the same thing happening there as well. Bogun’s two heads were chomping at the bit. Whatever was happening was something that the giant monsters had experienced before.

The earth trembled. A shuddering groan was heard by both the Nonmalt and the monsters that were gathered on the precipice. The ground before the bioweapons buckled and split, a gaping maw opening in the very heart of the giant monster’s cells. From the depths a guttural roar echoed. It sent tremors through the assembled titans that stood to defy the underground demons.

A monstrous creature quickly crawled from out of the open chasm. Its purple skin was wet and slick, giving off a glinting unnatural sheen under the dim light. Its grotesque body was a concoction of suckers and tentacles; like that of an octopus. Six of the limbs were used as arms, while two were used as legs that were able to lift the creature into a bipedal stance. Its head was cone-like and topped with two burning yellow eyes. Magnevars knew exactly what the name of this creature was that had just appeared. His people had used several of them to fight their wars while they were on Earth.

As soon as the octopus kaiju had pulled itself from the ground, another one followed suit. On the monitor the king could see that the same thing was happening in Bogun’s cell as well. “Three Guyros huh?” the lord questioned.

“They won’t be needed for our plans on Earth,” Zerlar said with unwavering resolve. “These are the last ones that we have on hand. Resources to keep creating the Guyros to be the backbone to your army have been withdrawn and put into the cultivation of my bioweapons.The weaker Guyros were sent out against Bogun and the rest while they were just starting to grow from infants. I needed to give them a taste of what battle felt like—what killing felt like. What you see here is the strongest of the remaining Guyros that we have. I saved them for last. One final test if you will.”

The air crackled with anticipation as several titans of destruction prepared to clash with each other. Barrangas slowly sauntered to one side of the room, while Majaba scuttled to the other. The two Guyros roared and flailed around their arms as an attempt to intimidate their opponents. Neither of the Nonmalt bioweapons were showing any inkling of fear though. The monsters were growling in anticipation. Barrangas was pawing at the ground like a bull that was preparing to charge. Majaba was playing his two largest knife-like arms against each other. The scraping of the blades reverberated in the room.

“This won’t be long,” Zerlar let the pragmatic statement drip from his smiling face.

Then, as if the scientist’s boastful comment was the fighter's bell, the monster threw themselves into an all out brawl. Majaba quickly spread its segmented wings and took to the air. The green giant wasted no time and pounced, landing on top of one of the Guyros monsters. The mutated octopus kaiju tried to dislodge the insect and shove her away, but having a weight of over a hundred thousand tons made the task impossible. Majaba raised its right front arm like a serial killer that was about to strike. Guyros could do nothing in response to the Damocles sword that was hanging over it. The giant scythe-like claw was glinting in the dappled artificial light of the room. The tentacle beast released a squeal of utter distress when the insect's claw stabbed itself right in between its eyes. There was a moment of spastic movement before the monster’s quivering flesh fell still. Much like an earthborn mantis, the battle had been quick and decisive in its favor. Majaba let loose a few mirthful chirps before it began to indulge in feeding on her easy victory.

On the computer monitor that showed Bogun's cell, Magnevars could see that the Guyros there was trying to charge at the two-headed beast. Its shambling tentacles surprisingly were allowing the creature to move quickly over the rocky terrain. Bogun however was not moving. There was no fear in either of its faces. Instead there was something far more terrifying. The king could have sworn that he saw a hint of a malignant smile on its upper head.

Being the last of the bioweapons to be ‘born’ had led to more experimentation with Bogun’s design. Having two separate brains had brought about unexpected results as he matured. These corollaries made him to be the most feared weapon amongst his Nonmalt handlers. Bogun aligned his thoughts through his twin brains and unleashed a small orb of twinkling amethyst from the cranial horn, on his upper head, towards his foe. Fierce bolts of electricity played around the shimmering globe. Guyros had no chance to dodge the speedy attack. He had played right into the green brutes trap.

In seconds the energy attack grew in size and enveloped the ancient octopus monster. Guyros raged at his sudden makeshift prison, but the effort was useless. Every slap with his tentacles seemed to bounce off the orb's defiant surface. The cephalopod kaiju was trapped by something that he could not comprehend. Suddenly his body felt weightless. The orb was lifting him off of the ground.

Bogun was in deep concentration. This was the part of the kill that he liked to savor the most. The slug-like monster tilted its head to the left; the orb followed suit. He would repeat the tilt to the right, and the orb holding the Guyros would do the same. Bogun had complete control over his prey. It was an intoxicating feeling that the twin headed creature drew great pleasure from. But the time for play was over. Now was the time for agony.

Bogun snapped its upper head to one side, causing the orb to follow suit. The ball of energy, along with the trapped Guyros, slammed into the stout cell wall. The telekinetic orb vanished as its surface touched the wall, thereby allowing the tentacle monster to crash into the barrier unimpeded and at full destructive force. The rocky barrier cracked and caved in as a result of the attack. Babbling moans of pain dripped from the monster’s sucker-like mouth. The wind had been knocked out of it. But before it had a chance to stand, Guyros found itself in another telekinetic energy sphere. Bogun let a cacophony of raspy shrieks and guttural growls slip from both of his demonic heads before he once again threw his upper head to the side and caused the Nonmalt octopus to slam into another side of the monster’s cell walls.

Guyros was bruised and bloodied. He turned over and tried to prop his weight up on his many arms. The effort proved difficult. Bogun had no intention of letting his prey regain his senses. The mammoth beast waddled over to the beaten down mollusk, thanks in part to his webbed hind legs. He was not the fastest of the Nonmalt bioweapons, but he didn’t need to be—not at this moment. Once he was close enough Bogun began to tear into his grounded opponent. The lower head, with its massive set of jaws, grabbed onto one of the arms and pulled. The sea beast tried to fight back but Bogun’s second head entered the fray as well. Using his long neck to his advantage, Bogun swung his upper head downward and speared his cranial horn into the back of Guyros’ head. Like a scorpion strike, the attack was quick and deadly. The monstrous octopus collapsed into a pile of dead flesh. With a rasping chuckle Bogun began to feed on his prey’s remains.

Magnevars was amazed at Bogun’s abilities. His fascination was soon overwhelmed by an earth shattering roar. Turning back to the window that oversaw Majaba and Barrangas’ cell, the king watched as the last of the Nonmalt bioweapons took the reins and went after the last of the Guyros defenders.

Barrangas took off and charged at his opponent like a rhino on the move. Each step from his massive body caused the very ground beneath him to shake.The giant Guyros refused to move however and held its ground. If its foe wanted to draw this battle to a close quarters conflict, then the many-limbed kaiju was more than willing to oblige in that request.

In seconds, the two masses collided with each other. Barrangas’ momentum carried the Guyros off of its feet and slammed its tonnage against the rocky cell wall. The amalgamation of tentacled flesh uttered a squeal of pain. Barrangas was not letting up on him though. The lavender colored quadruped was still ramming its head into its body. If the Guyros had bones like a normal creature, then they would have been broken and grinded into dust. Thankfully he was made up of coiled ropes of muscle and sinew. Still though, the Nonmalt octopus had found itself in that old expression of a “rock and a hard place”.

Barrangas meanwhile, was focused on crushing its opponent. Snorting and grinding his teeth, the four legged monster was using its bony head to mash his opponent into a bloody smear against the reinforced prison wall. He was so concentrated on that task that he didn’t notice the alien cephalopod's many limbs starting to snake and coil around his legs. The Guyros quickly tightened its grip around its foe. Barrangas could feel the teeth that lined the insides of the creature's many suction cups, which lined its body, bite into his flesh. The slimy mollusk tried to pull the angry bull-like kaiju away from it, but the creature was far stronger than it anticipated. The interstellar devilfish was going to have to change its tactics.

Guyros wrapped the last of its free arms around the bony growths on Barrangas’ back and started to pull. He was going to break this unbridled opponent, one way or another. There had to be a weak spot on it. He just had to find it. But unbeknownst to the celestial octopus there was no weak spot on Barranags. The Nonmalt scientist, Zerlar, had seen to that. The four-legged monster was a living tank. Built to take the brunt of whatever the earthlings might throw at him.

Barrangas could feel the breathing of his foe begin to sound like ragged gasps. The ensnaring grip of its tentacle arms were growing looser. His foe was tiring. Now was the time to strike with the killing blow. The armored monster pulled its head back and launched forward with its wide gaping maw. Teeth, covered in drooling saliva, sunk into the muscled soft flesh of the Guyros’ neck.

Signals of pain lightning through the octopus monster’s nerve endings. Pain, the likes of which it had never felt before, took hold and froze its body in a paralyzing grip. This only allowed the youngest of the Nonmalt bioweapons to further its dominant position. Barrangas reared up and pushed forward with its front legs and shoved the weakened octopod down on its back. The magenta hued creature dug its teeth in further, making sure that its sabre-like tusks were dug in as far as they could go. Then, like a final merciful act, Barrangas ripped free a massive, bloody and pulpy chunk of Guyros’ throat out. Ribbons of bloody flesh hung from its blood stained teeth as Barrangas backed away and watched his defeated foe struggle to breathe.

Guyros struggled to rise, but instead, collapsed into a heap. His tentacles flopped around; each movement was growing slower and slower. HIs chest heaved and fought for each breath. But in the end Barrangas’ gnashing teeth proved to be too much for his mortal body. The last of the Guyros, the once great and feared protectors of the Nonmalt kingdom, was now gone. The monsters were now extinct. And for all their devotion and protection that they had afforded to their masters, their demise was not looked upon with tears. Instead, their deaths were looked upon with joyous cries of triumph from the assembled soldiers and scientists that were looking on. Even their great king was giving a tempered clapping applause to their passing.

Out with the old and in with the new…

“Told you it wouldn’t last long,” Zerlar gleamed. It pained the scientist to see the Guyros snuffed out, but he looked upon their deaths as serving a purpose. If he didn’t, it would just be vacuous murder. As a scientist he had to operate with a goal. Every action had to have a purpose. Still though, he felt like a proud parent while watching his new creations in action. They were exemplary in their skills.

The king was about to give his praise to Zerlar, when he was interrupted from a voice behind. A nameless soldier was crying out the lord’s name in urgency. His small black eyes were as wide as they could be. The soldier feared that he might entice the king to inflict punishment on him for such an interruption at his moment of triumph.

“My lord, an object has just appeared on our scanners on the planet. It landed nearly several miles away from our base.” The humanoid alien was heaving with gasping breaths. “It also has begun moving towards us. It will be here within a few hours.”

“Send out a squad,” Magnevars ordered. “Intercept and destroy whatever it is, and return to base. I will not let anything stand in my way. Not when I am so close to the fruits of our victory.”

Cowering in utter terror from his king’s wrath, the soldier quickly bowed and ran back from which he had come. The sounds of frantic feet echoed as he ran to complete his lord’s wishes.

“Start your preparations for the next phase,” Mangnevars growled. His displeasure from the interruption had soured his mood. Zerlar wasn’t taken aback from the king’s sudden anger. He was used to it. The man's personality operated in the extremes. It made him both a beloved and fearful ruler to the Nonmalt kingdom. “You are to commence with the chemical serum injections into the beasts. I want the weapons ready as soon as possible. The longer that we doddle about, the more the earthlings damage our homeworld with their polluting civilization.”

“As you command my lord,” the alien fishman quietly whispered as he bowed before his emperor.




Chapter 3:
Unwelcome Surprises




The serrated treads of the massive iron war machines of the Nonmalt tore across the soft, red, grainy sands of the moon that they were banished to. The iron hulls resembled that of a huge hellish and metallic armored tank. The front was crowned with a bladed wedge that smashed through the tiny sand hills that dared to block its way. The top of the vehicle was adorned with a single pivoting cannon turret—which was scanning the horizon with a beady cyclopean eye.

Walking beside the armored giant was a handful of Nonmalt warriors. Each marched along with zealot-like devotion. The jade colored sashes across their black jumpsuits told the world that they were the best of the best when it came to the Nonmalt armored guards. Braced close to their chests were laser guns that the creatures held close to their hearts. The weapons were small and had radiant silvery edged barrels. Housed in their chambers however was a small, highly ionized reactor-like core. Each shot from the weapons could easily pierce through several feet of raw iron ore. That fact though was of little comfort to them. The awaiting terror of the unknown that laid ahead was plaguing them.

The cold atmosphere of the planet assaulted their tough scaly skin. It chilled their flesh nearly to the marrow of their core. Fear was not an option though; so they pressed on into the open stretch of land. The phantom mystery that approached their base and threatened their people would be dealt with swiftly and decisively.

Even though it had only been an hour, it seemed like so much more. The harsh weather of their world, outside of their kingdom’s walls, was brutal. The sun was always beating down with its fiery touch. A thin ozone allowed a great amount of solar radiation to seep through. And frosty winds always seemed to be blowing endlessly. The worst was the sand however. The grainy terrain spanned across the entire featureless world. Their kingdom was built on top of the only spot of water that the planetoid had. It had kept their kind, as well as the Guyros, alive for centuries. But now that well was drying up. Their most valuable resource was soon to be gone—and they would follow soon after. Their destiny was not going to be tied to that miserable world. The soldiers wanted to change their fate. Earth was their home and they would take it back. Their lord’s new weapons would see to that. And for that, these soldiers would march into the mouth of hell itself for him.

The lead scout looked on with his black marble-like eyes across the soft ground, surveying the area with meticulous precision. Clutched within his webbed hands was not a weapon like the others—it was a radar. The crystal clear screen would blink every few seconds as it swept across the land. There were no life forms scanned of any kind so far.

Suddenly the handheld machine sprang to life and its blinking became frantic. The tiny piercing pings were signaling to the soldier that something laid ahead of them. Something that was alive. Stopping in his tracks the lead commander raised his right clawed hand. The squad behind immediately halted their positions in response.

“There is something approaching from just over the ridge in front of us,” he whispered to his team.

Following the words, the rest of the Nonmalt infantry unsheathed their weapons and began aiming them at the rusty silt ridge as ordered. Second after second ticked by as they awaited for their unknown enemy. Every muscle, thought, and drop of tarnished blood in the soldiers was alive and inflamed. The precious time before any kill was to be savored.

The armored goliath that followed the group began charging its main weapon. Time crept by as the molten like plasma covered the chambers of the mammoth cannon. The hollow shaft of bristling power sat motionless against the beaming sun. Webbed hands, with hooked fingers, grasped the machine's controls and anxiously awaited for the coming target.

The wait was not a long one…

The obsidian eyes watched as a small black figure began to strode up the rolling hill. The creature was about the size of the Nonmalt and completely cloaked in darkness. The ravaged green cloth that it wore was wrapped about the being like a gauze or veil of hellish evil. It felt so dark and cold to look upon the wanderer. There was a stabbing arctic-like terror that was prickling at the Nonmalt’s heart.

“It’s a human…it’s an Earthling!” One of the Nonmalt soldiers gasped at the sight. “But how could that be? There is no way that they could be out here, it’s impossible!”

The stunning fact that an earthling was somehow on their world raced through the men’s blood like a wildfire. Every vein and crevice of the warrior’s hearts were fuming. The human stood like stone though—unfazed. His brown eyes peered out from beneath the makeshift cloak that he had salvaged from the remains of the SY-3 ship that he was once a passenger on. The entity that “saved” him, was wrapped about his body and bathing his soul with visions of utter horror. It was hungering to consume the assembled crowd before him. With his light curly hair, whipping in the torrent winds, Stanley Haggard took one final step before he spoke to the gun happy soldiers.

“I offer you a chance and one chance only,” he cried out, his voice lifting from his lungs and blasting out onto the sandy dunes. The cry was like thunder, assaulting every ear of each of the Nonmalt to the point of seeping blood. “Give yourself to Gudis, or die slowly in vain. Either way you will become a part of perfection. Do not toy yourself with illusions, you stand no chance against him. Join with Gudis and save yourself from an eternity of pain and sorrow.”

The warrior fishmen would not go without a fight. Their defiant cries they gave were lost in the sound of a hail of gunfire. Short thin blasts of rippling amethyst-hued energy leapt from the handheld rifles. It was as if they were pouring their very malice and cruelty onto the human. Thunder crashed as the armored tank released a feverous shot of burning plasma at the cloaked Stanley.

The ground erupted beneath the clandestine wander’s feet, sending giant plums of clouding red sand, dust, and flame into the star-filled sky. The surface of Nonmalt’s world moaned out in agony as the soldiers pressed further with their assault. Blast after blast left their barrels. The aliens' scaly faces were twisting with mirthful smiles at their carnage.

Minutes swept by before the final shot was fired. The soldiers gazed into the veil of destruction. The alien creatures wanted to look upon their fallen foe. But fate as it seemed, would not be so for them. The Earthling that walked through the settling sand was untouched, unscathed, and unspoiled. This was no mere human that was standing before them.

Stanley could feel the fiery rush of Gudis’ hatred at being spurned by these insects before him. Damnation would be their reward. “So you have chosen death,” the wanderer said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

Suddenly a wicked and heart wrenching, bellowing cry of amusement lifted from the human. It did not come from his mouth, but from his entire form. Like a wailing spirit that was lifting up from his soul. The malevolent laughter covered the battlefield in a cloak of fear, causing the warriors to cower in response. “You have chosen unwisely. And now for your repugnant attempts you will know of a life with no peace.”

The human’s head ripped back and faced the sky. The slow, guttural, and evil laughter sounded even louder and rolled across the plains. The cry assaulted the Nonmalt aliens like a wave of despair. Shouts of fear ran among the assembled soldiers as the human lowered his head. Housed within the face was a pair of emerald green soulless eyes that were staring back at them.

Lifting his arms outward, fingers fully extended, Stanley screamed an earthly roar from his own soul. This sound was not from the Gudis, but from his own ravaged heart. He was a vessel that was being used by the alien virus now. A hissing growl spewed from his parted lips, as the ground began to quake. Great rifts tore across the sands, tillowing out like some great oak—all branching out from beneath Stanley’s feet. The Nonmalt’s eyes widened in horror from the sudden display of inhuman power.

Then, as if the cry had beckoned it, the jade mist came. The spores of Gudis crawled from out of the trenches in a billowing cloud of emerald might. The living virus raced across the crimson sands and engulfed the hapless foolish fishmen in a maelstrom of pain. The creatures tried to scream. They wanted to cry out with their suffering, but no voice came. Instead they watched with their own burning eyes as their bodies warped and melted. The clothing armor cracked and their scaly skin split. Globs of crimson, live giving blood, dripped onto the sandy floor.

Even the Nonmalt’s hellish tank was not safe from the onslaught. The thick, reinforced armor bent and cried in protest from the demonic cloud of death. But still no sound was heard. The metal was burned through, shredded and torn like a rotting carcass. The gunner inside dropped to the cold floor in agony as the dashboard sent wild sparks into the air. Finally, the machine could take no more and exploded outward with the force of a small bomb
.
Flaming debris was sent hurtling and bodies were cast down. Standing amongst the destruction however, an unscathed Stanley Haggard stood. The human’s eyes reflected a moment of pity and remorse. However Gudis took that away. The alien bacteria had already assimilated the Nonmalt creatures. He knew everything that they knew of. The bioweapons, their history, and their future plans to attack Earth. Gudis shared that information with his herald. He let the human peer into the minds of the warriors, so that no deceit would be between the two.

“War is coming to your world,” Gudis whispered to the human. “I am the only salvation for you and your people. For your loved ones.”

Stanley cursed to himself. Maybe Gudis was right. Humanity was destined to die. Either by their own hand, or by some invading aliens. If Gudis would leave a small contingent of survivors on Earth, then that certainly had to be better than total extinction. Especially if those survivors contained his wife and his friends. The time of absolutes was over. Right and wrong were concepts that no longer mattered to him. His life would now forever walk in the shades of grey of existence. He had to save as many people as he could now. Gudis was the lesser of two evils at the moment.

A smile curled at the edge of his thin red lips. The irony of choosing a living virus that was as old as time, over a group of invading fishmen was not lost on him. Now was not the time for laughter though. Maybe that was a sign that his sanity was starting to fade. Was being a vessel for Gudis slowly stripping away his humanity? It was a question he had to put away for later. Right now he had to put a stop to the Nonmalt’s forces.

Craning his head towards the distant horizon, Stanley could see the outline of a small city. All of the Nonmalt, their entire civilization and people, were housed within that city. It was overflowing with life. The Gudis felt it and so did he. Gudis’ booming laughter was filling the man’s thoughts. The demon was relishing at seeing the broken and tattered corpses of the Nonmalt laid strewn about at his feet. Stanley would oblige with that wish, if it meant it was to save his people.

Walking with measured steps, the former astronaut moved towards his goal. The Nonmalt that dwelled in that city would soon join their fallen comrades. The fate of humanity was on his shoulders. “I love you Melinda,” he whispered to himself quietly. The words felt hollow to him, but at least there was truth in them.


***


The twin separate flames that adorned their birthing torches, each lit the Nonmalt throne room with a soft tainted yellow glow. Sitting within his iron throne, and wrapped in his silken crimson sash and cape, the Nonmalt king sat and focused on the warmth of the flickering fires. The lidless piceous eyes gleamed in the wisps of darkness that moved to and fro through the room. The shadows danced in rhythm with the fires as the air pulled them about like a pair of dancers on the ballroom floor. The living shade mirrored that of the savage mind of the King Magnevars. The great leader lightly scraped his taloned webbed hands on his throne’s armrest. Patiently he was waiting for his lead scientist’s arrival. Fortunately for Zerlar, he did not keep the king waiting long.

Stepping through the stone archway door that acted as the entrance to Magnevars’ throne, a weary Nonmalt looked in cautiously before he entered. The opal blue slash, which marked him as being a part of the science branch of his race, dangled lifelessly against his black austere jumpsuit-like armor. His gilled head was lowered in deepest respect before the sitting lord. His movements were slow and almost submissive. He made sure to follow the red carpet that would lead him to his king. But with every step, Zerlar could feel the cauldron black eyes staring him down with royal might. Zerlar was certain that the king would argue that his power was more deific in nature. The man did envision himself as a god.

“Welcome Zerlar,” the icy tone slithered away. The brittle words turned and twisted in the air, like the vapors of scorched meat, before finally caressing the guise of the arrived scientist.

“You have called for me my lord,” Zerlar whispered with the highest of honor for his king.

“Your presence is to inform me of your project’s state,” Magnevars hissed back with a warning. The tone carried with it a message. If the news was not satisfactory, then punishment would greet the carrier. “The toxin, and the weapons…what is their progress?”

Swallowing the lump in his gilled throat, the project leader prepared his report. He made sure to concentrate on keeping his voice even and smooth. “Ahead of schedule. As I stand before your godly stature, the chemicals are being introduced to the animals. Their systems are accepting, and are already beginning to manufacture the genetic fluids, on their own, at an unprecedented rate. They will be ready within the hour.”

The once hate filled eyes of Magnevars now showed delight. His fish-like mouth was gaped with awe. The struggles that had plagued his people were now in the past. The heavy burden that he bore, with his people, was about to be taken away on wings of hope and resilience.

“Quite impressive,” the king spoke in a firm and compassionate tone. “Soon our struggles will bear the fruits of victory. Earth will be cleansed of all of the earthlings. The rest of the life that dwells there will be spared; saved if you will.”

The king lifted his scaly frame from his throne with inner glee. “Can you taste it? The spilled blood, the torn bodies, the spoiled flesh. The human’s greatest cities will be turned to lingering graveyards. Their lands, into bottomless canyons. Bogun…Barrangas…and Majaba will cover every scrap of soil with a blanket of marked death from the toxic poisons they will spew. No living human will survive. And when it clears, the Earth will be baptized, reborn for us again. A fair trade when considering the nearly lifeless world that they banished us to on this planet. Theirs will be a quick death, for they will not have to suffer as long as our people have on this world.”

“My king,” Zerlar’s voice murmured with fear. “If time was such a factor, then why would you not wish to dig through the ruins of the First Kingdom, which is on Earth, and awaken the guardian Zabangi? The scrolls that describe the procedure to awaken the Guardian God Monster exist in the Royal Library.”

“Only a fool would suggest such a thing,” a rat-like shrill voice sounded from the shadows behind the sitting king. “You dare to speak to the Lord, the great King Magnevars, with such a tongue? You dare to question his judgment?”

Removing himself from the grasping darkness, a smaller Nonmalt creature walked into the light with pondering webbed hands. He wore no slash, nor carried any weapon. Zerlar was well aware of who this Nonmalt was though. The king’s advisor, Zephyr. He was an unpleasant little creature, morally reprehensible and untrustworthy to anyone else…except of course to the king.

“Your feeble mind could never grasp wisdom in the king’s decision, just like the rest of them,” the dwarfish Zephyr hissed viciously. “It is true that the great guardian lies slumbering beneath the ruins of our first city on earth, but Zabangi could never serve the purpose that we require now. He was built to kill—to decimate entire kingdoms and lands. If we awakened him on Earth, there would be nothing left. Zabangi would turn the world into a barren wasteland, unfit for any form of life. We only wish to cleanse the planet, not destroy it you fool. By using Bogun, Barrangas, and Majaba, we will leave the planet in one piece. Only destroying the human race is what we are trying to fulfill. Not the complete destruction of all life on Earth.”

Zerlar was suddenly filled with doubt as he looked over to his glaring king. His eyes, which were once filled with joy from his surprising news, now echoed the pint up hatred of centuries that Magnevars had for the humans. “Please forgive me my lord,” Zerlar pleaded with his ruler. “Forgive me for doubting your wise choices for our people. Your rule is above reproach.”

Taking a step closer Magnevars growled with grinding loath. His gills, clicked dryly against the sides of his neck. “You should be wise to remember that,” the powerful lord hissed deeply. “Every human should be tortured and broken. Each one of them should have their bones broken, one at a time, for what they did to our people. What I will bring to them will be a merciful end. Do not take that as a sign of weakness. The hatred I feel for them could only be surpassed to the demonic flames that Zabangi would bring. But I am not so foolish to be blinded by my repulsion to the humans so as to see our planet, our home, destroyed by such an ignorant action of releasing that monster.”

“No my lord. It is not a weakness to want to preserve our home from human infestation,” the scientist breathed in relief.

The king would have continued on with his proclamations of salvation for the Nonmalt race, were it not for the interrupted sound of blaring klaxons throughout the city. The red lights played across the hallway and the throne room in quick flashes. The high-pitched wailing of the alarms only accented the worry that now had gripped the Nonmalt colony. Soldiers' heads were swiveling around like predators on the hunt. Civilians were clamoring and cowering in the streets. Only Magnevars stood like granite against the sound and noises. His heart refused to give into the fear. His soul swelling with disdain for whoever was daring to approach his city.

Suddenly a wide eyed soldier appeared in the stone archway. His breath was labored and gasping. “An unidentified object is approaching the kingdom,” he gasped with the words. “The same object that the search party was sent out to eliminate. They haven’t reported back since they were dispatched. We have lost contact with that platoon for the last few hours.”




Chapter 4:
Death Approaches




Thick black boots dug into the soft, crumbly sands of the surface of the Nonmalt world. Wind swept around the newly arrived Earthling, casting his dark green shroud like cloak about his form with casual demeanor. The human’s piercing gaze still bore hints of twinkling jade in his eyes. The Gudis was swarming through every vein of him now. Piggybacking on the astronaut like a remora on a shark. The virus couldn’t bond with his DNA, but it was still determined to use him for its own end. At the moment, Stanley and Gudis had the same goal. The Nonmalt were a threat to Earth and they needed to be stopped. Slaughtering the platoon of fish-like soldiers from hours ago had shocked the man to his core. Such bloody butchery was more at home in a slasher movie than real life.

Real life….what a joke. Stanley was in outer space and on an alien world, fighting against a race that wanted to wipe out humanity. And his only ally in the fight was a sentient, world devouring microbe that has been alive since the Big Bang. Yeah….life is hilarious at this time.

At the moment though, Stanley’s eyes were filled with an image of the massive iron and steel city of the Nonmalt that lay sprawled out before him. A metropolis that was built out in the middle of the endless desert. The alien’s kingdom was huge. Its towering pavilion columns were each topped with guards and weapons. Each of the towers rose up like gnarled fingers from the grave against the dark backdrop of space. Stars, as well as the gazes of a few thousand black, lidless eyes, looked on with contempt and fear at Stanley’s presence. The dark orbs never once dared to look away from their enemy.

“I seek an audience with your king,” Stanley hollered at the top of his lungs. The power of the Gudis flowed through him and allowed his demand to the king to be heard by everyone in the city.

Magnevars stood and walked from his throne chamber, out onto the connected balcony that oversaw the heart of his kingdom. The pride of his people was bolstering the king’s eccentric ego. “You dare to come to my city,” the king snapped loudly into the air. “Who do you think you are, demanding for a king to answer to you.” There was no unearthly power that gave strength to the Nonmalt’s words. Rather he had to use an amplifier, as well as a dozen or so speakers that were built around the city. The machines allowed Magnevars’ words to be heard by every man, woman, and child of the Nonmalt race. Now they would allow him to confront this would be invader to his realm.

The human figure remained quiet to the king’s words. The lord could feel the unblinking stare of the earthling. It was beginning to stab into his heart like a grove of icy pins. The human was motionless, his arms were draped to his side. His body was still like stone. He was a twisted statue that wished to inflict fear upon his enemy; that was something that Magnevars would not cow to. Only lesser beings would give into such fright.

“Answer the king when he asks you a question you foolish creature,” the royal leader screamed with brooding malice. “Speak…or my men will personally see that you will not live to see the next minute.” Following the king’s words, the guard towers and positioned soldiers cocked their weapons and took aim at Stanley. The air was being filled with the light humming from a hundred different plasma beam cannons. The only thing left now was the order for them to fire.

“Just like the others. So pathetic…so weak,” the human smirked. His first words of reply were insulting the greatness of the Nonmalt colony. Stanly couldn’t help but find amusement. The dreaded power of Gudis was palpable. The alien’s strength was like a suffocating weight that was pressing down on his chest. It felt….good…

“I enjoyed watching your men die. I take great pleasure in watching lesser beings die on false hopes.” The words now felt like they were being shared by both the alien virus and Stanley together. The monster was no longer speaking through him; it was speaking with him. Their minds were intertwined. “Now your men will see the idea of true perfection. They forever will be a part of….”

“What lies do you speak of,” Magnevars cut off Stanley’s words with a bellowing order. “What happened to my men?”

“You're a fool. You envision yourself as a lord, only wishing to be god,” the light haired immortal man cried out in laughter. The Gudis was now wrapped around his heart and directing him to his deepest of darkest desires. He wanted these humanoid aliens dead. They wanted to stomp out his race, so he was going to return the favor to them ten fold. “It would seem that you would be so careless enough, to not even know when you are in the presence of a true god. Your men are with us now. Become a link in the genetic chain of the most powerful being in the universe. Realize your true fate. Don’t expunge your meager mortal existence, and become a part of an unfathomable truth.”

Magnevars stood against the human’s resounding words as they swept through his kingdom. His eyes, smoldering with utter hatred and loathe, glistened in the nearby stars' splendor. “Those who would dare to stand and defy the Kingdom of the Nonmalt, will not stand long. Destroy this worthless dissident in the name of the colony.”

And with that command the sky was shattered, split and cleaved by a thousand amethyst-hued beams as they left their barrels and were sent careening into the human far below. The ground and sand beneath the invader’s feet exploded in a ball of flame. Twisted branching arms of living heat reached into the black skies, gasping for air to breath. The grains of sand fell slowly as an execution was bestowed upon the once loving husband astronaut. The Nonmalt warriors were pouring their hatred into each blast of super-heated plasma as they fired. Revenge for their fallen comrades was going to be bestowed to the human.

“Hold your fire,” Magnevars roared over the raining arterial. “Hold your fire!”

Immediately the assault ceased. The twisted faces of the soldiers lightened. Peering into the veil of covering sand and debris, the warriors tried to perceive their fallen victim. It will forever be a fine day to remember in the kingdom of Nonmalt. The first human life to be taken in their war for their old homeworld. That lasting image, which they so hoped to see, would not be given though.

Standing unfazed and unscratched, the dark human looked on through the shroud of burned ash. Stanley’s facade was now gone, his face was a contorted visage of spite and scorn. “You have spurned our power now, and for your choice, you shall never know peace,” the human thundered into the plains like a spoken titan. “You will fall and become a part of a greater being. Never will you know death, only suffering and pain will be your kin, as you live forever as a part of Gudis!”

The name of Gudis reached for Magnevars’ heart and gripped it with an icy hand of terror. It tugged at his soul. He had heard of the horrors of an entity called Gudis before. It was a monster that was well known, but he had never heard of the creature being this far out in his region of space. Gudis had traveled a long way if he had found his little world. Gudis was a rogue virus that saw fit to assimilate anything it pleased. Entire races were wiped from existence by him. Few would survive to spread the word that Gudis had been there. And now, that devil was standing before him and his kingdom.

It was now time for Stanley’s dark passenger to make his grand entrance. Opening his mouth, the black guise human birthed an unearthly scream. A howling banshee cry that ripped the fabric of sanity's requiem. Leaping from his lungs, the screech brought with it a chain reaction. Emerald green mist seeped from the standing shadow’s form, weeping from every orifice.

Blanketing the tattered ground, the fog engulfed the man, swirling and collecting about his form like a second skin. The fish creature’s eyes widened in terror as the smoke grew more and more as time crept by. The fog rose higher into the air, the jade mist towering like a panicle of brooding deceit. Before long, where once was a mere human, was now a living mountain of flowing and rolling clouds. Through the shrouded mist Magnevars saw flashes of pale tawny flesh and tentacles. He saw sinister yellow eyes, as big as marble stones, stare straight back at him. The horrible thing looked like it was glaring through his impermanent form, as if he was nothing but a speck compared to it.

Crashing waves of mutilated cries of abhor, blasted from within the cloaking mist that now stood well over a hundred and twenty meters in height. The sound assaulted every soldier that still dared to watch the unveiling of the god Gudis. The demon’s cry was raking their poor hapless souls with intangible icy claws. The beast resounded its roar again and again as finally the oak sage glittering shards of smoke began to dissipate and revealed their true form to the mortal eye. The Nonmalt were transformed into a sea of gaping statues. A creature, which could only dwell on the brink of hell’s gates, had frozen them with fear.

Standing on the silken cherry sands of the Nonmalt world, Gudis had made his grand entrance before the king. Standing in full stature, the auburn-hued flesh of the giant glowed dulled against the bright sands. Whipping through the air, Gudis flailed his massive sinew cord arms. Tons of slippery flesh sheathed over the coursing muscles, which was roped with tangible fear that now surrounded the planet. Upon its grossly shaped stomach and chest was a half a dozen more of the appendages. These were smaller and thicker tentacles, but they each flexed with lives of their own. The king dared fate and looked further up the creature’s form. The leader’s glassy eyes beheld a face that truly belonged to the bowels of the underworld.

Branching, lithe like claws surrounded the monster’s gaping mouth, threatening to pull any aura of flesh into it that it could grasp. Its rough and dry tanned face also bore a pair of sickly yellow eyes, which reflected only the most wicked of natures. And to top off the horror show, there was a crown of throbbing brain tissue like matter, which sat atop the demon’s head. Magnevars could not imagine what dark thoughts were roaming through the monster’s mind.

Inching slightly forward, the temple of mashed flesh encroached upon the city. Gudis’ slug-like tail dragging behind him. The monster’s ember eyes never took their focus off of the sprawling minuscule life forms that coward just ahead of him. The feeling of fright was liquoring to the demon, it swelled inside of Gudis and covered its savoring maw with beads of lust. The time of judgment had come to these people.

With every last fleeing ounce of courage, coursing through his blood, the king shouted what would be his last order to his men. “Open fire!”

Systematic gunfire began belching from the standing towers and walls, drenching the shambling behemoth in a haze of light and heat. The vulgar azure particles seared and lanced into the mammoth being of Gudis. Each strike brought about a slight ping of dolor. The creature reflected no such emotion though; it kept its mask of vileness. Only the slight trickles and laces of lisping black smoke, from the laser burns, showed that any effect of the Nonmalt’s fiery might had anything to show. The gigantic rogue virus would not stop and continued forward with its push. Alarm ran through the soldiers. The giant was undaunted from the power of their weapons that was assaulting its grotesque shape.

Wading through the wall of shining effulgence that licked and tongued about his shape, Gudis slammed its brawny body against the outer steel wall. Metal cried out in protest, as hundreds of thousands of tons of swollen alien flesh crashed against them. Some of the men who had been firing from the confines of their etched support, fell hundreds of feet to their deaths. Their screams were lost in the battle’s defiant noise. Again Gudis bashed into the wall, this time with stronger force. The plating on the inside cracked and rib supports snapped like kindle wood. The city was starting to give.

Watching from his balcony, the king was silent. Images of the obliteration of his empire were flooding his pupils—touching and wrapping their glacier-like grip to his mind. Everything he worked for, strived to attain, was all being trampled under foot. Truly only one option was left. If he was to see his people and his plans live on, he had to kill Gudis now.

“Zephyr, order the bioweapons to be released,” the lord whispered in quiet defeat. The words slipped from his lips with a sigh of regret. The imp like messenger looked at his king with questions. The request had burned the lord’s tongue.

“If we lose them…” Zephyr began in an incredulous manner. “If we lose them, then we fail in our bid to reclaim our homeworld Earth, and we will die,”

Magnevars clarified the reasons for his order. “If we don’t use them, then the Gudis will destroy us anyway. I don’t wish to see what our people have worked so hard on—sacrificed for—to be whisked away in the wind. We come from a long line of a great warrior race, and we will never lie down to any enemy. We will fight, and so will they. The Nonmalt race will stand and will not go quietly into the night, even in the face of this living devil.”




Chapter 5:
War for the Nonmalt Future




A broken ruler stood on his royal balcony and was gazing at a sea of anguish. Thousands of eyes were looking up to him for guidance. Their fearful looks were digging into his mind. They were passing the mortal flesh and tearing into the soft and corpulent soul that lay within the fallen ruler.

Just below Magnevars, there lay death. Terror from beyond the voids was calling out in tortured pain. Men cried as their bodies were cast down with less regard than worthless rubble. Women and children were fleeing with animalistic fear. Some of them tried to shut their eyes in an attempt to stem the visions of horror that rose against them. But death could not be ignored. The victims could still hear the rotting cries of the titanic demon as it echoed in their ears. Rumblings from the pits of hell were sent washing over their anguished souls. The demon would not be stopped.

Stepping from the threshold of ash and brimstone, Gudis howled. Its dull mud creamed skin, flashing from the burning skies, wracked its weight upon the steel walls. Splashes of damp blood dotted its massive form and hellfire glistened across its scorned face. Magnevars couldn’t stand to look at the distorted and malform shape of the monster. But staring into its eerie xanthous hazed eyes, birthed a truth to him. It showed the royal ruler that Gudis was a wanderer. A being that collected life to add to its own. The veracity of that line of thought was darker than that though. Gudis had no soul of which to call its own. It seeked to possess all mortal sins, and become what it so sought after in the universe—purpose through perfection.

Deprived war torn bodies laid dead. Bands of warriors laid fallen, proudly and full of tortured pain, by their crumbling walls. The creator of that anguish continued forward, unfazed by what was wrought with its overwhelming power. The towers, where once was filled with only the most skilled warriors of the Nonmalt people, stood like quiet, old works of vacant giants. The noise of their inhabitants had seized; the warriors now breathless and fallen.

Misery was covering the Nonmalt kingdom. A decree of grief and desolation that was brought about by a spurned god. Few of the frail beings now remained unspoiled from the cruel slaughter that bathed the dawn land. Gudis was relishing his actions. Spores of his cells were breaking down and absorbing the dead Nonmalt that littered around him. The genetic material would then rejoin with his form and give the giant beast new life that would only add to his overwhelming strength. The cries and thoughts of hundreds of Nonmalt soldiers caressed his vile black heart. These creatures had spurned him. For that, they would know only pain for the rest of their existence; for as long as they were a part of him. And with Gudis’ immortality, that would make it a very long punishment indeed.

The carnage reflected from the glassy tear soaked eyes of Magnevars. They beheld the mire soaked ground of which the diabolical Gudis was crawling across. The alien king’s mind was bound with fetter, and his heart….it wretched with mourn for his kingdom. The shadowed road, the very ground that marked Gudis’ passing, curled and withered in sorrow. Their kingdom, or what would be left of it, would be a grave to mark his people's passing.

Gudis crashed its rolling mass again against the binding vault. The sculptured metalloid hull that once acted as the great wall that surrounded the kingdom, had burst at last like punctured paper. The ancient bane’s squirming tentacles, snapping mandibles, and flaring eyes, flared with new life at seeing the fresh entrance. Coiling arms swept the haloed ground, crushing hapless men with each swipe. Gudis gleamed downward, spying the tiny life forms hurrying from its stature. The twisted mind of the virus boasted the lives that it crushed beneath it, smiling with the love of death it was causing. Screaming his banshee call once more, the giant moved into the very heart of the compound. The heat and fires, which had blanketed its body when it arrived, now had dwindled to only an occasional random shot here and there. Gudis could taste the panic that ventured in the Nonmalt’s once great wisdom. Cowering hopes of virtue begged for their mortality. They were cries that would fall on deaf ears with the Gudis.

Magnevars refused to move and stood like a statue against the scene. His cape flapped in the gusts of wind from the Gudis’ movements. A single essence prayed in his thoughts now. Would the bioweapons he so looked upon as sentries of power, be able to muster the strength to defeat a god? Minutes ago he ordered for their deployment, but would they be able to arrive in time? And if they did, what would be left to save? The destroyer was still approaching, creeping and waving its cord like arms. Judgment was being passed upon his people.

Gudis allowed a stream of twisting emerald smoke to pour from his twitching mouth. The swirling collection of cells drifted downward and brushed against the king’s balcony. Magnevars and his men backed away with fright. They dared not let the monster’s vile breath touch them. They had seen what it was doing to their people. The green smoke was actually a wave of virus-like cells that were a part of the monster. They would infect and absorb any organic material they came across and add it to the whole of the celestial giant.

These cells however, were not expelled from Gudis in order to feed. Rather, they had a very different purpose. Inside the green smoke the tightly knitted cells had formed a thin membrane of flesh. More than strong enough to carry their important passenger. The jade mist and flesh touched down on the marble floor of the king’s balcony, and then soon dissipated into the wind. The human, Stanley Haggard, was left behind with their passing.

The astronaut couldn’t help but let a tiny smile grace the corner of his smooth face when he saw the shocked look on the Nonmalt’s faces. Even though Gudis could not bond with his DNA, like how it had done with his wife and friend, Stanley still felt like the virus was a part of him. He could feel its power and it was intoxicating. It was embellishing the hatred that was coursing through his heart at the moment. These fish-like aliens wanted to wipe out humanity on Earth. Only Stanley and Gudis stood in the way of that. They would end the Nonmalt threat and then go back home and bring the word and gifts of Gudis to every human on the planet. It was the only way his people were going to survive; how his wife was going to survive. Stanley vowed that they would be together again one day.

“I know humans are full of evil, but this is nothing short of damnation that you are bringing to the galaxy.” The king' s breath hitched. He was filled with both hatred for the earthling, and fear for the Gudis.

“Funny, coming from a creature that sought to kill my race.” The pathogen deity’s strength was giving the astronaut confidence and might. Stanley felt like a cat that was playing with a mouse. Magnevars and his kind’s fate was directly under his and Gudis’ whim.

Stanley straightened his frame and composed himself before he continued his conversation with the mad Nonmalt King. “I bring truth,” Stanley’s voice was now laced with a chilling amusement. The black soul of the virus god was bolstering him with never before felt confidence. “Your people could have had a life of pure bliss, an eternity of not knowing war or pain ever again within Gudis. You spurned him, and for that, you will be punished. Your people will never know peace because of your actions.”

“Who the hell are you!” The fear in the king was now displaced with overwhelming revulsion that he had for both the earthling and the monster that was killing his people. The mewling cries of the Nonmalt below were gnawing at his heart; they were feeding his contempt at the moment.

“I am merely the herald of Gudis,” Stanley whispered. His voice had a venomous caress to it. “I merely bring the word of Gudis to people. I give them a choice. Perdition or ebullience. The actions of today were entirely brought about by you. An ostensibly man that envisioned himself to be a king—but in truth you were a pauper like the rest when faced against a god that is as old as the universe itself.”

Suddenly a series of footfalls could be heard coming from a nearby hallway. Stepping from the shadows was a group of armed Nonmalt soldiers. The men wasted no time in preparing to fire their weapons at the intruder. Stanley, or rather the Gudis cells that dwelled within the earthling, would not give them the opportunity to harm the astronaut.

Stanley could feel his arm raise up and point itself towards the group of would be heroes. His muscles twitched and flexed as the Gudis cells raced through his flesh. The cells collapsed and began to join with each other. The green particles sprang from the tips of Stanley’s fingers and made their way towards the soldiers. In a fraction of a second, the cells had joined together and formed a wave of goopy green slime. The ooze covered the military men and instantly began to break down their flesh.

They didn’t even get a shot off.

The warriors cried out in pain as the slimy material burned like fire as it was searing into their flesh. The pulsating extension of Gudis was melting the Nonmalt’s skin and muscle like they were candle wax. It took only a few seconds before the slime had grown big enough to completely encompass all of the soldiers. To them, it felt like they were swimming in a sea of boiling liquid. Each movement brought about a wave of excruciating pain. Pain, which with each passing second, grew more and more. Slowly their flesh turned to goo. Their clothes were breaking apart like wet tissue paper and their flesh and muscles were soon turned into a soggy mess of slurry.

Stanley was both disgusted and relieved. He was happy to be alive, but the first hand sight of Gudis devouring the hapless soldiers had turned his stomach a bit. Still though, it was either him or them. With his wife's life on the line, it was an easy choice to make. He would standby and watch all of the Nonmalt burn before he would do anything to endanger the fate of his wife’s soul, which resided in the giant virus entity.

“You are no better than that monster,” the king hissed with revulsion as he watched his soldiers die a horrible death..

“I’m doing what needs to be done.” Stanley’s words were flat and toneless. There was a prosaic indifference to his voice. The overwhelming sense of power that Stanley had felt, had suddenly dulled in his heart. The fiery torrent that had ignited every nerve in his body had been marred by uneasiness.

A small tremor was then abruptly felt beneath the men’s feet. It was small and faint. Almost inconsequential. Stanley had no idea what had caused it. But as he looked up, the smile on both the king and his small right hand man crony told him that they knew exactly what was coming.

“It’s time for your god to feel the righteous might of the Nonmalt people.” The king’s tone was steadfast and resolute. Pride swelled in his bosom. The reign of Gudis was about to be vanquished from the universe’s memory.

The sudden straight-line winds kicked up around the titanic Gudis. The cool breeze raced about and flowed around the mountain of greasy flesh that was his body. Then, abruptly, the sky was befelled with a buzzing hum. It was a growing noise that grew deeper and louder around the city. Glancing up into the scintillas of lisping clouds, Gudis could make out a tiny shape. The visible object became larger and larger as the grains of sands dropped into the bowels of the hourglass of time. The mysterious object was slithering through the emptiness of space, before it finally revealed itself.

Dropping from the clouds on transparent membranous wings—which moved at a blurring speed—the creature finally chose to attack. Two huge sickle shaped blades flashed and struck Gudis with earth-shattering force. The celestial demon’s corpulent flesh was sliced and spelt gallons of sage, life giving blood. Stanley’s eyes grew wide as he watched the towering giant be thrown backwards. Hulking tons of corrupted meat soared and landed outside of the city. Plums of fine red dirt were kicked into the air, veiling the sprawled out shape of Gudis beneath its cover.

Screeching with insidious and maddening lust, the virus devil rose again. Gudis was now a mountain of living hatred. He had not been knocked down by a foe in nearly a thousand centuries. Not since that time in which he had tangled with that veil three-headed dragon had he fallen from his stature. Gudis had forgotten his distaste for pain. It has been so long since he had felt it. He was going to make sure that his little ambusher was going to feel that pain a hundred times fold in return. The giant of brawny flesh watched, with a malicious gaze, as the flying assailant landed.

Bony yellow-clawed feet scratched their bladed ends into the ground, tearing small scars into the planet. At the sides of the attacker were four separate scythe-like arms, which were waving about and cutting at the air around the kaiju. Gudis sneered at the menacing challenge. The first of the Nonmalt’s angels had arrived. Hissing through its spiked maw, Majaba swore its oath to protect the Nonmalt people. It did not fear being in battle with the bacteria giant. Gudis mused at how foolish the giant insect was. The empyrean god was preparing to answer the insect’s vow, but he was soon interrupted with his reply.

The barren plains of the Nonmalt world shuddered and violently exploded outward. Rock and sand were shot into the darkness. The ground quivered more and broke beneath the brawny Gudis. The land split and opened up, causing the titanic invader to tumble. Once again, for a second time that day, the wicked god had found himself knocked down to the ground.. Great infernos blazed in the Gudis’ eyes as they watched a jade-colored alien head emerge from the gaping hole. Surprisingly, it was followed by a second head as well; they were attached to the same creature. The first head was lined with dagger-like teeth in its maw and waved a whip-like black tentacle upon its crown. The second of the ghastly visages snapped and cried out in honking barks. Another of the Nonmalt creatures had arrived, Bogun, the scourge of pain.

Gudis prepared to right himself once again when a growl, like grinding stone, drifted in the air from his left. Turning his bulky mass, Gudis found yet another monster to greet his vicious glare. Racking its mitten-like paws into the ground, and causing great rifts, was a dark and shrouded magenta hued creature. Its fanged tusks were dripping with droplets of drooling desire. Stepping forward on tree trunk-like legs, the final bioweapon had revealed itself. Barrangas had arrived on the battlefield. The quadruped’s rippling muscles, which were sheathed over in rough plum rich skin, rocked the world of the Nonmalt. Gudis seethed with fiendish loathing before standing against his would-be attackers.

Fools, the demon uttered in guttural clicking cries. These mere beasts dared to strike him down. The naturally ingrained aversion to physical harm, which most living creatures had, was not a completely foreign feeling to Gudis. The god-like being had felt pain before, and he did not enjoy it. To have his greatness be limited at the expense of such a weak emotion was infuriating to the virus behemoth. Once he had consumed enough life, he would have the power to transcend that constraint that was forced upon him—like all living things in the universe. Gudis would be a god. He would transcend the limitations of mortal flesh and return the universe back to the silence of which he was born in so long ago.

Howling into the ruby winds that were licking the edges of the dunes of the planetoid, the mammoth being shambled towards the first attacker that had dared to make him spill his blood.. Seas of silky, cherry sands were flung into the air, polishing the area around the charging Gudis with their scarlet smolder. The lifeless barren soil rocked and quaked before the angered beast. More souls were going to be added to his burning hunger. More lives were going to caress his vile heart. These pitiful creatures were going to be trampled beneath his conquering feet. Then, after they had felt their own blood spilled and bones broken, would Gudis allow them to become a part of his perfection. They would know countless centuries of utter pain and agony because of their defiance against him. They would join their Nonmalt kin soon enough.

“The time for your false god is over,” beamed the Nonmalt king. If his face was capable of it, he would be wearing a very rictus grin indeed.

Stanley ignored the pathetic would-be sovereign. The man’s gaze sharpened, his eyes narrowing as he watched the blood of Gudis seep into the sand. Such a show of mortality marked a betrayal to the demon’s overwhelming might. Stanley had come to feel something far different when the alien had enveloped him. Gudis was not a creature in the traditional sense. The bacteria horror was the space between every thought and the stillness between every breath. It was the whisper of the stars, the pulse of the galaxies, and the silent heartbeat of the universe itself. Magnevars can believe all he wants that his precious little bio-weapons had hurt Gudis. Stanley knew better though. The cosmic entity was intent on shredding every ounce of blood and flesh from his attacker’s bones as retribution.

A violent and terrible act was in the midst of transpiring. Bellowing cries and ear-shattering screeches were resounding off of the sands. The Nonmalt world was transformed into a makeshift theatre of war. The gigantic form of Gudis crept forward, his corded arms wavering at Majaba. The olive green mantis hissed from her spindly orifice and seethed with exasperated rage. The huge boulder-sized and lustrous segmented eyes flashed with fright as the twin ropes of sinewed muscle belted her armored plates. Bone cracking sounds lapped at Majaba’s ironclad cover. The demon’s arms were striking again and again without tiring. The mutant insect bellowed in anguish; its trio of lilac eyes were wide with pain.

Gudis cared not for the monstrous insect’s agony and made sure that the length of his arms kept up with their ravishing assault. The lewd virus beamed with malice, before finally willing his arms to strap and encircle their crushing embrace on his would-be attacker. Fleshy folds of tanned skin dropped around the writhing Majaba’s spiny legs. Calling upon the constricting limbs, Gudis ripped free the bioweapon’s mass from the earth. Majaba squealed in stunned dismay. The four-armed giant’s feet were pulled out from under her. Gravity took hold and pulled the jade arthropod back to the ground. Majaba disappeared beneath a blossoming cloud of sand and dirt; blood tinted smoke shrouding the animal's ebbing body.

Heavy scowls ripped from the mandible maw of Gudis as he pressed on with his assault, which was composed of more rabid belting strikes with his thick tentacled arms. Feverish whacks, teetering on the brink of breaking the sound barrier, were unrelenting with their assault. Majaba tried to fiend off the brutal attack by deflecting some of the shots with her giant scythe-like claws. But the whipping tentacles kept on coming. Majaba cried out to the skies for mercy.

Her call did not go unheard.

Predatory eyes watched from afar, taking note of the onslaught that was warring ahead. Lowering his hard, stone-like head to the ground, Barrangas took advantage of his concealment and charged. The bull-like physique of the giant stomped across the ruby sands. Each stride was carrying tons of sculpted bone and muscle on its way. The twin skeletal sail wings, which crowned the monsters back, flickered with sweat from their raspberry membranes in the heated winds. Fencing his lake of pasty white teeth, the quadruped creature rammed his nemesis. Flesh cracked and thunder sounded as the creature made contact. The skull bashed into the stout lower side of the giant Gudis, leaving utterly vulgar waves of pain to blanket and cover the virus god’s body. Leveling back, Barrangas gazed at his floundering foe with a sabre-toothed grin.

Knocked onto its back, Gudis growled in a ravenous lust. A numbers game definitely was at play here, but that would not stop him. No matter what, the outcome will be the same as it always is—Gudis would be the victor. With that thought, smoldering and burning in his corrupted mind, the pathogen beast right itself once again and lashed out with a clubbing strike. Barrangas snarled as the lancing blow slapped across the genetic creation’s raw skin like a paddle. He had watched, with calculating intelligence, as his opponent attacked his fellow genomic bioweapon earlier. So the crafty kaiju knew what was about to happen next. Gudis was going to make this a close quarters affair. The fanged reptile was not going to allow that to happen.

The endless demon from the stars surged forward with its rope-like tentacles, but met with only open air. Pink smoke had begun to seep from the openings in the Nonmalt bioweapon’s feet and wings immediately as Gudis had begun to regain his footing. Barrangas’ entire body was enveloped with roseate smog. Unbeknownst to the virus demon, the rocky headed reptile’s body was breaking down and dissolving into the smoke. By time Gudis’ arms had reached him, the purple reptiloid was already gone. Gudis let out a howl of frustration. His foe had managed to disappear right in front of him. All that was left was a thick billowing cloud of toxic fumes that were assaulting his corporeal essence. The smog was blanketing the battlefield.

Barrangas wasted little time and reformed his body behind a rocky outcropping that was behind Gudis. Its quadrupedal form was low to the ground, with his reptilian eyes fixed on Gudis. Barrangas was not like his brother and sister when it came to battle. He was a tactician when it came to fighting. The monster wasn't trying to engage in a physical brawl with his foe. The purple lizard understood that against an entity like Gudis, brute force was futile. If he was going to win, the titan was going to have to incapacitate the tentacle giant. Hopefully his toxic smog would affect the Gudis’ vision, breathing, and overall strength. Even if it was only for a little bit, Barrangas would use his hit and run tactics to make sure that he didn’t get wrapped up in the bacterial behemoth’s numerous arms. Speed, teleportation, and his poison gas was going to be the key to his victory.

A wave of dizziness gripped Gudis’ mind. The magenta hued gas of the four legged lizard was strong enough to affect even his own godly stature. It was only momentarily though. His cells were hurrying to fix and adapt to the monster’s tricky attack. Gudis viewed himself more as a fundamental truth, than just a simple creature. He was an integral thread that was woven into the tapestry of existence. His purpose was simply to be, ever-present and ever-evolving, in the endless flow of time of the universe. These pathetic little beasts would be mowed down by his might, like so many others had been in the eons of his life.

Suddenly the tentacle fiend felt a tonnage of weight slam into his back. Barrangas had sprinted out from behind his rocky cover and launched himself at the monstrous virus, like how a tiger would pounce on his prey. Gudis was toppled over and landed face first into the sandy ground. Barrangas had no time to gloat about his minor victory. The bull-like kaiju jumped off of Gudis and immediately set to engage his daggering trap against the downed god. Using his elephantine-like fangs, the smallest of the Nonmalt creatures closed his toothy mouth about one of the auburn whips that Gudis had used to beat Majaba only moments ago. Flickering signals of hurt raced up the taught arm of the virus monster, traveling and swarming the malformed shape with alarm.

Tugging like a pit bull with a bone, the vaguely reptilian animal pulled. Barrangas was dead set on tearing free the lashing arm. The tug-of-war ended abruptly though. Covering the distance, thanks in part to her wasp-like wings, Majaba had chosen to reenter the fray. The towering bug swiped downward with its largest bony claw. The ax-like chop sliced cleanly through the stringy muscles of the tentacle, as if it were nothing more than a blade of grass. Gudis let a grinding moan expel from between his hellish mandibles. The sight of the severed limb on the ground caused him to further unleash a spitting cry of utter villainy and martyrdom to the still stars above. Green sappy drools dripped into a puddle at his feet. Small spurts of blood were fountaining from the laceration’s bloodied tip. Gudis cradled the severed tentacle like a child, whispering promises of pain that would be brought to its bringer.

Meanwhile, Barrangas had thrown down his piece of the tentacle arm that he still had in his fanged maw. The creature cast a look of disgust while doing so. The flesh of his foe tasted foul. It was sordid and grotesque, it would linger in his voracious maw for some time. It was nothing like the Guyros that he had killed earlier that morning.

Majaba thunderously landed behind the fallen Gudis. Her soulless eyes were studying the fallen god. The mantis kaiju was determined to aid her ally. The opponent they now faced was far more dangerous than the Guyros that were set against them.

A growl, like grinding boulders, surged through the space virus. Pillaring his monolith stature once more, Gudis was bound to continue on with the fight. He could sense the throbbing heart of the bladed one behind him. What a sneaky coward. In front of him however was the quadrupedal, toxic fighter. This one had caused him the most pain so far. Gudis was determined to return that tribulation back to them, only a hundred fold with his overwhelming might. The fleshy giant rushed towards Barrangas. Already he could see the tricky creature start to expel more of its lavender gas. The irksome little reptile was planning on teleporting away again with that wave of debilitating toxins. The mammoth-sized space monster was not going to let that happen.

Willing his arms out to their fullest extent, Gudis was able to close the distance and catch Barrangas around his throat and front left leg. Immediately the collapsing flesh coiled around the thick neck of Barrangas with a tightening vice-like grip. The vital airway of the leviathan was nearly pinched shut. Pain and terror gripped Barrangas’ mind. He could no longer concentrate with his mind and focus on teleporting to safety. The muscles that he would be using to create his transposing toxic gas were now forced to try and free the monster from the tentacle predator's grip. Blood and energy were lightning through the kaiju’s legs. Gasps of labored breath leaked from his canine jaws, expelling from his strained pipes. Barrangas was trapped. Meanwhile, passion that was beyond the threshold of cynical malevolence, burned at the core of the murderous tower of flesh and collected lives.

Majaba was quick to answer her alley’s silent scream. The jade mantis sprinted towards Gudis with all four of her bladed arms, prepped and ready. The Nonmalt bioweapon was intended to cut down the rogue supergerm. Gudis however was prepared for the genetic arthropods attack. The titan turned his head around and let loose with twin blasts of fiery energy from his demonic eyes. The optic blast caught the bug in mid stride. Majaba, unable to react in time, screeched out with unbridled agony as the alien energy threw her onto her back. A stretch of carved sand and dirt mark the distance in which the bioweapon was thrown. Black scorch marks and wispy smoke adorned the gigantic insect’s armored carapace.

Satisfaction swarmed Gudis’ heart. The sight of the damaged mantis was pleasing to his decadent core. Meanwhile, death ridden, silent screams continued to go unheard from the crushed throat of the kneeling Barrangas. The execution would have been granted, if it were not for another foe entering the fray.

The ground beside Gudis exploded out like the detonation of a massive bomb. Dirt and sand were cast into the sky. Then, from out of the darkness of the torn land, a gigantic twin-headed beast rose up. Bogun had dove back into the ground and used the sands to hide his form, while he stealthily snuck up on the invading demon that had arrived to his world. Lashing out with his crowned tentacle, Bogun grasped the suffocating limbs of Gudis. The ebony black mass of roped sinew and muscle ripped free the ever-hungry bacteria monster’s belt-like arms, dragging the sand colored mass of flesh closer to his battle ready form.

The second lower head of Bogun snarled and then quickly clamped onto the virus’s brawny skin. The alien god hollered in pain as the serrated and jagged ivory lain maw dug, foot by foot, into his misshapen flesh. Strips of gashed and mutilated husk peeled free from the demon. They were lost in a haze of misting sage blood and fluid. Gudis continued to wail its agony, trying to tear free from the clamping horror. But Bogun had no intention to dwell in such a fight. Barking in short huffs and ire, the creature’s smaller visage that was on top of its elongated neck, launched forward. The sharpened brace of chiseled bone speared into the satiny and tender rind of Gudis’ pulsing brain-like matter that topped its head. The Nonmalt slug monster probed further in the shuck with growing joviality. He much enjoyed the sight of such a weak foe to succumb to his brute strength. The endless screams of pain alit the heart of the animal, warming it with burning blood.

Gudis was not one to cower before an enemy though…

Growling in salacious contempt, Bogun released the demon of a thousand worlds, and used the power of his long muscular neck to throw the heaping flesh of his foe to the ground. Dozens of hissing cries of malice and loath seethed from Gudis’ demonic fenced mandiables. The creature’s sounds were wisping and caressing the air with fumes of hellish sin. The terror of countless galaxies; the horror of generations of spelt blood; was reduced to but a fallen victim to another one's power.

Five times….five times Gudis had been knocked down by these paltry creatures. Not since the three-head dragon had the space virus ever known such impertinency. These creatures however were nothing compared to that Golden King. Had Gudis’ strength really fallen off that much since those days. It had been a while since he had located such lush life to consume. Scraps are all he was finding on his celestial travels. No…Gudis would not honor that fate. The sentient virus of the cosmos fed off of the disruption and dissention of life—it made him stronger. These genetic aberrations would fall before his power!




Chapter 6:
Tides of War




“Today the universe will find justice,” the king Magnevars gleamed with satisfaction. “The Gudis will face judgment for all of the life that it has taken. My people’s name will ring throughout the ages for what will happen here today.”

The odious Zephyr was nearly grinning ear to ear as he watched his king proclaim victory. The scientist Zerler was more cautious however. He had heard stories of the evils of Gudis. While he was proud with how his creations were doing, he was also hesitant and circumspect to what was unfolding. He couldn’t put his webbed finger on it, but he felt that there was an untapped strength that the mutant bacteria monster was holding back on. There was a gleam in the human servant’s eyes that only added to his dread. He prayed that his guarded fears were wrong though.

Stanley was smirking. His small smile carried a weight of sinister confidence. He could see through the king’s facade; his efforts of confidence were futile. It was a pathetic display. The Nonmalt ruler truly did not understand the might of the alien entity he served. Stanley was feeling superior in his knowledge of the virus's capabilities. He could feel the anger pouring off of Gudis. The remnant cells that were lingering in his body felt warm. The man could feel his blood boiling. If he felt this with only a few of Gudis’ cells, then he could only imagine what the dominant beast was feeling at that moment.

The intoxicating feeling of Gudis’ power was flooding the man’s senses again. He felt lost in the monster’s strength. He could literally feel pieces of his humanity being swallowed up by the omnipotent being’s lifeforce. The astronaut held onto the promise that Gudis had given him about his wife. All of the bloodshed that would ensue from his partnership with the virus was going to be worth it in the end. He just had to hold onto that thought. It is there that he would hold the last vestiges of his humanity. There it will be free from Gudis’ corrupting thoughts.

Gudis let a rumbling growl surge through his body as he righted himself once more. The bacterial cells of the ancient monster were hard at work at repairing the damage that the creature had received at the hands of the Nonmalt bioweapons. Bloody gashes were sealed up and goopy blood was reabsorbed into the tawny flesh like how a sponge would drink with a spillage of water. Gudis turned his ghastly face and spied his lifeless arm on the ground. The viral demon pushed his will into the dismembered limb and ordered the cells to break down and return to him. The intergalactic vacuoles were quick to follow through with their orders. The brown tentacle quickly dissolved into a swirling cloud of green twinkling spores. The cloud wasted little time and flew towards Gudis; eager to fulfill their prime mover. The cells touched Gudis’ flesh and instantly disappeared—rejoined with the god’s mass.

Barrangas and the rest of his allies looked on with shock as the once severed, bloodied arm of Gudis began to regrow. Sinew and tendons formed first. Then blood began to coat the muscle. Finally, tough outer skin sheathed over the arm. In less than a minute Gudis had reformed his arm and become whole once more. The once bloodied monster, now fully healed, lashed out with its arms and slammed the tentacles into the sandy earth. The thunder of the cudgel strikes echoed through the expansive raven skies above and created a primal drumbeat of destruction. The last sounds of the thrum beat faded away into the thicket sands like a forgotten dream. Gudis was intending on replacing that dream with a true nightmare.

The primordial being glared balefully at the opposing monsters. His gaze was dead set on the dry hissing Majaba. The mammoth insect leered hotly back. A spectral—an aura of soiled depravity passed between the two. Majaba wanted to return the pain that it had suffered from Gudis’ optical beams, while Gudis wanted to do the same because the insect had taken his arm.

Unbeknownst to the jade mantis however, Gudis was not going to be blinded by his hatred. Majaba was the only creature that could fly, and that was going to prove to be a difficult thing to overcome if the astral pathogen was going to battle all three of the monsters. Majaba would be able to freely fly in and strike at him when he was entangled with one of the other bioweapons. Gudis was going to have to take out the flyer first. Thankfully he had an answer for this problem.

Majaba squeaked out a small cry in dumbfounded confusion as the ancient virus spread its many tentacles outward from his body and began to enact its next battle plan. Slowly the tentacles began to take on a new shape. Sections of flesh warped and moved about with individual lives of their own. Thin membranes began to branch outward and connect all of the arms to each other. Slowly they took on a new shape—the shape of a gigantic pair of pterodactyl wings! The head and body of the virus monster was also taking on a new shape. Meat and flesh squirmed and moved about quickly in order to build the new body for Gudis. By the time it was all said and done, the once demonic form of the ancient god was replaced with one that looked like a giant pterodactyloid from hell. The thin layer of skin that covered its face gave the gaunt bony visage of the monster, the look of death. The flying reptile had a long narrow beak that was laced with sharp conical teeth. Its round head had a thin sail-like crest running the length of its dome.

This was a creature that Gudis had defeated and assimilated centuries ago. It was distasteful to the virus that he had to change his form in order to gain an advantage in his current battle. His god-like original form had served him well since the dawn of his birth. It took him a while to evolve to his current profane tentacle form. But when he did, he found the perfect vessel in which to use to obtain his true purpose. He had been alive since the dawn of time, and therefore he had looked upon himself as perfection. All other life was flawed and weak. They lived and died as quickly as the blink of an eye. But the gargantuan bacillus didn’t, he was something greater. Lifeforms for him were like mere playthings for him to stomp out. If they wished to know sublimity, then they would be consumed and become a part of him. Their life would find purpose with them—in order to further his perfection.

But now, at the moment, Gudis needed speed if he was going to even up the odds a bit. The demon vowed to himself that when he arrived on the planet of his herald, Earth, that he would make a new body for himself. He would use all the power that he would gain from consuming the world. His new form would be perfect; it would be flawless. He would never have to resort to using the form of some other mortal creature that he had defeated eons ago ever again.

Gudis released a wave of howling cries that shattered the empty realm around the giant combatants. The struggling war was about to turn in his favor. With a flap from his gigantic leathery wings, the mutated virus took off towards the bipedal insect. Bogun and Barragas couldn’t follow the flying reptile’s speed as it shot past them. The sound barrier broke, and the resulting slipstream caused the two Nonmalt bioweapons to be thrown down. Barrangas cried out in pain. His ear drums felt like they were ripped apart. Bogun was in the same boat, except he had two heads that were in agony from the ear shattering shockwave.

The jade colored mantis had a much faster reaction time than her allies did. The mutant quickly shot forth into the sky and out of the way of the barreling Gudis bird. The massive bug’s thin membrane wings were an extension of the insect’s armored exoskeleton and she knew how to use them well. Majaba used the adaptable structures and put some distance in between herself and her attacker.

Gudis would not be denied though. The flying reptilian form of the virus clapped his wings together and changed his trajectory on a dime. Now the ghastly demon bird was shooting straight up, right behind his nimble prey. Majaba craned her head back and eyed the gaunt saurian as it was narrowing the gap. She tried a zig zag maneuver in the skies, but the monstrous bird kept up with her. Majaba was going to have to engage in hand to hand tactics with her aggressor. Thankfully, with four bladed arms, the titanic mantis was well equipped for such a task.

The beating of Majaba’s wings slowed, allowing Gudis to be drawn closer. Once the monster was in range, the bioweapon launched her attack. The empyrean mantid spun around and plunged the two largest of her knife-like arms into the muscled, spongy mass of the enemy. Gudis squawked out in pain and quickly bit down onto one of the bug’s arms with his massive toothy beak. His maw was powerful in this form and was able to break through the insect's armored hide. Gudis ripped the arm away and threw the bladed weapon away like a discarded toy. Majaba however was not ready to let the shapeshifting monster pull free from her iron maiden. The genetically created mantis pressed forward and jabbed the remaining two arms she had into her foe. The sharp razor blades cut through the layers of thick flesh with little effort. Each stab brought about a misting spray of green sappy blood, and a howler of martyrdom from the winged reptile. It pleased the Nonmalt creation to see her foe squirm.

Unbeknownst to the titanic bug though, her attacks were not going to have lasting effects. Even now, the earlier cuts and stabs from Majaba were beginning to heal. Every piece of Gudis was alive. Every cell had the genetic memory of what it was like before. Each virus-like cell had an error-correction mechanism for their genetic material. This however was not something that could be freely done at no cost. Gudis needed biological material or energy in order to fill his cellular strength. In his prime, such attacks from the flying insect would have healed almost instantly. But now, in his weakened state, it was taking time to repair the damage. He could see that several of the lacerations had yet to stop leaking the precious ichor from his body. His transformation into his pterodactyloid form was taxing his body. He couldn’t stay like this forever. He needed to ground his opponent now!

Gudis beat his wings and used them to bash the virescent mantis. The move disoriented the creature long enough for Gudis to next bring his clawed feet up to his chest and use them to push away from Majaba’s stabbing limbs. Now that he was free from that bed of chitin nails, he had a chance to end this. The insect hissed and immediately flew after the polymorphic creature. This time Gudis would let his prey come to him.

Majaba screeched aloud and speared forward with her three remaining bladed arms towards the flying reptile. Gudis however proved to be quicker this time. With a quick flap of his wings, the skeletal dinosaur moved upward and out of the way of the skewering attack. The bacteria monster gave another quick couple of flaps with his wings and was able to bring himself to be behind the living bioweapon. Quickly the cosmic terror lashed out with talon feet and grabbed a foothold onto Majaba’s back. The sharp claws were able to find purchase in-between the armored plates, where they met together. The monstrous insect tried to lash out at Gudis, but its body was not flexible enough to manage to hit him away.

A sadistic grin crossed the demon’s face as it lashed out with its tooth-lined maw upon the fluttering wings of the giant mantid. The delicate membrane was shredded almost instantly under his might. One by one the virus kaiju managed to tear and pull free the appendages. Majaba terrifyingly shrieked as her body dropped from the sky, like a stone, because of the maiming blows.

One down…

It took almost half a minute for the Nonmalt arthropod to fall nearly two miles. The ground erupted like a bomb as the seventy-five thousand ton frame of Majaba slammed into the ground at terminal velocity. Complete carnage was visible as the cloud of dirt and sand was whisked away in the wind. The legs and limbs of the gargantuan bug were broken. They were twisted into impossible angels. The armored carapace of her body was shattered in several places. Running brooks of spelt hemolymph fluid pooled about the ground. Each vital drop of the precious liquid was like a longing echo of the violence that the virus had plagued the universe with. There was no remorse in the burning fiery opals of Gudis’ eyes.

Barrangas wandered over to the crater that his alley lay within. He uttered a few shuffling grunts to try and arouse the creature that he had been paired up with. Majaba was only able to let a few dry hisses escape from her broken mandibles. They sounded like the creaking hinges on a coffin. It seemed fitting since the creature was so close to death at the moment. The purple, four-legged reptile gave a gentle nudge to one of the insect’s arms. The mantid tried to reach out and reciprocate the gesture, but the effort was beyond her strength. With one final ragged exhale of breath, the clawed arm of Majaba fell to the ground and the monster’s body grew still. The first of the Nonmalt bioweapons had been defeated.

Barrangas beget a moaning cry that covered the battlefield in a blanket of sorrow. The sound pulled at the heartstrings of the scientist Zerlar. He has almost forgotten that the creatures that he created were living beings. They were capable of more than just killing and destruction. Bogun was more voracious than the other two. He even attacked them. That is why he had to be kept separate. But it would seem that housing Majaba and Barrangas together had allowed the two monsters to create some sort of bond. The smallest of his bioweapons was lamenting the loss of more than just an alley…he was mourning the loss of a friend. His creations were far more complicated than he had ever realized.

Bogun was fully concentrated on the flying Gudis, even as Barragas continued to rue over the death of his friend. Bogun was different from the other two bioweapons. He had an insatiable hunger that felt like it could never be quelched. That is why he was kept separate from the other two; so he never felt the same attachment that Barrangas and Majaba shared with each other. Still though, he was no fool. Even though he did not feel a deeper connection with the other genetically created monsters, he still was more than intelligent enough to understand to look at them as alleys and not food. The shapeshifting bird monster that was above them was the greater threat. He would not be able to take it on himself. He needed Barrangas’ help.

Barrangas growled angrily, droplets of foam and utter loath were wadding in his maw. This god-forsaken devil would fall before his power now. Craning his head to the sky, the bony reptile let loose with a primal roar. He was going to bring abject terror to Gudis for taking his friend.

The sight of such misery from such a weaker being caressed Gudis’ black heart. The little monster looked to be in such agony. The twin headed creature looked to be more stoic. His abilities were still an enigma to Gudis. It didn’t matter though. The odds were now skewed in his favor. It was only a matter of time before he would kill them both. Then the ancient god would be nourished and absorb their corpses. Their flesh and energy would be fed upon greedily by his viral cells.

Gudis unleashed a visceral cry of promised death and proceeded to divebomb from out of the jetblack skies. Barrangas pawed at the earth like an angry bull in preparation for the attack. Gudis was within a few hundred meters away from slamming into the tiny bioweapon, when all of a sudden his attack was stopped dead in its tracks. Barrangas jerked back his head in surprise. What had happened?

Bogun had chosen to enter the fray and strike while Gudis’ attention was diverted. The heaviest of the Nonmalt creatures aligned the thoughts of his twin brains and unleashed a small orb of twinkling amethyst from the cranial horn, from his upper head, towards his foe. Fierce bolts of electricity played around the shimmering globe as it grew in size as it neared the virus monster. Gudis had no chance to dodge the unexpected attack from the brutish slug monster.

The energy orb, which had grown to gigantic proportions, enveloped the ancient winged reptile in mid flight. Gudis raged and beat his wings against the barrier walls of his sudden prison. The orb however did not give. Instead, the colorful sphere began to shrink in size. Gudis roared as the electrical energy, which was crackling around the surface of the rough-hewn trap, shocked and bit into his flesh.

Both of Bogun’s heads licked their lips in anticipation of food as they focused their thoughts into crushing their foe. They could feel each strike that the monster was making against the sphere’s walls. Each belting blow was muddling their focus. Never before had Bogun ever had to use so much concentration, when restricting a prey within his energy orb. This Gudis was not something to toy with; it was far more dangerous than the Guyros that had been sent against the Nonmalt weapon in the past. Bogun was fully intending to entomb the monstrosity that had come to his planet in a world of pain.

Gudis growled and fought against his prison. The powerful globe was attacking him from all sides at once. Its force was suffocating and unrelenting. He could feel his viral cells dying, little by little, because of the gravitational energies that had seized him. As seconds passed, Gudis could feel the power increasing. The unquenchable god that had been alive since the dawn of the universe, was now in the thrall of another one's power! No, it couldn’t be possible, the demonic creature fumed. No one's strength could surpass his own. Especially some genetic monstrosity that was created on some backwater world!

Suddenly, a deep and resounding wail bleached forth from the bird-like body of Gudis. It grew in sheer strength and noise. Bogun’s minds were racing with true icy fright. How could the creature still be alive and fighting? How could it endure the death that it was trying to bestow upon it?

The brawny mass of Gudis then began to dissolve. It was melting and decaying into a living, withering cloud of microbial cells. Slowly the jade-colored cloud began to fill up the entire inside of the crushing telekinetic orb of the Nonmalt weapon. The flickering shimmers of eerie deception were pressing against the energy laced walls. Bogun focused and tried to maintain his grip on the living god, but the viral spores were coalescing and swirling about with vibrant evil life. They were twisting like a pit of vipers in a piece of pottery. The wretched and stale smog’s strength grew with each passing second. Eventually Bogun was forced to relinquish his hold; his keen minds were careworn by the dominant haleness of the celestial being.

The prison of Bogun eventually gave way and shattered against the power of the vast and ageless demon. Fragments of dissipating energy were flung away as the cloudy cellular form of Gudis spread outward—finally freed from the vim that sought to contain his greatness. Bogun felt dizzy and strained to keep his upright balance. A debilitating wave of vertiginous at this moment could spell death for the monster. Gudis was not going to need much time to regain his form.

And indeed…Bogun was correct.

Hissing clouds, curling and breathing a life that was all their own, began to take shape. Swirling molts of coalescing gas were draping around the tawny flesh of the original form of Gudis. The demon had taken on his true form once again. The last vestiges of smoky, pulsing vapors soon disappeared; becoming the blood and meat of the giant virus god once again. Brimmed eyes from Gudis were flickering with spite and hatred. He was going to make sure that Bogun was going to suffer an extraordinary hellish existence when he became a part of the cellular monster.

Bogun would not go quietly into the night though. The twin-headed horror unleashed another massive energy orb from his cranial horn. The dark prokaryotic kaiju had no intentions of being caught again. Gudis’ flaxen colored eyes unloaded a mighty blast of blistering energy. The twin beams raced forward and hungrily met the telekinetic orb head on. The clash of powers only lasted a few seconds, but Gudis’ optical blasts proved to be the victor. The fiery energy smashed through the orb and continued on towards the Nonmalt beast. Bogun had no time to get out of the way.

The alien power ripped through Bogun’s body and tore a gigantic gaping wound, down to the bone, in the creature’s arching neck. Fire and blood were thrown into the sky. Twin gurgling screams soon followed. Bogun fell backwards and thrashed about violently. Cries of unbelievable pain were slowly being stripped from his ravaged lungs. Gudis would normally sit back and watch the show. Reveling in the anguish of a foe was something to be savored. It was an axiom that he had lived by since the dawn of time. But there was still another genetic beast that needed his attention.

Gudis unleashed a second blast of eye beams and played them across the moribund body of Bogun again. This time the upper head and neck were severed with the attack. Blood fountained and pooled around the maimed monster. Charred bone and torn flesh marked the stump that was Bogun’s second head. Ropes of spasming muscle started to act laggardly. The movements of the monster were growing sluggish upon the bloodied sands. Each motion was growing fainter and weaker as the monster was demanding to survive. Eventually the bioweapon was forced to bow before Gudis’ power. The light faded from the kaiju’s eyes; his flesh grew cold and still. The second of the bioweapons had been dealt with.

One more to go….




Chapter 7:
The Last Stand of Barrangas




As each of the genetic monsters died, so too did the light of hope in Magnevars’ heart. The afterglow of his smile had faded with their demise. The stories of Gudis’ power did not do the demon justice. No amount of words could capture the viciousness and strength of the monster. Its power was incalculable!

Zerlar and Zephyr felt much like how the king did. The scientist was dumbfounded at the failure of his creations. He had spent years and countless resources in giving them life. The hope of his entire race was on their shoulders. Now, two of them were corpses—nothing more than tattered flesh and spelt blood. Zerlar had failed not only his people…but probably the entire universe.

The royal advisor, Zephyr, was not concerned with the death of the weapons, or his people. He was only caring about his own life. Gudis and the human, which was standing before them and watching the monster’s bloodshed with a lackadaisical manner, were going to kill them all. The cantankerous Zephyr had no true loyalties. He was not about to lay down his life for his king or his people. The shrew-like Nonmalt had to escape. The only way though would be for him to kill the human and then flee to one of the nearby personal transport ships. The scientist and his king could stay behind and deal with the wrath of the Gudis.

Like a creeping shadow, Zephyr slowly backed up towards the king’s throne, while the human and other two Nonmalts were completely preoccupied with the monster war that was taking place. Magnevars had a blaster gun that was kept inside a compartment on his throne chair. It had to be installed when the king was forced to face down an insurrection from a young upstart Nonmalt warrior that thought that they knew how to run the kingdom better. Magnevars was able to hold the warrior off long enough for his guards to break back into the imperial chambers. Magnevars vowed to not be caught off guard like that again.

Gudis turned his massive girth around and faced the last of the Nonmalt weapons—eye to eye. Barrangas met the demon’s fiery gaze with a burning one himself. The glistening eyes from both space monsters were devoid of all pity and kindness. The delicate orbs were only thriving on the chaos that had been ensuing since the battle had begun.The monsters had fought and spelt several generations worth of sin and blood. Complete annihilation was a very real outcome at the moment.

Barrangas was the most loyal of the genetic monsters though. His fealty, which his genetic programming dictated, was without question. The purple winged reptile was going to fight to the bitter end; no matter the cost.

Steaming lavender smoke started to pour from the wing vents of the heavy headed monster. More of the gas began to seep out from the mitten like feet and cranial horns as well. Soon the monster was completely enveloped in a swirling cloud. The kaiju was pooling together as much of his power together that he could muster. Barrangas had an advantage in speed. His teleporting ability, thanks in part to his toxic smog, would provide him with the ability to perform a host of hit-and-run tactics. It was his only hope for victory.

Gudis was familiar with the bullish monster’s ability to transpose itself from one spot to another. It had proved to be an annoyance earlier in their fight. He didn’t understand exactly how the creature’s ability worked, but it really didn’t matter. Gudis would find out the technique’s weakness before long. The bacteria god sent out a couple of eye beams towards his cloaked target. The ethereal beams shot through the smoke, missing their intended target. The lasers eventually hit the raised ground and exploded on impact. Fire and smoke sent seared dirt and sand high into the sky. Gudis clenched his finger like teeth in frustration. Slippery little beast this one was.

Indeed Barrangas was gone. The puff of reddish smoke hung in the air in which he had previously been only moments before. The quadruped kaiju was intending on closing the distance. A cloud of the same colored crimson gas began to rise from the ground behind Gudis. Within seconds Barrangas had emerged from the ghostly vapors. The monster sent out a wave of the thick and choking gas towards the ancient viral demon. Gudis recoiled from the blast of poison. The flesh of the space monster began to shimmer with a faint green glow. The toxic fumes were assaulting the corporeal essence of the beast; attacking the very cells that made up his body. He could feel pieces of himself slowly begin to give up the ghost and die off from Barrangas smog.

Gudis raged into the sky, refusing to give into the invasive poison. He turned around and lashed out his eye beams. But like last time, the optical attack passed through the magenta haze and missed their intended target again.

Barrangas had teleported away again. This time he reappeared near a rocky outcropping. The four-legged kaiju was low to the ground. His reptilian eyes were fixed like a sniper’s gaze on his adversary. He had no intention of engaging in a physical brawl again. Brute force was not the answer. At least not yet. Gudis had proved already that it had superior strength. The Nonmalt weapon hoped that his toxins would be able to weaken it enough so that he could take it on in a tooth and claw battle. Barrangas wanted revenge for his fallen allies and for the dead Nonmalt that were buried under the rubble in the broken kingdom that was behind him.

A disoriented Gudis lashed out blindly. His arms smashed into the ground around him, kicking up dirt and sand in an explosive show of fury. The toxins were dulling him. But from out of the corner of his amber eyes he saw the target of his vexation. The pink reptile was blurry, but it was there. Burning might shot out again from Gudis’ burning gaze. For a third time however, the kaiju vanished into the puff of red smoke. The eye beams seared the ground of which it had only been a few seconds ago.

Barrangas appeared behind Gudis, and then again just off to his left. Each reappearance of the rose-tinted reptile was accompanied by an overwhelming burst of noxious red gas. Barrangs intended on keeping up this frustrating dance against the infectious demon. The key to his victory laid in his ability to not be pinned down and remain as elusive as possible.

The viral titan was caught up in an endless nightmare. Every time he tried to blast his opponent, the monster would just slip away. Each failure to hit the four-legged beast only brought on more and more of the debilitating toxins. He could feel his cells struggling against the persistent poisoning. His movements were becoming slower and more sluggish. This war of attrition though had to be working on both of the monsters though. Teleporting around and expelling so much of the chemical weapon had to be taxing to the squat fighter as well. If the Nonmalt creature thought that Gudis’ strength would erode before its own, then he was going to be in for a big surprise.

The bacterial entity took a breath and calmed his heart, before the flames of hatred and sin took hold of him. If he was going to win this battle then he had to be smart about it. Poison seeped further and further into Gudis’ core, but the demon did not care. His body would heal from the chemical. Just as long as he ended the battle now and didn’t get blasted anymore with the wretched smog.

Gudis’ form was ever-changing. The space monster existed in a state beyond the limitations of physicality. It was not bound by the laws of normal life in the universe. Gudis was an anachronistic creature that had powers and senses beyond the understanding of any life in the universe. Gudis was a bacterial entity that seeked out life to consume and dominate. As such, his cells had learned to be able to detect even the most minute of lifeforms that were around him. This Barrangas may be a genetic creation, but it was still alive. Therefore, Gudis could feel the energy in those membrane-bound cell organelles. Gudis just had to focus his thoughts on detecting that energy when the monster was reappearing from its teleporting ability. Each time the monster reappeared, it was a hair slower than before. The creature was tiring. Gudis intended to capitalize on that.

Barrangas’s frustrations were also mounting. He couldn’t believe that his foe was still standing, even after all the toxins that he had attacked it with. He didn’t have very many stifling attacks left in him now. The constant teleporting and production of his toxins was taxing. He felt like he really only had one more blast left in him with his red gas. He was going to have to make it count. Barrangas let a guttural roar rumble through his throat before he disappeared into the swirling shroud of fog.

Gudis was ready this time. He could feel the life energy of the bullish monster as its teleportation made a discordant vibration in the air. Muscles activated and tensed as the viral kaiju turned about and unleashed a violent set of eye beams into an open stretch of land that was just starting to have wisps of smoke rise up from the sand.

Got him!

Barrangas had no time to react to the destructive energy attack. The lasers smashed into the animal's bony skull, causing the creature to fill a wave of dizziness. The thick armored dome managed to hold up to the tentacle giant’s most powerful weapon handily. Barrangas’ mind was trying to catch up on what had just happened. Gudis would not relent though and sent another burning blast into his momentarily stunned opponent. These beams were aimed towards the monster's legs.

Barrangas screamed out in agony, his howling breath embraced the world around him. He turned his head and saw the weeping torn flesh that was his thigh. Both dread and frothing hate took hold of the monster’s heart. He had made a critical error with his battle plan. He underestimated how long Gudis would be able to stand up to his poison. Somehow his slowed movements had been predictable enough for the star beast to attack him while he was rematerializing. Now he was going to pay for that mistake.

The hulking bull-like monster rose to his feet, which sent a wave of pain through his hind leg muscles. The last remnants of his faint red haze were disappearing around him. His ultimate attack was now gone. All that he had left was his rock hard skull and fangs.

So be it…

Barrangas began his next attack, which he knew would be his final. His feet pounded into the ground and kicked up plums of dirt and sand. The kaiju was charging like a rhino. He needed to hit the tentacled abomination with everything he had and knock it over. Then he was going to have to rend every piece of flesh away from the creature that he could. He had to inflict enough mortal damage to the demon so that it couldn't regenerate itself.

Gudis grinned to himself as he watched the tiny monster charge towards him. There was a limp in his stride. The beast was heavily weakened. He wouldn’t be able to move on his feet fast enough to be able to dodge another eyeblast from him. Barrangas was going to have to take it head on. What a foolish act to go through with.

The air was scorched as Gudis let loose with his destructive eye beams yet again. The mirthful firepower struck the rampaging bioweapon square in its bony exoskeleton skull. Barrangas bite down and strived to push through the burning attack. His nostrils were filled with an unpleasant smell. It was foul and acrid. He could taste blood on his tongue and his teeth were feeling like they were shaking loose. But still, the brave four-legged beast persevered and continued on with his charge.

Gudis was taken aback by the resilience of the creature. Only a hundred meters now separated the two kaijus. Barrangas was still storming forward and Gudis was still unleashing his vitriol in the form of his eye beams. When the bull-like monster was only forty meters away, Gudis was forced to react. He lashed out with his two massive whip-like arms, as the light of his eyebeams faded from his eyes. The tentacles reached the stomping monster and ensnarled his head and right front leg. Then, using the Nonmalt weapon’s attack against him, Gudis turned to the side and pulled his arms across his body, with his prey in tow. The momentum of Barrangas’ attack helped to carry the monster’s full mass. The pathogen deity let a satisfactory growl bletch from his clawed orifice as he swung his arms downward and smashed the armored reptile, headfirst, in the sifting sands beneath his feet.

The ground exploded like a bomb had gone off. For a moment, Stanley and the rest of his Nonmalt onlookers lost sight of the two intertwined monsters. The human could feel Gudis’ thoughts though. The hatred and rage that had been blazing in the monster’s mind a while ago was now replaced with satisfaction and vivacity. The interstellar fiend had won his great war.

A great gust of wind suddenly kicked up and removed the blanketing haze from the two monsters. Gudis was standing tall. His flesh, although damaged, was slowly beginning to heal. His eyes were lit with triumph. Below him was the broken body of Barrangas. The final assault had been brutal.

Using Gudis’ strength, in conjunction with his barreling attack, left the fanged monster with a broken neck. The reptile could not feel anything but his own face. His limbs would not obey his commands. All he could do was lay still and let the rasping breath from his damaged ribs spill from his blood covered fangs. A grey cloud of haze was starting to creep into his mind, followed by an icy cold touch. Death was coming for the last weapon of the Nonmalt. Barrangas felt his eyelids getting heavy. They felt like stone. All he wanted to do was rest at the moment. He had earned that hadn't he?

It felt like an algific knifeblade was stabbing the king in his heart, as he watched the final shuddering movements from Barrangas. The final hope of his race was going to die. It was defeated by a power that was as old as time itself. He could hear the whimpering cries of his people from below. They had stopped and watched the savage battle of their titans, as they faced off against a death dealer from the stars. They knew that their fate would be the same as those of their protectors.

Suddenly Stanley felt a white hot burning sensation in his chest. The searing pain had started from his back and went straight to his heart. His eyes were wide as he watched a burning shot of plasma rip from his chest. He cupped his hands over the bloodied wound and turned to face his cowardly attacker. There, some twenty feet away, standing next to the king’s throne, was the vermin-like Nonmalt Zephyr. Smoke was trickling from the hot barrel of the blaster gun. His eyes were wide with fright, almost like he couldn’t believe what he just did. Stanley tried to take a step towards the recreant, but his strength had all but left his body. The human collapsed to his knees, still holding his chest.

Zephyr, although gripped with fear, fired his weapon at his king as well. The blast hit the Nonmalt royal in the right knee—almost completely cutting the limb off. The knee bone was shattered, which therefore caused the sovereign to fall like the human had just done a few moments ago.

“What is the meaning of this Zephyr!” the powerful alien ruler roared aloud with clenched teeth.

“I am not dying like the rest of you,” the treacherous alien yelled back to his demanding king. “I intend to survive this and I can’t have anyone following me to the escape shuttle.” The craven fish-like creature next turned his blaster in the direction of where the scientist was. Zerlar was petrified with fear. He couldn’t move.

Zephyr was about to pull the trigger when the air was then suddenly shattered with a series of wrathful cries. The sky was split open from the powerful howls. It sounded like the dead trying to rouse from their graves. The timorous advisor turned his head and saw Gudis making its way towards their tower. Its brow was furrowed and its eyes were burning like great coals. There was purpose in its approach. The demon was angered that the royal consultant had nearly killed its human partner. Zephyr wasted no time and immediately bolted for the doors that led out of the chambers. He needed to get to the escape shuttle as soon as possible, before the space monster could find him!

Gudis stopped just short of the damaged royal tower. He peered downward and could see the nearly lifeless body of the human that he had taken as his heralder. The one that had injured him had already fled, but his two cohorts were still within Gudis’ grasp. One would think that a look of concern would be in the eyes of the celestial giant, but you would be wrong. It was a look of piqued scorn. An attack on his human vessel was an assault on Gudis’ godhood. The human could not be corrupted and consumed by his cells. He was an anomaly. He was also the key to conquering the planet Earth—his new feeding ground. Gudis needed this human. But if Gudis could not combine his cells with his herald, then he would not be able to protect him. He would be mortal and weak, susceptible to death.

Carefully, and with grace, one of the many tentacles that lined the chest and stomach of Gudis scooped up the dying human. Stangley was slipping in and out of consciousness. He could feel his body floating in the air, but he didn’t really care about it. All he could think of was his beautiful wife. Would she be waiting on the other side of the door that death was leading him to. Stanley was hopeful for it. Gudis took his prize and started to wade back towards the dying form of Barrangas. There was little time to lose.

Zerlar, broken free from his petrifying fear, ran over to his falling king. He knelt down and tried to pick the man up. Magnevars vehemently shoved his head scientist away. “No,” he growled.

“What do you mean no? We have a chance to escape,” Zerlar pleaded. “We can get to one of the other escape shuttles and try to make it to Earth too.”

The king lowered his head and let out a sigh of defeat. It was the first time that the head scientist had ever seen his commander in chief so broken. “I am not going to make it to a shuttle,” he said as he tried to hold back the excessive blood that was spilling from his leg wound. “No one is getting off this planet. That damn thing out there will see to that. And I am not going to leave my people. I will die with them.”

Hearing his king’s defeatist attitude was eye opening to the academic. The end for their people was truly about to happen, and his king was willing to perish with them. He wasn’t a coward like Zephyr. The king had a loyalty and it laid with his subjects and soldiers that were either dead or dying around him. The scientist lowered his head in solemn sadness. Everything they had worked towards had failed. This was all his fault. The bioweapons were his creation. His people were going to die because of his failure.

Zerlar was snapped out of his self pity when the king grabbed him by the collar of his black suit. “You have to survive Zerlar. Only you can avenge our people.”

The scientist looked at his king with utter confusion. He couldn’t remember the last time that his king had ever addressed by his name. There was a pleading compassion in the man’s voice. “I failed our people. I failed everyone my lord.” Zerlar’s voice was rough and reedy. He was almost on the verge of crying.

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine.” Magnevars was straightforward and open with his reply.

The words struck a chord in the scientist. He had never once ever seen his king apologize for anything. It would be a sign of weakness for a royal to admit fault. Truly these were dark days indeed. Magnevars was in the final stage of grief—acceptance.

“I should have returned our people to Earth a long time ago. Perhaps I could have brokered a peace with the earthlings. But I was so consumed with hatred from the past. I wanted them to see their world stolen from them, like how they had done to us all those thousands of years ago.” The king lowered his head. “If I was a better ruler, we wouldn’t even be here on this desolate world.”

Magnevars rose to his feet and limped over to the ledge of his smashed balcony. He could see Gudis still moving towards the dying Barrangas. He didn’t know what the space monster had in mind, but he knew it wasn’t any good. It would only be a matter of time before the demon returned and consumed him and his people. “You have to go,” he quietly spoke. His voice was like a broken instrument. The ruler was holding back his own tears now.

“Go where? You just said that we are all going to die. No one is going to leave this planet.”

“Your research facility is far enough underground. That should be far enough to be free from Gudis’ destructive power. There is enough supplies down there to keep you alive for a good long while if you ration it.” The royal Nonmalt turned and faced his former lead scientist. Even though he tried to hold them back, he couldn’t any longer. There were tears in his black beady eyes now. Zerlar had never seen the man show any bit of compassion or sadness—let alone tears. “As the final order from your king, I am ordering you to survive this and to make a weapon that will kill Gudis. Do you understand me?”

Zerlar was about to argue that the man could survive with him in the shelter-like bunker of his research facility, but the sound of roaring jets broke his concentration. From the Nonmalt’s vantage point in the tower, the men could see a white oblong shape rocketing from the ground. It was an escape shuttle; most likely one that was manned by the treasonous Zephyr. The two surviving Nonmalt’s were not the only ones to notice the spaceship trying to escape though. Gudis craned its head to his side and spied the fleeing vessel. The ghouls' eyes sparked to life and a pair of glittering eye rays were let loose. The beams reached out and touched Zephyr’s ship with the power of a burning star. The vehicle was instantly vaporized. Only shrapnel and smoke marked its passing.

Zerlar turned back to his king. The man had the look of utter defeat on his face. There was no hope in those eyes. The man was not asking the scientist to live and to see that Gudis die as a king. He was asking Zerlar as a fellow Nonmalt. At that moment there was no hierarchy of royalty between the two. This was not a king and his subject. They were just two men that were trying to make it through a dark day. There were no words for the geneticist to say that would give comfort to his king. Instead, he gave an affirmative nod with his head and then ran out of the royal chambers. He ran down the halls, cutting back and forth between the aisles like a man possessed. He didn't have much time to get to the safety of his lab. He knew that Gudis was about to pull off his final act on the planet of the Nonmalt.




Chapter 8:
Futures and Vows




Gudis approached the limp body of the fallen Barrangas. The monster was dying, much like his human courier was; who would lead him to Earth. If it was anyone else, Gudis would simply use his cells to bond and infect them. Then he would use his ability to just heal them. But this human was different. His cells, his very core, fought against his corruption. Stanley was immune to him. Gudis found that to be interesting. He had never found a lifeform, outside of the warriors from the Land of Light, and the three-headed dragon, that could stand against his infectious abilities. No matter though. Gudis had another way to aid his human companion.

Barrangas slowly lifted his head lazily. His life was fleeing from his body. He didn’t know how much longer that he would be able to hold on for. He saw that his gigantic foe had returned to him. Most likely it was wanting to finish the job. Little did the dying kaiju know that Gudis had a far more sinister plan in mind.

The tentacle that held the broken body of Stanley Haggard gently placed the man on top of the right shoulder of the paralyzed beast. The astronauts' eyelids were as heavy as lead, they were fighting his every desperate attempt to lift them. With a monumental effort, which sent sharp waves of pain through his tattered chest, Stanley forced them open. The world around him was blurry. It was a muted tableau of soft grays and whites. A voice then called to him. It was raspy and deep. The sound was born inside of his head. He knew the originator of the voice. Gudis.

“Today is not your day to die my herald,” the monster whispered to the moribund human. The few remaining cells that he had within Stanley were allowing the beast to maintain a connection with him. That is how Gudis knew instantly of what had happened when the cowardly Nonmalt had shot his human prophet in the back.

“Your human body is frail and weak. If you are to be my voice and carry my will to your world, then you will need new life—new power to do that. The creature that I have vanquished here on this planet will give that to you. Within him you will find new vitality. His strength will keep you safe in your pious task that you will bring about in your homeworld. For this gift, I only ask for a votive gift of your loyalty little human.”

Stanley nodded his head, ever so slightly, in order to acknowledge the gift that Gudis was going to give him.

Gudis expelled a foul cloud of living emerald from his gaping maw. The twinkling cells danced about with a life of their own, like vipers that were bobbing their heads and waiting to strike. The space monster forced his breath upon the bodies of Barrangas and Stanley. Both of the living beings were clinging to life. Death would not greet either of them though, not if Gudis had anything to say about it. Although, his thaumaturgy was not painless. Stanley and Barrangas would soon know of that.

The voices of the human and Nonmalt weapon were crying and screaming to the heavens. They were like moaning shrieks that wanted to embrace the small planet. Barrangas and Stanley were like the dead that were being roused from their graves. The world of the departed had their icy claws firmly set within the flesh of the two beings, and it was not going to give them up without a fight. Gudis was stronger than death though—he had outmaneuvered it at every turn. Death to an immortal god like him was like a mere bauble to a child.

Gudis continued to let his repulsive essence spill onto the human and kaiju. Both of their flesh was being broken down. Meat was receding from bones. Skin was almost all but gone. The Gudis cells were breaking them down to their most primitive structure with the power of dread and frothering hatred, which was over thirteen billion years old. Stanley tried to escape his world of torment by keeping his thoughts focused on his wife. “Melinda.“ He just kept whispering her name, over and over, in a low song that was filled with despair and longingness. He could hear the purple reptile howling. His cries felt more like bitterness and abhor. He wondered what was going through the creature’s mind.

It seemed like an entire age of atrocities happened, all in the span of a single minute; for that is how long it took the Gudis cells to completely break down the barely living bodies of Barrangas and Stanley. What remained of the two now was lost in a pink cloud of swirling dark hell. The quintessence of the lifeforms were entangled and bonding. With Gudis’ help, they would soon be healed and become one. The astronaut would return to his side and then lead him to his new feeding ground. Gudis raised his head and screamed into the heavens. The monster’s strength has been stripped away because of the battle. Now it was time to enjoy his spoils from the war that he had won.

Once more the demon god bellowed his hunger to the dying world. The Nonmalt, who had lived through the kaiju’s assault against their city walls, fell to the ground while they were clutching their ears. The overwhelming scale from the monster’s primal force was unlike anything they had ever heard. It was like a living needle of malice that was being driven into the darkest recesses of their minds. It literally was scraping their bones. The call had only been a prelude though. Complete and utter extinction of the Nonmalt was up next.

Great streams of living emerald cells began to pour from the mouth and eyes of the gigantic slimy beast. They moved and floated about like a living storm of loath. Then they descended. The smaragd mist leapt upon the dead bodies of Bogun and Majaba, and quickly set about to infect and consume the fallen warriors. The brawny mass of the dead creatures quickly melted away and withered into jade ash. The cells that fed on the monsters more than doubled in their numbers. Drool trickled from the twitching finger-like mandabiles of Gudis. The anticipation of such new organic meat would be savored. The cells quickly rushed to fulfill the core of their creator. The cloud flew back on the chilly winds and began to soak into the tawny flesh of the ancient being. Gudis’ eyes opened wide in ecstasy. Even though the two creatures were artificially created, they both contained an overwhelming amount of visceral power.

Tiny cries could be faintly heard by the giant then. He craned his head over and saw that more of his evil essence was busy worming its way through the battered ruins of the Nonmalt city. The smog was homing in and pouncing on any lifeform they could find. Thousands of cries were all sounding at once. It all seemed to merge together into a dark pool of pain and agony. Children and adults alike were left to flail around like scarecrows in the wind. Oozing oblivion imposed its carnage on the helpless broken people. It brutally seeped into their ravaged flesh and sullied it with blistering ire. They tried to emote their agony, but by this time most of their muscle and flesh had been infected and devoured; thereby leaving their discordant cries to be swept away. The Nonmalt people were lost in hazes of gruesome macabre.

Even the great king, Magnevars, joined in his people’s tortuous fate as the cells infected and devoured him as well.

The only eyes to see this theater of death now were Gudis and Zerlar; who had safely made it to his underground laboratory. Dozens of monitors were showing the lead scientist the horror that was transpiring. Every death he witnessed seemed to be chipping away a piece of his soul. He wondered if he would have anything left before all was said and done. The Nonmalt collapsed into a heap of tears. His chest ached and his eyes burned. His tears were not for the death of his people, but rather for what would come after. The human had said that the Nonmalt would never know peace ever again. Death for them would linger for all eternity.

Suddenly the cries stopped. Zerlar’s eyes darted back and forth between the host of monitors that were arranged against the wall. They all showed the same thing though. There was no Nonmalt citizen left to be seen. All he could see was clouds of the jade miasma. They had replaced the dead. The nebulous material was simmering with eerie deception. The life of his people was now gone. They were lost in that damn contemptible haze from Gudis. The monster would corrupt every cell, every ounce of blood, and each thought from his people, and plunge them into an eternity of darkness.

The wretched and stale patches of smog hovered momentarily before they returned back to their god. Gudis greedily opened his arms and allowed the cells to join with his body. There was not as much nourishment from the tiny Nonmalt civilians, as there was from their two guardian monsters. Still though, Gudis was going to need to scrap together as much power as he could before he would descend to the Earth. Looking through the memories of Stanley’s wife and Professor John Silverton had given the ancient demon pause. There were virulent monsters that dwelled on that planet. One above all seemed to stick out of the human astronaut’s collective thoughts. It was some gigantic titan that the humans had called…Godzilla.

Gudis was still confident in his ability to overcome the nuclear leviathan though. He just needed to make sure not to go barging in headfirst. One does not live for thirteen billion years and does not learn that lesson. In the end though, the meager existence of all life belonged to him. Purpose and perfection could only be found within him. All life in the universe would soon learn that truth.

Satisfied that he had syphoned every bit of life that he could from the planet, Gudis deemed that it was time to leave. Shouting his thunderous perdition amongst the pitiless dead world, Gudis’ body began to break down into the living cloud of green sparkling cells for a final time. The smog moved about and wrapped its guise around the still hovering purple cloud that contained the combined souls of Stanley Haggard and Barrangas. The mutant virus would have to guide them through space while they were recuperating their strength. Quickly, the intermingling clouds of sage and violet, launched themselves into the black voids of deep space.

Through tear soaked eyes, Zerlar could see the glistening trail of living death the monsters left. It was almost a full ten minutes before the last of the Gudis cells had traveled far enough away, so as to be lost in the inky depths of outer space. The hoary bacteria had left behind an empty city, as well as an empty soul. Zerlar clenched his hands to the point that blood began to trickle from between the webbed fingers. Hatred was now breeding and nurturing his heart. It would be the driving force for his actions to come for the rest of his life.

“Death will find you, demon. I promise that. The Nonmalt will be avenged!”




Epilogue:
Hope




The silence of space had become peaceful once again as Gudis and his herald left the planetoid that was once home to the displaced Nonmalt race. The quietude was absolute and suffocating. Only the dying hum of the Moonlight SY-3 escape pod’s life support system was punctuating the stark stillness. Astronaut Jamra Miller was floating helplessly in the shuttle. He weakly looked over to the damaged console as the red emergency light continued to flicker its warning to him. It seemed like a cruel and mocking countdown to his eventual death. The oxygen levels in the ship were dropping—and there was nothing that he could do about it.

Jamra’s mind drifted back to the events that had led him to his predicament, only a day ago. Although it seemed like a lifetime to him at the moment. The mysterious alien green cloud had infested the SY-3 shuttle. It shouldn’t have been able to, but it did, and the results were both deadly and catastrophic. The captain, Professor John Silverton, was the first to fall before the unknown thing. His sister and her husband—Melinda and Stanley Haggard—were the next to go.

Jamra had managed to flee into the damaged escape pod before the thing had time to get to him. But as the door closed, the young man could hear the ear-wrenching cries of his sister as she was gasping for life. He had to put her death throes out of his head in order to focus on escaping. He immediately set about to release the coupling fittings. Unfortunately they were not all able to detach his ship from the SY-3 before it ruptured and exploded. His escape pod was thrown outward, cast away like a baseball that was screaming for the stands. Jamra briefly remembered the smoke and fire and turbulent feel of the ship, before he was knocked unconscious.

He awoke hours later. His head was cut, but the blood had thankfully coagulated and stopped the bleeding. Although, in retrospect, he sort of wished that he had bleed out while he was knocked out. His death would have been far less painful then.

The man’s years of survival training through the astronaut program kicked in, and he set about to take inventory of his supplies and his current surroundings. There was power still in the ship, but the navigation control panel was smashed. The food and water supply didn’t seem to have been affected by the violent ejection the ship had. Unfortunately a more precious item was starting to grow in short supply for the cosmonaut.

Oxygen.

The electrolysis system was damaged beyond repair. A small, but brief, fire had melted nearly all the important wiring to the machine. Without it, the system would not work and thereby not create any new oxygen for the astronaut. Jamra had nearly exhausted all of the precious element by now. The last few hours had been utterly brutal for him. Each minute that passed felt like an eternity to the man. His lungs felt heavy. His breath was deep and laggard. Grey fog was beginning to grow around his vision. Death was coming for him.

Jamra willed his body over to a porthole so that he could at least have one final chance to see the expansive universe that had so fascinated him when he was a child. The astronaut could see distant stars through the viewport. Each one of the pinpricks of light stood there unmoving and uncaring. They offered the dying man no solace with his pain or the loss that he had suffered in their memorizing world. Jamra closed his eyes and accepted his inevitable fate.

Suddenly a light appeared from out of the black void. It was tiny, but it grew in size quickly. It wasn’t a star. It was something else…

The golden luminescence of the light grew at the edge of the man’s vision. It swelled in volume and began to blot out the inky blackness of space. Jamra was lost in the radiating light. The immense effulgence felt ancient and powerful. The luster was pushing back the very void that encapsulated his ship. Jamra had to shut his eyes and look away. The light was too vast, too brilliant to be anything that was natural.

But as quickly as it appeared, the shimmering light faded. In its stead was an immense giant that easily dwarfed anything that Jamra could comprehend at that moment. The figure had the form of a man. It wore a suit of silver and purple, which had stripes of accenting gold along the arms and legs. Several red orbs dotted the creature’s muscled frame. Elaborate golden shoulder pads, together with a draping red and silver cape, gave the giant an almost venerable look. His hands and feet were covered with silver boots and gloves.

The most impressive, and yet haunting feature, was the giant’s face. The creature’s head looked like a silvery mask. It had the features of a man—but it was in the style of what a medieval mask might look like. The giant’s eyes were like red sapphires. There was life within them; something that was cosmic and secret. It also wore an elaborate crown-like structure on the top of its head. On the sides of its face, was what looked like a chiseled beard that was made out of some unknown type of metal. The entire look gave Jamra the feeling that he was looking as something that had immense authority and power. It was a regal thing that was looking down on him.

The titan’s silent visage filled the entire viewport of the astronaut's vessel. Jamra felt like a speck to the being. Whatever this thing was, it had emerged from the deep and abyssal darkness of space. This celestial goliath looked as if it had been birthed from the stars themselves. As Jamra gazed upon the creature, he felt at peace. Calmness and serenity had embraced his heart. He couldn’t explain why he felt like that. After all, the man was on the brink of death. His air was dwindling. But for a fleeting moment, the creature that was outside of his ship felt like a living constellation of hope to him. The North Star led men to salvation on Earth. Would this creature do the same?

Jamra had no strength left in his body. The man could only stare with a vacant look. The purple and silver giant extended its hand outward and physically took hold of the ship. The titan was gentle, Jamra could barely feel the ship shudder. Suddenly, the dying man felt a surge of warmth crawl through his body. The sensation felt like he was being reborn.

The giant held the shuttle steady. His unblinking gaze conveyed an ancient wisdom and profound benevolence that was matched by no other. Golden molts of cosmic energy continued to flow from the creature’s hand and into the shuttle that he held. Jamra felt at one with the gigantic being. There were no words or sounds that passed between them, but he felt at home within the astral giant’s gentle grip.

Suddenly an empyrean voice softly spoke to Jamra Miller. The voice was in his mind; it was clear and reassuring.

“Death comes for everyone but not for you today.”

Jamra could now breathe freely. The man closed his eyes and let his body drift away on a cloud of dreams and hope. The words from the humanoid creature had a sense of cosmic vigilance to them. They were reassuring to the astronaut. Even in the vastness of empty space, there will always be good there to save and prevail in the face of evil. Jamra took the titan’s promise to heart before he finally fell asleep. The human had faced death and in the end had found salvation. Although it was improbable, Jamra had found it in a shining, magnificent form. It defied all logic to him.

The silent protector from beyond the stars pulled his hand, which held the human’s escape vessel, close to his chest. He continued to feed his cosmic life restoring abilities into the ship. The omnipotence of Ultraman King was so great, that it often defied the impossible.

The jewel on the crest of his crown briefly gave a flash of red light, before it faded away. The omniscience of his King’s Top allowed the Ultra to have a brief foresight to the universe’s events. These events were never clear and were always fluctuating. The universe was like a storm, it could never be predicted completely. Sometimes you had to just use your best judgement, that you could muster, with the information you had on hand. And right now, this human was going to be very important when it came to the inevitable battle that the Gudis would wage for the Earth.

Ultraman King slowly flew down to the small planetoid that the alien virus has just got done with ravaging. He felt a single lifeforce still dwelling within that planet. His sagacity told him that this intelligent being would be needed as well. The defeat of Gudis depended on it. The enduring power of good would prevail. Universal justice would prove to be greater than the depravity and wickedness of Gudis if Ultraman King had anything to say about it.




WINNER:

Spoiler:

Gudis

[Voyager]

Phenomenal stuff, Earhbaragon

Spoiler:

Man, what a grim match, in the best way possible! First of all, this was very well written, as to be expected from you. This might be my favourite match of yours now

Magnevar, Zerlar, and Stanley all had me engaged, the monster trio all had good action, and man, Gudis is something else entirely. An eldritch god as old as the universe, he was truly menacing to the core. He invokes such an ominous dread, I love it! And though he is victorious, I know that he's got something else coming his way if Ultraman King is getting involved! And seeing Stanley succumb to Gudis was pretty sad, I'd hoped he'd be able to resist. Alas, it seems Gudis the great god of infection was just too powerful.

Great match dude, and it looks like the KWCE might be in for a new surge of life!

[EarthbaragonOG]

Phenomenal stuff, Earthbaragon

Spoiler:

Man, what a grim match, in the best way possible! First of all, this was very well written, as to be expected from you. This might be my favourite match of yours now

Magnevar, Zerlar, and Stanley all had me engaged, the monster trio all had good action, and man, Gudis is something else entirely. An eldritch god as old as the universe, he was truly menacing to the core. He invokes such an ominous dread, I love it! And though he is victorious, I know that he's got something else coming his way if Ultraman King is getting involved! And seeing Stanley succumb to Gudis was pretty sad, I'd hoped he'd be able to resist. Alas, it seems Gudis the great god of infection was just too powerful.

Spoiler:

I certainly want to use Ultraman King as a more "guiding" force for a future story. He doesn't really step in to use his power to solve a problem. (At least the modern take of him.....the Showa version did a couple of times.). I want him to help guide the universe towards justice and enduring good. He sees the inherent worth and potential within individuals to rise against darkness. So he is going to guide Jamra, who will become Jamila...so that he is not lost in the blood-lust of his quest of revenge. He will help Jamila become something greater.

[Gigantis]

I'm a bit late to this, but this was pretty good! It's been a while since I've seen any of these guys get mentioned but they were al portrayed really well. Gudis in particular was one helluva menacing force!

[EarthbaragonOG]

I'm a bit late to this, but this was pretty good! It's been a while since I've seen any of these guys get mentioned but they were al portrayed really well. Gudis in particular was one helluva menacing force!

Gudis truly gets overlooked. I am glad there was a few comics in the US that showed off what sort of force that the space bacteria monster can be. Even though Bogun is my fav monster from the series, I have a soft spot for Barrangas. Especially when I got to thinking about a story that I could craft around him and his human host of Stanley Haggard. I want the next stories to show Gudis molding his herald (Stanley/Barrangas), and make him a heartless and bloodthirsty killer.......and Ultraman King showing Jamra Miller (a future soon to be mutated Jamila), that there is a road that is beyond revenge, which is not soaked in blood. I want Stanley and his brother-in law to have different roads in their future kaiju lives.