EPISODE 18: FURY OF THE GREAT CALAMITY! EARTH'S DESPERATE DEFENSE!

 

               Pegasus stood with his eyes locked firmly on Red Moon. From his vantage point he could see the monster in all its glory. Though he was marveling at the kaiju’s strength, there was also a look of distrust in his eyes.

               “Priest?” One of his men asked.

               “I can’t believe her majesty did it…” Pegasus said.

               “Red Moon fights for us though, right?” The other man asked.

               “For now…” Pegasus replied.

               Red Moon stood in the center of the circle of burning ruins looking up at its opponents as they hovered and circled around it. As its fiery yellow gaze moved from the super jets of Kiryu Squadron to Kiryu itself and then to Mothra, it snarled with its tiger-like growl. Plumes of steam puffed from its nostrils.

               From Kiryu’s cockpit, Bri observed, “This thing is not like any other Kaiju we’ve come across. It’s not just animalistic but it feels… wrong.”

               “Power levels are at 50% ma’am.” Ollie said.

               “Hope that’ll be enough.” Bri said. “It looks like the fight’s about to really pick up.”

               “Kiryu.” Akane’s voice said over the radio.

               “Kiryu, here.” Bri replied.

               “We’re going to divert its attention from behind.” Akane said. “When we do, you move in and strike. Try to see if you can get it to follow you away from the city.”

               “Roger.” Bri said.

               The Herons and the Super X-3 moved to higher altitude and circled around. Curiously the monster did not pay them any mind; its focus remained locked on Mothra. Bri watched with a sudden feeling of uneasiness coming over her. It was at that moment she noticed that the monster’s ears seemed to be flexing and rotating slightly.

               Just as the jets got into a good firing position from behind Red Moon, its ears perked up.

               Bri, suddenly shouted, “WAIT! BREAK OFF THE ATTACK!”

               It was too late, just as her fellow pilots heard her warning, Red Moon suddenly whipped around and from its fanged maw, it spewed a bright red ball of fire at the super-jets. Bri quickly rocketed Kiryu down at the monster to at least seize the chance at catching the monster off guard, while the jets were forced to take sudden evasive action to avoid the inferno. Heron-2’s left wing was clipped by the attack. Akane and the other’s watched in fear as Mizaki and Peterson tried desperately to control the jet’s decent. After a roller-coaster-like plumet, the men managed to angle the jet enough bring it down on a level street. As it skid across the ground with a loud metallic scrape, throwing sparks in its wake, the right wing was broken off by a building. To their relief the aircraft came to a complete stop.

               “Are you ok Mizaki?” Peterson asked.

               Mizaki coughed slightly and replied, “Yes I’m clear.”

               Meanwhile Kiryu rocketed down towards Red Moon, only to have the monster suddenly flap its massive wings and spring at it as well. Airborne, it swung towards the Mech, claws out with a ferocious snarl. Bri quickly activated the arm sword and tried to skewer Red Moon. The monster swayed out of the way at the last instant and in retaliation, kicked it’s hind legs at Kiryu’s side.

               “Oh shit!” Bri cursed as she was knocked out of the air.

               For a few seconds she looked as though she was about to crash into a building. With some quick action, she managed to adjust Kiryu and hit the boosters with enough power to bring the MechaGodzilla to a stop just before impact. Just when it seemed like she could sigh in relief, suddenly Red Moon swooped in and slammed Kiryu into the building anyways with a powerful kick delivered by all four limbs. As the monster flew back, Kiryu was buried by the collapsing structure. A massive cloud of dust and debris formed as the building turned into a pile of rubble. Suddenly the Kaiju was hit from behind by a bright blue beam. The beam was powerful enough to knock it down against the same pile of wreckage that it had just buried Kiryu under.

               Briefly disoriented and angered by the ambush, it quickly sprang back to its feet and whipped around to see Mothra in the process of charging up and firing another beam from her chest.

                Red Moon quickly responded by firing another inferno ball from its mouth. Mothra’s beam clashed with Red Moon’s attack in mid-air and caused a powerful explosion. Mothra was thrown back by the force of the blast. Even Pegasus and his men took cover as a powerful gust suddenly swept over the area.

               Down in Empress Tao’s palace, she sat observing the battle play out through Red Moon’s eyes. Though she still had a strained state of being, she was smirking amusedly by the kaiju’s prowess.

               “Excuse me your majesty.” A voice asked, causing Tao to open her eyes.

               She looked to see that it was the soldier sent to the dungeon, peering in from the doors to her throne room.

               “What is it?” Tao asked.

               “The prisoners are here as you requested.” The soldier replied.

               “Good, bring them in.”   She said.

               The soldier opened the door and the group was marched in with Goro holding his spear at the ready. The two royal guards on either side of Tao also stood with their weapons raised in a defensive manner. Along with Dr. Yamane, Ken and the others were lined up before Tao.

               Tao looked up and down the line of prisoners with a serious and critical look, before she said, “I shall make this clear and to the point. In one of your peoples’ many atrocious and sinful acts, you wrongfully imprisoned a benevolent and sacred being. Your people have cleverly hidden him somewhere where our noble Priestess has been unable to commune with him. If you value your lives and the lives of the men with you, I demand you speak up now regarding the whereabouts of Lord Manda.”

               “Lord Manda?” Dr Yamane asked.

               “It’s a kaiju we took in little over a week ago.” Ken said before answering Tao, “We did not imprison Manda. He’s living comfortably with others of his own kind.”

               “Silence!” Tao said. “You may possess a great gift, master Ken, but I will not be swayed by the lies you speak. No matter how well you may dress the facts, it still stands that you imprisoned our most benevolent protector. Now tell me, where are you keeping Lord Manda.”

               “You really are off the rails lady.” Paul remarked. “You really think-” Suddenly he was struck in the back by the soldier that brought them in with the butt-end of his spear, causing Paul to groan and fall to his knees. “I was talking asshole!”

               “Bring forth their wounded.” Tao ordered the disguised Goro.

               Goro moved Dakota and Dr Yamane forward. Just a few feet before the throne, prompting the Royal Guards to draw their spears up against Yamane and Dakota’s necks. Goro swayed around, still keeping his spear aimed at the two wounded men but he positioned himself next to one of the royal guards.

               “You warriors of the surface are vowed to protect your people are you not?” Tao asked coldly to the soldiers. “It is time to hold true to your oath. Save these men’s lives by giving me the information I request.”

               At that moment the doors opened, to Tao’s annoyance. Luna walked in and was visibly startled by the way the men were being treated.

               “Priestess, was I not clear in my orders for you to return to your temple?” Tao asked.

               Before answering Luna quickly took notice of the crown Tao wore.

               As the interrogation was going on, in another area of the palace, the robed Mu servant was walking with the box containing the other special crown back to what appeared to be a special vault, guarded by a single soldier. The solider proceeded to unlock the vault door with a rod-like key, similar to the ones used in the dungeons. Just as the soldier opened the door for the robed man, the pair were startled by a third person from only a few meters down the hall; Libra.

               “Madam Libra?” the robed man said.

               Libra stood staring the two men down.

               “You are not permitted down here, Madam.” The soldier said authoritatively.

               Suddenly she threw her hands out towards the men, and with blinding speed the two men were struck in the chest with a pair of daggers with silver clad hilts. Two men couldn’t even scream as they collapsed onto the floor. The box that the robed man carried, hit the floor and flung open; the crown bouncing out of it and clattering on the floor with a metallic ring.

               As the two men struggled, dying on the floor, blood running out of their wounds, Libra walked with the stride of a lioness up to the crown. She carefully placed the crown back into the box. Before making off with her prize, she walked over to the guard and fetched the dagger from his chest. The man let out a painful weezing groan as the blade slid out of him. As if to insult him, she then wiped his blood from the blade on the sleeve of his uniform. The guard slowly faded from consciousness as she returned the dagger to its sheeth; concealed under her cloak along her thigh.

               When Libra went to fetch the dagger from the robed man, he suddenly reached for the ankle of her silver heeled boot.

               “You…” The man fought to say through his coming death. “We… trusted you…”

               Libra looked down at the man’s hand grasping her boot. Her doll-like expressionless stare was cold and remorseless. She kicked the man’s hand off her boot with a quick and direct whip of her foot. She proceeded to fetch the dagger from the mans chest as she did with the other, but a bit more quickly; as if she were annoyed by the man’s desperate attempt to reach her.

               Libra then retrieved the box with the crown and calmly left the robed man to die on the floor.

               Back up in the throne room Tao looked on apprehensively at Luna before she asked, “What is the meaning of your visit, Priestess.”

               Finally Luna spoke up, “I came to check on your well-being your majesty. I feared that you would wear the Red Moon crown yourself.”

               “My well-being is not of your concern.” Tao said. “As you can see, I am well in control.”

               “Why are you threatening their wounded then?” Luna asked. “By Mu Rules of engagement, quarter is given to our wounded prisoners.”

               “I am well aware of the Mu way, Priestess.” Tao snapped back. “Are you not aware that I am empress and therefore am granted power to change the rules of engagement?”

               “Your majesty, I implore you to cease these brutal tactics.” Luna said. “We are good people who have lived in peace for thousands of years. Do not take us down such a dark path.”

               “Silence priestess!” Tao angrily fired back; aggressively standing up. “You dare try to question my methods!?” It was at that moment that her anger seemed to cause the crown’s gem to glow with a fiery red coloration. “My family, your family, our good people deserve retribution! And I will see to it that we are granted that retribution and that the surface be punished for their crimes by any means necessary!” She then looked at Goro who still had his weapon raised at Dakota and Yamane. “Soldier! Seize her!”

               “As you command your majesty.” Goro said.

               Suddenly Goro struck the Royal Guard between him and Tao in the face with the butt-end of his spear. His surprise attack not only knocked the man out cold but had Tao and the other Mu Guards stammered in confusion.

               “Now!” Goro shouted to the others.

               Suddenly, McCall, Nguyen, Joyce, and Sanchez popped their bindings open and flung into action; attacking the guard by the door and the guard that escorted them in. The two outside the door rushed in upon hearing the commotion. The four Bushmasters grappled and fought the four Mu Guards while the remaining royal guard clashed with Goro. With all the chaos going on, Tao looked around rather panicked. The four lesser guards were soon disarmed of their spears by the battle-hardened Bushmasters who quickly took the upper hand and had their four opponents either knocked unconscious or subdued.

               Goro and the royal guard continued fighting spear to spear. The metallic shafts of the weapons clanged and sparked against each other as the two fought. Tao, seeing her forces becoming outmatched, tried to go for an alarm button under her throne’s left arm. Just as she went for it, she was met by the feeling of something pressing into her shoulder which caused her to freeze. Tao could tell it was one of the crossbow weapons that one of her guards wore on their back.

               Believing it to be one of the prisoners she defiantly said, “You filthy surface dweller!”

               “Stand down your majesty.” Luna’s voice said.

               The Empress turned around to see it was in fact Luna who had the weapon drawn on her.

               “You treacherous whore!” Tao shouted.

               Tao’s insult caught the attention of the royal guard, giving Goro an opening to dispatch him with a thrust of the butt-end of his spear to the guard’s jaw.

               Tao looked around the room at her defeated men. She was overwhelmed with both fury and fear but quickly returned her attention to Luna.

               “Your crusade is at an end, your majesty.” Luna said. “Stand down.”

               “You may have the guts to betray your Empire, whore,” Tao snarled, “but you are far from capable of using that weapon on me.”

               “No, but we can.” McCall’s voice interjected.

               Tao looked to see that he too had a weapon aimed at her as well.

               “You can die for your country or come with us.” McCall said.

               “I think you’ll find that second option more quarterly.” The Lieutenant added; as Sanchez and Nguyen marched the two conscious guards over to the two unconscious ones.

               Tao slowly, angrily, and reluctantly began to hold her hands up in surrender.

               Back on the surface, Red Moon was swiping its foreclaws ferociously at Mothra as it pursued her  roughly a thousand feet over Manilla. Mothra was able to sway and pull away from the monster but the battle was wearing on her enough that her movements were not as gracefully as before. With every powerful swipe that Red Moon made, the lethal claws were getting closer and closer.

               Kiryu was still buried in the rubble of the collapsed building and Bri was still disoriented by Red Moon’s surprise attack that had put her there.

               “Bri!” Ollie called out to her as she regained her bearings. “Bri we have to hurry! Mothra’s on the ropes!”

               Hearing those words Bri snapped out of it and suddenly hit the boosters.

               Debris scattered from the boosters’ ignition.  The pile of rubble suddenly erupted as Kiryu took flight right towards Red Moon and Mothra.

               “Where are the others?” Bri asked as she closed in.

               “We’re alright, we’re recovering Heron-2.” Akane answered.

               “Heron-1, bring Heron-2 back to home base.” Colonel Hayashida’s voice suddenly interjected. “Super X-3 cover their return. Kiryu, are you still able to engage?”

               “Roger, sir.” Bri answered. “I’ll keep that big red bastard off them.”

               “Be careful, Kiryu.” Akane said.

               Akane’s words, stammered Bri for a moment, but she firmly replied, “Will do, Ma’am.”

               Kiryu was getting close to Mothra and Red Moon. It was then that she took notice of what Mothra was doing.

               “Look at that,” She said aloud, “Mothra’s actually leading that thing away from the city.”

               Bri looked on at Mothra with more admiration than before. For the first time she saw that the creatures they had labeled “monsters” were not all truly monstrous.

               “Don’t worry, girl.” Bri said. “I’ve got your back.”

               The Arm-Blade quickly emerged from Kiryu’s arm. Bri took advantage of Red Moon’s ferocious onslaught against Mothra and made a quick slash at the monster. At the last instant, Red Moon heard Kiryu’s approach and pulled out of the way. The blade still grazed Red Moon’s right shoulder. Though the damage may have been as bad as superficial cut, it was still enough to anger the monster. It glared at Kiryu as it spun around, retracted the blade, and remained hovering in the air only a short distance to Mothra’s right. Mothra was able to take a moment to pause and catch her breath, she was still visibly tired as made evident by the additional effort she was now putting into every flap of her wings to stay airborne.

               “Looks like we made it in time.” Bri said.

               “Bri, power is at 40%.” Ollie said.

               She glanced at the orange power bar on the screen to her right.

               “Damn.” Bri said. “We have to end this soon. Hopefully we can give Mothra enough time to recover first.”

               Bri hit the boosters again and Kiryu rocketed forth. Red Moon charged at the mech as well. Just as the two were going to collide, Bri pulled back on the controls and quickly delivered a drop-kick to Red Moon’s chest. The monster was knocked back and rattled by the kick, giving her the opportunity to flip around and hit the boosters again to tackle the beast. Red Moon quickly snapped out of it and swung its claws at Kiryu’s head. Bri pulled back to dodge, saving Kiryu’s head, but the two shoulder cannons for Kiryu’s rockets were broken in off in a burst of sparks and shattered pieces. Red Moon spun around and as it did, Kiryu leaned forward. Bri hit a red button to her left and suddenly, what remained of the blue rocket-pack detached and launched from Kiryu’s back at Red Moon. The rocket-pack slammed hard into the monster’s chest and propelled it out over the bay. Once it was over two kilometers away, the Rocket pack exploded.

               From his vantage point Pegasus watched the massive explosion light up the darkened sky to the west.

               “Unbelievable…” Pegasus remarked as he watched the fireball swell up and dissipate.

               “Do you think the managed to defeat it?” One of his men asked.

               “Not a chance.” Pegasus said.

               “Priest,” The other man said as he hurried up to him, “Message from home, we have to report back. There’s been an attack at the Palace.”

               “What!?” Pegasus shouted in shock. “What of her majesty!?”

               “She’s missing.” The Mu Soldier said. “Madam Libra, Priestess Luna, and the prisoners we sent back are missing as well.”

               Hearing the rest, Pegasus’s eyes swelled up slightly with worry, “Luna!? Get us some Ropen flyers here immediately!”

               “Right away sir!” The Mu Soldier said with haste as he hurried away.

               Meanwhile, Kiryu’s boosters flared up and it raced out to where the rocket-pack exploded. Mothra followed as well.

               “Without that pack, we should be a little more maneuverable now.” Bri said.

               “Indeed, and without the additional weight our power consumption will also be reduced by 20%.” Ollie said. “Our top speed won’t be as great though.”

               Bri replied, “No matter, with Mothra catching her breath, we should be able to handle it- “

               Suddenly the cockpit was violently rocked by a powerful impact from behind. Red Moon had dropped down from the cloud cover onto Kiryu’s back with a strong shoulder-bash. Bri screamed as the MechaGodzilla plummeted down towards the water. Red Moon, furiously started to race down after when Mothra flew in and struck it across the chin with her wing. Her quick strike halted Red Moon’s pursuit, but it quickly chased after her. As it did it spat two inferno balls in her direction. Mothra swayed left and right, dodging them but then was struck in the back by a third.

               From the HQ the Shobijin, gasped in fright as did Akira and Miki; the latter covering her mouth.

               “Mosura…” Miki said.

               Everyone watch in stunned silence as Inferno-ball exploded with bright crimson flames against Mothra’s back; propelling her forwards with smoke and embers being left in her wake. Amazingly she was only temporarily hampered and the chase continued. She continued to fly with Red Moon in hot pursuit, and though visibly weakened by the hit, she never let up. Eventually the chase took them back up and over a thick batch of clouds. Just as it looked as though Red Moon was closing in, she suddenly spun around and shot her chest-beam at the monster’s face.

               “CHOKUGEKI!” Akira shouted. (DIRECT HIT!)

               As Red Moon reared back and fell, Mothra ducked into the thick cloud cover below them. The beast recovered from the short fall and looked around for its opponent furiously. It then heard a noise from below it in the clouds. It looked down to see a flash of light and then it heard a strange roaring noise. Red Moon spat an Inferno Ball down in the direction of the noise. The ball disappeared into the clouds but it did not appear to impact anything. Suddenly a form erupted from the clouds; Kiryu.

               “SURPRISE!” Bri shouted as she rocketed the mech up at Red Moon.

               Kiryu’s arm-blade shot out again, this time she was able to stab the monster in its side; simultaneously delivering a punch to the monster’s midsection. Red Moon roared in pain from the blade piercing its body.

               “Ollie quick! Shock this bastard!” Bri shouted.

               Suddenly the blade began to glow with a bright yellow before it began shocking Red Moon. Bright yellow sparks and bolts of electricity flickered across the monster’s body. The tactic was working as it was enough to paralyze it.

               Kiryu, with Red Moon still impaled, turned and then dove back down towards the bay; maneuvering the monster underneath it as it plummeted. The wind produced a loud whirling and whipping noise as the two titans descended that it drowned out Red Moon’s roar. Just as it seemed like there was no escape from the deadly nosedive, Red Moon suddenly fought through the paralyzing shocks enough to angle its head down.

               “Almost there!” Bri said.

               “YATTA!” Akira cheered as everyone in headquarters watched the two rocket down towards the bay. “MOSUGU SOKO!” (ALMOST THERE!)

               However, Nearly 1 Kilometer from the water’s surface, Red Moon fought the paralysis enough to fire off an Inferno Ball at Kiryu’s arm that had it skewered. The arm shattered in an explosion at the elbow.

               “SHIT!” Bri cursed.

               The powerful electric current stopped and Red Moon suddenly latched its jaws onto Kiryu’s neck. It then tussled the Mecha-Godzilla underneath it and kicked it down towards the water. Bri screamed as the mechanical titan plummeted down to the bay. Everyone at HQ started to gasp and stand up from their seats.

               Bri tried desperately to regain control of Kiryu as it fell but the boosters were not operating at full capacity. She could see the water getting closer on her screen and began to panic. All was lost. Bri and Kiryu would not survive the deadly fall that she was intending for Red Moon.

               At the last instant she closed her eyes and prayed for it to end quick. Upon doing so she suddenly felt a strong jolt forward and then the fall began to feel less intense. Kiryu was decelerating. She opened her eyes to see the view on her screen was completely blue from some reason. While she was perplexed as to what was going on, back at HQ, everyone was falling back in their seats with relief.

               “YOSSHA!” Akira cheered.

               On the screen at HQ, the drone footage showed Mothra holding onto Kiryu by the chest, flapping her wings profusely to hover in place; roughly sixty feet above the water. She then flew the mech over towards the shoreline where she carefully set Kiryu down on the beach. It was as she flew off, that Bri discovered the blue screen was the result a close up of Mothra’s eye.

               Bri flopped back in her seat and caught a breath of relief, “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

               Mothra ascended slowly in the air, looking down at Kiryu; it was as if she was making sure the mechanical kaiju was alright. She then turned back up to the sky where Red Moon was in the air looking down on both of them as well; Kiryu’s severed forearm still with the arm-blade still impaling its side. It suddenly grabbed the arm and pulled it from its side with one of its foreclaws and threw it away towards the bay.

               Back at HQ, Barnes said, “This thing’s unreal.”

               “It’s wounded at least.” Aso then observed. “That should level the field more in Mosura’s favor.”

               Akira, standing off to the side, had simmered down mostly but still watched with great anxiousness. It was then that he noticed something.

               “She can’t…” He suddenly said. “It’s far from over.”

               “What do you mean doctor?” Barnes asked.

               “Zoom in on Red Moon’s wound.” Akira said.

               The operator of the drone focused in on Red Moon. As it focused in, it was then that they all saw that the injury did not look so serious for some reason.

               “There’s no blood.” Aso observed.

               “More than that.” Akira said.

               “It’s fused and cauterized.” Kuroki suddenly spoke up.

               “Exactly.” Akira said. “This Kaiju can harness heat energy in such a way that it can morph its own biology. That would also suggest a healing capability similar to Salunga’s.”

               “Matters are worse.” The Shobijin said; catching everyone’s attention.

               Miki asked, “What do you mean?”

               “There’s a reason why Empress Tao hurried to release Red Moon.” The left Shobijin said.

               “Timing was crucial to secure her success.” The Right added.

               “Look at the moon.” They said together.

               The group took notice of the moon behind the kaiju as it was rising into the sky. It had an amber color against the darkening sky. However, it was having an impact on Red Moon. The monster appeared to be recovering from the skirmish at a visibly noticeable pace.

               “There’s a full moon…” Akira said.

               “That’s not all that will happen tonight.” The Shobijin said.

               Akira looked at the moon and then at the monster, something suddenly clicked in his head. “There’s going to be a lunar eclipse tonight.”

               “There’s a reason the monster was called Red Moon.” The Shobijin said.

               “It draws its energy from the moon’s rays.” The Left said.

               The right then added. “However, during a lunar eclipse, the additional refracted light against the earth enhances the moon’s energy.”

               “You’re saying it’s going to get stronger?” Miki asked.

               “Exponentially.” The Shobijin said. “It was during such an eclipse that the monster sank the Mu Empire into the earth’s crust.”

               “Get in touch with Kiryu squadron immediately!” Aso ordered. “We have to defeat it before the full eclipse!”

               “Kiryu is down.” Barnes countered, “And there’s no way the Super X-3 can provide Mothra enough support.”

               “We have to do something though.” Aso countered. “What about the rest of the maser units?”

               The room became alive with arguments and bickering so much that it became one mass of noise. Miki sat in her seat watching as Red Moon slowly began to close in on Mothra. She thought deeply about what she could do to fight against the coming crisis. The commotion of the room became almost unbearable and frustrated her. She looked around at her high command that were all engaged in a never-ending and desperate argument as they all tried to find a solution somewhere in their short list of options. The stress of the whole moment became maddeningly high.

               Suddenly she gasped out loud, throwing her fingertips to her temple as if something had just shocked her brain. Despite all the noise, the sudden sound of her gasp and her quick movement caught everyone’s attention. They all looked back in worry and confusion; the commotion of the room fell dead silent. Akira, concerned, started to approach her. His concern grew worse when he saw her look of shock and fear. It was then that the Shobijin seemed to sense something as well as they suddenly looked to their diagonal-right into space.

               Miki slowly looked off into the same direction that the Shobijin were looking. Without paying any mind to anything else she suddenly stood up from her seat and hurried to the door. Akira looked at Kuroki and then Barnes and Aso. All four men were equal parts confused and worried. Then suddenly, a thought occurred to Kuroki; he had seen her experience a shock like that before. He too then had the same look of shock and realization and hurried after her. It was then that Akira suddenly realized what would cause them to run off that way and followed as well.

               Miki raced through the halls of the base. All the while she seemed to hear nothing but her own racing heart. She hadn’t felt such urgency and panic in years. After an exhausting rush through the base she eventually found herself running off an elevator onto an outdoor walkway. The walkway overlooked a watery surface that was flickering in the light against the moon and the lights of the base. With a heavy breath she stood watching and waiting. Soon, Akira and Kuroki caught up to her. They too looked out across the watery abyss. It was then that the Shobijin also appeared before them on the railing; again looking out across the water.

               “Kudasai…” Miki said as they continued to look across the water (Please).

               Nobody else said a word. They continued to watch both patiently and anxiously. After a few seconds there were a few flashes of light from the blackness. The flashes continued to increase in frequency. Then suddenly they stopped. An eerie calm befell the area. A few seconds longer and then suddenly a bright blue heat-ray erupted from the water into the sky. Everyone’s eyes widened and their hearts raced as the heat-ray lit up the area for roughly ten seconds.

               The searchlights of the base suddenly kicked on and scanned the water. The entire surface of the lagoon was visible. A couple seconds of further waiting then suddenly a mound of water began to rise up in the center of the lake. Several objects began break the surface; giant plates shaped like oak-leaves, three rows of them. Then the rough textured shoulders began to form as the massive Kaiju’s upper body continued to rise up from the water; its front facing away from the group as they watched. The head was facing away from them. Much shorter plates lined the back of its neck that got even shorter as they got closer to the monster’s scalp until eventually they blended in with the monsters rough bumpy skin texture. The head then turned to reveal a snout; with sharp fangs protruding out from the front of its feline-like curved jowls. Small pointed ears protruded from just behind the monster’s perpetually angry looking brow on either side of its head. The eyes were dark auburn in color, with irises so wide there seemed to be no whites in them at all. The monster let out a deep bellowing roar that tapered off into a ferocious sounding growl; revealing its two rows of sharp teeth on both its upper and lower jaws.

               Miki could only watch with awe; the only word she could say was the name she knew this creature by since its adolescence, “Junior…”

               Kuroki looked on with the same level of shock and awe as Miki and Akira, but he could only bring himself to say the name he knew this 80-meter monstrosity by; the same name that had been carried down since the first member of its kind appeared nearly 70 years prior.

Gojira…