The Man who Laughed at the King

"G's current location is one hundred eighty miles north off the coast of Santa Barbara. However,

ETA will be within 0200 to 0300 give or take his speed. That puts more than nine-thousand people in

danger." Colonel Branson West briefed the team of G-Force soldiers in front of him. The sixty-year-old

West couldn't help but feel sorry for these boys. These were new blood going up against the top dog of

the Kaiju. The youngest among their ranks must have been no older than his grandson.

The grizzled vet sighed, "I'm not going to sugarcoat this, boys. You're in way over your heads,

I can't say any of you are going to survive this operation but I doubt any of you were stupid enough to

believe you would sign up and not get killed. If any of you want to walk out, I'm not going to stop

you."

To his surprise none of the cadets even so much as moved out of their chairs. West sighed.

It wasn't just the fact they were going up against Kaiju Alpha, it was who was leading them that

concerned him. It was the smirking man who was leaning against the wall; Maj. Alister Kane.

Kane was a man in his thirties who had a very snake-like grin, moderate bodybuild and

smoothed black hair. He was cocky, arrogant, and full of himself. Then there was his track-record when

it came to commanding. If one were to refer to sending men to their deaths as "commanding".

"Well, Kane, looks like you have more meat for the grinder. At least try to keep some of them

alive." West told the man.

"My, whatever do you mean, Colonel?" Kane asked innocently.

West narrowed his eyes. "You know what I mean, Kane. I'm surprised the wives and mothers of

the men you send to die haven't sued your sorry ass to the Stone Age."

Kane simply shrugged. "I'm just doing my job as a commanding officer, Colonel West. After

all, you and the rest of G-Force send men to their deaths all the time just to keep one of these things

occupied."

West glared at the sleazy Major. "At least I make sure some of the men under my watch return

home safely. I don't just throw them at the Kaiju like fodder."

Kane chuckled, "I'm just trying to live out my life dream, sir."

"And what, to feed my curiousity, would that be, Kane? Being a sociopath?"

Kane smirked, "To laugh in Godzilla's big, ugly face as to remind him that we are the dominant

species on this planet and he's just an animal who needs to learn his place. Now, if you excuse me,

Colonel, I have a platoon to lead and I really don't want to miss my flight."

With that, Kane walked out to join his platoon.

Kane had been born into a family of hunters who liked to kill the toughest animals on the

planet; bears, mountain lions, tigers, sharks and more with one simple mindset: Humans are the top of

the food chain and animals always come second. To him, that was all the Kaiju were, big animals who

needed to be reminded on where they stood on the food chain.

San Barbara Beach had long been deserted following the announcement of a Kaiju arriving.

The beachgoers, both natural born Californians and tourists on vacation had been scared off by the

Kaiju sirens thus leaving their towels, surfboards, coolers filled with icy beverages that would now

become hot after the ice had long melted and the once sunny, Summer time day had gone cloudy, as if

setting the tone for the battle to come as G-Force transport carriers roared from the sky, ready to deploy

their cargo while fighter jets circled in the sky like vultures.

Within moments, the ground troops and artillery rolled out; men armed hand-held maser

rifles, tanks, missile platforms armed to the teeth with drill-tipped D-3 missiles, Type-015 Maser tanks

and Fire Rain artillery platforms locked into the sand, their four cannons ready to rain explosive shells

upon the head of their gigantic target.

Kane swaggered off the platform of his plane and looked out to the now-clouded horizon.

Well, your Highness. They said you were coming. How long are you planning to get here? he

thought as he scanned the horizon. He didn't need to wait for long.

Approaching at speeds that would make the fastest naval ship's captain blush and hang his or

her head in shame were three rows of jagged bone white spikes large enough to be mistaken for small

mountains. Suddenly, the spikes stopped moving three miles away as the creature beneath them began

to rise from the depths, a small tsunami only three feet high coming off of it as a result. The beast that

rose on its legs was far larger than the spikes on his back as a long, segmented tail whipped behind him.

The beast's body was dinosaurian in appearance but oddly humanoid in stance, with grooved, charcoal

black skin as opposed to reptilian scales with rivulets of salt water flowing down. His hands had four,

taloned fingers each while his gargantuan head was feline. Godzilla had arrived.

The King of the Monsters scanned the military weapons and personnel before him. He growled

and took a thundering step forward as if trying to intimidate them.

Aw, how cute. He thinks he can scare us. Kane said to himself as he and a few tech members

and soldiers watched the action from a command post. He was finally going to fulfill his dream

"Fire Rain, let him know we bite." he ordered.

With that, the artillery cannons rose and fired round upon round of high-explosive shells into

the sky. These shells eventually came back to Earth... upon Godzilla. Kaiju Alpha roared in anger as the

shells struck his grooved hide. Kane smirked as he saw the giant dinosaur thrash and flail in what he

regarded as pain.

That's right, remember who's the real dominant species on this planet. he thought. The artillery

kept unloading their shells for what seemed to be hours until Kane gave the order to stop. With that, the

shells ceased and where Godzilla once stood was a mass of blackened smoke.

Kane felt a sense of pride watching this from his command post. He managed to hurt the "King

of the Monsters" with just shells alone. All he had to do was laugh in his face.

"Sir, we're getting movement from the target." one soldier, named Travis Peck, spoke up.

Kane rolled his eyes, "Have the tanks finish him off." he responded nonchalantly.

"Yes, sir." With that the man ordered the tank platoon into position. The M-1 Abrams rolled

forward and aimed their guns up at the Kaiju who was just now emerging from the smoke cloud.

"Fire."

At the major's order, the tanks' cannons erupted into a flurry of explosive shells which struck

Godzilla, causing him to roar in response.

"Maser division, open fire." Kane ordered.

The Maser tanks spun their satellite dish-shaped cannons and, with the sound like a tesla coil

powering up, unleashed stream after stream of electricity, adding to the barrage of tank shells.

However, Nick Bolt, one of the tank drivers, noticed something; Godzilla's spikes were beginning to

flash and crackle with blue light. His training had told him whenever Godzilla's back plates glowed,

it meant one of two things: either a) he was absorbing radiation or b) he was about to utilize something

called an "Atomic Ray". Seeing as there weren't any nuclear plants nearby...

Oh... shit!

"Fall back! Fall back! Fall ba-!"

Bolt's words were cut short as a stream of silver-blue plasma erupted from the Kaiju's enormous

jaws. Anyone close to the blast was either reduced to ashes while the tanks were melted into molten

metal.

"Sir, we've just lost a tenth of our troops." Peck told Kane. Kane waved it off, " So he got one

shot, we still have plenty of troops. Keep up the fire."

Peck was shocked at his superior's cold indifference. However, seeing as orders were orders,

the man went back to his job. "All units keep firing."

The remaining tanks unloaded their shells on Godzilla while the Masers and Fire Rain added to

the barrage. The Monster King snarled as artillery shells and electric beams struck his skin. He began

to advance upon the military forces, his footsteps thunder on the ground. The humans' flying machines

roared out of the sky and unleashed their fiery stingers on him. Godzilla curled up his lip in a snarl as

he tried to snap one out of the sky. Kaiju Alpha roared in anger and slammed his tail into the surf,

sending a sheet of sea water sixty feet into the air.

Kane smirked at his soon-to-be-prize's anger and frustration. Soon, he would be standing in

front of the so-called "King of the Monsters" and laughing to his heart's content. He would go down in

history as the man who laughed at a "god".

"Sir, target is advancing. Orders to retreat?"

Kane shot Travis a look, "After we've come so close? I think not. We hold our ground here."

Travis looked at his commanding officer with shock. "Sir, you cannot be serious."

Kane frowned at the man's response. "Is that insubordination, Peck? I give the orders, you

follow them."

Peck was conflicted. On one hand, this was his commanding officer giving him an order that

had to be followed. On the other hand, this man was a complete and utter sociopath who was willing

to send men to their deaths.

Meanwhile, back at the battle, Godzilla thrashed around as military fire rained down upon him

from every direction. His wounds, while healing at an exponential rate, kept reopening. It was at that

moment, his patience with the humans, what little there was, had faded. Now, there was nothing but

rage. Pure. White. Rage. With that, his spikes began sparking brighter than they ever had before.

However, instead of Chernokov Radiation-imbued plasma, it was a bright, white flash that spread out

in a shockwave. Anything so much as even close to the blast was sent flying into the air or, in the case

of the jets, destroyed on contact. In just a blink of an eye, almost three-fourths of Kane's troops were

wiped out. Unfortunately for the soldiers, the King's anger was not over. They had asked for

punishment, and he was going to deliver it in strides. Letting out quite possibly his loudest roar,

Godzilla charged. In one fluid movement, he whipped around and struck the sand with his tail, sending

whatever remaining tanks into the air before slamming it back down. His spikes lit up once again and

another stream of radioactive fire erupted from his jaws.

"Sir, we've just lost thirty percent of our troops, no wait forty... fifty... eighty percent destroyed."

Kane growled in frustration. He was being shown up by a lowly animal. A big animal yes, but

still...

"Um, Sir."

"What is it?" Kane snapped.

Peck fidgeted, "We've just lost almost one hundred percent of our forces."

Before Kane could respond, one of the other tech members cried out and pointed out at

something in the horizon. He followed the man's finger only to be greeted with the sight of a tank

flying at them. Kane ran for his life but wasn't fast enough to escape the armored vehicle crashing

into the command post.

Kane, dazed, crawled out of the remains of the post. His mouth felt like it was full of water but

it had a metallic taste to it. His ears were ringing with a high-pitched noise and his nostrils were greeted

with the scent of molten steel, ashes and blood. He turned his head to see Godzilla lumbering back to

the sea. Out of contempt, he spat the blood out of his mouth and growled. No. NO! I'm not going to let

you get away that easily. Kane thought as he retrieved a missile launcher from the ground, ammo

included. He loaded his first rocket into the tube, aimed it right at the monster's turned head and fired.

The missile flew straight at the Kaiju's head like an arrow and detonated on contact. Godzilla froze in

his tracks and turned to face the human beneath him. Kane took the time to load another rocket and

fired at Godzilla's neck.

"You're not a god. You're not a tornado. You're not an earthquake. You're especially not a king."

Kane rambled as he loaded another rocket into the launcher, "You're just an animal; A big, stupid,

animal. Nothing more. Nothing less." He fired it right at Godzilla's chest who barked seemingly in

annoyance. Kane smirked as he pulled out another rocket and fed it down the tube.

"And you know what? I laugh at animals who forget their place." With that, Kane started

laughing like a mad man as he fired a fourth time at the Kaiju. Godzilla took the rocket to the chest

again and narrowed his eyes in rage.

Kane's laughter reached fever point to which he put down the rocket launcher and fell to his

knees. Tears were starting to fill his eyes as his laughing turned into cackling. He was sure to get every

bit of laughter out of him. He was determined to laugh so hard in the face of the King of the Monsters

until he died. If only his father would see him now. He would be so proud to see his son laughing at the

most feared animal on the planet.

He didn't notice Godzilla raising his foot. Suddenly, Godzilla stomped his foot so hard, Kane

toppled on his back, his laughter ceased. He looked around in confusion, having been brought out of his

laughing. He looked up as he saw Godzilla looming over him, his gums curled back, revealing rows

upon rows of man-sized teeth. Just like that, Kane became stricken with fear as he crawled away from

the giant angry monster. It was at that point, the once smug son of Mark and Allison Kane, two of the

world's greatest hunters who made fools of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, was now in the

presence of something that was not so much an animal, but a force of nature given physical form.

That was when Godzilla's spikes began to flash and blue energy built up in his

mouth. As the monster prepared to kill him, Kane could have sworn the Kaiju smirked as though he

were taking sadistic pleasure in only slightly delaying his execution. Godzilla breathed in a mouthful of

air and the last thing Kane ever remembered was a flash of blue and a burning searing pain like sitting

on the sun.