-1Mecha War
I
Machines and Myths
Andrew Manly drove his dust covered red ford pickup down the gravel road towards the canyons near Lake Meade. He turned down the blaring country music and looked at the other passenger in the vehicle. Saeko stared blankly at the scenery outside the truck. Saeko was an authority on ancient cultures of the American west, though her theories about ancient Japan and ancient America being connected and trading was what got her sent out here away from the university where she can do no harm.
"You know you're not the only Japanese at the dig?" Andrew stated in his western accent strait out of John Wayne movies. Saeko looked at him surprised.
"Who?" She asked maybe this trip was a test more than a punishment she hoped.
"Masakhiko, and Keisuke Shimizu are heading the dig, and you'll be staying with Professor Miyajima." Andrew answered. Saeko frowned she had heard of the Shimizu brothers, also "dangerous" thinkers. Ones who searched for Atlantis and Mu, but what were they doing here. Though she had heard those names Professor Miyajima was a mystery though his name did sound familiar. The trunk pulled into a canyon and up to place covered in tents and marked off with twine. "Well here we are." Andrew yelled parking the truck. Saeko got out and followed Andrew around the camp. "Mess is there, Lab's there, and the bus leaves at seven each night for town. Don't be late or you'll be sleeping under the stars." He laughed.
"Andy you old grease spot don't scare the girl." Came youthful Japanese accent from across the came. A young man wearing bike shorts and blue tee shirt came running over to them. "Hi, you must be Saeko right?" The Japanese man asked. Saeko bowed.
"Yes I am." She replied in curt Japanese. Both Andrew and the man laughed.
"I'm sorry but you'll have to speak English while you're here." The young man said in perfect Japanese. He offered his hand. "Name's Keisuke Shimizu and I along with my brother are running this dig." He smiled. Andy burst out laughing.
"What do you mean you run this dig? Doc McBride is the head honcho around here last time I checked." The man continued to laugh as Keisuke playfully punched the man.
"Yeah, but he went into town yesterday and left me and big bro in charge." Saeko watched as the two men joked and jeered each other for a while eventually Andy left to go get some food leaving Saeko alone with Keisuke, well as alone as you can be in a camp full of people. "So I guess you're wondering why you're here?" Keisuke asked. Saeko nodded. "We need your help in comparing some Hieroglyphics found in a cave system not far from here."
"But why me?" Saeko asked.
"Because their not Indian, their ancient Japanese."
The C130 gunship landed on the tarmac at the Area 51 base, Nevada. Two lines of solders stood at attention as three men exited the plane. General Rex Patterson and his aide walked beside the new pilot of the Mechagodzilla II. The Japanese machine that Godzilla and Rodan had defeated in nineteen ninety three had been sold to the U.S. and they had rebuilt it. With the ever rising threat of Kaiju the whole world was arming for the inevitable war. General Patterson was met at the bottom of the ramp by the director of Area 51 base. Commander John Greystoke. Greystoke saluted and shook the general's hand.
"It's an honor to have you here sir." He smiled. Patterson did not return the smile.
"Indeed." He replied and motioned to the young woman at his right. "This is Captain Katsura Malfune of G-Force. She will be piloting the Mechagodzilla II." The Japanese woman bowed. Greystoke returned the bow then offered his hand.
"It's an honor to meet you." He smiled. "Now if you'll just follow me I'll show you around. " The group followed the commander the general fell back to speak with his aide. While Katsura stepped forward asking the commander questions as they walked. They entered on of the many buildings cut into the side of the mountain where they came to a security checkpoint. Greystoke walked through the metal detector no problem, but Katsura looked distressed. She turned and looked at the general.
"Katsura won't be going through security." Paterson stated.
"But general it's standard procedure. All incoming personnel must be scanned." The commander replied. The general frowned.
"Don't quote regulations to me…" He began, but Katsura laid a hand on his arm quieting him. She turned and bowed to the commander.
"I'm sorry but I can't go through scanning machines like that, because I have mechanical parts that would stop working if his by the EMPs that the scanning devises put off." She said sadly. Greystoke's eyes went wide.
"You're a…cyborg?" He stammered. Katsura nodded. Patterson frowned even more. He had hoped to keep that little tidbit of information from the commander and his men. Greystoke quickly shook himself from his stupor and led Katsura around the security station and to the elevator to take them to the interior of the base.
Saeko followed Keisuke into a series of tunnels until they came to a large open room. She looked up in wonder at the ancient drawings from a bygone era. She walked over and very carefully touched the wall. She ran her fingers over it as if she could feel the age by the touch. Keisuke smiled.
"Yep, I knew you were the right one for the job." He spoke. Saeko turned to him.
"What do you mean?" She asked. Keisuke smiled.
"I asked for you." He replied. Saeko stood dumbfounded. She took as step toward him.
"You're the reason I'm here." She stated. Keisuke nodded. The slap rang out in the hollow hall. Keisuke held the side of his face and looked at Saeko who screamed. "You did it. They were just looking for a way to get rid of me and you supplied it!" She stood there seething for about a minute before she regained her composure. Keisuke took a step towards the distraught girl.
"Look I'm sorry, I didn't know. I thought you would be the best for the job to explain why there Japanese here and Indian, not one or the other." He placated. Saeko looked up at him when she heard the last she immediately began to read the writings on the walls. Indeed what he said was true the writing switched between Indian and Japanese. She took out a pencil and began to write. After about ten minutes she got up and walked over to Keisuke, She handed him a paper with one word written on it. She smiled and left the cave. Keisuke looked down and read.
"Mu." He looked up and ran after the woman she had just made his year.
Around the same time Keisuke's brother, Masakhiko was exploring a new cave when his flash light reflected off a bright surface. He stooped down to investigate and found a piece of metal about the size of a silver dollar. He pocketed it and returned to the dig site unaware that he was being watched.
The bus took the workers back to town where Saeko shared a car with Keisuke and his brother.
"So do you really think is Muian?" Keisuke asked Saeko who smiled at the young man's excitement.
"It may be the word appears several times." She pulled out her notes and began to read. "When the great dragon awakens and ravages the serpent of Mu will rise and defend man and with the help of another great beast will drive the dragon back to the abyss it and its people came from."
"Interesting." Masakhiko said as he pulled into the driveway of a ranch house. "We're here." Professor Miyajima came out and greeted them and after showing Saeko to her room they had dinner. After dinner they sat in the living room talking. Saeko learned where she had heard the Professor's name before. Miyajima had helped construct the Mechagodzilla and the Moguera for the UNGCC in the nineties he had since retired and helped Masakhiko and his brother in their research. As the night began to come to a close Masakhiko pulled out a piece of metal and handed it to the professor.
"I was wondering if you could tell me what metal this is?" He asked. Miyajima examined it.
"I can't say, but I'll run some tests tomorrow. Where did you find it?" He asked.
"In a cave that had just recently opened up."
II
Attack of the Monsters
Saeko was awakened in the night as the earth began to shake. He rolled out of bed as Keisuke burst in the room.
"What's going on?" He cried holding on to the bed for balance as the shaking increased.
"Earthquake! We have to get out of here." He grabbed her hand and drug her out of the room. The met the Professor and Masakhiko out side.
"Look!" Saeko yelled pointing to the lake. Lake Mead bubbled and boiled as the quake grew in intensity. A glowing light showed under the water's surface. "What do you think it…" She was cut off as the lake exploded. When the light had faded the group looked in horror at the lake. Standing knee deep in water was Godzilla. The monstrous beast howled a sharp hollow roar. The monster looked and the nearest buildings his back plates began to glow purple. Twin beams of energy shot from the beast's eyes and played across the ground igniting explosions as they passed. The creature roared again and began to move out of the lake towards the maze of canyons the group worked in. As the monster walk Saeko noticed that his movement was jerky and sharp like that of a machine. The monster soon disappeared into the maze and the group returned to their house to alert the authorities and the remaining members of the team that did not live in town.
"Strange." The professor said as he poured them all a drink.
"What professor?" Keisuke asked.
"Well, Godzilla didn't seem to be acting normal." He stated. "The roar was different, and the beams from the eyes are new as well."
"He's right the monster moved strange like it was not alive but like a machine would." Saeko chimed in. The professor got up and walked over to his desk.
"Yes very strange." He opened the drawer and drew out the piece of metal Masakhiko had found the day before. "I had a chance to analyze this. It's a metal close to Titanium, but with elements unlike any that can be found on earth. I'm calling it Space Titanium." He handed the metal to Masakhiko. "I think that tomorrow we should go look at the cave where you found this."
"But, what about Godzilla?" Saeko asked the fear in her voice evident.
"I have a feeling that Godzilla and this metal are connected some how." He stated. They all agreed leave before dawn and take Keisuke's car.
The thunderous arrival of Godzilla had awoken another. The desert night was still as a group of local high school kids headed out into the dunes for some fun. The kids laughed and screamed as their jeep jumped dunes and plowed through the flats. Suddenly the rocks rose up and overturned the vehicle. The kids looked up into eight burning red eyes. Their screams were drowned out by an insectoid roar. Kumonga had finished with its first prey, but the ravenous hunger and the anger of being awakened from his slumber urged him on. He began to scuttle across the desert toward the smell of prey.
Alarms blared at Area 51 as personnel rushed to their battle stations. Commander Greystoke strode into the control room.
"Report!" He ordered.
"Sir, Kumonga is on the move, and we have received reports of Godzilla attacking Lake Mead." A tech answered. The General and Katsura entered the room.
"What's going on Commander?" the general demanded. The commander ignored the general and continued with his duty.
"I want confirmation on both targets and check to make sure none of our other friends are on the move either." He stated. The room buzzed with activity. The general walked over and grabbed the commander and spun him to face him.
"What's going on?" He growled. The commander looked at Katsura.
"Looks like you'll be getting quite a test run in the Mechagodzilla" He spoke. "We have two Kaiju on the move not far from here."
"I understand." She replied.
"I want a full report." Patterson ordered. Greystoke nodded.
"Follow me and I explain all I can."
Kumonga crossed the desert quickly his red compound eye scanning the area for prey. The buzz of a helicopter drew his attention.
"Have visual on Kumonga. He's heading west towards Lake Mead." The pilot phoned in. Kumonga chattered and fired a spray of super strong webbing at the chopper. The pilot well aware of Kumonga's abilities avoided the spray and flew higher into the sky. After firing several more streams of webbing at the copter he roared in frustration and continued his trek towards that which awoke him.
Saeko and the others arrived at the dig site to find it trashed.
"Looks like Godzilla's been through here." Keisuke said kicking a piece of smashed equipment lying on the ground.
"No, I don't think so." Masakhiko said stooping to examine the debris closely. "This was done by people." He stated pointing at a strange foot print.
"Shouldn't there be a security guard here?" Saeko asked walking through the shattered camp.
"Yeah. Tyler should have been here." Keisuke realized and began calling the man's name. As the whole group spread out looking for the security officer Miyajima foot bumped into something soft. He knelt down and shifted some wreckage.
"Over here." He called to the others. The joined him staring at the corpse of the man that was Tyler Allison. The man lay on the ground a look of surprise on his face and a dark red spot on his chest.
"He was shot." Saeko stated a tear forming in her eye. The professor shook his head.
"No this is no bullet wound; the puncture was made by a high power laser."
"A laser that's impossible." Keisuke blurted.
"No, look here at the burn marks on his clothes."
"Indeed, you are quite astute Professor." Came a harsh voice from behind them. The group turned to face several men clad in silver jumpsuits with strange gun aimed at them. The leader at least who they guessed was the leader stood in front in a silver suit with black stripes a large bruise dominated the right side of his face. He smiled at the four. "Hands up you are now our prisoners."
"You killed Tyler!" Keisuke rushed the men who prepared to fire, but the leader held his hand to tell them to stop. Keisuke rushed at him but met the man's fist. Masakhiko and the Professor joined the fight, as Saeko slipped away. After all the men lay on the ground knocked out the leader smiled.
"Take them." He ordered.
"But sir what about the female?" One of the men asked, but the leader waved his hand.
"Worry not, our plans are near completion and nothing can stop us now." He smiled revealing yellow fangs that you would more likely find on an Ape than a Man.
Saeko ran as fast as she could, dodging down tunnel after tunnel to get away from the evil men who had attack them. She stopped finding herself in the room with the Japanese and Indian writings on it. She found the one glyph glowed in the darkness. Hypnotically she approached it. He touched the glyph and the light flared.
"Manda." Was all she said before the light took her.
"You mean to tell me that you know of six Kaiju that live in U.S. borders!" General Patterson roared in the briefing room, but Greystoke stood his ground.
"The Secretary of Defense as well as the KCG (Kaiju Combat Group) knows this information. Until recently we haven't had much trouble with any of the monsters. Aside from the incidents in the fifties things have been quiet till Godzilla showed up and woke up Kumonga."
"Incidents! Entire towns were destroyed by those Ants, and that giant lizard!" Patterson yelled.
"So what do we intend to do now?" Katsura asked ignoring the fuming general.
"You'll launch in the Mechagodzilla II and fight the monsters." Greystoke replied. "The final checks have been made and it's ready for action."
"Very well." Katsura stated and left the room to get ready.
Godzilla strode out of the maze into the open desert. He roared a metallic sound before turning south. The helicopter that flew above him wisely kept his distance.
"Godzilla is turning north and the computer plots his course towards Phoenix Arizona." The pilot stated. Before his sighted another helicopter.
"Sir, the chopper designated to follow Kumonga is here."
"That's right pilot the big spider has laid a trap for Godzilla and your going to watch. If we're lucky they'll kill each other." The commander spoke over the line. Godzilla continued to move across the flats ignoring the helicopters buzzing near him. Suddenly the ground gave way and Godzilla tumbling into a pit. As the monster sought to rise Kumonga leapt upon him burying his fangs in his neck. To the mighty arachnid's surprise the fangs stopped after a few feet of penetration as if they had stuck something hard. Godzilla knocked the monster bug off him and fired his eye beams at it. Kumonga jumped out of the way and launched a spray of webbing at Godzilla. Godzilla continued to fire his eye beams as Kumonga jumped around firing his web. Soon Godzilla found himself in a virtual cocoon. As the titanic beast struggled to free himself Kumonga crept up and slashed with his barbed legs. As he drew back to observe the damage he'd done the wound where scarlet blood should be running from flashed a sliver in sunlight. Kumonga could not comprehend that his prey was not alive and moved to strike again. Godzilla fired his eyebeams at the silk burning it away and then he grabbed the spider with his arms. Godzilla roared and ripped two of the beast's arms off. Kumonga scuttled away as thick ichor seeped from where his front arms once were. He chattered angrily He fired more webbing but Godzilla burned the strands away with his eye beams. Godzilla roared and advanced on the spider who wisely kept his distance. Kumonga hopped from place to place never staying to long all the while Godzilla advanced. Growing tired he swung his tail as Kumonga jumped again and bashed the spider to earth. He fired his beams at the monster setting him ablaze. Kumonga ran around for a few minutes before succumbing to the fire and dying. Godzilla roared and continued to move towards populated areas.
War Of The Mechagodzillas
Masakhiko was first to awake. He groaned and held his head where he felt a hard knot. He got to his feet and looked around at his surroundings. He was in a cell with metal bars upon inspection he found that they were the same metal as the piece he had found in the new cave. He looked up while the room looked completed bits and pieces of the cave they were in showed here and there. Masakhiko heard a groan from his feet. He looked down to see his brother and the professor coming to. He helped them to their feet.
"Where are we?" Keisuke asked holding his stomach the place where he received the blow from the strange man still hurt.
"I think we're in the cave I discovered." Masakhiko answered walking around and testing the bars. The door on the far side of the room slide open and the leader of the strangers stepped through it. He held a drink glass in one hand and there was a smoldering cigar perched in his mouth. Blue smoke drifted from his nostrils and mouth when he talked.
"Well, well, well the sleeping babes are awake." He smiled showing his fangs. The group backed away.
"Just who are you and what are you doing here?" The professor asked looking the man in the eye. The stranger chuckled.
"That's a long complicated story, but I'll keep it simple for you. We are Aliens."
"Aliens?" The three men exclaimed.
"Yes, we have come to Earth from our planet Semos which is being ravaged by a black hole."
"You look like us, but that's not your true form is it?" The professor asked. The leader flashed him a toothy grin.
"Again your intelligence makes you a credit to your race Professor. Yes we have donned these forms in order to operate on earth without suspicion."
"Then what do you really look like?" Keisuke asked.
"We resemble the creatures you call apes."
"Ape men from space sounds like a bad sci-fi movie." Masakhiko stated. The ape man laughed.
"You humans are a marvelous race, even in the face of certain defeat you jest. I am truly sorry that you all must die in order for my people to live."
"How do you intend to conquer us?" The professor asked. "I only saw a few of you at the dig site."
"We are the pacification force sent before our main ships there are only about fifty of us total."
"Then how do you think you can kill billons?" Masakhiko asked. The alien man pressed a small button on his wrist.
"Activate view screen four." He spoke. The wall next to the door shimmered and was replaced by the image of Godzilla walking through the desert. "This is our weapon."
The Mechagodzilla II was a virtual copy of the first one build by Japan, it had been retrofitted for only one pilot and its weapons systems had been upgraded. Katsura made her final checks before requesting permission to launch. Greystoke gave her permission and the mighty robot lifted into the air and shot towards Godzilla.
"ETA thirty seconds till target." She spoke. "All systems nominal."
"Good. How does it handle?" Greystoke asked.
"Handles good, the controls react well to my enhanced reflexes."
"Excellent. Good luck out there Katsura."
"Thank you." She smiled. She pushed the thrusters to full burn and the landscape began to blur.
Godzilla walked ponderously across the desert Helicopters harassed him from time to time only to shot down by his eye beams. It was he sound of jets that drew his attention. Katsura and the Mechagodzilla II landed in front of the mighty nuclear leviathan. She brought the monster into a fighting pose and roared a mechanical version of Godzilla's roar. Godzilla roared back his sharp own sharp roar. Mechagodzilla II fired its buster cannon from its mouth. The beam struck Godzilla's shoulder melting the skin and exposing the metal beneath it.
"What the?" Katsura yelled.
"I knew it." The professor stated. "The Godzilla is a robot made by you." He pointed at the alien man.
"Indeed. So you humans have your own Mechagodzilla. He pressed the button on his wrist again. "This façade has gone on long enough show them." He ordered.
Fire engulfed Godzilla burning the fake flesh covering and revealing the true machine underneath. Katsura gasped as she stared at a nearly exact duplicate of the Mechagodzilla II. There were a few subtle differences. The new robot was more sharp edged and pointed, where the MG II have a more rounded shape. The new one's hands ended in rocket launchers and had a blade on its tail. The new Mechagodzilla roared and fired a barrage of its missiles. Alarms blared as the missiles stuck the MG II Katsura countered with a blast from her buster cannon. The beam struck harmlessly against an energy shield that appeared around the alien Mechagodzilla. Then as soon as it had appeared the shield vanished again. A panel flipped open on the alien machine's chest. A red beam shot forward striking the MG II and knocking it into a mesa. Katsura screamed as she was thrown about the cockpit. He got up and fired a barrage of her own missiles. The alien Mechagodzilla's eyes flashed as purple beams shot every missile down. Katsura used this opening to charge the metal doppelganger slamming into it. The two mighty machines struggled for dominance.
"You see nothing can stop our Mechagodzilla." The alien leader laughed as they watched the battle. MG II was thrown to earth and then slammed by the alien Mechagodzilla's tail. He room began to shake. The alien held his footing he press his wrist.
"What's going on?" He demanded.
"Sir, an earthquake has collapsed part of the tunnels. The quake stopped. "Sir and new monster has emerged from the rubble and is heading towards Mechagodzilla."
"The serpent of Mu." Keisuke whispered.
"Send the ship to intercept it I don't want anymore interruptions!" The alien leader demanded through the com link on his wrist.
Manda rose from the rubble and shook his blue green scales. The mighty serpent lord of Mu hissed as a silver boomerang like object floated towards him. The great dragon hissed a warning at the craft. The UFO fired twin beams of blue at the snake god. The beams exploded against the monster knocking him back. Manda hissed again and from his maw poured a gout of green flame, bathing the UFO in fire. The UFO swayed from the blow. Manda stuck curling around the craft and crushing it. Manda hissed in victory and took to the sky heading towards the battle.
Katsura was fighting a losing battle. No matter how she attacked the alien clone was faster and stronger than her own Mechagodzilla. She emptied her missile racks and used every thing she had. The evil machine let forth another mechanical roar as its hands began to rotate. Alarms blared as missiles exploded against the armor of the Mechagodzilla II. She tried her best to keep the robot on its feet but the explosions drove it into the ground. The alien Mechagodzilla approached ominously. Katsura prepared herself for death when the metal monstrosity stopped. It swung its head around peering at something. Katsura heard a low hiss. Manda had arrived to join the fray. The blue green dragon floated in the air coiling and undulating as it hissed again at the metal invader. Mechagodzilla roared and turned to face its new opponent.
Manda stuck first the monster serpent slammed into the mighty alien robot knocking it over. Manda curled around it and began to squeeze. Mechagodzilla channeled its energy through its hull and into Manda. The gargantuan snake screeched and let go. Mechagodzilla fired his eye beams at Manda burning his right arm. The beast hissed and took to the sky. Mechagodzilla engaged its jets and followed. Katsura used this chance to jury-rig and hot wire the Mechagodzilla II into fighting shape again. She slowly got up and began putting power into the plasma grenade system. Mechagodzilla followed Manda through the skies. Matching every aerial move he did. Manda dodged the beams from the alien machine's eyes but he was running out of energy and each time the beam got closer.
Mechagodzilla charged its eye beams once more but before it could fire a green blast stuck it. The alien machine fell from the sky and landed hard sending dust bellowing into the air. As the dark robot sought to rise Manda stuck again bathing it in green flames. The flames ignited the missiles on the robots hands and they exploded. Mechagodzilla II moved forward and grabbed the alien weapon's head. With one clean motion Katsura ripped the head off. She tossed it away and then fired her buster cannon down the hole in its neck. The explosion consumed the remains of the alien machine as Manda hissed again and flew back towards where it first appeared. It had unfinished business with the aliens. Katsura smiled as she watched it go. She activated the jets and returned to base.
The leader of the aliens was beside himself with fury. Not only had Mechagodzilla been destroyed but their ship was gone as well. He roared as he watched the human Mechagodzilla fly away.
"Sir, Manda coming this way." The alien stopped.
"Evacuate the base, we have failed our people." He turned and passing his hand over the lock opened the door for Keisuke and the others. "You are free to go." He gestured. The group said nothing but ran. As the exited the caves they heard a hiss overhead. Manda came screaming out of the sky like a missile as he got closer his body burst into green flames. The pillar of fire shot into the ground and an explosion followed not long after. When the dust settled the group moved towards the crater. In the center they saw Manda curled up he exhaled a gold mist the slowly took the form of Saeko she collapsed onto the ground.
"Saeko!" Keisuke yelled and rushed to her side.
"Fear not human, she is unharmed." A voice hissed as he held the unconscious girl in his arms. He looked around for the speaker. His eyes finally alighted on Manda. "Yes I speak human. I am Manda guardian of Mu, the water God" The serpent spoke as the rest of the group joined Keisuke. Saeko opened her eyes. Manda looked at her. "Thank you child for releasing me." He said. Saeko smiled.
"I was my pleasure to help you." She said weakly.
"The aliens are gone and so is there machine. I since much has changed in this world. I must go now, remember this humans. Be true to the earth and I will protect you, forsake is and it will be your tomb." And with that the great dragon rose into the sky and flew off. Keisuke and the others carried Saeko to where they parked.
"I'm sorry the cavern was destroyed." Saeko said. "Now there is no proof of Mu."
"It's alright; somehow I feel that people will believe us now." Keisuke smiled as he started the car. The sun set burned bright and beautiful as they drove back to the professor's hoping that at least for now they had seen the last of alien, monsters and robots.
Deep in the ground beneath the desert another group of beings stirred. They had long kept out of the site of man and had dug their tunnels stealthily to avoid their detection an soon they would rise again and the colony would grow and feed for it was the way of their species. The sensors on the openings of the nest had kept them underground for fear of attack by the humans, but they had found a new set of tunnels that led away from their former home. Even now the first drones broke the surface and began to explore with their feelers and legs. As they explored they found a camper full of humans. The drones attacked and ate them and moved on to map out this new hunting ground. In the remains of the RV a little girl who had hid in a trunk when the monster ants had attacked lay there shaking. When she was found by officials two days later she could only say on word. "Them."
