The ocean waters off the coast of Normandy were still as aquatic life went on with their lives, swimming among the ocean floor and trying to survive off of each other. Unbeknownst to them, an intense battle was about to interrupt the tranquility.
The underwater canyon rumbled before exploding outward as the Gotengo drilled its way out, launching rocks and debris into the formerly calm waters.
It was the very same Gotengo that had faced off against Godzilla, but that had been many decades ago, and it had been heavily modified since that fateful battle. The upgraded vessel had been outfitted with sleek black armor, blood red viewports that gave it a menacing look, along with having been fitted with an advanced engine that granted it greater speed over the inferior quad engines that it originally had.
For its armament, it had replaced the deck cannons for high-powered maser cannons placed strategically below its hull, but that could be pulled out and equipped on a whim whenever needed. The ship also carried concealed repeating plasma cannons that offered a field of cover over most of the ship, along with rapid fire missile launchers that could fire off a variety of destructive warheads. Even it's signature frontal drill had been upgraded, holding its most powerful maser cannon that was even capable of freezing anything in its way with its Absolute Zero Cannon.
The Gotengo blasted through the underwater canyon, but not without an unwanted presence.
Manda reared his head back and gave an angry hiss, tightening his serpent-like body around the battleship in an effort to crush it. The ship groaned as the monster coiled itself tighter, beginning to dent due to the tremendous pressure. Manda narrowed its eyes at the Gotengo, being dragged along at high-speed with it through the ocean waters. Within the ship's bridge, the crew worked as steadily as the could on their monitors, trying to minimize the damage that the monster was causing with its constriction. The gunnery members could do nothing but monitor the Gotengo's power supply and build-up as the dragon's body was covering the concealed weaponry, and the dragon constricting the Gotengo meant that it wasn't able to be hit with the drill cannon. Inside the Captain's Chair sat Captain Douglas Gordon, the new captain of the upgraded battleship. He surveyed his crew and watched how they worked in their battle against Manda, before turning his attention to the holographic projection displaying the situation in front of him. The Gotengo was near a dormant volcano, but the ship was already fast approaching its depth limit and pushing it could lead to them being crushed by the pressure from the ocean. "We're too deep sir! Pull up!", the man besides him seemed to reflect this very thought, Major Kumoro. His faced held an expression of worry as the Gotengo's structural integrity continued to falter, now due to a combination of Manda's constriction and the ocean pressure. Captain Gordon turned to the major before forcefully saying, "No! Stay on course."
The ship screeched as its armor was tested to its limits, but still continued down its descent into the depths. A crewman turned to the captain, "Depth six thousand, seven hundred!" Streams of ocean water blasted inside the bridge from where it had managed to enter, due in part to both Manda and the increasing pressure. To make matters worse, the electronic systems aboard the Gotengo began to falter and spark due to the damage, showering the crew in sparks and causing them to shout in alarm. All in fact except Captain Gordon, who held a firm expression as he focused solely on his plan. Another nervous crewman gave his input, "We're too deep!"
As it turned out the dormant volcano was exactly what the Gotengo needed to get Manda off of them, coming into visual distance of the ship. Gordon saw his chance, "Fire missiles!" The volcano was targeted, and a trio of missiles were fired from the Gotengo and collided against the volcano. The explosions awakened the volcano and started up the lava flow, creating the opening that Captain Gordon was looking for. "Go right into it!" The fearless pilot didn't hesitate and quickly directed the Gotengo into the now active volcano along with the still attached Manda.
The Gotengo stayed above the boiling lava flow, significantly raising the temperature for both combatants. "Temperature is eighty degrees, sir!" a worrying crewman shouted to Gordon. The bridge had turned a shade of red, the intense heat and the fact that they were above an active lava flow affecting the lighting of the bridge. Major Kumoro turned to the captain with a look of exasperation, "Captain!" Gordon would have none of it, "Stay on course!" Alarms began blaring throughout the bridge as the temperature continued to rise within the Gotengo. Outside the ship, Manda began to flail around and panic on its hull as the lava flow began to raise his temperature immensely.
"Temperature at ninety degrees!" the same crewman shouted out, his face slick with sweat from the intense heat. Elsewhere on the bridge blistering steam shot out of the malfunctioning circuitry, striking some crewmen and causing them to fall to the ground in pain. "Captain! We're over the limit!" but Gordon said nothing. If they were feeling the heat as it was, then Manda had to have been boiling alive out there. All part of his plan.
Manda gave a groan of anguish as his body was super-heated and writhed in agony. The fact that he was still wrapped around the metal battleship didn't help matters since it just served as a conductor for the heat and burned him even more. His body began to let off a bright golden glow before Manda's body burst into flames from the lava. The dragon gave out a cry of horror mixed with agony as the burning flames licked at his body. The dragon rapidly unwrapped himself from the ship and quickly sped off for the cooler waters. The heat was far too much, he had to get out of this inferno before it boiled him alive!
The instant that Manda detached himself from the ship was when Gordon finally relented, "Now! Surface!" The pilot wasted no time and quickly redirected the ship away from the lava flow, before the ship exited the volcano with an intense burst of speed.
Before anyone could recover from the volcanic experience, a gunner gave a shout of alarm, "Manda! It's behind us!" Some distance behind the ship the still glowing Manda gave a snarl of fury as he bared his fangs! He intended on finishing this before the ship could do any more harm to him! Gordon reacted quickly, "Turn. One hundred and eight degrees." The skilled pilot gave a grunt of exertion as he pulled the control wheel with all his might. The Gotengo made a sudden turn before activating its burst of speed and charging towards Manda, causing some crewman to shout in alarm and fall to the floor thanks to the shift in momentum.
As man and monster closed the distance with each other, a gunner updated Captain Gordon, "The automatic lock-on, sir, is down!" This didn't faze Captain Gordon in the slightest.
"Ozaki. Manual targeting." From the front of the ship, a gunner with his face fully enveloped with a breathing apparatus looked up before removing the apparatus. Shinichi Ozaki, a mutant serving on the Gotengo with superhuman capabilities. One of which happened to be deadly aim. Ozaki gripped the controls for the drill's maser cannon before focusing onto the incoming ferocious dragon. Captain Gordon waited until the ship was within firing range, "Fire maser!"
Ozaki's pupils dilated as his mutant senses kicked in, time seemed to slow down. Manda extended his jaw to give out a ferocious roar as the Gotengo's drill spun, both entities on the verge of colliding.
Ozaki fired the maser.
The Absolute Zero Cannon fired instantly, shooting out a blue beam that streaked towards Manda in the blink of an eye. The beam was so fast that Manda only had enough time to rear his head back in an attempt to avoid it, but it was too late. Manda's snarling face became a frozen statue as the beam's effects spread throughout his body, instantly crystallizing the superheated dragon entirely and leaving him a drifting, defenseless shell of its ferocious self.
The Gotengo didn't slow down in the slightest.
The heavily damaged battleship rammed into Manda, tearing through his frozen body effortlessly with it beginning with the neck as he had positioned his head away from the beam. The Gotengo's drill tore through Manda's body, pulverizing it into icy chunks of what used to be his body. Before long the Gotengo cleared its way completely through the dragon's frozen body, exiting in an explosion of fine mist made up of what had been Manda.
The battle had been seemingly finished. The confirmation came in the form of a gunner, "Manda is gone, sir." They had won! The crew took a second to catch their breaths, with even Gordon letting out a quiet exhalation as relief washed over his face, the adrenaline from the battle fading away. "Damage report: seventy-two percent." The battle had been costly, and had nearly been very close. "Captain, we got a call from the base," a weary crewman informed Gordon.
"Aw shit."
"Captain Gordon," the older woman on the screen looked down on him, Akiko Namikawa, Commander of the Earth Defense Forces. She was not very impressed with Captain Gordon's victory, especially since it nearly resulted in a complete loss of the ship and all hands. "You almost lost the ship back there. This time you won't be able to escape court-martia-" Gordon wouldn't let her finish, barking, "Do you know what we just went through? I don't care about your court-martial or anything else you have. So just keep your mouth shut!" Namikawa pounded her fist against her desk in outrage, but said nothing. The good captain would have to come back to the base eventually, where she would deal with him then. "Gotengo. Return to base." The battleship exited the waters of Normandy, and began its long limp home in order to get repairs, and another reprimand from Commander Namikawa.
As the Gotengo left the battlefield of Normandy behind, deep beneath the waves, the disembodied snarling head of Manda floated serenely amongst the depths, before disappearing in a bright flash of light...
That's it for this chapter! Leave a review to tell me what you think, or what you think can be improved. Until next time!