Yamagata watched the rush of blue flame strike Gamera. A storm of sparks and smoke erupted from the monster's rear. It rolled over and plunged into the ocean.

Godzilla cut through the water, heading toward he fallen turtle. Yamagata circled above them. He turned to McGovern. "What say we give the big guy a hand?"

The WSO shrugged. "I don't think he needs it, but what the hell?"

The three MF-3 Excaliburs dove on Gamera.

"Freeze rays, on my mark." Yamagata shifted the jet's nose. The gun pipper settled over the roiling water. "Mark!"

Three white beams flashed from the tip of each Excalibur. Ice swept over the giant turtle, floating on its back. The water around it froze, forming a miniature glacier.

The Beastmasters swung to the left as Godzilla bore down on frozen form of Gamera.

"Sangai Lead, Beastmaster One." Yamagata radioed Colonel Enoshita. "Recommend we re-engage the Oniuingu. I think Godzilla's got this in hand."

A few seconds of silence passed before the air wing commander replied, "Roger, One. All planes, head for Iwo Jima. Re-engage Oniuingu."

Yamagata checked over his shoulder. Godzilla was almost on top of Gamera. He grinned.

You're in a world of trouble, turtle.

XXXXX

The ice cracked around Gamera as he struggled in the frozen water. Through his upside-down view of the world, he saw Godzilla approach. The monster let out a prolonged, piercing roar.

Intense heat flooded the lower half of Gamera's body. Jets of flame gushed from the openings for his legs. The ice around them melted. Gamera burst through the ice encasing him. He retracted his head a second before slamming into Godzilla's mid-section.

The radioactive dinosaur fell backwards. Walls of water shot up around him.

Gamera flipped over in mid-air. He roared and arced around. Godzilla broke the surface and turned.

Gamera crashed into Godzilla's skull. His head snapped back. Pain drilled through his brain, blinding the great monster. He toppled over and hit the water, sending up towering waves.

A sharp wail erupted from Gamera's mouth. He banked to the right and angled himself at the ocean. The turtle tore through the water. He spotted Godzilla twisting below, trying to right himself and return to the surface. Gamera plowed through the water, aiming for the other monster.

Godzilla lifted his head as Gamera approached. Teeth bared, he kicked his huge, powerful legs. Both monsters rocketed toward each other, arms extended.

They collided. Tremors of pain pounded their enormous bodies. The two spun around, thousands of bubbles swirling about them. Godzilla brought down a fist on Gamera's rugged shell. The turtle slashed with his right hand. Sharp claws ripped into Godzilla's side. A mist of red floated in the water.

Godzilla pushed himself away. He reared back and rammed his palm into Gamera's head once, twice. The large turtle pulled back. The openings for his lower legs gushed flame. Gamera shot toward the surface.

Godzilla followed, kicking as hard as he could. He could not catch Gamera before blasted out of the water.

The turtle flew higher into the sky as Godzilla surfaced. He turned back toward mutated dinosaur and let out a wail. Two fireballs spat from his mouth. Godzilla roared and dropped beneath the waves.

The fireballs exploded on the water. Godzilla pushed himself to the surface. Water burst around him. Atomic fire spewed from his mouth. He twisted around, the stream edging closer to Gamera. It connected, sparks and fire jumping from the turtle's rear. He roared and pancaked into the Pacific.

Godzilla raced toward his foe. He belched out more blue flame. Gamera activated his rear jets. The fire just missed him, boiling the water behind him.

Gamera spun toward Godzilla. His maw opened, unleashing another fireball. It exploded against Godzilla's torso. He let out a cry of pain and anger.

Gamera retracted his head and appendages. He whirled around, a blue aura surrounding him. The turtle sped over the waves. Godzilla just righted himself when Gamera crashed into him.

XXXXX

Yamagata jerked in his seat as another Oniuingu beam struck the Excalibur's titanium/diamond ally hull. He gritted his teeth, banked right, then dove left. Another beam zipped past his starboard wing. He glanced at the feed from the jet's rear camera. The Oniuingu stayed on his tail.

"Somebody clear my six." Yamagata jinked left. A yellow beam just missed him.

"I'm on it," Winter's voice came through his headphones.

Yamagata swung to the right. Two F/A-18s flashed past his nose, less than a mile away. A cold blade of fear stabbed him. He didn't only have to worry about Oniuingu shooting him down, but colliding with other planes.

He banked again, glancing at the rear monitor. The monster followed. Its mouth opened wide. Yamagata jammed the stick left. G-forces crushed him. He glimpsed a flash of yellow overhead.

"Winter," he grunted.

"Tally on the kaiju."

Yamagata's eyes flickered to the rear monitor. Two particle beams tore through the Oniuingu's torso. It arched its back, mouth opened in what he assumed was a scream.

Another particle beam burst sliced through the monster. It went limp and spiraled toward the Pacific.

"Thanks, Winter."

Something hammered the Excalibur's rear. The plane bucked.

"Shit!" McGovern's head whipped left to right.

Yamagata leveled out, then banked left. All around him, jets, monsters and lasers streaked across the sky. Two Oniuingu tumbled into the water, trailing smoke and flame. Two jets vanished in a flash of orange and black.

"There!" McGovern pointed down.

Yamagata looked right. Half-a-dozen lasers shot from the hollowed-out summit of Mount Suribachi. One beam cleaved off the wing of an F/A-18. Another struck an F-15, blowing it apart.

"The damn things are using it like a foxhole," commented McGovern.

A beam zipped past their Excalibur, missing them by forty feet.

Yamagata checked the AESA phased array radar. Blade's plane was aiding some US Navy F/A-18s under attack by a pair of Oniuingu. Winter, though, was still guarding his six.

"Winter, with me. Target Mount Suribachi's summit."

"Roger, Ninja."

He wheeled around, putting his nose on Iwo Jima. To his right, a fiery jet plummeted toward the ocean.

"Gov, you have weps."

"I have weps." The WSO turned to Yamagata, jaw tight for a moment. "We're down to our last three Sunstrokes."

"Use 'em all. Winter, how many Sunstrokes are you packing?"

"We're down to four."

"Use 'em up," ordered Yamagata. "I want those bastards dead."

"Roger."

Both jets dove at Suribachi. Lasers continued to shoot out from the summit. To the north, a jet exploded. Another one, a Japanese F-2, went into a dive. It launched one missile, two missiles.

A beam struck the cockpit. A ball of fire consumed the aircraft.

Mount Suribachi grew before Yamagata. The fire from the Oniuingu never let up. He saw their heads poking out over the lip of the crater. Several beams streaked past him. One grazed the Excalibur's side. The plane shook. Yamagata kept it on target. Two more lasers flashed by. Sweat drenched his body. He felt his heart slam against his chest. For an instant, he wondered if dive bomber pilots in World War II felt this way.

"Shit!" Winter blurted over the radio.

"Three. Report," ordered Yamagata.

"We took two hits to the port wing. Still good to go."

"Gov." Yamagata glanced at McGovern.

"One sec . . . locked on. Fire. Fire. Fire."

The Sunstroke missiles raced away from the Excalibur. Yamagata banked left.

Yellow lit up the Excalibur's nose. A quake rattled the jet. Yamagata grabbed the stick with both hands. The Excalibur rolled left. Yamagata blinked, bright dots floating across his vision.

Another blow shook the aircraft. Yamagata shoved the stick forward, counted to two, then pulled back. The dots started to fade. He jinked left. Two beams zipped past the windshield. He turned back to Mount Suribachi.

All three of their Sunstrokes overshot the island and flew across the Pacific. Yamagata clenched his teeth, seething. The blows must have broken the missiles' laser lock.

Three brilliant white balls of light sprouted on the side of Suribachi. Those had to be Winter's Sunstrokes. The fourth missile exploded within the crater, blotting out one Oniuingu.

Seven shots, one kill. Yamagata resisted the urge to pound his console. He had no time to be angry.

"Caputo. Damage report."

"Freeze ray and AESA offline. Power flow to the particle beams disrupted."

"Great," McGovern growled. "All we have left are the GAU-8s."

Yamagata checked the ammo for the two guns. They were down to 150 rounds each.

"Sangai Lead to all planes," Colonel Enoshita radioed. "Regroup three miles south of Mount Suribachi. My squadron will cover you while -"

The transmission ended with a dull thud. Yamagata spotted a fireball to his right. The rear section of an F-15 tumbled end over end, engulfed in flames.

Yamagata held his breath. They'd just lost their wing commander.

"Cherry Tree to all aircraft." The transmission came from the George Washington, which provided command and control for the strike. "Disengage. Repeat, disengage and return to base."

The airwaves rattled with double-clicks of the mike from the surviving pilots, Yamagata included. He turned the Excalibur south and pushed the throttle to full military power. With the AESA radar down, all he had were the rear camera and his own Mark One Eyeballs to check on the other aircraft. He saw the remaining US and Australian F/A-18s, Japanese F-15s and F-2s, and Filipino and Indonesian FA-50s following him.

He also saw Blade and Winter closing ranks with him, though Winter's Excalibur wobbled.

"How're you holding up, Winter?"

"The plane's sluggish. I think my port aileron took some damage."

"Can you make it back to base?" asked Yamagata.

"I will, even if we have to get out and push," replied Winter. "I'm not in the mood to go into the ocean, especially since I left my surfboard back home."

Yamagata couldn't help but grin. He checked the rear monitor. The Oniuingu didn't follow them, thank God.

He let out a breath when Caputo spoke up. "Major, I just got a reply from PACOM on your query about the SEALs."

"What did they say?"

"There are no SEALs conducting any operations on Iwo Jima."

Brow furrowed, Yamagata looked at Caputo, then at McGovern.

"Okay," the WSO said. "So who the hell is that Jim Rice guy we were talking to?"

"Damn good question, Gov."

Yamagata stared ahead when Blade's voice came through his headphones. "Beastmaster Two. The Oniuingu are heading north."

Yamagata stared at the rear monitor, tapping an icon on the screen to magnify it. A cloud of dark gray shapes soared away from the island. He swallowed.

They were headed straight for Godzilla.

TO BE CONTINUED