Chaos.

That was the only word that could truly describe the initial charge of the battle. The Geofront rumbled as the two armies of kaiju sprinted at each other, their battle cries echoing across the vast cavern. As one the MP Evas dropped from the skies in a unison that would make even the best air squadrons envious, with Mothra, Battra, Rodan, and Varan flying up to meet them in battle. Shinji led the charge on the side of the defenders, Junior and Asuka flanking him. The skeletal monster in turn charged at him, with Kiryu and Spacegodzilla at its sides. Time seemed to slow down for Shinji as he steeled himself for what was to come, and there was a brief stillness in the battleground, almost like the calm before a storm.

Then several hundred thousand tons of kaiju collided.

The skeletal monster spun in the air, smashing Shinji in the face first with an armored fist, then with its pronged tail. His head snapped back, and he narrowly dodged another swipe from the creature. Gritting his teeth, he swung upwards and caught the monster in the solar plexus. Before it could recover from that, he fired a Proton Beam point-blank into its shoulder. The creature was forced back by the blow, digging furrows in the soil as it skidded to a halt. It rose, red blood leaking from a smoking crater in its shoulder. The monster growled, spreading its arms outwards. Its six eyes flashed, firing a flurry of gravity bolts that smashed into Shinji.

Junior caught Kiryu in a tackle, sending the two kaiju rolling across the battlefield. Junior rose first, his spines flashing as he fired his atomic ray. The superheated plasma simply washed over Kiryu's armor, prompting the cyborg to return fire. Junior cried out, stepping back as a salvo of missiles detonated against his hide and obscured him in smoke. When it cleared, however, he was nowhere to be seen. Kiryu tentatively looked around, only for the ground to collapse underneath it. As it struggled to rise, Junior burst forth from the ground and caught it in a tackle, furiously wresting a missile pod free. Kiryu lashed out, smacking the juvenile Gojiran with a swipe of its tail.

Spacegodzilla attempted to intervene with the battle, only for Asuka to catch it off guard. Screaming a battle cry, she slashed upwards with her prog knife. The vibrating blade sliced through the cosmic saurian's neck with ease, blood spraying from the newly created wound. Spacegodzilla gurgled as its throat filled with blood, then sent Asuka flying with a swing of its arm. With its throat wound mostly healed, it prepared to incinerate its foolish attacker with a blast of its Corona Beam. Just as it was about to fire, however, Unit-01 caught in a tackle that threw it off balance. The Corona beam went wide, then looped back and struck the Eva in the shoulder. Unit-01 roared and lashed out with its good arm, smashing its fist into Spacegodzilla's still-healing throat. While the cosmic saurian staggered, the Eva turned its attention to its shoulder. The armor had been blasted off by the attack, shattered bone was visible in the wound. Gritting its teeth, it regenerated the wound, the flesh around its shoulder warping and bubbling as it did so. With a satisfied grunt it turned back to Spacegodzilla and charged once more.

Varan smashed into one of the MP-Evas at mach one, sending both of them tumbling down to the ground below. They struggled briefly, then Varan lashed out with a head butt, sending the Eva staggering. It recovered quickly, however, and swung with its massive sword. The obaki jumped backwards, only receiving a small gash on its chest instead of a complete bisection. It shrieked once more and swung with its tail, catching the Eva off-guard and stabbing it in the thigh with one of its spikes. The Eva paid no heed to the wound as it once more attempted to gut the kaiju before it, something that proved to be most injurious when it took a step forward and suddenly collapsed, its leg nearly destroyed by the necrotising effects of the spike's venom. Varan took advantage of the situation and lunged, tearing into the Eva with its claws.

Gigan shrieked as it charged, its scythes stretched outwards. Megalon stayed at its side, mimicking its older brother's motions. Rodan and Anguirus stood their ground, their eyes narrowed, then moved at the same time. Rodan flew upwards, letting Gigan pass underneath him, then came back down with a resounding crash as he planted both of his feet firmly into the cyborg's back. Anguirus met Megalon's charge head on, smashing his shoulder into its gut. The two kaiju struggled briefly, then Anguirus won out, sending Megalon crashing to the ground.

Bagan growled as Mothra opened fire, the twin beams obscuring his upper body. His horns crackled as he prepared to fire his plasma breath, only for Battra to take the opportunity to fly by and slice his throat open with its wings. The superheated gas took the path of least resistance and burst out of the demon's throat, nearly decapitating him in the process. It was only a momentary setback, however, and within seconds the wound had healed. Bagan lashed out with his tail, smacking Battra in the thorax and sending the dark moth flying to the ground. Before he could walk over and stomp the aggravating insect into paste, however, Mothra intervened and continued to bombard him with her beams, allowing Battra to take to the air once more.

Elsewhere the battle was not going so well for the Earth defenders. Kumonga found itself being pressed to the corner by three MP-Evas, already bereft one of its legs. It sprayed its silk at the center Eva, hoping to entangle the biomechanical monster enough for it to go in with its venom. Unfortunately for the colossal arachnid, this simply allowed the other two to advance unopposed, their swords raised high. Noticing at the last second, Kumonga took to the air with a large bound. It sailed over their heads, only to impale itself on the now-free third Eva's sword. The spider flailed wildly, swiping at the Eva with its spindly legs and sinking its stinger into its throat. The Eva paid no attention to the attacks, even as its throat rotted away, and instead pulled upwards, bifurcating the kaiju. Kumonga fell to the ground, twitching, then went still.

==/*\==

Gendo watched the battle unfold from his small control craft in geosynchronous orbit, a small frown on his face. The defending kaiju had proved to be more resilient than he had anticipated, even with the upgrades the MP-Evas and the other creatures under his control had received. What concerned him most, however, was the fact that Unit-01 had joined the battle. His efforts would be in vain if the Eva was destroyed in the fighting, and thus resolved to handle the situation. He pressed a finger to a small button on the side of his visor.

"All units, avoid Unit-01 completely," he barked.

The order was quickly implemented. A trio of MP-Evas that were flying over to Unit-01 instead shifted their attention to King Caesar, who had busy pounding one of their brethren into the ground. The colossal shisa looked up and growled, giving the Eva on the ground one last stomp before rushing at its new attackers. Manda and Baragon joined the the fray, and soon an intense melee was underway.

Unfortunately, the order did nothing to Spacegodzilla. The cosmic saurian was not under any form of control, and as such continued its vicious struggle with Unit-01. Gendo gritted his teeth slightly, ready to sic all of his Eva units on the creature at a moment's notice. For the time being, however, the purple Eva seemed to be holding its ground against the extraterrestrial fiend.

Soon, he thought to himself. Soon I'll have you back in my arms, Yui.

==/*\==

Shinji staggered, smoke rising from where the gravity bolts struck his armor. Monster X gave him no chance to recover and delivered a flying punch to his jaw. The boy hit the ground hard, dazed from the blow.

Shinji, are you alright? Zone Fighter inquired.

I think I swallowed some of my teeth, Shinji replied.

He rose unsteadily and got once more into a fighting stance. Monster X lunged, only to be caught off guard when Shinji ducked to the side at the last second, catching its gut in a fierce uppercut that actually lifted it off of its feet. The skeletal kaiju stumbled in an almost drunken manner, blood dripping from its jaw. Shinji followed the attack with a pair of Meteor Missiles, blasting a fist-sized hole in its sternum. While it reeled from that attack, he then caught it in a flying tackle. He began to furiously pound his fists into its bony face mask, a spiderweb of fractures appearing with each blow. Monster X finally recovered and caught both of his wrists, glaring at him with hateful crimson eyes.

Kill me, a soft voice said, echoing through his mind.

Shinji paused in his struggling. What? he thought with wide eyes.

Monster X's eyes flashed, blasting him with a point-blank salvo of gravity bolts. Shinji went flying from the attack, several patches of his armor now completely gone. He breathed heavily as he rose again, gritting his teeth to fight the pain. Already he could feel the S2 organ setting to work, dulling the pain and healing the bruises and burns he had sustained. Monster X mirrored the motion, steam billowing from its mouth as the hole in its sternum sealed itself and the fractures on its mask disappeared.

We can't just keep cycling through the fight, Shinji thought. This has to be our second or third time doing this.

It has to have a weak point somewhere, Zone Fighter said. Most of the Angels or Angelic-based creatures we've encountered have the core in their solar plexus. It might have its core hidden beneath its ribcage.

So you're basically telling me I have to gut it and hope I find the core? Shinji asked, exasperated.

Would you prefer if I told you "hit it harder"? Zone Fighter.

Shinji grimaced. No, I guess I wouldn't.

Monster X charged once more, shoving aside a hapless Baragon as it did so. Shinji met the charge head on, charging a Proton Beam.

==/*\==

Asuka screamed a battle cry, bringing her newly-aquired sword down on an MP-Eva's head. The blade effortlessly sliced through the flesh and armor of the white Evangelion, not stopping until it struck the biomechanical creature's core. It stumbled blindly, frantically trying to reconnect its bifurcated halves, only to get sent to the ground with a kick. Asuka brought down her sword once more and shattered the Eva's core into a hundred pieces, causing it to explode into a massive spray of LCL and shattered armor.

"One down," she panted, looking about the battlefield, "and fifteen to go."

The battle was beginning to turn against her and the other defenders. Already Kumonga had fallen, and Kamacuras was in the process of being ripped to pieces by a pair of MP-Evas. King Caesar and the others were fairing better, if only barely. Jet was somewhere else, putting his massive rifle to good use. What made matters worse was that most of the MP-Evas were still flying overhead, circling the group like ravenous vultures

Another Eva lunged at her. Asuka ducked underneath its clumsy swing and took out its leg with her sword. Spinning about, she sliced its torso opened, exposing its core. The Eva paid no attention to grievous wounds it had sustained and swung with its sword, hobbling on its remaining leg. Asuka brought her sword up in defense, then shoved lightly. The Eva lost its tenuous balance and fell to the ground, staining the dead soil beneath it with LCL. Before it could rise, Asuka stomped down on its solar plexus, shattering its core.

"Two down," she growled.

Gorosaurus's roar sounded out behind her, and she turned to find the dinosaur grappling with an MP-Eva that had tried to sneak up on her from behind. The two struggled briefly, then Gorosaurus shoved it away and poised himself on his tail. Before the Eva could react, he lashed out with both of his legs, sending a pulpy spray of bone, blood, and brain matter flying from where its head used to be. Roaring triumphantly, Gorosaurus clamped his jaws down on its headless torso with a sickeningly wet crunch and shook it like a rabid dog.

"Three down," Asuka said.

King Caesar's roar drew her gaze elsewhere, and she had to repress the urge to vomit as the horrific scene unfolded before her.

The MP-Evas were eating Baragon. The pudgy kaiju fought in vain as four MP-Evas began to tear into its flesh with their teeth, holding it down as to lessen its struggling. King Caesar and Manda roared furiously, tackling them away from Baragon, but by then it was too late. The small kaiju groaned weakly, then expired.

Is that what will happen if we lose? she thought to herself. She hefted her sword, weighing it in her hands. Not if I can help it.

Screaming a battle cry, she charged once more.

==/*\==

Mothra dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding Bagan's plasma breath. The great moth circled the demon, peppering him with a flurry of orange beams. Black bile trickled from countless wounds on the beast's chest, but he refused to let up as he swung one of his massive clawed arms at the goddess. One of the demon's ebon claws struck home, tearing a gash in Mothra's wing. The benevolent guardian cried out in pain and increased her altitude, green ichor trickling from the wound.

Bagan growled and prepared another blast of his plasma breath, only for Battra to open fire. The demon cried out in pain as even more of his flesh was torn asunder by the dark guardian's fierce attack, then retaliated with his plasma breath. The white hellfire grazed Battra's wing, sending the black moth careening to the ground with a muted boom. Bagan stepped forward, a horrific grin on his face. Just as he prepared to vaporize Battra once and for all, however, Mothra intervened again. The goddess began to furiously flap her wings, filling the air with countless thousands of her scales. They soon encompassed Bagan, burning his unholy flesh wherever they touched. The demon howled in agony and once more fired his plasma breath, only to have it reflected back to him by the scales. Battra fired his prism beams into the cloud as well, now in the air again. The beams tore into Bagan's still-healing flesh, allowing the scales to burn even deeper.

Suddenly, the demon ceased his thrashing. Great arcs of electricity crackled across his horns and back. Before either moth could react, Bagan lashed out with his claws, which were now encased in hellfire. The attack destroyed the cloud of scales in a massive explosion and slashed Mothra across the thorax. The great moth cried out in pain and fell to the ground, futilely trying to get back up. Bagan trudged forward, his crimson eyes narrowing as he charged another blast of his plasma breath. Once more Battra flew in to help, unaware that the demon was counting on that. Just as Battra was about to fly by and slice open his throat, Bagan twisted about and fired his plasma breath point blank. The dark guardian had no time to react as the white hellfire burnt away its flesh, and he plummeted to the ground, dead.

Bagan turned to Mothra again. The goddess could do nothing but watch as the demon trudged to her position, his wounds from the battle now almost fully healed. Raising a foot, he gently stepped onto her head, pressing it into the dead earth. The great moth scanned the horizon with her compound eyes, observing the ensuing battle. Even now, as she watched comrades fall in battle, she still had hope.

With crunch, Bagan crushed in her head.

==/*\==

The Shobijin screamed.

Rei turned her head slightly to the twin fairies, who were now kneeling down and sobbing. "What has happened?" she inquired softly.

"T-the Goddess," the Shobijin choked out between sobs, "has been slain."

Rei paused briefly in thought. "The final battle has begun," she muttered. "And we are losing." She turned once more to the Shobijin. "I must return to help my children. I cannot simply stand by and let your guardians be slaughtered trying to protect them."

The Shobijin composed themselves and unsteadily rose to their feet. "We will work to get you home," they said shakily.

Rei bowed slightly. "Thank you."

As they began to walk to the nearby facility, the Shobijin began to sense something, someone. It was a familiar one, and old, older than the island itself. As they hurried along the beach, they thought that perhaps not all hope was lost.

==/*\==

Junior fired his atomic breath again, sparks flying where the superheated vapor made contact with Kiryu's armor. The cyborg made no acknowledgement of the attack and opened fire, dozens of missiles firing out of its remaining shoulder pod. Junior reeled from the force of the explosions, allowing Kiryu to open fire with its maser. The energy beam struck Junior in the chest, obscuring the juvenile Gojiran in smoke as it roasted his flesh. However, this allowed him to move to the side and smash into the cyborg, sending it tumbling to the ground. Junior refused to let up with his attack and jumped onto Kiryu, ripping the remaining missile pod free and working his claws into the gaps in its armor. Suddenly, the cyborg lashed out with a fist, smashing Junior in the temple.

Junior stumbled from the blow, allowing Kiryu to get back up. It sprang forward with surprising speed and swung another fist and Junior's face, followed by a tail swing that took out his legs. Kiryu charged its maser again and began to blast the juvenile Gojiran. Junior cried out in pain, then opened fire with his atomic breath, striking Kiryu in the side of the face. The cyborg stumbled, smoke rising from the charred armor around its right eye. Taking advantage of the situation, Junior lunged, smashing into Kiryu's chest. They began to grapple, furiously swiping at each other whenever they could. The air filled with the sound of broken bones and shattered armor.

This continued for a few moments, then Kiryu decided to break the stalemate. Shoving Junior back, its right hand shifted and folded, forming a drill. Before Junior could react, it lunged forward and plunged the drill into his chest. There was a brief pause, then it began to spin. Junior wailed in pain as blood and hunks of flesh sprayed out from the wound, trying in vain to pull the drill out. The drill went deeper, stopping only when it struck Junior's ribs. With a rip Kiryu removed the drill from the juvenile Gojiran's chest, then fired its maser into the wound. Steam rose from the gaping hole in Junior's chest as his very blood was boiled. With a weak cry, Junior fell to the ground, twitching.

==/*\==

Gendo smirked as he observed the battle between the two of them. Once the pesky reptile was done with, he could use Kiryu for far more important tasks. "It is time for the coup de grace," he muttered.

==/*\==

Kiryu stepped forward, a blade extending from its wrist. The cyborg looked upon the spasming form of Junior, then knelt down. Raising its arm, it prepared to deliver the killing blow. Junior turned his eyes toward his former father and future killer, fear and pain clear in his eyes. Then, he swallowed that fear and gave one last roar of defiance, a roar that would've struck fear into any flesh and blood creature. Kiryu paid no heed to the gesture and adjusted its aim slightly, now ready to finish Junior off once and for all.

Then, it froze.

==/*\==

The smirk disappeared from Gendo's face. "What?" he mumbled in shock. Hurriedly he pulled out Kiryu's biometrics, checking to see if anything was wrong with the cyborg. To his slowly growing horror, the biometric scanners had been turned off. Gendo turned to the viewscreen. Indeed, Kiryu's eyes had grown dark, giving no indication of life.

He pressed the button on his visor again. "Unit-13, investigate."

==/*\==

The Eva in question swooped down from the sky and began to circle Kiryu on foot, investigating the cyborg. Occasionally it would prod the biomechanical titan with its sword, trying to elicit a response, all to no avail. Soon it came to a stop at the cyborg's face, peering into its dark eyes. Behind it Junior rose shakily, the hole in his chest slowly healing. He strained out with his senses, trying to figure out the situation from afar. Suddenly, he heard something he never thought to hear again.

Somewhere, hidden within the steel breast of the silver dragon, a heart began to beat once more.

Kiryu's eyes lighted up again. Instead of the golden yellow it had been before, however, it was now the color of burning coals. Before anyone could react, it suddenly lashed out with its fist, pulping through the hapless Eva's upper body and shattering its core in one blow. The cyborg rose, its body shuddering as something strange happened underneath its armor. Then, to the shock of everyone watching, it threw up. The maser cannons in its maw fell out, accompanied by several long cables and thousands of gallons of hydraulics. Kiryu shuddered again, then roared.

Across the Geofront, everyone paused at the sound of the roar and turned their gaze to Kiryu. The cyborg began to tear at its own armor, servos groaning in protest as the main plate on its chest was wrenched free. The armor on its dorsal spines melted away, revealing the original bones underneath to be glowing blue. The glow spread to the rest of Kiryu's body, burning away its armor in a beautiful gout of blue flame. When it finally faded, a figure stood in Kiryu's place. Its fiery orange eyes scanned the battlefield, sending hope surging through the defenders and unadulterated fear through the attackers, then roared once more.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters, had returned.

A/N: He's back, bitches!