Nothing is owned. Everything is copyrighted.
Gordon led the group into the titanic Susanoo, the godslayer-class vessel damn near as large as the entire ground-level compound. Even without its main cannon, it sported enough turrets and defenses to take on an entire fleet of fortress-classes. He just hoped that it would be enough for what was going on outside. They're been receiving only sparse transmissions, and from what got through, it seemed the entire planet was in the same shape as them or worse.
Alarms blared as the Gotengo began to launch. Ozaki was the only one aboard, deciding that he'd be aiming purely for anti-kaiju combat, and that no other crew was needed with the psychic controller. At this point, Gordon didn't really have an alternative; he needed everyone else aboard the Susanoo, and even then they'd be lucky to have a skeleton crew. He stepped inside just as the black craft sped out of its launch tube.
He led the remaining mutant soldiers in first, 4 remaining outside to ensure the bay was in total lockdown and clear of any Gh-mutants before following. They hadn't been the first ones here, and there was a good chance they weren't alone as they charged into the Susanoo. Their objective was simple. Secure the bridge, check the on-board systems for any lifesigns, and anything that wasn't human would get locked down and the air vented while any surviving personnel would be led to the bridge. After that, the entire ship would be locked down, save for any essential systems. Those too would be vented, along with all adjacent corridors, and then the crew could finally begin the launch sequence and getting all stations maned. Hardly the fastest method, but even one Gh-M could mean the failure of what was likely humanities only hope.
As they sped towards the bridge, Gordon noticed several lines of blood on the floor, though there weren't any bodies. That either meant that whatever had bled had been moving, or there weren't any bodies left. He gripped his pistol, motioning for the mutants to ready their masers to fire on his signal. As they reached the last corridor leading to their objective, sounds of fighting could be heard, grunts and roars interspersed by shots from a maser and gurgling death rattles. Gordon nodded to the mutants behind him and ran full speed through the doorway.
He stopped short when he saw a half dozen gold monsters engaged with what looked like a white blur, while someone off to the side took shots with a maser-rifle at any who broke free from the skirmish. A glint of steel flashed and cut the top of ones head off above the muzzle, before suddenly sticking half an inch out of the back of ones throat an instant later. The blur moved, and what looked like a leg caught one in the chest and knocked it back, where it took several dozen shots from the maser and fell with its chest cavity blasted open. As Gordon raised his gun, the white blur leapt aside, allowing him and the mutants to open fire. The remaining three Gh-Ms hit the deck with dull thuds, all of them well and truly dead.
Gordon holstered his pistol and looked over in the corner, to see who exactly had been fighting. A group of maybe half a dozen bay workers sat huddled behind Suzaku Miyamoto, rifle still raised, panting heavily and bleeding from somewhere on the back of his neck. To his side stood Dolph, wiping the blood off of the large combat knife that was just now losing its white glow from the HF engine.
"So, looks like I was right after all." Gordon said with a tired smirk. "Don't think I've ever been so glad to be infiltrated."
Dolph looked at him apologetically, and made a low bow as he sheathed his blade. "That was never my intention sir. I'm only hear because Suzaku wanted me along. I'm done with that line of work."
"Suzaku? Dolph?" Himura said, coming up to see his two friends, Emily in tow.
"Musashi. Emily. Glad you could make it. You missed the party, but I guess that's a good thing." Dolph said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Himura, Eriksson." Suzaku managed between pants, dropping the rifle tiredly. "You took long enough to get here. Making me do all the work."
"Sir, what did you mean by what you said to Dolph?" Himura asked, looking right at Gordon.
"Heh. Kid, say hello to Russia mutant Zed Alpha Six, codename 'Weiss.' Russia's answer to M-Unit, though not exactly well known."
"Yeah, um, sorry about not telling you, but it's not something that comes up in casual conversation. 'Hey, I'm
Dolph, nice to meet you. Also, I'm a retired mutant assassin secret agent. I can also cook a mean steak.'"
"Save the theatrics for later, would you?" Suzaku snapped, before looking at Gordon. "Sir, the Susanoo is primed and ready for launch. I took the liberty of activating all of its systems before those things showed up. It can be in the air in ten minutes."
"Heh, nice work kid." The admiral said with a grin, before barking at his men. "Alright, you heard the man. I want us topside and killing things in ten, move it!"
xxxx
Ozaki gunned the engines, launching the Gotengo full blast out of the underwater tube and into the air, maser turrets already locking on. As he looked at the monitor, the mutant commander was greeted with the sight of living hell. The city, what was left of it, was all pillars of smoke and raging fires, if not reduced to outright rubble and smoking craters. The signs of battle were everywhere, from masers, lasers, missiles, teeth, claws, and a dozen other weapons, most decidedly not human. He sailed over what could only be called a massacre, at least a dozen monsters of all sorts torn to bits or smashed into the ground. Judging by the bursts of green fire in the distance, he knew what had been the cause. He maxed out the thrusters, making top speed to where he knew was the last real hope for Japan.
He was there in seconds, and met with a worse sight than he had feared. The American Godzilla was there alright, engaged in battle with the red saurian. Worse by far was the sky above them, as sight that would have chilled him to the bone if he hadn't felt them all underground. As far as the eye could see, far into the distance and past the horizon, the sky was filled with Ghidorah, dozens of them from just what he could see. Even if this was a large group of them, the sheer number just here meant there had to be thousands, tens of thousands across the planet. They just floated in the air, cackling down at the fighting beasts, cackling with each blow they took, regardless which one it was.
Ozaki knew it wouldn't end well. Even if Godzilla survived fighting the red beast which didn't seem possible to kill, he would be far too exhausted to even hope to fight the circling dragons. Knowing there wasn't anything else to do but fight, he pushed his mind out at one beast while he angled towards the other, drill spinning up.
Godzilla, if you can hear this, get back. I'll fight this one, you do what you can with the others.
Apparently the black beast heard him, as it jumped away from a swipe from the red beast's tail, leaving him free to charge right at it. It dodged, the drill managing to scrape a line of armour off one arm. The machine flew past, avoiding a striking claw and a lancing tail, before circling up and around for another attack. He already knew a protracted fight would mean his death, so he put all his efforts into a single decisive kill. Even if the beast managed to escape again, it would take it out of the battle, and that would have to be enough. He charged past, managing to draw another line of plate off the monsters chest, its counter claw scraping a chunk of metal from above the engines. Knowing he couldn't afford to play it safe, Ozaki turned the Gotengo full 180, locked on to the monsters exact center, and fired the engines to full.
Time slowed as he closed in on it, Ozaki's kaiser senses taking in everything in inhuman detail. Even through the plates, he could see the muscles of the red kaiju contracting, expanding, its tail moving out at an angle. He saw the eyes narrow, the mouth pick up in a tiny grin, saw the legs pushing off the ground in such a way as to thrust it to the side. With a sinking realization, he understood he had made a critical mistake. The same attack wouldn't work on a creature this smart a second time: it had already planned out a counter to his move. He stood up and hoped back into his chair, bracing his legs and willing the machine to change angle just enough. The blade came from the side, slicing perfectly along the bow of the Gotengo, and he saw it slide clean through the metal with utter contempt for the human materials. Ozaki jumped up and forward as hard as he could, feet leaving the chair just as the edge of the golden blade cut right into the cockpit.
He watched in slow-motion as it passed under him, slicing into the chair just below the arms, shredding everything under that from its sheer size, the controls vanishing in a wave of sparks. He saw the end pass him, the time speeding up as he dropped, the blade clearing the entire bridge and cutting through the engines, the top clipped from the vessel like a snipped flower bud. He watched it lift up from the back, the entire thing rising up as he landed on the destroyed deck, leaping again as the tip of the bridge smashed into the deck, tore everything apart, and bounced off to land somewhere in the city. He was still in the air when the Gotengo's last-second trajectory took it sailing directly into a low-flying Ghidorah, digging straight through its hip and shredding the top of its leg. He hit again just as the main body started crashing through the flesh, kicking himself backwards and away from the Gotengo as the failing engines took on its last flight.
He hit just above the wound, pushed off the golden scales, and launched himself several hundred meters straight down. Bit of scrap from the Gotengo and flesh from the wound fell around him, and he leapt from chunk to chunk, scrap to scale, leaping from one to the other to lessen his momentum before he hit. He landed with a thud on a descending scale, and angled it to pick up just a bit of wind, riding it like the universes most awkward surfboard a short distance before it crashed into a rooftop. It skidded along, rattling his reinforced bones, and he leapt off just before it crashed through the railing and tumbled to the streets below. He rolled along the ground, smashing into the metal bars and nearly bending them from the impact, lying on his back and gazing through blurred eyes.
He watched as the Ghidorah howled, crashing to the ground in pain. He saw the Gotengo, kilometers away, the durable thing coming down in a thunderous crash, the impact blocked by the nearby husks of destroyed buildings. Ozaki let out a shuddering breath, glad that the old thing had managed one last score, before the pain from his landing sent his falling again, this time into unconsciousness.
xxxx
Nick sped forward as fast as he could, ridding the transformed NIGEL unit as fast as he could towards Godzilla. If he survived, he would need to thank Craven for the motorcycle mode, he wouldn't be alive if he was moving any slower. He'd only just made it out of the JSDF compound when he heard the rumble, saw the red monster take the transformed Padma girl away in a flash of light, saw the first of the monsters appear. He'd seen the aliens fall, saw the Ghidorah appear, saw all of the destruction. It had been less than 3 hours, and Tokyo was already a ruin. He rolled over a mound of rubble of what could have once been an office building, begging the machine to move just a little bit faster. He had to hurry.
He could feel it, like a beacon slowly fading, just ahead, just beyond that row of fallen buildings. He'd seen the Gotengo fly by, knew it had gone where he was going now, and hoped that it had provided just a few more minutes for him. Godzilla, his son, was losing, slowly but surely. He could feel every wound, ever blast, every time Godzilla bit down into unyielding scales and was knocked away. He ran right through the remains of a building, flying out a window to see a golden dragon fly down in an arc, coming away with bloody talons. He broke through a shattered wall, and beheld a terrible sight.
Godzilla was fighting, tooth and claw, tail and spine, blasts of fire catching everything that came close. He was bleeding all over, more red than black now, parts of his body singed badly, in places down to the bone. Entire chunks of his flesh had been ripped apart, and his left eye was missing. The Ghidorah circled, cackling, and one came down to attack. Godzilla roared, jumped to the side, blasted it full in the chest as it flew by. It came away without so much as a singed flake. He bit at its tail as it flew by, crunched down until his own jaw bent, came away with cracked teeth, his enemy completely unharmed. Nick watched his son, slowly, inevitably, being torn apart bit by bit, unable to so much as scratch his assailants.
It wasn't fare, it wasn't right, that the creature that had fought so many hundreds of battles in his life should be utterly defenseless now, powerless against these monsters who were toying with him like a pack of cats with a mouse. They didn't just kill him, though they could have at any time. They were literally torturing his son to death, and there was nothing Nick could do. His eyes filled with tears as one with four legs flew past, landing on Godzilla's back and stomping him into the ground, the breaking bones audible even from here.
Nick watched as Godzilla tried to rise, and was gripped by the neck in the talons of one of the creatures, the golden beast cackling as it sunk its blades into his already torn flesh. Another one flew down, sinking its claws into Godzilla's side and raking him down to the ribs. It cackled to itself, a horrific glee that made Nick utterly sick. It sank all three jaws into Godzilla's gut, and rose into the air, dragging the dying beast skyward in one final insult. His tail thrashed weakly, trying in vain to muster one last attack, and the one at his head began to pull. Nick could only watch as the larger one ripped open Godzilla's side, tearing his intestines out and stretching them between its jaws, blood flying from the wound in a cloud. It dug in its talons, and along with the one at the front, pulled. Its claws tore through the flesh, ripping through with the sound of shredding meat. The one at the neck had a tighter grip, and with one final cackle, wrenched Godzilla's head from his body, his spinal column the only thing keeping it attached as the demon let go. Godzilla just fell to the ground, eyes lifeless as he crashed into the rubble.
Nick felt a part of himself die, and could do nothing but scream in unbearable grief.
"GODZILLAAAAAAA!"
xxxx
Mara ducked the swinging blade, slammed her fists into her enemies side, and jumped back to avoid the blazing red beam. Heart Eater howled, firing her cannons even as she rushed forward, laughing madly as her blood-red blasts did their best to blow Mara to pieces. The cyborg was different from before, far more vicious yet clearly more focused, precise in every movement and with much more force behind them. The black metal almost seemed to smoke, a dark haze obscuring every action and making her twice as deadly. If Mara had fought as she had before, she would have been dead.
But she wasn't like before. Every obscured move came clear as day, as if she could sense them clearly. Her own actions were faster and stronger, and she could swear that each jump urged her to fly. She launched a sweeping kick to take out Heart Eater's balance, light seemed to cling to her leg and send out a blade that splashed against the far wall. The Eater came down at her with both blades and nearly cut her in half, Mara rolling underneath her. She spun around and slammed her fist into Eater's leg, sending her falling to one knee, but was herself forced to jump away from a return slash from a scything blade.
She couldn't keep fighting this battle. Even with her sudden boost in power, she simply wasn't strong enough to overcome the more experienced and deadly enemy she was facing. She leapt back from another twin blast of red, landed on the wall in a crouch, and unleashed a stream of golden fire from her mouth that swallowed Heart Eater and kept her to the wall from the sheer force of it. She blew until her throat burned, and fell to the ground in a crouch, watching as the fire faded and Heart Eater stood unharmed. The beast looked at her, six eyes swiveling to grin at her, and laughed.
"You have not the power to kill me, foolish child!" Heart Eater spoke, in a voice that reverberated with something evil. "I have waited far too long for this, I shall be here to witness this world die!"
Mara desperately thought to figure out what it was that was speaking to her, what it was that she felt compelled to kill. It came to her almost too easy, her own guiding will making the puzzle's answer obvious. In some stories, it was said that when Susanoo slew Orochi, the beast laid a curse on the sword the came from his body. That one day he would return through that sword, and through Susanoo's children's own blood would he be restored to destroy all that remained of the earth, and ascend into a god of hell. As Mara gazed on her foe, her eyes flashed with light, and the obfuscating haze vanished, showing her the truth.
"I see you now for what you are!" She said, rising to her feet and gathering light in her hand. "He who took the blade of Ikusagami and cast it into the darkness! I name thee Orochi, kin of Ghidorah, black demon who blighted this world ten thousand years ago!"
"So, the child knows us. Yes, and we know it. The stench on you is clear, you would kill us if you had the blade. But you hold only half the power, and you shall not have the rest!"
Heart Eater charged, a shadow like 8 swaying heads behind her, jaws extended to devour her very soul. She gathered the might of her ancient power, the fire of her gut and the wind of her breath, the water in her veins and the light in her mind. Against the shadow and the lightning in the monsters breath, the earth of its form and the venom of its veins, she gathered all her power to a single point, 8-fold strikes of the Way of Susanoo. Celestial Impact!
"I shall take your heart!" The 8 voices yelled, and the darkness plunged down on her.
Her hand lashed forward, her glowing fist cutting through the darkness. She felt it crumble beneath her, opened her hand, and gripped.
"Not if I take yours first." She said, and pulled the black heart free.
The darkness exploded in an 8-fold scream of wrath and hatred, the shadows vanishing, to reveal the broken Heart Eater, the red light fading from her eyes. Her heart beat in Mara's hand, the tainted sword visibly buried in the blighted flesh. She placed her fingers around the blade and pulled it free, and all at once the taint was gone. She held aloft the blade as it grew to its full size, a mighty thing even in her great hands, and the black metal fell away from Heart Eater, her own heart crumbling to dust. What remained on the ground was so much smaller, twice as large as a human and insectoid, shriveled by millenia of age and madness. She could not be considered beautiful by any human measure, but as Mara watched what had been freed from the Heart Eater fade away into a pile of dust, she hoped that she had peace at last.
Closing her hands around the blade, Mara raised it high, and felt the full power of Ikusagami fill her. Green turned to pure white, golden wings sprung up from her back, and the lotus on her chest changed into a burning star. She hefted the blade fully above her, and with a cry that reverberated with the fury of a god, she smote the great black doorway in half with a single stroke.
She felt weak then, her mortal form not enough to wield full the power of Ikusagami, and walked through the open door. There she stopped, stunned by the sight that awaited her. She gripped the blade, and knew what she must do.
xxxx
The world was burning. All across the globe, Ghidorah filled the skies, cackling in joy as the world below burned. In North America, the great cities were just barely holding up behind their shields, their defenders forced to hide. Everything not hidden behind a wall of light was blasted to ashes.
Throughout Britain, the rain was black with soot and flowed into rivers of red. The knights had fallen to the last.
Russia was silent, nothing but the flapping of massive wings and the stomps of a million metal soldiers marching towards every last outpost of humanity.
China was on fire, their countless defenders still fighting back, thousands dying by the second.
Africa had lost contact with every last one of its machines. The desert was a graveyard of blasted metal and charred bodies. The savannah was burnt, animals running in vain as jaws larger than an elephant devoured everything they could.
Even the oceans teamed with chaos, golden bolts falling into the waves to attack what lurked beneath. Any Ghidorah that came to close to the surface risked massive tendrils, many miles long, rising up to grab at them, glowing yellow eyes watching them from the blackness. For all their terrible power, this army was not the first from the stars to come to the Earth, and it would not relent its hold so easily.
Sam's blade was dripping blood, just as he was from his broken leg in the cockpit. He'd slain at least three of the monsters, but there were so many more. He watched another come at him, mouth gaping wide and blazing with light. He grit his teeth, let out a cry, and swung.
xxxx
The silver Ghidorah stood watching from the view-port, clouds of dust rising into the air as the greatest peak on earth was torn to rubble and tossed into the air. The mountain was nearly gone, huge clouds of dust rising into the sky, clearing the way for the return of Their lord. It grinned as it watched another million tonnes of solid rock picked up like a pebble and hurled into the sky, shattering into a billion pieces. It was almost time. He heard the footsteps, and turned to see Ikameijin walking towards It, falling to one knee just before the rise where They stood.
"My Lord, the Heart Eater's life signal has vanished from the ship. It appears the female dragon has escaped her containment."
"Hm, willful mortal. Go, she is no doubt weakened from her fight. The Eater has never been one to die without drawing blood. Find her, kill her, and bring me her heart. Do with the rest as you will. A reward for your service."
"As you say, my Lord." The cephalopoid said, rising and stalking from the chamber.
One more nuisance at the final hour meant nothing. It was far too late for anyone to stop this. It looked as the very base of the mountain was torn apart, rising into the sky and skittering like so many ashes in the wind. As the last of the peak gave way, the ground simply fell apart, and there beneath it was a vast mountain of ancient golden flesh, spines like jagged peaks rising up from the tremendous mass. As the flesh below shifted, a single red eye vast as a lake opening up to gaze into the sky after 250 million years, Ghidorah cackled long and loud all across the earth.
"Come, my lord. Prime Ghidorah, arise, and claim this world at last!"
xxxx
Himura sat in a chair in the bridge of the Susanoo, watching as the last of the lights turned green, signaling that the mighty weapon was ready to launch. He looked at those around him, only two dozen remaining in this room, the others spread about the ship. This was it, the final countdown to the fate of humanity. If the Susanoo failed, they would all die, and the earth along with them. He looked over at Gordon, sitting in the main chair, surrounded by Ozaki and Dolph, the two mutants running the psychic systems. The old man had never looked so grim as he did now. Suzaku sat on the opposite end of the room, running over the last figures to ensure full action the moment they were outside. Emily had gone into the bowls of the ship for whatever she was needed for, and he didn't know anyone else aboard. He would have to memorize all of their names if they survived. Doubly so for all the people who hadn't made it aboard. He watched as the screen flicked to an "Ok," watched as Gordon issued the order for full power to the engines, felt the 1,200,000 tonne monster of a machine begin to move, thrusters as large as the Gotengo blazing bright white. He watched the wall before them open, leading to a slanting dip that would take them into the ocean, and from their skyward to face what they would. The Gotengo's signal had been lost. They truly were the only ones left. Time to save the world or die trying.
xxxx
Gaonaga stared down at the human hunter, the valiant black beast torn and bleeding black at his feet. The Ghidorah circled above, cackling at the fallen warrior, an especially large four-legged one landing with a thud next to him, cackling at the dead thing.
"And so at last, this thorn in our side is gone forever." It said with three sneers, voice full of contempt at the human defender. "Well done Gaonaga, you are truly a wonderful tool. A good kill. Now go, find what remains of these pitiful creatures, and wipe them out."
Gaonaga just stared, wondering if that was what it meant to die for what you believed in; facing impossible odds and yet forging ahead regardless. Could such a glorious end even be compared for an eternity as a tool for monsters? No, he realized, or rather, had realized long ago and somehow forgotten. Such a death was its own reward, the fate of all warriors who fought for what they believed in, they fate that they desired. As he stared down at the decapitated husk, he realized that, broken and destroyed, lying in a growing pool of black fluid and seeming so small before the monsters that stood over it, this fallen one was a thousand times what he had allowed himself to become.
Gaonaga heard the words of the female in his mind, those words that weren't meant to taunt him, they had been meant to remind him of what he had always known. He had fallen, and could no longer call himself a warrior. An eternal life was nothing without pride, and as he gazed upwards into the skies swarming with dragons, he knew that she had been far more the warrior in her short life than he had been in his many thousands of years.
The gold blade flashed through the air, slicing through the neck of the one at his side, before turning and slashing upwards, bisecting the Ghidorah's head perfectly down the center. As the wings flapped to escaped, the blade drove down, cutting through the golden scales and burying itself in the monsters black heart. It fell sputtering to the ground, and the swarm turned to look at him, a hundred blood-red eyes boring into his very soul. He wrenched the blade free with a wet snap, and cleaned it by whiping the blood at the closest Ghidorah. He bent down, and picked up the Gotengo, spinning in his hands and pointing the drill into the air, holding it like a blade.
"Gaonaga, what madness is this!?" A gray one roared, teeth bared. "For all your countless insolence, to dare act up now, on the cusp of our greatest triumph! Have you gone mad!?"
"No, you sexless pieces of Grotvolj droppings, I've finally come to my senses!"
"You chose to join these mortals in death then!? You could have spent an eternity in glorious battle under our rule, but now you fight for an already lost cause! Think you this some pitiful act of good or some such insanity?" A green one cackled out, sneering down at him, mouths glowing gold.
"I don't fight for good." Gaonaga said, eyes starting to glow blue. "And I don't fight for evil."
He leapt into the air faster than it could react, sinking his claws into one neck and the Gotengo into another, slashing his tail through the last neck. With all his immeasurable strength, he tore the other two necks free, and the entire thing came crashing down. His grin had never been so wide.
"I just fight! The strongest are my foes, regardless of allegiance or purpose!" He gestured at the fallen Gotengo, his grin now splitting his face. "And seeing as how you've all gotten rid of everything else, that makes you the only good fight left, doesn't it!? Now come on! This is what Ilive for! This is why I exist! But all goods things come to an end. This is where warriors belong, in the fight! I hope you don't disappoint! Time to raise some hell!"
As the dragons descended, Gaonaga opened wide his jaws and roared, his body exploding with blue light, the ground shaking and rocks flying into the air. As he dashed into the air, spinning like a buzzaw and ripping a Ghidorah in half, Gaonaga roared. As he landed on the other side and gripped one by the foot, bringing it down to eviscerate it with his claws, Gaonaga roared. As the swarm of gold and silver, blue and brown, red and green and black descended on his with gnashing jaws and bolts of gold, Gaonaga roared. As he teleported away and blasted a dozen from the skies with a beam of pure white, Gaonaga roared.
As the talons pierced his body and he responded in kind, Gaonga roared.
As teeth sank into his armour and pried it loose, Gaongaga roared.
As golden bolts thundered against his hide, Gaonaga roared.
As Claws and fangs drew crimson blood, Gaonaga roared.
As flesh came free and demons screamed, Gaonaga roared.
As the skies turned black from shadowed wings, Gaonaga roared.
As all his sight was filled with red eyes filled with hate, Gaonaga roared.
Gaonaga means eternal roar. Gaonaga was eternal, and his roar was as his life. Gaonaga roared until the end.
Until he roared no more.
xxxx
Nick stood before the corpse of Godzilla, head resting against the closed and bloody jaw. He couldn't believe it. After every time that Godzilla had come so close to death, he had always come back, always won. But this one was just so...final, so utterly devoid of questioning it. As if just to mock his constant hope that Godzilla would always survive, reality had decided to literally tear apart him delusion in a single, unarguably clear moment. He couldn't bear to look at the rest of his son, his torn face and blasted features more than enough to tear at what remained in his heart. The world was going to die just like Godzilla had, and now there was no hope of stopping it. If only he'd made it in time, he could have-
Nick was torn from his musing by the sound of something clicking above his head. He looked up to see Godzilla's mouth moving, almost imperceptibly, but it was. In spite of the terrible, terrible damage he'd taken, Godzilla still clung, if only just, to life. He couldn't roar or groan, disconnected from his lungs as his head was, but still, through blinded eyes he looked out at the world, and Nick could feel his mind, like a candle in a storm, holding on with the last ounce of his will. Nick cried at the state of his son, before his eyes grew focused and resolute, and he ran to the NIGEL.
Nick, I need you to promise me. You can't use this unless there's no other choice. Only use this if either you or Godzilla has no other option to survive, no, it it's the only hope for the world. This device will certainly reveal us, and if people know you have it, they'll do anything to take it for themselves. So I need you to promise me, swear on everything you love, that you'll never use this unless there's no other hope. Can you do that for me, please Nick?
He keyed in his code into NIGEL, the machines center cavity coming apart and revealing a small black box. He pressed his hand against it, micro-sensors scanning his DNA, hand-print, and pulse, making sure that not only was it his hand, but that it was still attached to his body. The box turned slightly, the top unfolding in 4 places, revealing the device within. Nick picked it up, placed it on his ear, and turned to Godzilla.
There was no other option now, nothing other hope. Godzilla was alive purely on the virtue of his regenerative cells, and those wouldn't last long separated from the heart. If this failed, he'd die alongside Godzilla, but honestly, that was how he'd prefer it. He wouldn't probably never see Audrey again, never see his children or grandchildren, never see Mendel and Elsie or Randy and Monique. But if this failed, they'd all be killed anyway, if they weren't already. No, even if this succeeded, it might not make a difference.
But none of that mattered any more, so Nick looked at Godzilla, pressed the button on the side of the device, and said the activation phrase.
"DNA-merger sequence, engage!"
xxxx
Ikameijin came upon the hall where the female had killed Heart Eater. Reduced her to dust it seemed. Impressive, he could see why his lord wanted whatever power the female had. He stepped past the great shattered doorway, another impressive feat from the mortal, but also a telling one. He saw her at the far side of the room, past the statues of his lords greatest conquests, the stone forms of all It's greatest foes. All of them had fought, long and hard, each proving near a match for his lord. And of course, all of them had died, what husks remained entombed beneath their likeness. Some were little more than ash or shards of bone; all that remained from the vicious battles.
The female was swinging madly at a chunk of crystal containing the most recent of these victories, a beast from this very world if he remembered right. She swung her sword with loud yells, clearly exhausted from her efforts, cleaving away large chunks of crystal with each blow. He wasn't sure where she had gotten that blade, she hadn't had it when she had arrived. Perhaps that was how she killed Heart Eater, a trick and a hidden weapon. Ah well, it didn't matter.
He raised his one good arm, the other still a bit weak from being regrown, and his gravity powers smashed into her from behind. She slammed into the crystal hard, and slid down it with a groan. As she made to rise, he brought her down again, crushing her under a 100x the normal gravity of the ship. He walked up to her, grinning, and grabbed her by the throat, leering down at her with a jagged grin.
"So, the little worm disregards my lords generous hospitality, leaves her guest quarters, kills one of our lords favorite pets, and now seeks to deface his most prized museum of personal accomplishments? What a reckless child you are, so ill-mannered. To think, you would have been granted the rare honor of surviving your worlds destruction, and yet you throw such hospitality back in the face of our lord. Such poor behavior, such an uneducated child. I don't know how such a weak thing as you managed to make it so far, but that ends now." He said as he slammed her into the ground, stomping on her neck.
She gasped for air, but he just pressed harder, chuckling to himself.
"Now now, no use struggling. You have imposed enough on my lords home, and I'm afraid you've spent all his kindness. Now I'm going to have to kill you, rip out your heart, and present it to lord Ghidorah, but not before I feed the rest of you to the animals in the pens. Such starved creatures, I doubt even your bones will remain. Such is the fate of those that defy Ghidorah! Such is the fate of-ack!"
He suddenly found an incredibly strong grip on his throat, and looked up to see the suddenly very large face of the beast in the crystal looking right at him. A blue glow ran over it, and the stasis cage exploded in a shower of crunching glass. The burning red-gold eyes looked at him, and the beast lifted him into the air.
"You talk too much." Godzilla said, before popping his head like a grape.
Godzilla pulled himself free of the last of his prison, shaking his head and watching the noisy thing drop to the ground with everything above its neck pulped. He remembered now. 15 years of imprisonment, of dreamless sleep and unknown thoughts, of having his mind filled with the laughter of his captor and the memories of his long lives. His eyes settled on the thin form of the one who had freed him, collapsed barely conscious on the ground, looking up at him with human eyes through a cracked visor. Of course a human had freed him, when was it ever not? He picked her up with ease, tossing her over his shoulder, taking just enough care to make sure he didn't damage her any more than she had been.
"Now then, where was I?" He thought, the last memory before his capture coming into his mind. Yes, he knew what he was going to do. His eyes glowed bright, blue fire burning in his spines, across the golden horns on his head and shoulders, an orb of pure power flashing in the clawed end of his tail. After 15 years, he was free, he was awake, and he was very, very angry.
"GHIDORAAAAAAAAH!"