Chapter 11: Second Wind
Author's Note: I hope you readers are enjoying the story so far, and remember to leave a review when you're done reading. Let's hope that Godzilla vs Kong releases this year without delay, and Happy New Years!
With a jolt, Ichi shot up- the motion causing the bones in his neck to snap back into place. His vision still blurry, the middle head still saw the trio of bloody holes in their abdomen- leaving a trail of blood as they were dragged across the floor by- something. Ichi felt the touch of the other two heads, presumably unconscious, and the cold firm grasp of a wire that had been tied across their necks. Their fight with the 'Titanosaurus' dented much more than just their pride, the aching pain in their body slowly dulling as their body did their best to repair the damage.
Whatever had been dragging them came to an abrupt stop, causing the dragon's heads to lurch back and collide with a metallic surface. The ground abruptly started shaking beneath them, only now did Ichi notice the oppressive silence. A quick look up at the numerous white dots in the distance confirmed his theory.
They were outside the arena.
The stars above only watched Ghidorah, or at least the one awake head, struggle against their restraints. Their captor pivoted the dragon via the bind on their necks- taking care to point their heads away from its body.
Allowing Ichi to see their final destination.
Smoke billowed from the endless maw of the Incinerator, billowing out fumes that dissipated as they travelled out into the void. It dwarfed even the titanic dragon, an entryway into certain death. From up here, the dragon felt the heat lick at their scales- burning the tips of their talons. Ni and San had gotten up by now, both still dazed and groggy. Ichi tried to say something, some last words of comfort to his brethren, but the vacuum of space drowned them out. A sudden gout of fire launched out of the Incinerator, firing off into the stars as if it wanted to envelop the entire universe.
As the creature behind them brought them closer to the pit, a final wave of energy overcame the three heads and they tried in vain to beat at their captor. Ghidorah's futile attacks glanced off its armor as it suspended them over the hole to the Underworld, and they could already feel themselves slipping from its grasp. Down below, Ichi saw the bones of numerous other kaiju- all of them condemned to the same fate as the dragon.
Is this it?
At least we died fighting
The middle head closed his eyes, and prepared for the inevitable waves of pain that would come with the raging flames down below.
If not for their captor's sudden lurch backward, something throwing it off balance.
The dragon was thrown rather ungracefully onto the side- kicking up dust as they continued to push at their restraints. Finally, with a crack unheard in the vacuum, they managed to snap off the wire binding their three necks. Their mobility returning to them, Ghidorah tore with at the rest of their binds- each one a boost to their motivation.
As soon as the last chain fell off- Ghidorah was free once more.
They glanced over to their metallic captor, now sizzling and bubbling as their savior enveloped them in his deathly embrace. For a second, Ichi could have sworn he heard the panicked screams of the pilot within- but the imagined noise came to an abrupt end when their new ally crushed the machine.
Hedrah, finished with his task, stood at his full height- leaving an unidentifiable steaming wreck of a mech. The blob's beady red eyes blinked at the dragon's own as they stared at each other- two cowboys in a showdown with their weapons primed.
A tug from San caused the other two heads to look away from Hedrah.
In the distance, Ghidorah could make out the blinding rays of light from some gargantuan structure nestled amongst the numerous mountains of what they could only assume was a moon. To their right was an even larger planet, a mixture of greens and blues. Even from where, Ghidorah could make out the miniscule dots that were stations orbiting it like flies to a corpse. Clearly, this was the home of their captors. Ghidorah felt the urge to fly over there and burn it to the ground- but that impulse quickly faded once one of their legs nearly bucked underneath their own weight.
They were not ready.
Not yet.
A nudge from Hedrah's slimy tentacle-arm caused the dragon to turn around, to see the blob pointing towards a cable- hidden under the lunar dust. Ichi took another look at Hedrah, fearing a betrayal- but the blob only continued to wait for them.
Even in space, Ichi could hear Ni's excited cackle.
Static crackled across their scales, prompting the dragon's heads to bite down on the cables even harder. The roaring current flowed into their veins once again, reinvigorating the dragon as it had done so many times before. Their wounds began to close as Ghidorah feasted on the surplus of energy, as the light from the Incinerator began to dim and fade.
The crowd roared in jubilation as they watched Titanosaurus fight once more, the unfortunate creature within its grasp locked into a chokehold. Despite the beast having a blade for a head, its stubby limbs prevented it from doing any real damage to the abyssal titan- and the saurain mercilessly suplexed it into the watery ground. His foe was barely able to stagger back up before Titanousaurs was on him, beating the kaiju with a flurry of blows and kicks. With one final sweep of his tail, he sent the knife-headed creature backwards. It desperately tried to fire off its star-shaped projectiles to maintain distance, ones that Titanosaurus dodged them with ease. The beast began to panic, backing into a corner while the saurian coldly advanced towards it.
But just as the saurian was about to reach for a spire and impale the poor thing's brain, his hand stopped just short- causing the enemy kaiju to tilt his head in confusion. A sudden quake rocked the entire facility, causing the audience to begin to mumble and whisper amongst each other as the knife kaiju warily neared the frozen titan.
A shout suddenly came from above- the sound loud enough to shatter the glass and cause the audience below to witness a shimmering rain from up in the command center.
"What?!"
A metal can on the floor was sent soaring into the air like a rocket, the result of the kick of a very angry ape. Despite being out of breath, Gorn still found himself to have enough energy to send the can flying out of his now broken window.
He quickly shot up from his chair, and the lights around him began to flicker dangerously. A sudden click, then darkness flooded the entire arena- only punctuated by the small lights of some of the spectators. As the emergency lights kicked in, bathing the entire arena in a dull red glow- the aliens down below began to realise something was wrong, an occasional panicked shout mixing in with the low muttering from before. Yet, the Simeon remained relatively calm compared to the crowd below- and grabbed a plasma rifle off one of the walls.
"Damn techies, always messing with the wires in the middle of a match."
The Simeon continued to cuss under his breath as he left his command room in a rush, determined to find the idiot that had caused the outage in the first place.
Ichi licked his lips as Ghidorah retreated from the cable, immediate urges satisfied. Their scales radiantly glowed as the dragon let out a victorious trill, not that anyone could hear it. The middle head saw the left head trying to say something, but upon realising where they were, San was content with firing off a triumphant bolt into the sky- in much better spirits despite their defeat. If they wanted to, the dragon could take off into the stars- becoming just another Dorat in the cosmos.
But the mere thought of revenge was far too sweet.
Ghidorah turned to the blob, now staring at the inert Incinerator. Clearly, he was still hungry for more refuse- and was already sliding into the smoking remnants of the dozens of dead kaiju below. But Ni quickly grabbed the blob by the head, and pulled him rather roughly away from the pile. Hedrah gurgled in protest, the right head recoiling as his mouth sizzled from the contact with the sludge. After glaring at Ni, silently berating him for his harshness, San turned to the blob- and pointed towards the arena. An offer for an alliance, one that the left head promised the blob could leave once they got to safety.
Hedrah immediately began to back away, not willing to fight on their side. He had saved them from the machine, the blob reasoned, and that was all he would do for them.
A sudden bolt made the blob jump back, as static crackled at Ichi's maw. Ni bared his teeth as San once more gestured at the arena, whether the blob wanted to or not- he would be coming with them. After all, San reasoned, Hedrah did have the option of bailing out at any time- but whether he would have the option of surviving their wrath all depended on him. Hedrah glanced over at the trash pit one more time, before letting out his equivalent of a sigh of reluctance and taking into the air- floating over to the direction of the arena.
Their golden wings spread to their full length, Ghidorah soared off behind their newfound companion- scales glittering under the lunar sky as they flew free for the first time in their lives.