Chapter 14: Fall
Gigan's visor burned a bright red as Ghidorah charged at the cyborg, a reckless move that their agile foe easily strafed past. From his scythes, the cyborg fired off his newly acquired grappling hooks- straight out of the Mechagodzilla armory. They wrapped around the dragon's two necks, and Gigan used their momentum to send them spiralling down.
The dragon crashed onto the ground, sending dust up into the air. Ghidorah was quick to get back up, uncaring of the burns on their body. Gigan let out another gloating cackle, before he fired off his optical laser- now even more powerful than ever. The beam dug into the left head's stump, causing Ghidorah to cry out in pain.
Their energy shield appeared out of thin air, blocking the subsequent stream of red as Gigan continued to fire. Ghidorah let out another trill of exertion, and fired off another pair of bolts that just barely missed the avian assassin.
"Not so tough now are we?!"
Gigan quickly closed the gap between them, his various blades becoming stained with gold as he burrowed them into the dragon with a flurry of blows. The two heads retaliated with vicious bites, each one carrying with it the power of grief and thunder But Gigan's armor wasn't covered head to toe in spikes for nothing, and the dragon quickly found themselves bleeding from their gums.
"THIS IS FOR SAN-"
Ni bit down on Gigan's neck in a blur of motion, crushing the metal with ease. But a scythe found itself wedged into the side of his neck, and the cyborg's grin widened as he tore off another chunk of flesh. But Ghidorah's wing came crashing into his side, talons digging into Gigan's ribs, and pulled the cyborg closer to the writhing dragon's necks. Ichi and Ni worked in tandem, tearing and pulling off Gigan's armor one piece at a time.
Then, Gigan let out a laugh- a horrific discordant noise that masked the revving of his buzzsaw.
The cyborg pressed onto the dragon's chest with his own, and Ghidorah felt their lungs fill with blood as the blade tore through their ribcage. Ghidorah dropped, their breaths heavy and haggard. The cyborg let out a taunting jeer, as his visor began to glow a dark shade of red.
"Some king you are-"
Gigan let out a brief chirp of panic as Hedrah's tentacles wrapped tightly around the cyborg's neck- before he was dragged along the lunar dust. The blob quickly gurgled at the dragon for aid, but Ghidorah stood frozen in place- staring into nothingness with blood dripping from their wounds.
A gout of red hot fire ripped from within Hedrah's arm, and the blob let out a cry of pain as Gigan continued to unleash a torrent of flame from within his beak. The fire quickly spread across Hedrah's body, and the blob was all but gone until Gigan stopped- distracted by something on the horizon.
A row of specks, coming closer and closer.
The Silver Dragons were coming.
Ichi willed himself to move, but something was keeping him rooted. It was only after he glanced at Ni did he notice the fury in the right head's eyes, the burning orbs of hatred brimmed with tears glaring down their mechanical foe. The avian let out a snarl, and dropped what was left of Hedrah onto the lunar surface- his armor corroded where the blob had touched him.
"This isn't over yet."
"Your Majesty."
Gigan's beak curved up into a sinister grin, and Ghidorah could only watch as he disappeared into thin air with a shimmer.
"Ni," Ichi's voice was barely audible- the air that carried it slowly dissipating.
"We have to go."
"He has to pay Ichi, He has to pay for that-" The right head spat, his spittle and blood raining onto the ground.
"There's more of them coming Ni,"
"We can't win against that many."
"He killed San," Ni whispered, "He just killed San."
"I know what Gigan did Ni, but there's too many of them coming."
"For once in your life just think," Ichi hissed, the conflicting signals from their two minds causing their shared body to remain rooted to the spot.
"San will probably grow back anyway, we can heal after all-"
"Are you hearing yourself?!"
"Our brother is dead-" Ni roared in fury, static crackling at his jaws.
"SILENCE NI! We do not have time for your bul-"
"MY WHAT?!"
"I SAID SILENCE!"
Ichi didn't even pause at what he was doing when he fired a bolt- the beam nailing the right head on the side of the head and causing him to scream in pain. The middle head could only look on as the nasty burn slowly healed- but the damage had been done.
"Ni I didn't meant to-"
"So that's how it is."
The Silver Dragons were closer now, their yellow eyes illuminating the void.
Ichi opened his mouth to speak, but the cold stare from Ni managed to shut him up. The middle head felt the right's control retreat from their body, and soon his mind began to burn as Ichi found himself struggling to control a body meant for three.
"Ghidorah," Megalon flew in a little too late, holding Hedrah's head in his drills. There was what appeared to be a Silver Dragon's head on his horn, and the beetle's tough exoskeleton was cracked in multiple places - he wouldn't last much longer if a fight did break out. Hedrah let out a demanding gurgle, as if telling them to hurry the hell up.
"I am deeply sorry for the loss of your head."
The beetle briefly stopped to bow, causing Hedrah to nearly fall off. The blob began to slap Megalon's chest at this, although it didn't seem to affect him. When Ghidorah didn't reply, only staring in his general direction, Megalon tried to speak again- only for his words to fade into the void with the dissipating air. So he pointed one drill at the encroaching horde, now joined by numerous smaller spaceships and other vehicles.
This was not a fight they could win.
Ichi shook himself out of his stupor, the ringing in his head beginning to abate.
He needed to be the leader.
He needed to be strong, for Ni's sake.
And so that he would have time to mourn.
Ichi turned to the right head, who was pointedly avoiding eye contact. The middle head rammed his guilt down his throat, and nodded at Megalon- they were ready to go.
The splitting migraine immediately returned as he willed their wings to flap across the void. Without San, it became much much harder to pilot a body meant for three- and Ni's unwillingness to cooperate wasn't helping much either. Ichi didn't know how long his cessation of control would last, in all honesty- the middle head was more than just worried about his brother.
But that would have to wait.
The portal complex was just as they had left it, the gaping hole in the ceiling from where Orga threw Hedrah still present. As the three kaiju descended, all worse for wear, Ichi let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the pale alien down below.
"Oh my," Orga muttered, pointedly glaring at where San once was.
"What horrors did you four witness?"
"Orga. The portal."
"Ah, yes-"
"I have everything working," the pale alien put one claw onto a large box- filled with complex devices.
"All that's left is to input power into this."
The entire building shook as the machines began their siege, clearly they were much closer than the kaiju had anticipated.
Ichi and Megalon fired off their respective energy weapons onto the mechanical device. causing it to crackle and spark. Before long, the portal was functional- the device shimmering as it produced a beautiful blue vortex. The vortex looked so out of place in the complex- a beautiful spectre in this place devoid of such beauty. For a second, all four kaiju only stared in disbelief.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Orga cried out in a panic, as explosions began to ring out- the heat from their flames growing closer and closer to the fragile portal frame.
"GO!"
Megalon, with Hedrah in tow, quickly dove into the vortex without a second thought. Orga glanced back at Ghidorah, before following suit. Ghidorah, or just Ichi in this case, was the last to leave- a cold shiver running up his spine. The dragon glanced around the ruins one last time, hesitating for a brief second. Ichi felt a hint of warmth seep into his scales, and he wasnt sure if it was blood or the thought of living his brother's dream.
It should have been him.
Ghidorah let out a trill of power, and lunged at the portal with renewed vigor.
For San.