Chapter 9: The Yellow Sea Turned Red.
Heinrich and Reinhart ran as quickly as they could. Rain continued to pour down on them beating against their faces. The storm was making it difficult to see where they were going, and despite their best efforts, they could not keep pace with the monster. It was crashing through the trees ahead of them, effortlessly snapping them like matchsticks as it went. The creature was getting further and further ahead of them with every massive step it took. Reinhart did not have the endurance to keep up with his older, more athletic, brother. He was out of breathe and losing speed second by second.
"This is pointless!" Reinhart called to Heinrich with his last bit of breathe as he came to a stop. "Even if we could keep up a dead sprint, there's no way we are going to beat that thing to Hessenheim."
Heinrich stopped and looked back at this exhausted younger brother, then back at the monster ahead of them. Though he hated to admit it, it was clear to him that his Reinhart was right. Even if he left Reinhart behind and pressed on alone, he would still continue to lose ground. They needed a better option and needed it fast.
"We're gonna have to go through the woods!" Heinrich called back to his younger brother. "If we stay on the road we have no chance, but if we take a short cut we might just make it in time."
Reinhart didn't look too impressed with the idea, as he was still struggling to catch his breath and more running would not be easy for him. However, he realized what was at stake if the monster reached the village before they did. Heinrich's plan was pretty much their only alternative. If they stayed on the road it would only wind them around the woods and cost them precious time.
"Ok, let's do it then." Reinhart resolved to follow his older brother's lead. Heinrich nodded and they both darted off the road and into the treeline. The trees gave them some relief from the hard falling rain, but the terrain was rough and slippery. Running through it was proving to be more difficult than either of them had expected.
For the most part it was a downhill dash, which helped, but that made slowing down and dodging around obstacles along the way tricky as their momentum carried them forward. Each of them struggled to keep pace, but finally they came to a clearing on the hill which gave them their first view of the town. The rain had slowed to a sprinkle by that time, so they had a good vantage point to see what was going on.
They could see gentile lights of the windows below in the dark. The monster by this point had circled around the hill and they could see it closing in on the town from the far side. Upon seeing it Heinrich realized they were too late. Even with their short cut the monster would still easily reach the town before they could. In desperation he came up with a last ditch effort to warn the people below of the impending danger.
Reinhart watched as his brother pulled the rifle strapped to his shoulder free and brought it into firing position. He expected that Heinrich would point it at the monster and was confused as his brother instead pointed it towards the sky and fired. Once he had fired, he ejected the empty cartridge from the rifle and quickly loaded another.
Without explanation, Heinrich repeated his shot aiming at nothing in particular. The shot rang out, breaking up the slight white-noise patter of the rain echoing down into town. Down below in the beer hall, people heard the disturbance and started to trickle out to investigate the sound of gunfire. Reinhart meanwhile made his third shot, bringing even more people from the party outside or to the windows of the hall. They didn't spot Heinrich, but they did spot the monster bearing down on the town.
It roared as it got even closer to the town, making it impossible to miss. The reaction from the villagers was mixed as they realized the threat that was coming at them. Some people stood there in disbelief and shock, others instantly bolted away, and some simply retreated back inside the hall to what they must have felt was relative safety.
It was pandemonium as fear and terror spread throughout the village. Lights flickered on here and there as the town came alive with alarm. The majority of the villagers were inside the beer hall as the creature came within a hundred yards of the first house at the edge of town. Without even slowing down, the monster smashed right through the building with it's front legs. Wood shards and other debris showered nearby rooftops as it pressed forward.
The monster continued to trample over everything and everyone in it's path. A man fleeing from his home caught the creature's attention and he was snatched up in its jaws. It was over for him quickly after that. People were still struggling to get out of the beer hall as it closed in on them. Seeing a man eaten alive only served to escalate the panic. The doors of the hall were jammed as people rushed to escape. Villagers fell over from being pushed from behind, which only made getting out that much harder. The lights and sounds of chaos erupting at the beer hall only seemed to attract the creature more. It pressed in close until finally it's body rolled over the building, collapsing it instantly.
When it was over, the building was flattened. It was obvious that no one who was still inside could have survived. As they watched the aftermath, Reinhart fell to his knees in anguish while Heinrich belted out a hateful roar that torn up his throat. The world had fallen off its axis for the two brothers. It was almost a certainty that their parents had still been inside the building when it collapsed. Reinhart sobbed uncontrollably while Heinrich threw aside his rifle having no more use for it. Heinrich collected his shattered brother and dragged him by the collar down towards the village.
"Are you mad?" Reinhart shouted. "What are you doing? We can't go down there now!"
"We can and we are." Heinrich declared cold and calmly ignoring his brothers pleas. Reinhart struggled pointlessly against his much stronger brother. Meanwhile, the monster continued to rampage through small village, tearing up everything it came across.
"You idiot, you are going to get us both killed." Reinhart yelled at his brother, trying to punch him in the ribs.
"No, you and I are going to stop this." Heinrich assured his younger brother as he released him. Reinhart fell to the wet ground and looked up at his brother, who he was certain had lost his mind from grief. Heinrich was walking away, leaving him to fend for himself in the mud.
"Where are you going?" Reinhart demanded, getting back to his feet.
"There." Heinrich pointed the police station.
"What, you think you can find a bigger gun there?" Reinhart asked sarcastically. "What good is that going to do exactly?" A bullet or two won't mean much to that thing!"
"Just follow me and shut up." Heinrich growled back.
The two brothers made their way into the police station, which by that point, it was almost empty. There was just one frantic officer left inside trying to radio for help from the outside. He didn't even notice the two brothers slip past him towards the weapons storage locker. The locker had been left wide open in the chaos.
"Here, hold this." Heinrich grabbed a nearby duffel bag and gave it to Reinhart. They went inside the locker and Heinrich began to grab small tin canisters that were lined up along a shelf and put them inside the bag one by one. "Whatever you do, do not drop the bag."
"Ok." Reinhart answered, not certain what they were collecting. Once Heinrich had taken all the cans, he turned and grabbed a device with a long metal cylinder with a stand attached.
"Alright, let's go." They sneaked out of the police station undetected. Once they were back outside they found what was left of the village in chaos. People were running from the monster in every direction. Most of the police officers had already been killed by the monster. It was unclear to anyone where it was best to take refuge. Anyone wandering the streets would be snatched up and eaten and buildings certainly weren't safe. The creature was smashing them at will. It had just leveled another one when Heinrich caught sight of it.
"Come on, follow me." He urged his brother on towards he beast. It was moving towards city hall.
"What did we just steal?" Reinhart finally asked as they chased after it.
"A mortar." Heinrich answered.
"A mortar?!" Reinhart shouted back. "Those things that launch explosives?!" He held onto the bag extra tight.
Once they had come within a block of of the monster Heinrich signaled for Reinhart to stop. He put down the pipe he was carrying and told Reinhart to open the bag up. Once the stand was set in place and pointed at the monster Heinrich told his brother to hand him one of the canisters from the bag. Reinhart obeyed.
Heinrich slid the canister into the opening of the pipe and quickly turned away from it. The canister rattled its way down the pipe until it hit the bottom. Once it had, there was a slight pop followed by an odd zooming sound. The canister flew back up the pipe and burst out the opening.
Reinhart watched as the shot arched up in the air and came back down close to the monster. The canister hit a couple yards away from its intended target, but it didn't explode on contact. Instead there was a slight crackle and smoke came out of it. Reinhart thought the explosive was a dud. He sighed, thinking they weren't off to a great start. Just then, the canister erupted, billowing out copious amounts of smoke. Heinrich launched another two canisters in rapid session, which landed close to the first one. They too let out a cloud of gas and smoke which began to spread all over.
The monster didn't notice any of it at first. It just continued to smash city hall piece by piece undeterred. The bell in the tower rang out as the creature used its claws to tear down the structure around it. The building gave out and collapsed towards the ground. Slowly, the smoke from the canisters began to rise up. It took a few moments, but once the smoke had reached the monster's face there was a noticeable reaction. It was plain to see that it doesn't like it. The monster moved forward out of the cloud and further down the block to escape it.
"What is this stuff?" Reinhart demanded from his brother.
"It's tear gas." Heinrich answered.
"How did you know it would be in there?" Reinhart motioned back to the police station.
"I told you, I was working for intelligence branch of the army." Heinrich explained. "The gas was supplied to all police stations in the country since the Fuhrer's death. It was meant for crowd control. Given the riots in the past times of political uncertainly, the powers that be felt it would be wise to have it on hand." The brothers had to pick up the mortar and carry it down the street to catch up with the monster again, who had retreated out of range.
They set it up again within just a few seconds and resumed launching tear gas at the monster. Again, once the gas reached its face, the creature was forced to retreat out of the gas cloud. The brothers kept pace with it, moving and firing when needed. They had nearly managed to force it out of town after several rounds of attacks.
Heinrich and Reinhart were setting up for the fourth, and what they hoped would be, the final time. They were riding high on their momentum. Reinhart was on his knees bent over grabbing more canisters out of the bag while Heinrich was standing, positioning the mortar.
The first canister they launched actually hit he monster in the face and bounced off. They had really gotten good at determining the range through repeated use of the weapon. Reinhart thought to laugh until he saw the monster start to turn its head towards them. Their luck had run out. The creature spotted them. Heinrich launched two more canisters, which he hoped would make the monster retreat like it had before. The gas was on target, but to their horror, the monster blinked, bringing up a semi-transparent membrane to protect its eyes from the gas.
It glared down on them menacingly, seeming to understand they were they source of all its irritation. It roared malevolently, the sound and resulting vibration paralyzing both Heinrich and Reinhart. The monster reared back its tail and swung it down at them. There was nowhere to run, they couldn't hope to escape its attack.
The massive tail swipe pulverized everything in its path, snapping trees and turning a house between it and the intended targets into a pile of kindling. The tail also hit a automobile that was sitting across the street sending it, along with other debris, flying towards the brothers. Reinhart instinctively lay down flat. The car flew right over him and landed fifty odd yards behind him with a crash as it landed inside a house.
'Jesus Christ.' Reinhart thought frantically, frozen to the ground with fear. 'I should be dead.' The monster's tail still hung above him, blocking out the moonlight above. He was sure that at any moment it would come falling back down to finish him off. To his disbelief, the tail floated away from him back the way it had come.
"My god Heinrich, can you believe that?" Reinhart asked, rising to his knee. "He missed us!" Heinrich did not answer. Reinhart looked back to where his brother had been. He was gone. "Brother? Brother!" He shouted, his voice echoing in the ruined neighborhood. "Where are you?" He looked for Heinrich, but he was nowhere to be found. There was a gust of wind from behind Reinhart, but he ignored it, still looking for Heinrich.
What Reinhart wasn't seeing was the monster moving again. While its eyes were protected from the gas, it still had to breathe. The creature had inhaled a significant amount of gas when it had swung its tail. The gas was doing its work, attacking the monster's respiratory track. With its chest on fire, the monster had finally had enough and leap into the air with its powerful back legs. While leaping, it opened up membranes between its front and hind legs and glided away from the village.
The force of the jump caused a blow-back, which caused the tear gas to spread all over the town. The surviving villagers, including Reinhart, were caught up in the cloud. Reinhart was still trying to find his brother when it overtook him. Within seconds he was plagued by respiratory pain, skin irritation, and a horrible stinking in his eyes. He stumbled around, impaired by the effects of the gas. He took his shirt off and wrapped it around his head in an attempt to limit his exposure.
In the immediate aftermath, the monster who went on to be known as Varan disappeared. The popular theory was that he retreated back into one of the various lakes in the region to wash the gas residue off of himself. The initial reports made it sound like it was Angirus who had reappeared. After all, there were certain characteristics that both monster shared, but given that the new monster possessed the unusual ability of flight, it was quickly concluded they were dealing with something new.
Meanwhile in the Gulf of Lion, just south of France, a strange object was found floating in the water not too far off coast from Toulon. A fishing ship was the first thing to run across it. The crew of the vessel radioed their discovery into their company's headquarters who then proceeded to report it to the French Government. What they had found appeared to be a gigantic egg. It was robin blue with yellow strips and white spots.
There was much debate about what to do with it. Some wanted it destroyed on the spot, others wanted it brought inland to be studied, and a few simply thought it should be left alone to drift somewhere else. As it was floating in French territorial waters, it was in their government's hands to decide how to deal with it.
They eventually decided that it was to be studied. The French officials felt it might offer some much needed insights to the sudden appearance of giant creatures all over the world. Such as it was, the egg was towed into port and brought inland. A shelter was quickly erected to house it and protect it from the elements.
It didn't take the scientists on hand too long to conclude that the egg was fertile and housed some type of life form. It was giving off heat and, from time to time, movement was detected from within. Exactly what was inside was mystery though. The two leading theories were either a bird or reptile. Small samples of the egg's shell were chipped away and sent to a lab for analysis. The results were inconclusive.
Whatever was inside the egg, it was completely unlike anything they could find a reference match for. Though the studies continued, it was starting to become clear they wouldn't know exactly what they were dealing with until it hatched.
"Take that you bastard." Marcus said aloud, having finished reading the report about ambush for Baragon.
"They got him good then?" Joe asked.
"They are hopeful that he crawled into a hole somewhere and died." Marcus answered. "No seismic activity has been reported anywhere in China since the attack. It's a very good sign."
"So it's just the big bird we have to deal with then?" Joe mused.
"Don't take him too lightly." Marcus warned. "I'd rate your 'big bird' far more dangerous than Baragon was. We were able to beat him because were we able to exploit a weakness. Rodan has no such weakness, at least not that we've been able to identify. The Japanese should wait until we can study him further before committing to such a large engagement."
"It's funny, I think the fact that we were successful in our assault has emboldened them." Joe suggested. "Or maybe they just don't want us making them look bad?"
"I'm afraid you may not be too far off." Marcus frowned. "The Japanese are a prideful people. The fact that we were able to defeat both Angirus and Baragon, particularly as they had been unsuccessfully hunting for the latter of the two for so long, just might have bruised their national ego. I just hope it doesn't push them into something rash."
In Japan, the radar network was being completed and the fleet was gathering in their northern bases.
Akira had volunteered to join mission to attack Rodan. Given his experience with the monster his superiors agreed. It wasn't quite as simple as that though. He would be required to do some additional training if he was to participant. He was an avatar typically assigned to close air support for the army, and thus, he was used to take offs and landings from a land based airstrip. This mission would be primarily carried out by navy planes and that would mean take offs and landings from a carrier. It was considerably more difficult to land on a carrier. Even for an experienced flyer like Akira, it was no walk in the park for someone who had never done it.
Over the days leading up to the mission, Akira practiced regularly. He was not an expert by the time they were done, but he was adequate enough to do the job. There was however one other condition required before they would allow Akira join the attack. He was not to speak of his previous encounter with Rodan or express his opinion of it to anyone. Not having much other choice in the matter, he agreed.
Once the radar stations were operational, they were able to narrow down the possibilities of Rodan's nest site. The large stations had a range of about 125 miles. They could not detect the monster all the way to the mainland, but they could detect the monster flying over the sea of Japan. Through repeated radar contacts they were able to determine that Rodan heading was flying fairly regularly towards a particular patch of airspace. The airspace in question was over an area of land just northeast of Korea, somewhere close to the coast.
With that knowledge, a radar station was hastily put together in Northern Korea to try to pinpoint the nest's exact location. The station was up within four days and it made contact with Rodan almost immediately. However, it too proved to be too far out of range to determine the exact location of Rodan's nest. It did however give them enough information to know the nest was within easy striking distance of the coast. It couldn't be more than twenty miles inland and that meant the fleet could launch their raid from the carriers as planned.
Factions within the military argued over if they should immediately mobilize the fleet to strike or construct a second tower in Korea with the intent of providing them with even greater intelligence. Most of commanders felt that it was unnecessary to build a second tower; that they had sufficient enough information as it was to carry out the attack. They also argued that if they built another tower too close to the nest that it might alarm Rodan and they wanted to surprise him.
News of the American victory over Baragon did seem to have some effect. After only two days of debate, the decision was made to proceed with the attack. The Japanese fleet made final preparations and set out for the coast.
The fleet represented one of the largest gatherings of naval power the world had ever seen. There were well over a hundred warships, including most of the Japanese fleet's carriers and battleships. They sailed with an air of confidence. In terms of shear tonnage it was unprecedented for a Far-Eastern power. It had enough firepower to rival the British Home Fleet. How could such an overwhelming force fail?
On board the fleet's flagship Akagi the mood was no different. Many of its pilots and crew were gathered in the main hanger bay. They were only hours away from the target. Mechanics were hard at work making last minute adjustments to the planes, ordnance men were wheeling in bombs and ammo belts, and pilots were standing in a circle psyching each other up for the mission.
Akira was alone, sitting off to the side watching and listening. Nearby he overheard a squadron of young pilots boasting about what victory they were about to have and the eternal glory that would be heaped upon them once they brought the beast down.
As he listened to the cocky spirits of the young flyers, it was starting to become clear to him why he had been put under a gag order. The other men on the mission didn't have the slightest idea what they were in for. The government had hushed the facts about the monster and what it could do. Beyond the few other surviving pilots from the first encounter, the men at the conference, and the higher ranks of the Japanese military, everyone else was in the dark about the true threat Rodan represented.
Beyond shear ignorance, there was another major issue Akira was starting to identify among the other pilots on the Akagi. Quite lot of them had taken part of the seek and destroy missions looking for Baragon. They were used to the monster running away and avoiding any contact with aircraft. It gave them an ego boost and an inflated sense of power. Akira knew both of those things would be deflated quickly once they came up against Rodan. In the sky it, would not run or hide from them.
Akira looked around the deck and realized that the buzz, excitement, and overconfidence was not limited to just one squad of cocksure flyers. No, the problem was far worse. It appeared to be all the pilots on board. They were all strutting around as if they didn't have a care in the world. Too long they had been at the top of the food chain in the sky. Too many easy victories in China. A harsh lesson was luring behind the clouds, waiting for them, and there wasn't much he could do to stop it.
"Hey Captain Akira, don't you think we'll be the first ones to have a crack at the monster?" One of the youngsters in Akira's new squadron yelled over to him. "Batu doesn't think so, but I told him we're the best pilots in the fleet and it's always best to lead with strength!"
"I think once were are up there you'd best keep your wits about you." Akira replied coolly. The young pilot looked puzzle. It simply wasn't the answer he was expecting. Akira wanted to say more, but if he did, he would be break his word.
An alarm bell erupted above them, bringing the short lived conversation to an end. The voice of the Akagi's Captain cracked over the intercom. He ordered his crew to general quarters. Rodan had been sighted on radar. It was not approaching the fleet, but it was flying over the Sea of Japan ahead of the fleet. The Akagi was to scramble all its squadrons.
Minutes later, Akira was in the cockpit of his fighter preparing to take off. He throttled up and his plane lurched forward, thundering down the flight deck. His plane caught air three quarters of the way down and he soared into the sky. The line of fighters behind him followed shortly after, launching one by one. After all the fighters were up, the dive bombers were next. The fighters climbed and circled the carrier waiting for the bombers to catch up with them.
Peering through his canopy, Akira saw the other carriers of the fleet launching their squadrons as well. The sky was quickly filling up with warplanes. The fighter director on the Akagi below started to issue out his orders and the cloud of planes began to organize themselves into a massive formation. Akira's squadron became a part of the left wing.
All said, there were well over five-hundred aircraft and it was impressive to see so many coordinating all at once. The formation took shape as the last squadrons got into place. Finally they were ordered to advance. The huge formation of planes pressed onward toward the horizon and battle. Akira felt a sense of awe with the amount of air power around him. He had never seen so many aircraft in one place before.
The sun had just risen in the east and somehow it comforted Akira in the cockpit of his plane. The rising Sun was the symbol of Imperial Japan and he felt as though maybe it was a good omen for the mission. He had been dreading this moment in his mind, but now that he was actually there it wasn't so bad. He had a job to do, he just needed to get it done and come back alive. Simple as that.
The fighter director radioed to the squadron to update them on Rodan's position and ordered them to adjust their course. The planes responded accordingly. Given the sheer number of planes, radio silence amongst the pilots was being strictly enforced. Excess radio chatter would be extremely disruptive. They were only to listen in to their orders. The exception to breaking radio silence was to report in the position of Rodan once they spotted the monster.
The planes pressed on and flew over a small island as they continued on course towards their quarry. Akira noted a small mountain peak and some huts dotting the beach. The simple islanders below might get a show. When the formation had closed to within a range of forty miles the fighter director crackled over the radio again. He updated the squadrons, letting them know that Rodan had changed course again. It wasn't clear how, but the monster must have somehow become wise to their presence. It was now coming straight at them.
Akira tensed up, thinking about the last attack. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, but he could not help but feel anxious. They had been hoping to catch Rodan on ground. They were only to engage him in the air if that wasn't possible. The plan was already shot to hell and it hadn't even got off the ground. No help for it though, no choice but to press on. He just hoped sheer numbers would balance the scale.
The fighter director came back on the radio again, this time sounding more urgent. Rodan had rapidly closed to within ten miles of the formation and then disappeared off the radar. Akira had read the reports from the American fleet's action again Rodan and knew this could only mean one thing: The creature had climbed above the radar's ability to track it. Could Rodan somehow know it was being tracked and was intentionally climbing so high because it knew it shake them or was this simply how the monster liked to hunt?
"Watch out from above." Akira warned his squadron, using a separate radio channel only they could hear. He wanted to broadcast that message through his radio to the rest of the pilots, but would have to break radio silence to do so. He only hoped some of the other squad leaders were given the American reports to read too. Somehow he didn't think so. He watched breathlessly, waiting for a sign of the creature.
'Where is it...?' Akira thought. Moment after painful moment stretched by with nothing. He thought for sure they'd have seen it by then. The giant formation pressed on unopposed though the seemingly empty sky. Each pilot looked around in every direction without a sign of Rodan. The only thing that could be heard was the humming of the plane's engines.
There was finally a crackle on the radio from the fighter director. It was a warning, but it had come far too late to be of any help. Rodan rose from below the formation, crashing right through the center of it. The monster took out an entire squadron of planes just with its body and wings. The squadron directly behind the first were caught up in the wash of the force Rodan left in its wake. Most of them went out of control rolling towards the sea below.
The formation was so tightly packed that other planes collided when they tried to avoid Rodan and the planes he destroyed or disabled. In just one pass Rodan had taken out two and a half squadrons.
'Son of bitch must have been skimming the surface!' Akira thought to himself angrily. 'But why didn't the radar pick him up?' Then he realized the mountainous terrain of the island they passed earlier could have created a blind spot in the radar screen between the fleet and them. 'He was staying under the radar...'
The fighter director ordered the squadrons to break up the individual formations so they weren't all clumped up together and could maneuver. Though shaken, the pilots followed their orders, stretching out the formation. Meanwhile Rodan had risen above the radar screen and disappeared again. The fighters wanted to pursue and counter attack, but with no target in sight could do nothing but wait.
The formation came to and passed through a wall of clouds. Visibility was momentarily limited as the planes worked their way through the soup. When they came out, a section of planes were still in the dark and didn't realize they shouldn't be. A shadow was looming over the air-group, following their course and speed. Again, the flyers were too late to realize Rodan was right on top of them before it was too late.
Unlike last time though, Rodan did not swoop in and out. He remained in the midst of the planes and started to swat them from the sky rapidly. One of the pilots broke radio silence to report Rodan's presence, but the only thing the rest of the planes got out of him were his screams as his plane was torn apart and exploded around him.
The rest of his squad mates responded, trying to help out their besieged comrade. They pulled in behind Rodan and opened up with their cannons. Once Rodan felt the ammo hitting him, he dived down to avoid the fire. The lines of cannon fire streaked behind the monster trying to reacquire him, but found friendly planes along the way. At least two planes caught fire and trailed smoke as they fell out of formation. One of the surviving planes stalled as it tried to maneuver away from Rodan and the friendly fire.
As plane after plane was knocked out, the formation started to fall apart and general chaos began to set in. Most of the squadrons managed to stick together, but amongst the ones that had been attacked, or ones that were simply closest to the monster, it was degenerated into every man for themselves. The very sight of the monster was enough to inspire dread in the heart of many of the pilots.
The radio silence rule went right out the window as discipline broken down and panicked pilots began to flood the radio waves. Orders could not be passed along and there was no hope for coordination anymore. The center of the formation was a fur-ball of planes. It was a mess and the men stuck in it desperately needed help.
Akira had to resort to hand signals to his squad-mates to communicate as even their own radio frequency was bogged down by pilots from other squadrons desperately switching channels. Akira urged his men to follow him toward the center. As they closed in, Rodan's jaws snapped down on the tail and left wing of a bomber he was chasing. The bomber's wing snapped right off and the remaining portions of the aircraft began to spin and tumble from the sky.
Akira's group pressed in, followed by some of the other contingents of the left wing who had decided to follow him too. The fighters depressed their triggers and showered Rodan in a hail of bullets. Rodan broke off his pursuit of the plane he was after and came right at Akira's group.
The monster came noise to noise with them as they continued to fire. He passed just a couple of feet below Akira's plane, which was close enough to push it higher as it went by. Two of Akira's wing-men weren't as lucky. Their plane's disintegrated as Rodan rammed directly into them. Several other planes were throw off course as it passed.
The flight groups that had followed Akira's had similar outcomes to their attacks, several lost planes with no clear damage inflicted in return. Rodan pressed on and attacked other squadrons who were less prepared. It was more than clear by this point that machine guns and cannons were not going to get the job done. They had bombers with heavier ordnance, but they were perfectly useless until Rodan landed.
The air-groups were getting cut to pieces one by one as the battle continued.
The Admiral in command was keeping close track of the situation. He could see less and less of his planes on the radar screen with each passing minute. He knew he had to do something and decided to move the fleet in closer to try to support his flyers. His intent was to use the guns of his powerful surface fleet to shoot Rodan down. If they could just get him out of the air, they'd have a fair chance.
The Japanese had a great number of battleships and heavy cruisers at their disposal. The strength of their surface fleet was formidable and battleships had been proven to be at least semi-effective against the giant monsters they had termed Kaiju in the past. The Admiral felt it was the logical next step given how disastrous the air battle was proving to be.
Minutes passed by as the the air-groups continued to take terrible casualties. The fleet pressed forward towards a showdown with the monster. The Admiral began to see the monster's handy work in the sky. He could see through his binoculars that planes were falling out of the sky regularly. The air battle had already been raging for a half-hour and he had little to show for it aside from the loss of many of his airmen and aircraft.
The admiral sent out an order for his planes to retreat and regroup behind the fleet. He was hoping the monster would follow them so he could concentrate his anti-air power in one good barrage.
The pilots struggled to retreat as they got the recall order. Rodan destroyed even more planes as they did, he was so fast and agile compared to them. It was heartbreaking to watch the futile effort of the airmen. Rodan followed the stragglers knocking them out one by one, but in doing so he found himself right where the admiral wanted him.
The order was given and the surface ships erupted with gunfire. Rodan was pelted with round after round, but quickly sweep his way out of the path of the majority of the fire. He came in low and before the gunners could make any adjustments and plucked a destroyer clean out of the water with his talons. Rodan continued to skim the water with the warship in its grasp until it came across the aircraft carrier Kaga. As the monster passed over the carrier he jammed the destroyer directly into the port side hull of the ship. The sound of twisting metal could be heard even inside of Akira's plane.
The crippled destroyer sat there for only a few seconds before its forward magazine exploded causing even more damage to the carrier it was stuck in. Both ships started to take on a massive amounts of water and sink.
Rodan banked sharply and used its claws to slash at the side of a nearby cruiser. It left a gash in the side of the ship that ran almost the entire length of the hull. The cruiser also started to sink from lethal damage the monster inflected. Their was little the men aboard any of the three ships that were attacked could do. The damage was simply too extensive for the repair crews to handle.
Rodan found its way to the next closest carrier and landed right on the deck. The monster brought all its weight down on the bow of the Shokaku and waited while the whole front of the ship dipped down into the water. The front sections quickly filled with water as the stern rose clear out of the water.
Several light cruisers were nearby and took aim at Rodan. They landed a number of hits with their main guns, but if they bothered the monster even in the slightest, it was not apparent. The battleship Kongo was also nearby and leveled its main guns at the monster.
They fired and one of its rounds hit the monster square in its armored torso. This time Rodan took notice. It rocked back and forth digging its talons into the flight deck of the carrier as it continued to sink below it. The monster nearly lost its footing as it tried to recover on its perch. It roared angrily and it took off. The sound of it could be heard throughout the fleet.
Rodan came at the Kongo and struck down at it as it passed. Rodan's talons gripped a section of the bridge and pulled it clear away from the ship. Still enraged, it sweep back down over the fleet. It came down close to the carrier Hiryu at an incredible speed. As it passed the flight deck blow right off the ship like a roof being torn off by a tornado. Two nearby destroyers were blown right over and capsized. The deck of the Hiryu flew around wildly until it fell into the hull of a cruiser, causing damage.
The admiral watched in horror as his fleet was being decimated. One of his subordinates handed him a piece of paper as the carnage continued. He looked down and quickly read it. Finally some good news had come in. A ground unit scouting for the nest had finally spotted something that looked promising. It wasn't too far away.
The admiral radioed for any of his planes that still had enough fuel to make an attack run on the nest. Akira got the message and his fighters, along with a two squadrons of dive bombers, broke away from the fleet while Rodan continued to lash out.
It took the the planes less than fifteen minutes flight time to reach their target. While they were in route the fleet started to have better luck against Rodan. The battleship round Rodan had taken to the chest had slowed him down some and his attacks became less deadly and frequent. He had been circling the fleet and periodically swooping down. He was still damaging and sinking ships, though not nearly as easily has he had before.
As Rodan came in for another attack on the battleship Fuso its main guns managed to get a second hit to his chest. Rodan sunk his talons into the side of the ship and tear enough of the hull away to ensure the ship would sink, but the latest volley was enough to convince him further attacks on the fleet were something he was no longer interested in.
Rodan retreated as heavy cruisers pressed in towards him. The ships fired several volleys of their main guns at the monster, two of which managed to strike him in the left wing. The monster lost speed and altitude. It seemed like the fleet was finally starting to gain an advantage in the fight. Rodan hit the water and the Admiral ordered all ships to move in.
Just as things were starting to look in their favor, the radar officer spoke up with a warning.
"Admiral, I have a second radar contact incoming!" He revealed that their was another large blip closing in on the fleet. Worse, he noted it appeared to be similar to the signature of Rodan. No one exactly knew what to make of it, but it was coming in from the North and moving fast.
Meanwhile Akira's planes had reached their target. The nest was made up mostly of hundreds of trees that had been completely uprooted and dirt. The planes wasted no time, they dove down and unleashed ten-thousand tons worth of bombs. The nest and everything around it were obliterated in a series of explosions. The planes turned around and circled to observe the damage they had inflected. they saw that nothing was left of the nest but burning debris. Satisfied with the attack, Akira signaled for his men to return to the fleet.
Back at the fleet, the situation was growing more dire. The radar contact had closed to just a few miles and was about to reveal itself. The admiral ordered what remained of his fighter pickets to intercept whatever it was, but they hadn't gotten far away before it was right on top of them.
To the horror of the Admiral, a second Rodan burst from the clouds and flew through a dozen aircraft as it made its way towards the first Rodan on the water. It came in low and capsized yet another destroyer. Then it used it's talons to rip the turret off of one of the heavy cruisers closing in on the other Rodan and dropped it on one of the other warships along the way.
The momentum of the battle had shifted as the heavy cruiser's assault faltered. The second Rodan came back around and beat its wings towards the nearby warships, covering the retreat of the first one. The distraction of the second Rodan lasted long enough for the first Rodan on the water to flap it's wings and regain flight. Once the first Rodan had made it a safe distance away from the fleet the the second one joined it.
Moments later it became clear where they were going. The fighter director came over the radio once again and warned Akira's flight group that the Rodans were headed in their direction. Akira was puzzled and asked that he repeat the message to confirm that he in fact meant 'Rodans' and not 'Rodan'. The director confirmed the transmission was correct and that he meant the plural.
Cold sweat formed on Akira's forehead as he looked up to see that there were in fact two Rodans pressing in on his flight group's position. Though they were just ever-growing dots, they were already within visual range. They were much faster than his fighters. It would not take them long to arrive.
Akira knew that their weapons were no good against them and they had no chance of getting away, so he decided to do the only thing he could. He put himself on course to ram right into the closest Rodan. If he could hit one in the face, maybe it would distract both of them long enough for the others pilots to get back to the fleet. There was no room for error. To ensure his plane struck home, Akira decided he'd have to remain at the controls this time to guide it in.
"For the good of the homeland" He said to himself almost like a prayer. He corrected his course to line up directly into the monster's flight path as they pushed in closer. Then something happened that shook Akira. As the Rodans closed to a thousand yards they veered off to the right and retreated northward. Akira almost felt cheated as he saw them leaving the battle area. 'Where are they going? Don't they want revenge?' He thought puzzled.
In the aftermath of the battle, a close investigation revealed that there had been no eggs present in the nest. It was concluded that the Rodans had retreated simply because there was no longer a reason to fight. As the location of there current nest had been discovered, it would simply be easier for them go somewhere else and build a new one.
The Japanese had managed to drive the Rodans out of their territory, but the victory had bought them very little. Rodan was still at large, and worse, they had discovered that there were in fact two of them now. The cost in men and equipment had been high. The Japanese naval forces had lost over a quarter of their combat aircraft and nearly an eighth of their warships, including six capital ships and a handful of heavy cruisers. All said, nearly five thousand Japanese servicemen had died in the operation.
The debacle was a disaster for the Japanese government. They had to explain to their angry citizens why so many of their soldiers had died for so little.