Chapter 28: A Tale of Two Betrayals
.
Before Kiryu even had a moment to react, Battra's front legs were already deep inside his back. Kiryu let out a roar of anger and began reaching to grab Battra. Battra, screeching, began to stab again and again into Kiryu's back. One of his dorsal plates fell to the stone floor below. Kiryu finally managed to grab Battra and threw him into the air. Battra quickly steadied himself in the air and glided across the room. Kiryu watched as his black figure gracefully soared through his lab. Battra turned and game in for another strike. This time however, Kiryu knew what to do.
He turned around and just when Battra was within range, he swung his tail like a club. It slammed into Battra's frail thorax and he smashed into the wall next to him. He crashed straight through it and slammed into another wall in the hallway outside of Kiryu's lab. Car sized boulders fell on top of Battra's form. Moments later Battra pokes his head out of the rubble only for Kiryu to body slam into him at full speed. Kiryu grabs Battra and slams him into another wall. He continues to push Battra through walls until Battra fires his prism beams into Kiryu's chest. The purple beams crackle and spark when colliding with Kiryu's armor. Kiryu roars and activates one of his swords. Just as he goes in for a slash, Battra wriggles himself free and climbs onto Kiryu's back.
Kiryu activates his thrusters and collides into the ceiling above. Up and up the two go until Kiryu deactivates them and grabs Battra with his tail. He throws Battra onto a far wall and deactivates his sword.
"Is that all you got?"
Battra screeches and fires his prism beams. Kiryu activates his right sword and shields himself from the beam. The purple beam slams into his sword and immediately it begins to melt. Just when Battra finishes his attack Kiryu looks up to see his entire sword has melted, leaving only a melted stub behind. Kiryu ejects the blade from his arm and extends his tail spike.
"I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WOULD BETRAY ME KIRYU! GOOD THING I PREPARED!"
Battra pushes a button on a bracelet he had on one of his arms and almost instantly two female mutos burst through the walls. Kiryu activates his remaining sword and cuts one down instantly. The other one he jabs his tail into its neck and slashes. Blood sprays from the wound and the muto collapses to the ground below.
Battra watches as his two most trained muto guards fall in literal seconds. Kiryu retracts his blade and fires his maser beam at Battra. The yellow beam of energy slams into him and causes him to be pushed back against the wall. Battra quickly throws both of his wings in front of him and reflects the blast back at Kiryu with his reflective scales. The yellow beam shoots up and blasts a hole in the ceiling of the room. Almost instantly rocks fall and hit Kiryu. He stops the attack as he gets buried in boulders. Battra moves his wings back and stands up. He winces in pain. One of his middle legs was broken in the fight. Just as Battra gets his footing Kiryu bursts from the pile of rubble and fires a barrage of plasma cannon shots. Battra takes flight and dodges most of them but one hits him in the back. He feels it go right through his thick armor. He cries out in pain and slams through a wall and crashes through the floor below. Battra lays there in the crater he created and slowly begins to crawl out. Just as he starts to slowly crawl out he hears Kiryu crash through the wall behind him. He retracts his plasma cannon and stares at his wounded foe.
"Such a waste of an intelligent mind, you are. So weak and frail. Shame you will never live to see your empire conquer the Earth. Now hold still for me."
Battra cries out in agony as Kiryu's tail spike is jabbed into him. Seconds later Kiryu pulls out his tail spike and gazes at the contents of the canister below it. Battra's blood swirls around inside of it. Kiryu smiles and retracts the canister back into his tail. He kicks Battra over with his foot and stares into his red eyes.
"You know what you saw in my lab? An egg. But not just any egg. The second egg of someone you know. Someone you care about. That egg...is Mothra's egg."
"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Battra roars and slices with his front limbs, Kiryu lets out a roar as his left leg is slashed open. Just as Kiryu reaches down to grab his leg, Battra slices down as hard as he can and, with a loud scraping sound coupled with sparks, Kiryu's right arm falls to the floor. Everything below the elbow was sliced right off. Battra unleashes his prism beams upon the wounded Kiryu and causes him to slam into the wall behind him. Kiryu roars and fires three of his Anti-Kaiju missiles in response. Battra jerks his head to the right to cut them down but in that moment of vulnerability Kiryu races over and grabs Battra by thorax and begins to squeeze. Battra's prism beams begin to stop as he is being choked. Battra, in desperation, tries to slash with one of his front legs but Kiryu grabs it with his mouth and rips it right off. Battra screeches in agony. Kiryu looks at him and smiles.
"Once I squish you like the roach you are, I am going to turn your sister's egg into something new. A creature so vile yet so manipulative. Something so evil and cruel it rivals even you. All I need now is a name."
Battra looks at him with weak eyes. Blood beginning to drip out of his mandibles.
"You...will...never...win…"
Kiryu frowns and activates his thrusters. He flies up through several floors until he reaches the top floor. The throne room. Kiryu spots the stone throne built for Battra at the end of the room and throws Battra at it. He slams into it and it crumbles around him. Battra lies on his amidst the rubble of his throne. Kiryu lands in front of him and gazes at the sight before him.
"How symbolic this is. Battra lying in the rubble of his throne. Signifying the end of his rule. Say your prayers, Battra. You will need them."
Raises his arm and activates his plasma cannon. However, before he can finish charging up his kill shot, Battra fires his prism beams at Kiryu. The purple beam hits him in the chest and causes him to slam into the wall behind him. Battra continues his onslaught. Kiryu desperately tries to move from his location but he is pinned against the corner. Battra, with great difficulty, stands up and continues to fire his beams. Kiryu raises his arms to block the beam. Just as it begins to overwhelm Kiryu a familiar metal thud is heard at the end of the room. Kiryu turns his head and sees Gigan standing in the room watching the battle happening. Gigan extends both of his scythes but keeps glancing at Battra and Kiryu. Kiryu then speaks to him through the carnage.
"He attacked me Gigan! I was defenseless, weak, I told you he would betray us Gigan, I told you! After he kills me he will kill you! He can't be trusted! He only keeps you around for your powers Gigan!"
Battra hears this and shouts back at Gigan.
"Don't listen to him Gigan! Remember everything I have done for you! Your body, your home, your power! Kiryu will only keep you here for those, not for you! He isn't to be trusted Gigan! Help me end this once and for all!"
Gigan glances back at Kiryu. Just before Gigan begins to move towards Kiryu he mutters only one phrase.
"Remember who your species is Gigan...we...don't...lie…"
Gigan stands before both of his mentors. The one who gave him a purpose and the one who gave him a species to identify with. And in that moment, he made a choice.
And it wasn't Battra.
Gigan lets out a roar and slices Battra's right wing off. He cries out in pain and stops his beams. Kiryu quickly stands up and activates his sword. Kiryu jolts forward and plunges his blade into Battra's thorax. Battra turns his head and fires his prism beams at Gigan. They hit him right in the chest and blast apart his armor. Gigan collapses to the ground as his fragile armor begins to melt. He looks up and sees Kiryu plunge his blade into the wall nearby with Battra still attached. He ejects the hilt and steps back. Kiryu walks over to the shattered remains of the throne and lets out a loud, guttural, mechanical roar. The walls vibrate. Gigan lowers his head at his new master. Battra refuses to lower his. He uses his one remaining front leg and saws at the blade holding him up. He cuts through the blade and drops down. Kiryu lowers his head and looks over at Battra. He sees him struggling to crawl away. He quickly moves over and grabs him. He throws him across the room. He slams into the floor and lays there, unmoving but still alive. Kiryu spins him around and moves towards the holo-projection table that lies in the center of the room. He looks over at Battra.
"You will watch this."
Kiryu pushes a few buttons and begins to broadcast to the Legion of Doom.
"Good evening soldiers. Today is a sad day. I am here to report that Battra has attempted to betray me and Gigan, along with our jaeger brethren. During the battle, he was struck down. I am here to report that Battra did not survive his wounds."
The broadcast is being projected across the globe across all forms of communication. The jaegers spread across the front lines are also receiving the broadcast.
"But with his death comes new life with the empire. With his death, we will continue on his legacy. But first, we must do something first. Because of his mutos assisting him with his attempted coup, a new order must be enacted. My jaegers, now is the time. Execute contingency protocol 37-B."
Almost instantly, every jaeger across the globe did the same thing. Their normal blue visor colors shifted to red. They activated their swords, and began to strike down any muto in their sight. Battra watches as the mutos he helped create and raise get ripped apart by Kiryu's men. All of them, every jaeger on Earth, has now begun to actively hunt down and destroy the mutos. And Battra watches this. He watches through tears as his dream that he has spent 65 million years pursuing, gets crushed. He watches as everything he has ever come to know gets destroyed in seconds. All of it...all of it was ultimately his fault. He put too much trust into Kiryu, and because of that, his world is shattered. He lowers his head in shame as he hears the cries of his mutos ring in the room around him.
"And now, my mechanical brethren, with the death of the mutos, a new age will be formed. I, Kiryu, will be your new leader. And through me, the Legion of Doom will continue to prosper. And together, nothing will stop us."
Kiryu ends the transmission. He walks over to Battra and grabs him by his neck.
"And now, what to do with you. I could kill you, but I can't. You know why? I need your mind. In order to wipe the Earth clean of life I need your mind. But once you have fulfilled your purpose you will only then be granted the sweet relief that is death. This is no longer your world, Battra."
Kiryu drops Battra and walks over to the exit of the throne room. He extends his sword.
"It is mine."
He walks out of the room. Gigan follows after him. Battra wraps his remaining wing around his wounds and begins to heal. Although he can stop the bleeding, he can't regrow his limbs. However, something catches his eye. He glances up and sees the dark red figure of Rodan standing in the shadows. Battra, with nothing else left, desperately cries out to the only one who can help him now.
"Go! Warn the others! Tell them what happened here! Fly Rodan Fly! Leave here! Find them! Find the Kaiju Court!"
Rodan quickly turns around and bursts through the ceiling of the base. He takes flight into the night sky. He flies faster and faster. Embers streaming behind him. He looks down and sees mutos and jaegers fighting each other. Within just hours he finally reaches where Godzilla and Mothra have made their home. The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository. He spots Godzilla comforting a very pale looking Mothra. Godzilla spots Rodan and immediately fires his atomic breath at him. He dodges the blue beam and lands in front of him. Godzilla roars and grabs him. He slams Rodan into the mountain and begins to choke him.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT? HAVE YOU COME TO KILL ANOTHER EGG? I'LL KILL YOU!"
"GODZILLA STOP! I COME IN PEACE! YOU NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING!"
Godzilla slams Rodan into the mountain again and stares into his orange eyes. The golden glow of Godzilla's burns into Rodan. Pure range and anger flow through Godzilla. Rodan swallows and begins to speak.
"Something has happened in the Legion of Doom. I don't know who started it but Kiryu overthrew Battra and installed himself as the new emperor. He initiated some kill order on the mutos and Battra has been left crippled. Gigan has joined Kiryu's side and they plan to create some super weapon to destroy all life on Earth! We need to stop him before he stops us!"
"And why should I believe anything you just said?"
"Because Mothra does. Look at her, she can feel Battra's pain. For once in your life Godzilla look past your anger and listen to me. I understand you have horrible feelings regarding me but I didn't kill the egg. I didn't kill Anguirus. I don't want to be the bad guy anymore."
Godzilla stares at Rodan for a few seconds and then releases his grasp. Mothra trudges over and puts one of her legs on Godzilla's arm. He lowers it. Mothra looks at Rodan and raises their antennae.
"I can feel his sorrow. I can feel him. He is in terrible pain, deep, emotional and physical pain. If what you say is true, then we need Battra. Goji, I know you hate him for everything he has done but we need to find him. We need him to help us defeat Kiryu."
"And Mothra there is something else too."
"What?"
Rodan scratches the back of his head.
"Your egg...it wasn't destroyed."
.
Author's note: Wow this took so long to write. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter so far because I sure have. I don't have much to say regarding this chapter because I feel it explains itself very well. I will see you guys soon.
Random: I have been binge watching Pirates of the Caribbean and let me tell you, Davy Jones is such a complex character. A man twisted by love and desire becomes the most wicked thing imaginable. 10/10 character development and writing.