Gigan knew his limits, his strengths and weaknesses and he had grown to know what nearly all of what his modifications would do for him in any given scenario. At the same time, Gigan had learned long ago that his sacrifice of flesh for steel, of freedom for strength, was meaningless if he couldn't use his newfound prowess with precision and tact. Gigan found it ironic that he had traded his fiery warrior blood and spirit, cultivated during his youth, for a steely and efficient mind completely in parallel to the changes his body had underwent.

Only these changes, he didn't regret.

Rodan opened the show with his typical tactic; fly at something until it either stopped moving or stopped existing. Plain and simple as could be.

Gigan watched as his opponent leapt high from his volcanic perch with intense scrutiny, waiting for the slightest sign of a distinct movement in one direction or the other. While Gigan may have lost the passion that once came with combat, he wasn't about to lose to anyone. Not after the sacrifices he made, he would stick to it or die trying.

Rodan flapped and gained height as searing winds swept over the complexes and homes of the machine makers below, little more than ants to the two titans narrowed in on each other. Gigan tensed slightly at the heat, noticing the cinders and flow of molten rock and live sparks from the creature above him, raising his scythes and adjusting his footing, claws scraping chasms into the rock as he beckoned his opponent forth again with the ear scraping sounds of bioacoustics woven with the scraping and sheering of metal and the slight hiss of speakers.

Rodan answered with is defiant caw, and Gigan was all too ready as the firebird dove towards him.

Gigan had seen this many times before, Rodan dove with claws forward clearly trying to either grab the metallic menace or slam him to the ground, an interrupted sleep doesn't exactly do much for strategy. Gigan widened his stance sunk his claws deep into the rocky earth beneath him, tightening their mechanical grip on the battleground as he crossed his blades just in time to catch the brunt of the force on them. Rodans claws gripped and slashed at the sickles, sparks flying from the slash of the initial contact as Rodan attempted to hold tight and fly over Gigan's head, trying to throw him off balance.

Gigan didn't intend to let that happen, he hissed in incomprehensible language as he unlocked his claws, pre-empting Rodan's attempt to pivot by spinning and twisting the momentum Rodan put into his attack right into a throw. The fire demon was thrown right to the side, and he had to let go in time to catch himself, his own claws raking deep into the stone of his home.

Gigan moved, invested in keeping him on the ground where he was at an advantage, but found his efforts thwarted as Rodan took off again, creating some distance by moving backwards as Gigan tried to beckon him back with aggressive screeches. Rodan may have been brash and aggressive, but he wasn't a fool. The aerial opponent frustrated Gigan by only widening the gap between them.

Gigan knew his foe was know cautious, he scolded himself for failing to take advantage of his close range advantage when he had the chance. All the same, Gigan stepped forward, traversing the mountainous terrain slowly to try and close the distance. If the bird would attack him again he wouldn't let him get away a second time, and if it backed off more and let Gigan take the high ground he could reduce the advantage of his enemy's flight. He advanced silently and slowly, taking a tight and defensive stance to cover his torso with both of his sickles.

Gigan clearly gave Rodan too little credit, instead of the two options he predicted; he took a third. The fire demon, upon noticing Gigan's intent to move up the volcano, perched himself on the rim of the structure, spreading his wings in a challenge as Gigan realized they were back where they started, only now the ball was in his court.

While one of his parameters was to expend as little energy as possible, Gigan figured that trying to slug it out in a melee with a flying enemy was going to expend more energy than simply using his gravitational manipulation to close the distance between them. As soon as that train of thought was done and gone, the technological terror pushed off the rocks and lunged upwards at Rodan as he felt his weight disappear. Gigan's thrusters activated and he rocketed towards his foe with tremendous speed, ready to slice him clean in half. Rodan tried to react in time, throwing himself back and trying to get in the air to avoid the incoming tackle.

It was too late.

Gigan smashed into Rodan head on, but fortunately for the kaiju his adjusted position prevented Gigan from taking an immediate swing at his opponent. Gigan already recognized his prior mistake of letting his opponent get away. He didn't intend to let him get away a second time. Gigan's gravitational manipulator directed the force downward, increasing the gravity on Gigan and making it so he and the fire bird were plummeting towards the ground rapidly after the initial collision.

Rodan clawed frantically at Gigan's metallic exterior, sparks flying about as he tried to find a weak spot in Gigan's armor, snapping at his neck with his beak. Gigan didn't let go though, he clung tighter, finally getting the tips of his scythes to sink into the molten rock of his foe, holding him and place and enduring the relentless scratches and strikes on his armor until he finally slammed Rodan into the Earth.

Rodan flailed beneath him, attacking even feircer with the ground to his back, but he was clearly rocked by the impact. His attempts to use his beak stopped and his clawing became more indiscriminate, striking any bit of Gigan he could get to from his pinned position. While doing no serious damage to his armor, Gigan was still feeling the force behind Rodan's surprisingly potent strikes, preventing him from going for his preferred wide, sweeping slashes to finish off the enemy.

But he would slash all the same.

Gigan hit back, making tight swipes with his scythes against Rodan's torso, not wanting to let off the weight and give him a chance to escape. Rodan screeched in shock and pain, trying to struggle harder against Gigan's weighty form as chunks of molten rock were torn from his body, his armor rapidly being chipped away as Gigan fell into a near-trance striking harder and faster with each blow Rodan gave trying to throw him off. Gigan could tell the bird was getting desperate, he struck faster and faster trying to break through Rodan's armor and tear into his body like so many foes before.

Rodan also felt it, he felt his armor lose more and more of its weight and his anger turned to fear and desperation. Rodan realized he wasn't gonna get Gigan off like this, so he did something he only very rarely did. He only used it in the most dire of situations, after all it wasn't exactly painless for him. But he wasn't going to die, not to some nobody. He was Rodan. He was the Fire Demon!

Gigan was too busy hacking and slashing, eager to claim his perceived victory, to notice that Rodan had opened his maw wide. Rodan screeched before he did something Gigan's prior opponents had not done before.

He shot fire and magma from his maw, taking Gigan completely by surprise.

Gigan felt the heat, it actually burned as his armor became super heated and he hissed in pain. That hiss turned into a screech as the pain became very real, something Gigan usually didn't feel after his organic body was sealed away. The machined menace stumbled back, nearly falling as he scrambled to regain his balance and get out of range of Rodan's attack. Rodan, equally desperate for an out, stopped his attack and scrambled back, managing to take to the air and create space once again, this time far larger.

Gigan clenched his beak, the inorganic teeth inside gnashing against metal as he registered his armor has been ever so slightly deformed as the flames had slipped through small gaps and licked his skin, the magma dripping off him rapidly. Gigan was usually stone cold in a fight, as robotic and emotionless as his modified body might suggest. But now, Gigan was feeling that old energy return to him. The spirit of the warrior Gigan had once been was only further reignited by this planet as the sudden pain brought back a long suffocated emotion in all its fury.

Gigan was angry. Gigan was very angry.

No longer were his screeches and growls in challenge to Rodan, but in expression of absolute fury. Realizing he couldn't let Rodan get away again or he would lose his initiative, Gigan charged his foe while he was still recovering, the feelings of searing pain still fresh in his mind. But even under the influence of these returned emotions, Gigan was still far from undisciplined. Even if it had been a veritable eternity since he was this emotional, he still knew control. No, his hatred was his weapon, and he wielded it well.

Rodan took to the sky just in time to avoid a horizontal slice from Gigan's blade, narrowly avoiding the fight ending blow. Most opponents would have been scared to re-engage with an opponent after they had been near-mauled mere seconds before. But Rodan's fiery heart burned with determination, and the experience told him that he couldn't let Gigan be the one to control the pacing. Rodan doubled back after Gigan missed his swing, driving his talons into Gigan's head and doing all he could to force him over.

Gigan was too committed to his prior attack, expecting Rodan to just flee again if he missed, to counter the sudden attack on his skull. Before he could raise his blades to swat the creature off, Rodan forced him back and drove his head into the ground. Gigan realized the bird was a fast learner, instead of sticking around to wail uselessly on his armor and risk a counterattack, Rodan took off again. Gigan righted himself as fast as he could, trying to regain his defensive posture, only to be met with another attack from Rodan hitting him in the side and knocking him slightly off balance.

Gigan realized what was happening, Rodan was trying to use hit-and-run attacks and sheer force to keep him off tempo and drain his stamina, thus bypassing his defensive advantage and preventing him from attacking. If Gigan was indeed a regular armored opponent this strategy would certainly be very effective. Gigan had to give the opponent credit, he adapted well to the situation. Furthermore, it was quite literally on the fly.

But it wasn't enough.

Gigan recovered faster after the second hit, almost catching Rodan as he flew away. The next time Rodan tried to attack, Gigan attempted to catch him by surprise by appearing as if his guard was lowered but then thrusting his blade directly at Rodan as he got close. The counter succeeded, Rodan found a blade stabbed through his armor right where Gigan had torn into it. The fire demon backed off rapidly, cawing in pain as the blade had made a shallow puncture in his body, pushing just deep enough to pierce what remained of his armor.

Gigan wasn't able to stop Rodan from retreating, though he now had the ball back in his court. Rodan was already ascending to try and gain some distance between the two. Gigan was still on parameters not to expend too much energy, so he had to go for one of his less potent but highly versatile weapons. Gigan's sensors locked him in on what he was looking for, Rodan's legs. He pointed his scythes directly at Rodan, letting the computers adjust his aim as he lined up his shot. Just as he thought Rodan might be out of range, he fired his hooks.

Grappling hooks shot from beneath his blades at high speed, too small and fast for Rodan to react to as they clung to his legs and Gigan felt the cables snap tight and dug his metallic claws into the earth. Rodan audibly protested, attempting to get his beak around to tear into the cables and snap them in two. Unfortunately for Rodan, Gigan had already activated the mechanism to start reeling the cables in, and with the ability to alter his gravity and enhance his force he broke the momentum of Rodan's flight and pulled his arms down, slamming Rodan into the Earth.

Gigan moved swiftly, lunging onto the phoenix and immediately pinning him down. They were back into the same position as before, only this time Gigan knew about Rodan's little trick. He retracted his cables back into his body and before Rodan could blast him with the flames again he shot one of his hooks into the side of Rodan's neck and made swift pulls and movements to wrap it around Rodan's beak. Rodan flailed even harder than he had before, not slashing as much as trying to push himself out from underneath Gigan. Gigan wrapped the Cables just tight enough to prevent him from fully opening his maw. It wouldn't hold forever, but Gigan didn't need forever.

His arms weren't pinned like before, his weapons had their full range of motion. Rodan was trapped, with nowhere to run, facing down those blades that shined like stars in the rays of the sun. Rodan tried to get out as best he could, but he didn't have the strength to push the extraterrestrial off of him. Rodan got more and more frantic as the cyborg raised his weapon high, ready to cleave right through Rodan's neck and end the fight.

Gigan swung, bringing it down and ready to soothe his rage with the blood of its cause. It was just about to connect when Gigan heard an earsplitting sound, halting his motion as his sensors detected a large amount of energy to his right.

Gigan could only look in the direction of the oncoming attack before his entire vision was engulfed in a haze of viscous blue flames and he was flung from his prey.

"You have to swim faster, he is going to kill Rodan!"

Mothra's casual, teasing and confident demeanor evaporated in the face of danger, as it always did. That was something a lot of Kaiju admired about her, she could be the motherly protector and gentle Goddess one second and the warrior Queen, defender of Earth the next. Nobody who knew her would ever deny that the Queen of Monsters would step up to any challenge that faced her.

Of course none of that was comforting to Godzilla in that moment.

"Going any faster would mean submerging, which means dumping you into the sea!"

"I can swim, all that matters is that you get there as fast as you can."

"If this foe is as strong as you perceive then I need you there."

On the other hand, Godzilla's pride and stubbornness could just as easily melt away in the face of grave threats. The image of the invincible King of the Monsters was secondary to the safety of his Kingdom and the balance of the natural order. When it came down to it, he relied on the Moth Kaiju on his back more than he would ever to admit.

"I haven't returned to my true form yet Gojira, my assistance isn't worth losing Rodan. You just need to get there before this fight ends, I will arrive later."

Godzilla stayed silent for a moment, the only sounds being the water flowing on either side of his dorsal spines. Finally, he admitted defeat with a low growl.

"Fine, but that traitor better be grateful for this. If you don't make it before the fight is over I will pick you up."

"Just go, every second counts!"

Godzilla hesitated for a second, before submerging himself into the ocean further without another word spoken or thought given to Mothra. His speed picked up, and Mothra made sure to give him a signal through their psychic link affirming that she was ok. Godzilla could honestly care less about Rodan, his old friend had betrayed him the second something else came up between them. He was a traitor as far as the King was concerned.

But he was a traitor pardoned, and Godzilla wasn't about to let this invader kill his subjects. Even if he did resent them.

Godzilla thought about the past with Rodan, the times when he was younger and Rodan was a rival. Then their rivalry became friendly, they had grown to respect each other even as Godzilla's power grew to dwarf that of the fire demon's. They had grown to bond, a bond more than subject and overlord.

A bond of friends.

Then they fought together, warriors side by side. They fought the One Who is Many for so long, they had earned scars together, lost together, won together. Together with Mothra they had been as immovable as the Earth, as fierce as flames, and as swift and striking as the sky.

Inseparable as the many seas which he called his home.

Then the enemy returned, the three-headed terror revived and as furious and vile as ever. Godzilla admitted, that after his sleep was interrupted after he fought the parasites alone, he was looking forward to fighting with his old comrades once more.

His friends.

Yet, it wasn't meant to be.

Rodan betrayed him. No, he betrayed everyone. At least with the others Godzilla had never knew them personally, they only fought against Ghidorah for the common interest.

But Rodan?

Rodan was one of his oldest friends, one of the first he could ever admit to being attached to. In the end, his friend betrayed him. Not only did he bow to the false king, withered before the terrible storm which he swore to defy aeons ago, he had fought against them. He had nearly killed his friend Mothra, nearly doomed the world to annihilation.

But even in the face of that, Godzilla felt that fighting to end the life of your best friend was the worst offense.

He should have killed him, should have torn him apart for daring to come back and bow to him like a coward. To admit fault and say you were sorry when mere minutes before he had been trying to help Ghidorah kill him. All of it was so infuriating, even as he swam to his rescue he could feel nothing in his mind for the bird but hate. Mothra would have never let him end Rodan's miserable life even if he had ended up deciding he should.

Godzilla should have killed the traitor. He should have killed Rodan. He should have beaten and blasted him to a pulp and left him to rot just like-

Just like Angilas.

Godzilla's rage softened, his heart stood still for a second as the side he never showed to anyone bled through for a second. Beneath the mountain of muscles, atomic energy and rage was something nobody, especially not the humans, would ever guess existed. Beneath his scaly hide and dominating demeanor, Godzilla feared one thing above all else. Not the gravity beams of Ghidorah tearing him apart, not becoming some feast for a parasite or trophy for an ape. He didn't fear death or pain, he never would have been able to stand against all he had otherwise.

No, Godzilla feared being alone.

Godzilla's kind was gone, he was the last of his species and Godzilla knew it all to well. Before he found his comrades, his friends Gojira searched and searched for another of his kind. Another of his species to share his burden with, to stand amongst one like him who was living instead of amongst bones fresh and old. He never found any, not one. He eventually just gave up.

Then he found those he could stand with, against all his adversity he found those who could be his companions, his friends. He had finally conquered that fear of being forever alone.

At least, for a while.

Godzilla shook off the thoughts, he shook them off and hoped they would sink to the very bottom of the Ocean, so deep even he would never see them again.

He had to focus, he had to get his head in the fight. He had to win, even if he hated Rodan now he would still fight to protect him. He would show the Fire Demon, and perhaps himself, what true loyalty was. He wouldn't defend Rodan for what he was now, but for what he used to be. For loyalty, for honor.

For the friend he lost.

Mothra started pleading to him, begging for him to save Rodan. The foe was going to kill him. Maybe he deserved it, maybe he didn't.

Either way, he would save him.

His muscular frame tensed, scales, gills and jaw pulling tight as his eyes closed. Mothra's prior death had given him the gift to feel and sense the Earth as if it were his heartbeat. Of course, he was still a novice compared to the Goddess, but he wasn't so new that he couldn't feel his own location. He knew he was close, close enough to do what he needed to.

Godzilla rapidly ascended, surfacing and making the seas around him parting in massive waves that would swallow most creatures whole. He saw his target, straddled atop a clearly struggling Rodan. Godzilla saw the metal glinting in the distant Sun, the raised blade ready to be brought down. His anger flared, his body ran hot with atomic energy as he let out a piercing roar. Hot blue flames danced along his spines and up into his throat, building up to his desire until he was able to release the attack.

Nobody hurt his subjects, even the ones he loathed.

The air crackled with energy as the raging inferno of energy hit the invader directly on, sending him flying off of Rodan and into the rocky background of the battle.

The King of the Monsters had arrived.

Gigan was left reeling by the sudden attack, hitting much harder than he expected. He quickly rose back to a standing position all the same as his former opponent managed to scramble away from the spot they were just in.

Gigan's vision of red shades focused in on his attacker again. The hulking behemoth of black scales and muscles rose from the sea, heavy footfalls sounding across the island as Gigan recognized a tail sweeping about behind the creature. Bipedal, around his own level in height. He hadn't had time to see where exactly this new enemy conjured up that attack from when he was hit before. Gigan was all too eager to fight this one, his heart was raging like a furnace after being as cold as the metal that encased him for so long.

Gigan didn't care if the emotion was pure, unfiltered rage. He was feeling something again, and he wasn't going to let it go.

Godzilla, on the other hand, was sizing up his opponent with only slightly less fury than his would-be opponent. If you asked most of his subjects they would say his default emotion was anger, and they weren't entirely wrong. Godzilla snorted with contempt as he spotted the heavily wounded Rodan. The traitor was covered in deep gashes and nearly the entirety of the rocky armor he usually bore was missing from his chest.

They would talk later, for now he was going to kill this bastard.

Godzilla's gaze returned to Gigan, he roared his usual challenge and started building speed towards the foe.

Gigan answered in kind with his own call, more of a metallic screech that true bio-acoustics, moving slower than even the King as he held a defensive stance with bladed arms raised.

To both opponents their initial assumptions proved wrong. Gigan had assumed the heavily scaled hide and bulky physique of the creature he was facing would mean a slower movement speed. At the same time, Godzilla assumed that Gigan would be highly aggressive given that beating Rodan required that level of offense and pressure.

Instead, Godzilla charged forward, building momentum like a kaiju freight train that barreled towards its target with little hope of being stopped. Gigan, evidently surprised, narrowly managed a sidestep as Godzilla narrowly missed him. Rather than wait to stop and turn, Godzila began his turning motion at the end of his charge and willingly slammed into the rocks of Rodan's home, sending shards of rock flying like gigantic splinters. It did little damage to Godzilla and in exchange broke his momentum.

So when Gigan went in for a counterattack expecting to be able to dig into the back or side of the king of the monsters, he got a nasty surprise. Gigan's wide sweep, meant to drive into Godzilla's back, was unexpectedly leverage blocked by Godzilla's much smaller arm as he moved inside Gigan's guard. Godzilla then gripped at the metal plates that coated his body, holding his arm just past the blade out of his block and attempting to grab the other.

Gigan realized he was dealing with a cut above the normal, his new foe's grip was intense and relentless, he didn't have the ability to get out before Godzilla grabbed his other arm and pulled himself completely past Gigan's outstretched weapons. Unfortunately for Godzilla, Gigan was finally giving up on the energy preservation.

As Godzilla attempted to grapple Gigan, the sound of machinery split the air as Godzilla roared in pain.

Godzilla stumbled back slightly, a very light series of cuts on his torso as Gigan's chest mounted rotatory cutter countered his attempt to overpowered the invader. Godzilla took a moment to get his bearings, taking note of the trace amounts of fresh blood that now dotted the chest of his opponent, the saw blades coming to an abrupt stop as Gigan seemingly taunted the king with a motion of his scythes.

Godzilla ran clawed digits over his chest wound to check the severity, unwilling to take his eyes off Gigan for even a moment. He felt his own blood run over his claws, it wasn't much. He felt into the cut, ignoring the pain that came with said action. It was pretty shallow and wouldn't be majorly damaging.

But he was pissed all the same.

He let out another roar, this time even more deafening and followed with a deep and vicious snarl. Gigan knew he touched a nerve.

Godzilla was eager to re-engage, albeit not willing to full on charge at the agile and dangerous technological terror. that was just how Godzilla fought, aggressively and always attempting to apply pressure and wear his opponents down until he could reliably blast them to smithereens with his atomic breath. Gigan's reveal of his own capabilities did nothing to change his fighting style, only how he executed it.

Godzilla growled lowly and advanced on his foe as Gigan maintained a defensive posture. Gigan was good at exploiting weaknesses and openings, taking the opportunities his opponent gave him to turn their failing around on them. The only issue with that was that judging by how his opponent had been able to adapt even in his failings unlike Rodan, it wouldn't be easy here.

But as Gigan studied his opponent, eager to re-engage, he noticed something. The energy signature he had been finding all over this world, the one that followed the signature of the Golden Ones, it was the same as that projected off this foe. The energy from before was like mere embers, but off of this creature, it radiated like a flame.

Could this creature, this one, be the one to have slain the Golden Wings of Demise? It was inconceivable to first think, but the more it puzzled him the longer his mind was out of the fight. A roar snapped him out of his haze, his opponent charged at him again but far more paced this time. All the same, Gigan intended to sidestep it just like last time. He would see if his suspicion was worthy of consideration.

The Technological Terror did indeed attempt a sidestep, to get around his foe similarly to their prior dance. Gigan gave Godzilla far too little credit, however. The King had readily anticipated Gigan's motion, which is why he was rushing in slower. As Gigan attempted to flank him, Godzilla brought himself to a halt and steadied his weight. Where Gigan expected to find a vulnerability, he instead found a massive tail slammed into his side.

Godzilla didn't wait to follow up either.

While Godzilla knew this foe was know dangerous at close range, he figured he could still use his defense and stamina to drag it out while peppering his foe with atomic blast after atomic blast. So when Gigan was thrown completely off balance by the tail swipe, Godzilla saw his chance and took it. His spines burned with that familiar tingling sensation and the buildup of power until a blue flame was streaking through the air and catching Gigan just to the right of the center of his chest, then being brought up across his shoulder before fizzling out.

Gigan really felt that one, he screeched in pain and felt genuine adrenaline rush through his body, attempting to null the pain while unaware the machines already had. Gigan's doubts about how dangerous this enemy was faded away in the heat of the atomic breath, replaced by anger and...

Excitement?

Indeed, yes, he was feeling excitement. The sense of danger was something long lost, to scorch his armor and make him feel the pain he thought lost long ago was a feat indeed. He was excited to face a true opponent, maybe one that could match up to the Golden Ones!

He wasn't going to hold back anymore, as Godzilla roared again and attempted to press his advantage by closing the distance, Gigan decided it was time to show his own blasting attack. Gigan scrambled to his mechanical legs, dropping his scythes in a wide stance and proceeding to give the scaled mountain of murder that was Godzilla a literal death stare. Gigan's visor started glowing even more red, the light brightly burning and building up until it was near blinding then releasing a beam of hot plasma directly at Godzilla.

Now it was Godzilla's turn to feel the pain as the laser struck just below his head while he snarled in surprise and attempted to bring claws up to shield his head. But before he could even do that, the onslaught of energy had ended. Godzilla regained his bearings and returned his gaze to Gigan. Red colored smoke and steam were rising from the visor adorned upon his head. So it was only in short bursts? That helped comfort him a little, even over the pain of seared nerve endings and the smell of his own charred scales and flesh.

Gigan had to wait for the energy needed for his Gigarium Light Beam to return before he could use it again, not to mention the fear of putting too much heat strain on his only form of visual reception. Godzilla had tanked the attack rather well, the blood red laser that had damaged the opponent clearly not as powerful as the atomic breath he himself had been hit with.

Godzilla, though shaken slightly by the attack, realized that this cool-down period would be his best opportunity to exploit any openings. Godzilla charged again, ready to wipe the invader off the face of his Earth. This time Gigan was too complacent in expecting Godzilla to take time to recover after the blast, only to be caught by surprise as Godzilla tackled him while he was trying to pivot out of the charge. It seemed he hadn't lost any energy at all.

Godzilla once again proved his ability to adapt his immense strength to the situation when, instead of trying to grapple him from the front like last time, Godzilla took hold of Gigan's arm and pushed. Gigan knew what Godzilla was doing, but even trying to use his anti-gravity to slip out didn't stop the sudden shift in momentum as Godzilla spun him to the side. That was perhaps Gigan's own weakness, he needed to be facing his opponent to do anything.

Gigan was in a tough spot, no longer able to use his cutter, his scythes couldn't reach effectively and his blast was ineffectual at this close of a range with his head pushed back. Godzilla knew it too, he grappled with Gigan, holding him by his side and taking him for a ride. Godzilla charged like a raging bull and pushed Gigan along with him, slamming Gigan right into the rocks as boulders fell loose and showered them.

What followed was a fierce melee. Gigan managed to reposition himself to face Godzilla, swinging at him repeatedly and taking scales off his body left and right. Godzilla, on the other hand, picked his shots and continued to slam Gigan around repeatedly into the rocks while avoiding getting into range of the cutter. While Gigan was inflicting damage, when Gigan finally got out from in between the rock and the radioactive lizard, it was Godzilla traded favorably in that exchange.

Unlike before, there was no breaks in the action. As soon as Gigan was out of his predicament he went back on the attack, Godzilla doing the same and meeting him in the middle. Gigan slashed and hacked away, trying to find weaknesses in the admittedly strong armor that Godzilla's scales provided. The King, meanwhile, smoldering with cold fury, continued trying to grapple, throw him off balance, and hit him with his tail whenever he could.

They traded attacks back and forth at range whenever the chance presented itself, Godzilla relentlessly firing off his atomic breath whenever Gigan either got too comfortable up close and Gigan punishing Godzilla with his light beams to precede his furious rushes sickle swings. The close range brawl would seem like a slugging fest to most, but the two warriors were constantly looking for weaknesses to exploit and choosing every swing and strike carefully.

Gigan was feeling the rush of battle and felt every strike he landed and every strike that was returned in kind. Eventually, Godzilla prevailed in the fury of blows as Gigan's inferior weight meant Godzilla could largely shove him around when opportunities to avoid the deadly buzzsaw prevent themselves. Being off balance when trying to make wide, sweeping cuts wasn't a good idea.

When both combatants backed off they were looking worse for where. Godzilla's exterior was covered in cuts and lacerations while Gigan's metal armor was dented and bent in places while scorch marks adorned much of his upper torso. Godzilla huffed, taking deep breaths after feeling the exertion, but it was clear he was far from done.

Gigan didn't have the luxury of being entirely biological. Godzilla could heal off wounds, even those that would seem fatal, Gigan-

When a critical piece of machinery broke, the only thing Gigan had to rely on was that those who modified him had hopefully put in a fail safe. If not, any critical blow could take him out of the fight if it were just to hit some misplaced wires or gears. The atomic breath was doing a number on his armor, he didn't know how long his metallic coffin would last in a fight before it broke away and revealed a far weaker biological frame underneath.

So, switching it up, Gigan decided to take a page out of Rodan's book and use the sky to create some distance. Activating his anti-gravity and boosters, Gigan shot up with incredibly speed, taking a minute to hover before beginning to fly in randomly charted patterns faster and faster to avoid any chance he would be hit by those horrible blue flames again.

Godzilla was not amused.

'Oh great, the freak can fly...'

Maybe this guy and Ghidorah really were related, then again if that was the case at least there was only one head to irritate him. Godzilla always hated having to listen to those three drastically different personalities almost speaking over each other sometimes. But yeah, hopefully, if he tore this one's head off, it wouldn't grow back.

Godzilla roared, he threw the equivalent of a small temper tantrum at Gigan's perceived refusal to fight. Little did Godzilla know, Gigan was executing his strategy exactly as intended. As he became impossibly fast and finally Godzilla couldn't track him, Gigan dove right towards Godzilla. As if the imminent attack wouldn't catch him hard enough, Gigan fired off a light beam directly towards his head. It wasn't very powerful, given he had to divert most of his energy to flight, but it did blind the King of the Monsters long enough for Gigan to slam into him.

The resulting collision sent Gigan careening off to the side after impact, trailing through the earth. Godzilla was fully knocked over, slammed skull first into the rocks of the island's Earthy floor. In the aftermath of Gigan's kamikaze style attack, a massive ball of dust was swept up and covered nearly half the island. Godzilla rose steadily, but awkwardly to his feet. Looking around and growling.

There was a rather large gash across Godzilla's chest, and he wasn't happy about it.

Godzilla looked every direction, vision filled with the airborne elements that clouded around him, eager to pay him back for that. Godzilla didn't have to wait long. Gigan too had already gotten back off, armor worse for wear, but otherwise alright. He activated thermal sights almost immediately, pinpointing the kaiju he wished to murder even through the expansive cloud of dust. His visor glowed red as he prepared another Gigarium Light Beam.

Unfortunately for Gigan, the bright red glow of his visor was so intense it could be seen even through the intense veil that surrounded them and a blue glow soon answered in kind. They both fired at the same time, Gigan hitting Godzilla right across the chest while the latter hit the top of Gigan's metallic skull. Both of them were sent careening back to the ground from the dual exchange.

When they recovered, and the dust had finally cleared, they were in a standoff. Godzilla looked like he had been through a storm of titan-sized glass, cuts littered his body and there was certainly blood leaking from the larger wounds on his chest. Gigan's armor was all kinds of distorted, clearly misshapen and bent in many different ways while internally he felt massive waves of nausea sweeping over him.

It wasn't Godzilla who hit him next though.

Rodan returned to the fight and slammed right into Gigan, talons gripping his skull and slamming it down to the Earth. Godzilla was just as surprised as Gigan was. Godzilla would have liked to tell the fire bird to piss off and let him have his fight, but he was too scuffed up to care now. Rodan intervening in the fight he had already lost didn't change anything. Godzilla would have won regardless.

All the same, as Rodan flew back off Gigan and Gigan started to rise, Godzilla hit him with another blast of atomic breath, sending him back again. Gigan was really not in the mood to deal with Rodan again, especially not after he had accumulated so much damage. He thought about simply blasting the bird out of the sky, but didn't want to waste too much energy before his fight with Godzilla resumed, so as he recovered he used his final trick.

Two discs flew from Gigan's body at immense speeds, spinning and making a sound like a thousand knives on a chalkboard. The high velocity cutting weapons flew straight at Rodan. He narrowly dodged the first one by careening to the side. But not the second. Rodan found one of his wings punctured, nearly torn in half, as he plummeted to the earth with a screech.

Gigan returned to Godzilla, who had closed the distance again. It was only then, after all he had been through, that the order to retreat came through. Gigan couldn't disobey that order, he knew he couldn't. He hated it, why wouldn't they let him fight!? He was finally feeling alive again, after millions of years in the cold and desensitizing coffin he called his metal body he finally felt his old fire again. Yet they were telling him to retreat.

Gigan, against his own will, turned away from Godzilla and prepared to take off. Out of the atmosphere, back into space, back into nothing. He fought mentally all he could to override the commands, to keep himself here. Nothing seemed to work. He was going to be forced back into the void, back into the cold and brutal expanse where he could only think of what he had lost.

But fate had other plans.

Gigan felt both of his scythes suddenly being pulled from behind, an intense pull and weight that held him in place, pulling his arms back. Gigan screeched at the pull, flailing wildly left and right to try and break loose, looking down to see his blades covered in... silk? It was strange, he tried to pull, cut through them. He tugged with all his might but the silky stuff had the strength of cables and the flexibility of a rubber band.

Gigan was side on to Godzilla now, he could hear a new sound. A new creature that was doing this to him.

Godzilla watched as Gigan turned to retreat, ready to blast him but knowing he would probably take off again before he could. Then Gigan got hit by a long, wide, white thread that clung to his Body and Godzilla's eyes widened slightly, his gaze shifting to the origin of the thread. Mothra was there, clinging hard to a rock as she doubled her thread around the rock, trying to give herself more leverage.

"Mothra-!"

"Shut up and hit him! I-I can't hold him for long-!"

It was clear to Godzilla the Moth larvae was struggling, and he turned back towards the now immobilized Gigan with steely resolve to finish it. The familiar energy built up once more, traveling through his spine and into his throat, eyes and mouth glowing powerfully with the atomic aura of the King of the Monsters. He charged the blast as much as he could, until it started to hurt even him. Then he fired.

Gigan felt it almost immediately, the sharp, ferocious pain digging into his neck. little did Gigan know that the hit had narrowly missed his spine, searing through some of his armor and all that was underneath. Where did they hit, what did they hit, what did he do-

Then, Gigan got his answer as he felt further pain when something exploded in his neck.

Gigan screeched the loudest he ever had as his world was bathed in red and white. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't do anything except feel what was happening to him. The world burned everything hurt it was all wrong Gigan could feel the pain growing it was overwhelming flooding his mind why why why-

Everything came all at once, the memories the feelings and sensations. All he had gained all that he had lost was being laid bare before him in that one, infantile fraction of a second. His whole life, memories he had never seen. No, memories he had forgotten, buried memories others had made him forget. From the egg the smallest thing he was to the killer he became.

The pain was still there he didn't understand why it hurt so much he didn't know why it felt so wrong but so right he was seeing the beginning-

The feelings of pain drowned his mind in an ocean of liquid fire, his memories only became more clear as his entire life played in fast forward his whole existence rushing by with the speed and suddenness of a lightning strike. First, it was all e had been the proud warrior, the prodigal son, the best of his species but then-

No no no no not again he didn't want to see it again feel it again-

His mind split his body screamed as he felt his body transform from the proudest warrior to the greatest weapon. he felt his skin tear away his skin rot, he felt the drills and blades digging into his tissue, his bones into his very skull. The machinery being shoved roughly into place without care in the world. he felt the screams he wanted to let out but never could as he stayed paralyzed, awake as he was torn apart and put back together.

He felt himself lose everything, he felt his self betrayal. All. Over. Again. He remembered the world he loved and then the worlds he had burned. He remembered but he didn't understand. Why, why did he give up everything? The pain only worsened the whiteness and redness battling for control in his mind the world suddenly became bathed in red as he felt his own blood running over his scales and skin. He felt the tools digging in his skull, his brain he felt it all be stripped away he felt himself be enslaved-

Why why why why why why-

How many times had he felt his skull crack, his bones break, the horrible, unending sounds of the saws that carved him up like nothing but a piece of meat in this one, undefined moment? Why did he let it happen? Why did he want it to happen why did he do it why-

Then his vision was fully bathed in red again, he tried to screech, to deny the existence that he had chosen to turn away from the red that covered his sight he tried to turn away he wanted the white back he wanted the light back he didn't want the metal anymore-

Gigan saw himself in the reflection, the metal, the unending grey metal from head to toe. He stared at what he had become, he wished he could scream. He felt the pain only getting worse he gripped his head his scythes on either side he shook he tried to get rid of the pain he tried to drown out the sound of the scraping of metal on metal the machines in his head with his screeches-

Until he had had enough. He looked dead on at his double, the reflection of the choices he had made, everything he had given up, all that he was now.

He stared down the reflection and he ignored the pain, no matter how horrible it was no matter if the sounds, the feelings, drove him insane.

Gigan snarled at the reflection, he wasn't the slave, he wasn't the servant. His own mistakes led him here, but he would be damned if he lived with them.

I...

Gigan gritted his metallic teeth, he made himself, he wasn't the slave, he was in control...

Gigan snarled and raised one of his scythes with all his energy, all his mistakes tearing away at his mind as the pain got worse and worse-

He was in control.

Gigan brought his blade down with all he had, right towards his reflection-

Then it cracked, the mirror of his mind the reflection of what he had become, it cracked under his blade. The cracks spread, the pain was even worse now but he wouldn't give up he drove his blade deeper and deeper-

HE WAS IN CONTROL!

With that final thought, he put all his weight all his effort into pushing his blade deeper into the reflection as the pain reached its climax until eventually-

It shattered.

The pain was gone, the red was gone.

Gigan breathed, he breathed, deeply. He looked down at his scythes, now back to how they used to look. He looked all around and he understood, thiswas how he looked before, before it all. He could feel here, within his head, he wasn't the weapon, he wasn't the tool, the weapon.

He was Gigan, and he always would be.

Gigan felt himself return to reality, after all that had just happened his struggle against Mothra's silk ceased. Gigan fell to his knees and almost fell further before he stopped himself. He felt the pain in his neck still there, but after all, he had just been through, he didn't care. He realized what that blast had hit, he understood the significance of the chunk of metal and flesh that was missing.

The voices were gone, the orders were gone, the numbness and surrealness of merely existing were gone.

There were no commands, even if Godzilla blasted him into smithereens right now Gigan wouldn't care because he had the thing he had been craving for what seemed like an eternity. He had himself back.

He felt happy, genuinely happy. He felt everything, his movements were entirely his own, and his pain was his own. His mind was his own.

He was free.

Authors Notes:
Well, that was a bit of a long chapter. I am sorry it has been so long since the last chapter guys and gals, I have had a serious case of writers block and really I wanted to fit all of this into one chapter and it took me a long time to figure out how to do it. This chapter is probably riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes but after so long without writing anything it feels good just to finally get it out. I hope you all enjoyed, and can promise my upload schedule will be much more frequent from now on.

With that said, hope all of you wonderful readers have equally wonderful days!