Scourge of the Super-saurs
By C. L. Werner
Part IX:
Of Machines and Monsters
Godzilla stared at the two steel monsters as they maneuvered through the rubble. The atomic beast's attention was still focused upon the reeling Super-saurs; their minds still stunned by the abrupt cessation of the urge. Godzilla did not know from what quarter to expect an attack. The two towering titans of steel reminded Godzilla of another artificial titan, the Saradian war machine Steel Rain, and reminded him of the terrible pain Steel Rain had caused him. Still, the attacks of Mafune's creations were more recent, and Godzilla paid his flesh-and-blood opponents greater attention than the silent robots.
Tetsuo smirked as he watched Mechatron sidle towards Cybricon. The two machines, brothers of steel and titanium, stood side-by-side for the first time. Within each of the robots was the power to devastate a city, together their might would be ultimate. Tetsuo could tell by the way Mechatron was shifting its torso, angling its long-barreled cannons, that its controller had come to the same conclusion that he had. The Super-saurs had been stricken by some strange infirmity. For the time being, they posed no threat. Godzilla, though wounded, was still very much up and around. He posed the greatest danger to the two robots. Tetsuo sneered again, for that was no danger at all.
The earth shuddered as Cybricon and Mechatron let steel claws erupt from the sides of their feet, sinking into the asphalt and concrete, securing the robots in their positions. Both robots raised their weapon-laden arms. The red-visored heads turned toward Godzilla. The reptile seemed to sense what was coming, roaring his unearthly shriek, stomping towards the still silent machines. Then, the warriors of MARS attacked.
Shells the size of automobiles flew from Mechatron's immense batteries of slug-throwers. The soft metal flattened on impact, tearing great gouges into Godzilla's hide. From Mechatron's head, the hideous Tesla Ray struck again and again, burning and searing the already ravaged flesh. A seemingly endless barrage of missiles flew from the huge launchers housed in the shoulders of the robot's box-like torso.
Beside Mechatron, the steel samurai Cybricon added its fury to the attack. Batteries of Maser cannons ripped into Godzilla with searing laser-light. Full-Metal Missiles, the same horrible armament that had been the principal weapon of Steel Rain, blasted into Godzilla once again, fired from launchers concealed in Cybricon's neck, like a set of death-dealing gills. From the jewel-like piece set in the center of the robot's helmet-like head, icy blue light struck out at Godzilla, freezing his flesh even as Maser Cannons and Tesla Rays vaporized the ice even as it formed on Godzilla's tormented body.
Godzilla howled in agony, his tortured body dropping against the ground. The targeting computers of the two war machines automatically compensated for Godzilla's tormented thrashings, causing the robots' attacks to strike the writhing target more often than not. Steaming radioactive blood oozed from Godzilla's ravaged skin, melting stone and cement as it struck the ground. Godzilla's cries became a single unrelenting scream, a wail of torment that shattered windows miles away. And still, the robot's maintained their intense barrage.
Baragon was the first of the Super-saurs to recover from the death of their master. The sudden freedom of will had shocked the monster; the ability to think without restriction had momentarily fazed the ravenous beast. Baragon stared around him with eager, hungry eyes. His massive ears rose upright as the hideous scream of Godzilla sounded across the battlefield. Baragon rose from the rubble, shaking debris from his body. The monster could see the two steel giants unleashing their unrestrained power against the black scaly form writhing before them. Baragon's eyes narrowed as he spied the ravaged body of Godzilla, as his nostrils picked up the scent of Godzilla's irradiated blood. Baragon grinned hungrily and leapt from the shattered ruins.
The huge, armored monster reached Godzilla in a single bound, his jaws clamping upon Godzilla's shoulder. Before Baragon could even begin to worry a chunk of flesh from his victim, a chance Tesla Ray shot burned a hole clean through the monster's left ear. Baragon released his grip, howling in pain. The mutant dinosaur looked towards his attacker, roaring again in his rage. The lizard leaped again, this time at Mechatron. Far away, in New York, Harker saw this new enemy and ordered the machine to redirect its fire. As Baragon flew towards Mechatron, the full firepower of the robot slammed into the voracious beast, causing him to change direction in mid-air, the power of the attack throwing Baragon back in the direction from which he had come. Baragon struck the ground, sliding nearly a kilometer on his armored back. The dinosaur's scaly hide was broken and charred. Fear and pain overcame hunger in Baragon's primitive mind. Baragon regained his feet and leapt once more. But this time it was away from Godzilla and the two robots. Baragon connected with the foundation of a nightclub and immediately began to burrow downwards, back into the safety of the earth.
With the menace of Baragon removed, Mechatron turned his weapons back on Godzilla. Again, the machine did not warn Harker in time of the arrival of another combatant. The long, powerful tail of Titanosaurus battered the robot's torso, nearly overbalancing it. Titanosaurus bellowed his gurgling roar, gesturing with his claws at the silent machine. Mechatron rotated its torso to face Titanosaurus. As soon as it had done so, Titanosaurus blasted the machine with his cyclonic breath. With its feet firmly anchored in the concrete, Mechatron resisted the furious assault, the machine as immobile as a mountain. One of the robot's antennas crumpled and was torn away, but the machine stood as defiant as ever. In the midst of Titanosaurus' attack, the black plate on Mechatron's plate began to crackle with gathering electrical energy.
Harker decided to let Titanosaurus feel the full power of the attack the dinosaur had escaped feeling in New York. The gathering electrical energy erupted in a wave of destruction, obliterating nearby buildings as the wave connected with the dinosaur's body. Titanosaurus was lifted by the wave and carried by the destructive force as surely as a kite in a hurricane. The robot did not even linger to see where the dinosaur landed, but immediately rotated its torso back to its original position to resume the attack on Godzilla.
Tetsuo noted the two attempted attacks upon Mechatron and paid more attention to Cybricon's sensors. He saw Gorosaurus shake his head and begin to stalk towards his robot. Tetsuo knew only two well the recuperative powers of Godzilla and was not about to give the reptile any breathing space. Cybricon continued to hammer Godzilla with its ice-ray, Full-Metal Missiles, and left battery of Maser cannons. Only the right arm, with its arsenal of Maser cannons tracked the advancing dinosaur. Cybricon fired on the beast, searing his flesh, but not delivering enough damage top force Gorosaurus to retreat. As long as it was enough to keep him away from Cybricon until Godzilla was dead, Tetsuo would be content.
'They are killing him,' Moll cried from atop the fairy Mothra.
'Yes, they are determined to kill them all,' Lora stated grimly. 'The men who guide the steel giants are distant. Perhaps they do not appreciate the horror of what they are doing. Or perhaps they choose to embrace it.'
The Cosmos had hoped that the battle would soon end when the no longer sensed the influence of Dr. Mafune guiding the dinosaurs. That hope had been dashed when the two robots had opened fire upon Godzilla. It was the decision of the men controlling those machines to carry on the conflict.
As the Cosmos continued to watch, a huge, leathery winged shape dropped from the sky. Rodan spat his crackling uranium beam at the two robots, the sizzling energy dancing between them with little effect. Rodan landed before Godzilla, trying to shield the other monster with his own body. It was bait which the two robots seemed willing to accept, their continuing barrage battering the flying reptile as mercilessly as it had the fading Godzilla.
'This is not a battle,' Lora declared, 'this is butchery.'
From where she hovered just below the fairy carrying the Cosmos, Mothra chirped angrily. It seemed that the moth goddess shared the opinion of her twin priestesses. Shrieking again, Mothra descended toward the conflict.
Mothra began to circle above the battle, flying just above the rays and missiles slamming into Rodan and Godzilla. The damage pitched Rodan backwards, yet still the pterosaur attempted to shield his 'brother', draping his wing over Godzilla's ravaged body. For an instant, Gorosaurus broke through Cybricon's attack, closing upon the machine. Gorosaurus clamped his jaws down upon Cybricon's arm, clenching his jaws tight. Just as the metal beneath his teeth began to twist, a surge of electricity shocked the dinosaur's mouth. Gorosaurus cried in surprise and pain as Cybricon's electrical field caused him to release his grip upon the machine. The reptile rolled away from Cybricon, nearly crashing against Mechatron's feet. As the dinosaur rose, Mechatron battered him away with one of his gun-laden arms. Gorosaurus staggered away, dangerously close to the killing field near Godzilla and Rodan.
Mothra chirped again, a final plea to the men controlling the two robots, a final warning. As she continued to circle, a rain of bright, sparkling pollen drifted downwards from Mothra's body and wings. The reflective pollen formed a shield between Godzilla and Rodan and the attacks of the two robots. The Tesla Ray crackled and warped, reflecting back into Mechatron, scoring great holes in the robot's angular armor. Cybricon's Maser cannons and ice ray were also reflected back, a thin layer of frost forming on parts of the steel samurai's armored hull. Almost instantly, both robots ceased fire. Mothra slowed her circular pattern, dropping towards the ravaged monsters below.
No living thing was housed within the towering steel monsters, no mind lurking within the armored hulls. The closest of the two controllers was buried within the reinforced walls of the Hachiman Building. There was no way for the Cosmos to warn Mothra of what was coming next.
Crackling electrical energy danced across the black plates on the chests of Cybricon and Mechatron. The two robots waited, biding their time as Mothra drew closer. The robots pivoted on the spot, allowing their Omega Storm projectors to focus upon the moth goddess. That they were about to fire upon an acknowledged savior of humanity did not seem to disturb either Tetsuo or Harker. The combined discharge of both Omega Storm weapons would pulp the moth goddess, scattering her husk across the city, perhaps even into the outlying countryside.
The attack was not to come, however. Even as the fury built, a low howl of challenge echoed from behind Cybricon. The robot was unable to act in time and the spike-backed body of Anguirus slammed into the robot once more, just as Cybricon fired the Omega Storm. The impact of Anguirus' leap caused Cybricon to spin sideways, tearing its anchored feet from its titanium and steel legs. The fury of the Omega Storm lashed out, but instead of striking Mothra, the blast engulfed Mechatron.
Mechatron was savaged by the blast, its own Omega Storm firing wildly into the sky, coloring the twilight sky with a miniature borealis. Cybricon's attack melted armor from Mechatron's left side, its arm tearing away and sailing into the sky, the better part of its head turned into a mass of torn and twisted scrap. As the wave of awesome power dissipated, Mechatron released its shock anchors, staggering away. The machine had survived the blast of friendly fire, but only barely. Now, Mechatron was in no condition to pursue the battle. The once mighty robot warrior slowly lumbered away, crushing buildings in its clumsy retreat.
Left behind, the crippled Cybricon tried to rise again. In sheer frustration, Tetsuo ordered the machine to fire its Maser cannons on Anguirus, scoring a few glancing hits on the monster's spiked carapace. The dinosaur had been caught in some of the Omega Storm's backlash and did not react to the almost insignificant assault from Cybricon's failing Masers, but remain fazed and groggy in the midst of the devastated industrial sector.
Tetsuo screamed with wrath. It was not possible that any living creature could best this ultimate champion of technology! He refused to accept his defeat. Smiling wickedly, Tetsuo activated the self-destruct mechanism built into Cybricon. The resulting blast would obliterate at least the spinney creature that had been instrumental in the defeat of the two robots.
The smile faded when a huge, bleeding mass of gaping wounds and shredded flesh emerged from the protective embrace of Rodan. Godzilla snarled, his fury unchained. Golden light crackled about his dorsal plates and a gout of golden fire slammed into Cybricon's left Maser arm, melting through the armored hull to slag the mechanics beneath. Godzilla continued to play his fire across the machine's hull until it no longer bore any manner of shape, resembling nothing more than a giant blob-like mound. By that time, the ravaged beast had stomped across the battlefield. Reaching downwards, Godzilla lifted the wreckage of Cybricon. The monster shrieked his wrath as he hurled the machine's corpse away from him. If he had chosen it, Godzilla could not have found a more fitting target to receive Cybricon's corpse. The machine crashed into the lower floors of the Hachiman Building, the upper floors collapsing ontop of it. Tetsuo, nearly catatonic from the feedback of Godzilla's unrestrained assault upon the disabled Cybricon, desperately tried to abort the self-destruct, but could not concentrate enough to send the signal. The explosion destroyed the remainder of the Hachiman Building, casting its debris into the darkening sky.
Near Tokyo Bay, Mechatron paused in its retreat, seemingly reacting to the destruction of the Hachiman Building. The robot was unprepared when a bleeding, warty, red and green mountain of flesh and scales crashed into it. Not even a single round was able to escape from Mechatron's remaining cannons before Titanosaurus was able to overbear the robot. Titanosaurus toppled toward the water, pulling the damaged machine after him. As Mechatron struck the bay, its exposed wiring reacted to the water. The resulting explosion almost rivaled that of the Hachiman Building, depositing the last remains of Mechatron's head in an aboveground golf course almost two miles away. The blast engulfed Titanosaurus, knocking the dinosaur beneath the waters. He did not emerge from the foaming wake of the explosion.
Back in New York, the feedback of Mechatron's destruction seared the neural pathways and synapses of its operator. On the orders of John Latos, a security guard later shot the idiot thing that had once been called Harker.
Mothra again circled above the battlefield. The weary, ravaged figures of Godzilla and Rodan stared about them. They briefly seemed to consider the figures of Gorosaurus and Anguirus. It did not take much prodding from Mothra to edge the two monsters from attacking the almost unconscious dinosaurs. Had they been opposed to the suggestion, Mothra could never have convinced the two radioactive beasts to leave. But they presented no opposition. Like two weary veterans of a long campaign, Godzilla and Rodan lumbered away from the Super-saurs, eager to return to their home, eager to leave behind the world of man.
Mothra followed after the two monsters, knowing that there was nothing more for her to do. Already, the sleek black shape of the JSDF's Super-X3 was streaking toward the ravaged battlefield. Mothra was content to leave the rest in the hands of men who would not be motivated by evil desires and technological pride. The moth goddess lazily began to follow after Rodan, just to be certain that the flying terror achieved no mischief on his journey back to Ogasawara.
When he felt that it was safe to do so, Baragon emerged from his burrow. The horned monster surveyed the ruins about him. He could see no sign of Godzilla, nor of the two machines that had dealt him so much pain. But the voracious beast could see something else. Baragon's eyes grew narrow as he observed Anguirus, immobile, only his chest rising and falling to indicate that the monster was still alive. All of Mafune's influence was gone now, and Baragon had no sense of kinship with his fellow Super-saurs now. The ravenous brute rushed from his hole, anxious to feast upon the scaly flesh of the defenseless Anguirus.
Suddenly, Baragon was assaulted by an intense wave of agony. The dinosaur writhed upon the ground as the agony steadily increased. At last, the pain grew too great for the monster to handle and blissful darkness engulfed Baragon's primitive brain. The unconscious monster fell across the spiked tail of his intended meal and was still.
In the cockpit of the Super-X3, Sho Kuroki smiled. The sonic transmitter had worked after all, now the only problem was what to do about three sleeping monsters. He had a feeling that stopping kaiju was the JSDF's job, after that he would be more than happy to defer to the UNGCC. Colonel Sho Kuroki was more than content to let the removal of the dinosaurs be Commander Aso's headache. For now, his job was done. Tokyo, except for the damaged industrial section, was safe once more.