Part Four: NEMESIS





Godzilla lay frozen, buried beneath a growing layer of ice. The monster Gezorah was slowly freezing the island solid. But the people of Selga had plans of their own this day.

"Now!" Screamed Riko, hurling the first spear. Gezorah felt the sharp pain of the tiny projectile entering his flesh. The weapon burns! Riko had made sure, every speartip, every blade, every weapon in the village, all were soaked in the blood of the SeaGod. The Quasars could feel it too.

Gezorah reeled, screaming! An endless volley of torches and spears from the natives, bullets from the resort staffers, rained upon the mutant squid. Then, it spotted Riko. He was one of the humans the Quasars had allowed to live, after daring to oppose them in the first encounter. Shambling from atop the fallen Godzilla, the Astro-Quasars are determined that Riko shall live no more!



*



"We are nearly there now, Kenji," Kyo cut a path northward through the brush, heading for the shack Ken had spoken of. "You should have let me get you back to the resort," she scolded him lovingly. "You scared me half to death falling out of that tree!"

"Kyo, I know you don't understand. I don't understand it either, that little girl just disappeared!" Ken exclaimed, still puzziling the experience. "Oh, man. Maybe Hiroki was right. Maybe it was the potion his parents gave me. He said he'd seen it have strange effects on non-natives."

"And yet you took it anyway?" His wife embraced him. "You are all mine now, and I like you all in one piece! Please try to be more careful, Kenji!" She looked him square in the eye and kissed him.

"I can definitely report one effect of that potion," Ken began. "The augmented physical state we experienced seems to be wearing off for me. I hurt!"

"Can't say I didn't warn you, Bradley," Hiroki appeared from the treeline. "I know my drinks." The young salt seemed somehow changed since they last met. It was the first time they had seen him sober.

"Konichi wa, Captain. I hope your voyage was equally as pleasant as mine," Kyoko chided.

"Mrs. Bradley, I can only apologize for our ordeal at sea, as well as for the way I treated you earlier," Hiro bowed low before them. "I am a drunken fool who has only now begun to see things as they truly are. I believe it was fate that brought the three of us here, together.

"You drank the Godblood, didn't you?" Asked Kenji.

"Hai. My parents were right. The aliens are real," he confirmed.

"We know. Iako spilled her guts," Ken explained. "Just before she died. She told us we could hurt them by destroying the Helio-7. She told us you could help."

"Iako has died?" Hiroki was shocked, and unwilling to appear any more the madman by revealing his encounter with her in the sea cave. "Yeah, Bradley. I think maybe I can help."



*



Later.

"Well, there it is," said Ken, looking decidedly pleased with himself. The hut he had spotted from his vantage atop the giant palm had turned out to be an old munitions dump. One of the many dangerous remnants of World War Two left scattered across Selga.

"Is that...thing really going to work, Kenji?" Asked Kyoko, looking doubtfully at the ramshackle device.

"Of course. It's just a standard depth charge. Explosive compartment, watertight naturally. There's the triggering mechanism, and the underwater fuse." Ken couldn't resist the urge to boast. "A little trick I learned from a radical activist back at the Haight. 'Used to blow up cop cars back in the sixties."

"Kenji! I hope you are kidding!" Scolded Kyo. Ken just smiled.

"I gotta hand it to ya Bradley," Hiroki smacked his companion's shoulder. "I could never have gotten these components to work without ya."

"Piece of cake. But you've still got to get us to the spacecraft," Ken said. "And the sooner the better! Kyo, could you help me up?" Ken fealt dizzy, lightheaded. The world spun too quickly, and he fell.

"Kenji! What is wrong?" Kyo held her husband closely.

"I don't think I'm gonna be much more help, hon. I think I'm gonna be sick..." he replied weakly.

From the brush, a group of natives approached. Hiroki could see his mother among them. She was screaming. "Hiroki! Hiroki, it is Gezorah!" Saki shouted, terrified. "The aliens are controlling it again. They are attacking our people. I believe they are after your father!"

"Hi, Ma," Hiroki smiled, and hugged her for a moment. It had been far too long since he had done that. "Listen, I need you to do me a favor. I want you to get the Bradleys here down to the shore. To where you can see the spacecraft."

"My son, we cannot do this. Those two have brought the dragon Godzilla here. The SeaGod has been offended!"

"Mom, I know all about the will of the SeaGod now. Well, at least I'm learning. Anyway," Hiroki did not have the words to convince her. "You've got to trust me on this one."

"What about your father?" Asked Saki.

"I'll just have to go rescue him, won't I?" Hiro replied.

"Are you sure that is wise, captain?" Aked Kyo.

"You're gonna need back up, man. And right now I don't see any around," Ken warned.

"Thanks guys, but somehow I feel this is the right way to go. What you two need to worry about is getting that bomb into position. I'll join you as quickly as I can." Hiroki realised then, he was in the company of people he could call both family, and freinds. "Mr. Bradley is not well, Ma. Please take good care of him."

"Hiroki, I told you. We cannot do this! The SeaGod Mikki has been angered! We..."

Her son cut short her protests. "Mom, It was Mikki who summoned Godzilla here, not the Bradleys. I am here because of Her as well, you know that. Do this for me, Ma," Hiroki took her hand and pleaded. "Please."

Saki looked around at the rest of the villagers. They too could see, her son was right. "All right, Hiroki. I shall trust you," she replied. "We will do as you wish."



*



The attack on Gezorah had not gone well. The meager Selgan forces had been routed, forced to retreat. Automatically, the mass of human aggressors split up, spreading out into the freezing jungle. It soon became apparent what the monster's true target was; The beast was after Riko!

Realizing it's intent, the warriors began to regroup, to converge on Riko's position. The unnatural cold and exertion of the chase were starting to slow them down. They had to fight on the run. Those who fell behind would soon be dead.

The Selgans had broken through the treeline, to emerge into a wide open valley. Here, they hoped to gain some ground, put some distance between themselves and the advancing monstrosity. Suddenly, a figure appeared, blocking their path. Riko halted as the man approached. "Hiroki!" He called in recognition. "What do you think you are doing?"

Hiroki faced his father, unsure of what to say. The look on his face however, seemed to convey his intentions quite clearly. He smiled at his father, and Riko smiled back. "Get out of here, dad. I've got you covered."

"Be careful, son." The Selgans turned, and bolted away across the clearing.

Hiroki stood his ground as the mutant beast drew closer. "Why didn't I stick to drinking wine?!" He thought.



*



On the shore.

Ken was shaking badly now. Kyoko held him close, and told him she loves him. "Kenji, I cannot wait here much longer. I must do something!" She seethed with frustration. "I must make the dive."

"Kyo," he whispered. "You don't want to do that. We need an exact coordinate to reach that ship."

"I have an approximate location. I can make it."

"You need an exact location," he protested. "You need Hiroki. Man, I bet Suzy could help, if we could find her."

At that, Ken and Kyo's native companions took note of their conversation. Saki approached them, an incredulous look on her face. "Sumimassen, Bradley san. Did you say 'Suzy'?" She inquired.

"Hai! You see Kyoko, I knew someone had to know of the girl! She showed me where to find the explosives, and helped me climb a tree."

"Suzy is what Hiroki called his little sister, Susaki," Saki said.

"Cute kid," Ken began. "But she took off on me so fast it was like she disappeared."

"My daughter has been dead for nearly eight years now, Bradley san. Killed in a Great Storm much like the one we recently endured." A tear escaped Saki's eye, remembering. She drew herself up, looking scornfully at the jury rigged bomb. "That machine can hurt the aliens?" She asked.

The Bradleys were near speechless. "We, we believe so," said Ken. "Saki, I'm sorry if I upset you. It must have been a made up name the girl gave me. I didn't know..."

"You must rest now, Mr. Bradley. You are not well. Mrs. Bradley, if you are ready, I can show you how to reach the spacecraft," Saki proffered. "I will make the dive with you."



*



An icy gale whipped past Hiroki as Gezorah appeared, towering high above the canopy. The giant creature shrieked in outrage, and bore down upon the tiny human. "Holy shit." Hiroli exclaimed, pulling the flask of Godblood from his jacket. "This had better work!"

Hiroki unstoppered the flask,and began the chant of the SeaGod. The half remembered words coming slowly back to him from his childhood. Eyes closed, he poured the liquid onto the ground, his hands moving automatically, as if guided by the fluid itself. The cold grew intense as the monster drew nearer...



A wave of blinding heat struck Gezorah, stopping it dead in its tracks. The effect on the aliens was like hitting a brick wall at fifty miles an hour, like being slammed into a windshield! Disrupted, they struggled to regain control, but the creature refused to move. Gazing down at their intended prey, the Quasars could see why.

The human was glowing, burning like a star! The heat blast had somehow come from Hiroki! Through the monstrous squid's eyes, the aliens could see the man's spear hurtling toward it like a comet. Then, Gezorah was burning too.



*



In the distance, Suzy could see the aliens spark and flash around the monster's fprm, exploding outward in a frantic effort to escape! The Spiritfire had routed the Quasars, but freed now from their control, the monster Gezorah goes wild, and Hiroki stood right in its path!

Quickly, she rope-walked down from her perch in the canopy and approached the massive glacier that covered Godzilla. From her bag, she withdrew a slender flask. She placed it to her lips, and drained it of its contents. The child spat forth the liquid, forcing it into a fine spray. The spray seemed to linger, to hover in the icy air. It coalesced and contorted, becoming a mist, spreading over the glacier, covering it in a thick blanket of fog.

"Mikki," the child spoke, and the fog ignited! "Guide us." An intense electric glare began to flash through the jungle. A heat blast cracking through the brittle foliage and into the glacier as well. The glare seemed to focus, to center on Godzilla. It spread through the beast, warming him, bringing him back to life! Slowly, the creature's great red eyes opened, and he began to rise.



*



Hiroki screamed as the Quasars flew past him, heading desperately for the shore. "Oh no," he thought. "They're heading back to the spaceship!"

A giant tentacle slammed into the ground beside him, and he flew! Hiroki looked up from his landing in the bushes to see Gezorah gazing back. With the Quasars gone, the monster was free!

A blast of energy struck Gezorah from behind, and it screamed! The flash throwing Hiroki temporarily into darkness. He felt a hand fall upon his shoulder, and screamed as well! He dimly registered a figure wavering before him, pulling him to his feet.

"Run," it spoke, urging him into the forest. "Now! Now!!" Terrified, he bolted, his vision clearing as he ran. The darkness however, was not fading as expected. It was growing. Gezorah was falling, and Hiroki was caught in its shadow.



*



The Shore.

The natives tended Kenji, now unconscious, and watched as Saki and Kyoko swam ever further into the waves. A chill blew onto the scene, and for a moment, the sun's flashes on the water seemed to move against its motions. Then the strange effect was gone, as if the flickering lights had moved beneath the waves.

"I can see it," Saki cried as she broke the surface, gasping for breath. "But I cannot reach it. It is down too deep."

The woman was incredible, thought Kyo. She must be fifty years old, yet remains as fit as if she were twenty. Kyo prayed she too would be blessed with the same stamina as she grew older. But for right now, she reminded herself, she has it. "Saki, how long would it take to reach the ship? You know, if someone could hold their breath that long."

"Too long! Two minutes hard diving would get you there, but you could not pause long enough to avoid the bends on the way up," Saki gripped Kyoko's arm, trying to make her understand. "No one can hold their breath that long!"

"I think maybe I can," said Kyo, trying to reassure the woman as well as herself. "Kenji and I were recently exposed to some of the ancient magics of the Koshida tribe, among other things. It left us with a vitality we had never before known. The effect left Kenji after he drank the potion your people regard as the blood of Mikki," Kyo strapped the explosive tighter to her waist. "But it has not left me. I am the only one who might have a chance of planting the bomb, and coming out alive."

"Mrs. Bradley! Kyoko, I cannot let you..."

"You cannot stop me," Kyo assured her. "Please, Saki, tell Kenji I love him. That I will always love him."

"Kyoko, no!" Saki screamed, but Kyoko was gone.



*



Hiroki fairly flew through the trees as Gezorah crashed into the frozen ground beside him! The monster squealed in pain as Godzilla appeared, dorsal plates flashing, signalling another blast. Hiroki decided he had best keep on running!

The beam seemed to bore into the back of the monster squid's carapace, the Spiritfire now mixing with the Atomfire, setting Gezorah ablaze! The ice sheets cracked and vast clouds of steam arose as Godzilla continued to blast at the enemy, his rage renewing as he realized the aliens had escaped him again!

Gezorah flailed wildly, attempting to ward off the attack. It managed to turn itself, to face its tormentor. The spear of the SeaGod still burning in its eye. Godzilla took no pleasure in the kill, the true enemy was still about...



*



Kyoko swam fiercely for the bottom, a strange combination of hope and dread propelling her. The scale tipped toward hope as the spacecraft came into view. It had taken her just over a minute to reach the craft, way under Saki's estimate. Bends or no, she was going to make it!

She unstrapped the explosive from her waist and checked the settings. The device was primed. She need only squeeze the syringe on top, forcing air into the phosphorous fuse. Once ignited, the chemical would be drawn through a glass tube and into the explosive compartment, Kenji had explained. Taught by a man who blew up police cars, indeed!

Kyo grabbed hold of the sunken craft. It was ice cold! She knew the ocean too was chill, but her augmented state allowed her to resist extreme temperatures. It would be a very bad time for the effect to wear off! She swam down to the ship's hatchway. It was open, and from within came a strange electronic pulse, half audible, half visible in the deep sea twilight. She peered inside, and was met by the source of the pulsing. The wounded creatures Iako called Yog now danced within the probe! Kyo's eyes went wide as the aliens became aware of her presence, and attacked!



*



Saki floundered on the surface as her companions raced to pull her from the waves. She was exhausted, and wracked with anguish. The salt of her tears mixing with the salt of the sea.

"Mother!" Hiroki came racing from out of the brush, having left the monsters battle far behind. He ran to Saki, and helped bring her ashore. "Ma, what are you doing?!" He scanned the scene. "Where's Mrs. Bradley?"

Saki sobbed a response. "I could not stop her. She took the explosive and dove for the ship."

"Terrific. What about her husband?"

"Very sick," she said. "He sleeps too deeply."

He's in a bloody coma, thought Hiroki. And as for his wife! The woman just proved herself senseless as well as pushy, but they were both in trouble because of him. Now his course was clear. As clear as the sky. "Mom, I've got to help Kyoko. I think the Quasars are down there too." He kissed her cheek, and ran into the surf. "Godzilla may still be after them. I'd clear out of here if I were you!"

"Hiroki," Saki sighed. "I don't want to lose you again. Mikki, guide my son!"



Hiroki tread water, checking his position with landmarks on the shore. Strangely, he realized, he no longer wanted that drink. He filled his lungs and dove.

Hiroki could feel the pressure and the ache in his lungs as the craft came into view. He pushed the pain aside, and focused on his goal. Almost there, as a figure emerged from the probe's open hatch and faced him. It was Kyoko alright, but the light of the Quasars shone in her eyes. She had been possessed!



*



Godzilla tramped through the jungle, enraged! The corpse of Gezorah lay burning behind him, slowly reversing the icy effects of the aliens freezing touch. Ahead, the shore came into view. The Quasars spoor was leading him there. Leading him back to the sea. Godzilla howled, determined this hunt would end!



*



Saki and her companions had heeded her son's advice, leaving the scene as quickly as they could. The near lifeless form of Kenji Bradley slowed them as they struggled down the shoreline, heading back to the resort. They did not move quite quickly enough...

A menacing roar that could only have come from the monster Godzilla sounded in the air. The beast was drawing closer. Saki stopped to check on her unconscious charge, shaking him, calling his name. But Kenji was somewhere very far away, and danger was very, very near.

"Everyone, into the trees! Get away from the open shore!" Saki ordered. They dragged Ken into the brush, and propped him in the hollow of an ancient tree. Saki joined him there, and spoke; "Listen now. You must all leave here immediately. Get to the resort if you can. I will stay with Mr. Bradley."

"Saki, we cannot just leave you here!" Cried one of the group.

"I was the one who persuaded him to drink the Blood of the SeaGod. His condition is my fault, my responsibility." She glared at her fellows, the look in her eyes driving the point home. There would be no argument that could sway her decision. "Do not add your deaths to burden my conscience as well, my friends."

"Mikki guide you," they said tearfully, and turned to disappear into the brush. The sounds of foliage being mashed beneath the monster's feet grew louder, and Saki held tight to the motionless American as the figure of Godzilla reared high above the trees!



*



Below the waves.

Hiroki's body felt like a black hole, aching to suck in air. His life so far had been worth so little, he thought. He had caused his people, his parents, nothing but pain. Now it was payback time.

A sardonic smile grew on the visage of Kyoko Bradley as the Quasars commanded her to attack! She flew at Hiroki, baring teeth and nails, the aliens using her as if she were one of the Daikaiju that were their favorite toys! Instinctively, Hiroki punched, hitting the woman in the face. Kyoko recoiled at the violent contact. The Blood of Mikki now flowed within this man, disrupting the aliens' control with his touch! He dove past her, and into the derelict spacecraft.

The bomb lay within the tiny capsule. Kyoko must have managed to place it there before she was overcome. Hiroki reached for the device, and squeezed the trigger! Suddenly, he was grabbed by his feet, and an irresistable force pulled him roughly from the ship. The ache in his lungs was like a sledgehammer now, as the maddened Quasars forced Kyoko to grab at him, digging her nails into his throat! The world grew dark aroud Hiroki as he realised, neither one of them was going to escape the blast...