Kaiju Apocalypse: The Storm

By: Micah Kenworthy (Halomek)

Prologue: The Flicker Before the Fire

---The Arrival---

Earth.

For being such a small insignificant speck, floating in the black ocean of space, the planet had managed to garner quite a reputation for itself. The only companion to keep it company in the emptiness was a gray dustball which was simply known as the Moon. From the depths of space the oft troubled and turbulent planet looked peaceful to the naked eye.

However, not all eyes saw with the same vision. There was one who observed the planet in front of him with little more than disgust. The planet seemed to him contemptuous and openly defiant of the order that ruled the galaxy: his order. For too long had this small planet managed to defy the odds and avert its own destruction. The time had come to personally reduce it to a charred and lifeless hulk.

The bearer of these dark thoughts inhabited a powerful eight foot tall body. With skin colored an angry red and muscles forming a robust frame, there was no doubt that it was the body of a warrior. Obsidian claws tipped the end of each finger and four horns of an equally black color crested the head. A set of yellow glowing eyes were set deep within the skull of the creature, which gave the face a permanent expression of anger. A fanged, mammalian maw served as a mouth. Covering the body was black body armor that was visibly made from the bones of others of his race.

This was the body of Lord Centaurus, ruler of the Demion race and easily one of the most powerful men in the entire galaxy. For the Demions ruled all who fell under their gaze, causing other races to submit or be destroyed.

Few could stand alone against the power of the Demion Empire, which made the problem of Earth all the more annoying for Centaurus. The efforts of his minions had so far failed to bring the Earth in line and so now he was forced to deal with the situation personally. Such an action meant only one fate for the inhabitants: death.

However, he knew that the people of this seemingly unremarkable planet were not to be underestimated. That had been the hubris that had led to the downfall of previous Demion lords. Centaurus had personally eliminated the lord before him for failing to realize the truth about Earth. The guardians of this planet, which the Humans had taken to calling kaiju, were numerous and abundant. Whether created from nature, science, or a bastard marriage between the two, it presented a real problem to his invasion forces.

Centaurus's chief scientist, Vulpecula, had once reported to him that this Earth, this seemingly insignificant dot in the universe, held within it untold energy and mystical power. It probably served as good an explanation as any as to why Earth had more kaiju living upon it than any planet the Demions had ever encountered.

These kaiju would need to be eliminated before any massive invasion could be implemented. Fortunately, Centaurus had a plan to erase these obstacles from his sight…

As if on cue, a burst of flame announced the arrival of one of the many messengers Centaurus had at his command. This Demion was about a head smaller than Centaurus and had skin as black as the night. Red stripes ran across his exposed skin, making him appear to otherwise be invisible to in the darkened room. Other than the skin coloration, his physical characteristics matched that of Centaurus.

This new arrival immediately bowed before Centaurus, yellow eyes staring only at the floor, for to meet the eyes of his master would have meant an instant death to him. He dared not speak until Centaurus addressed him, for that sort of disrespect too would have meant death.

"Sirius," Centaurus said, growling the subordinate's name. "Report."

"My missions were a success, my Lord," Sirius hissed, still prostrate before Centaurus. "I have made contact with the kaiju known as Megalon without being detected by the Seatopians. He has agreed to aid our plans providing one condition."

"And what is this condition?" Centaurus asked with something akin to boredom. He didn't particularly need the aid of Megalon, but any ally he could gather to help fight other kaiju would be a help. It was believed that Megalon was now secretly fed up with his Seatopian masters after his last run in with the troublesome kaiju known as Godzilla.

Sirius would have laughed if he didn't fear that it would be seen as disrespect in the eyes of Centaurus. "He wishes to have his body modified so that he can travel through space."

"Granted," the other said, amused. Such a simple reward for the difficult task Megalon would be given. "Tell him he will get his desire after he aids us in the finding of our herald."

"Of course, my Lord."

"What of your other mission?"

"The Meganura egg has been successfully hidden away on the landmass known as Africa, deep in the jungles," Sirius reported. "The spider Kumonga and the last of the Earth's Kamacuras are under our control and are even now being transported to Africa to protect the egg."

"Well done," Centaurus said in rare compliment. The Demion master held out a clawed hand before a small spout of flame announced the arrival of a small container in his hand. "Rise and receive your next mission, Sirius. Take this container in my hand."

Sirius got to his feet, still not looking upon Centaurus, as he took the container without question.

"Inside is the spore of the Hedorah," Centaurus informed him. "They may have defeated the last Hedorah we sent to this pitiful planet, but I have different goals for the creature than all out destruction this time. See to it that this Hedorah grows to full maturity, but keep its existence secret from the Humans for now. I will tell you when and where I want it to strike. You may leave to accomplish this now."

"By your desire, my Lord," Sirius said in farewell before disappearing in another burst of flame.

Centaurus looked at the Earth again, and this time felt a spell of malevolent laughter take him. The beginning of the end would be slow, but like the hellfire of a thousand religions, his actions would rise in intensity and trap the pathetic inhabitants before they even realized they were being burned alive. His subtle machinations were being enacted all over the globe, slowly building towards the unifying point of a Demion victory.

Even now, three space crystals; one for King Ghidorah, one for Gigan, and one for Orga; were being released and were already headed for the Earth. The attacks would be partly distraction and partly to test how fast the Earth's kaiju and the humans responded to an attack. If all went well, this initial strike would help to soften their defenses as well.

The demise of this eyesore would only be a matter of time now, for the venomed hand of Centaurus knew no bounds. All that was really required to make his victory complete was his herald, the one who would lead the way for last invasion force the Earth would ever know…

---The Demon of Dreams---

Sean Varnbel was haunted by a reoccurring dream. It was the same every time he fell asleep, indeed, it was getting to be that he saw it every time he closed his eyes. The mere image of it of was starting to drive him insane even though he couldn't recognize his failing mental health.

In his dream he was alone in a strange jungle. Then a giant ogre-like being would emerge from the trees. The monstrosity had knobby green skin and a pugish, vaguely dog-like face. On top of its head rested a short row of long horns. This monster towered over him and was at least as large as Godzilla. When he spoke, it was with a strange caterwaul like wail, and yet somehow Sean could understand him perfectly.

Every time this demon appeared, Sean always asked the same question. "Who are you?"

And he would always get the same response. "I am Gabara," it would roar to him. "I have chosen you, Sean Varnbel, to be the next vessel of my return."

From there the conversation would always stay the same. "I will not serve a monster!" Sean would say defiantly.

At this, Gabara would cackle. "You have no choice, Sean. You will serve me, for I will haunt your existence until the day you die. There is nothing you can do but become my willing servant."

And Sean had tried everything to keep himself from dreaming of Gabara, but no amount of medicine or mental training seemed to have an affect on keeping Gabara out of his head. The demon still managed to break through without any apparent effort to taunt and torment him.

Gabara would always start off with this sequence before the dreams branched off into different scenarios. In most of them, Gabara would torture Sean through a variety of methods. Even though Sean knew he was dreaming, it was so real that he could swear that he actually felt the pain.

Finally after months of nonstop abuse from Gabara, Sean had finally given in, unable to bear the thought of resisting Gabara any longer and too scared to take his own life.

Gabara seemed to know everything Sean did, and he taught Sean how he could use his knowledge to bring the giant ogre into his world. Unfortunately for Sean, such a project required a lot of funding.

Sean had thought he had found the means through M-Watch's Kaiju Defender Project, but his idea of summoning a monster instead of creating one was deemed too farfetched to work by the higher ups in command. Instead they had gone with Professor Chen's somewhat uninspired idea of create a copy of an existing monster.

It no longer mattered now though… Sean had found some private investors, people who believed in his vision, or rather, Gabara's vision.

Soon… soon Gabara would be manifest and he would crush those who had interfered with his summoning.

Little did the unfortunate man realize that his mind was no longer his own. Gabara merely allowed him to believe he still had freewill for his own amusement. Varnbel's desire for revenge was now only an extension of Gabara's…

---Man Versus Monsters---

In a darkened room a single occupant sat, bathed in the diffuse glow of a dozen different television screens. Each screen showed a scene of utter destruction and of this destruction one would think that the damage had been caused by an earthquake or a hurricane if not for one familiar theme dominating every screen. All of the carnage and ruin was caused in some way by a giant monster, or kaiju, as the Japanese called them.

Some of these kaiju were pure malevolence and hatred, seeking only to eradicate Earth of all life. King Ghidorah was the monster most people thought of when they talked of the scourge of humanity, but others were brought in as well: Megalon, Gigan, or the latest to join the pantheon: Orga…

And then there were the kaiju that were on the other side of the spectrum, the so-called 'good' monsters that showed up to fight the evil monsters. If anything, they were even more of a nuisance than the bad kaiju, able to cause all of the damage but take none of the blame. Godzilla was the worst of these kaiju, even though they said he was now fighting for humanity, his early rampages could not be forgotten. Godzilla still had the deaths of millions on his oversized claws.

Even Mothra, the one most pointed to as the friend of man, had a fair share of human death that could be attributed to her. Just having her flying over a populated area meant trouble, let alone fighting in one. Her caterpillar form was even worse, trampling all who couldn't get out of her way.

The repeated battles between these titans were slowly, but surely, tearing civilization apart. However, the thing that really made the single occupant watching these past battles angry was the knowledge that, if not for the likes of Godzilla and Earth's other kaiju defenders, humanity would probably already be gone. It didn't sit right with him that humans were now basically at the mercy of a handful of giant animals.

So he sat there and watched the screens carefully, taking notes on probable weaknesses… They all had to have one…

Suddenly his cell phone started ringing. With an annoyed grunt, he picked it up and spoke. "Adams, here."

"We've got another job for you, Max," the gruff voice of General Douglas Nassel answered. "A 20-foot tarantula is rampaging near an oil-refinery in Texas. We need your expertise."

"I'm already on my way out," Max assured his commanding officer before hanging up and regretfully turning off the monitors. It vexed him so much that the only monsters humanity seemed fit to deal with were of the smaller variety.

Even now there were giant kaiju attacks taking place all over the world and the militaries of those countries were basically helpless to stop them. They were putting in their faith that Godzilla or another equally 'benign' monster would come and save them.

Max vowed that the days of trusting humanity's fate to kaiju would soon come to an end. The only good kaiju was a dead kaiju.

---The Clash of Titans---

There he was, one of the most fearsome monsters to ever ravage Earth, the aptly named King Ghidorah. The golden demon was known throughout the universe as a destroyer of worlds, the Monster Zero, and the King of Terror. Every title fit and he carried out his duties with evident pleasure and malice.

He was a massive three headed dragon covered in golden scales. A pair of enormous wings framed the monster and allowed him to hover above the ground, kicking up massive gusts of wind as they flapped. Ghidorah's three heads studied his rival as his sinuous necks moved to consider how best to attack his unexpected opponent.

This enemy was unlike any he had faced before.

It was a mirror image of himself.

This second Ghidorah remained standing on the ground, watching the first Ghidorah intently and calling out a challenge with a distinct chitter.

This was the first time that the two Ghidorahs had taken a break in their battle since they had first started fighting. General Douglas Nassel watched the battle between the two 150 meter monsters intently, if this worked they would not have to rely on Godzilla and the other kaiju to save the Earth. This was especially poignant to him now as Godzilla was busy battling Gigan faraway in Japan. The other monsters on Monster Island had so far not moved to help and the only kaiju that seemed to make the U.S. his second home, King Kong, was even now in the middle of a battle with the newcomer, Orga, on the other side of the country in New York.

Kaiju attacks were inexplicably becoming more and more frequent as of late and Earth's defenders were starting to become hard pressed to save this planet. It was a dire situation, especially given the taxing demands on the world's militaries to try and safeguard its citizens. There wasn't a country in the world that hadn't been hit by a monster attack by now, but by far, Japan and the U.S. were the two being hit the most by these assaults.

Off to Nassel's side, watching how well his creation was doing, stood Doctor Hikaru Chen. He had come from Japan, on his own volition, to help create a manmade kaiju that America could use at its beck and call to help protect its greater landmass. They had decided on creating a monster based on King Ghidorah, easily one of the strongest of the monsters. Godzilla had been passed up as being 'too unpredictable' to risk creating another. The kaiju's noted and frequent mutations could conceivably bypass the genetic programming that had been implanted into the new Ghidorah.

Since it was unknown exactly how Ghidorah was created, and they had no genetic material to work from, Chen devised his own method of creating the beast. Chen created three creatures he had called Dorats and then bombarded them with massive doses of radiation. Strangely enough, the Dorats fused together to from a doppelganger of the real King Ghidorah. However, unlike the evil space monster, this Ghidorah had been genetically engineered to protect the Earth and he carried no trace of evil since he had been developed entirely from scratch.

It was appropriate somehow that Dorat-Ghidorah's first battle would be against the real thing.

Nassel's top aide, Commander Tom Onder, ran up to him with a salute. "We've just received word from M-Watch, sir. Mothra and Rodan are flying over the Pacific to confront King Ghidorah!"

"They'll arrive too late," Chen assured Nassel as he overheard the information. "My Ghidorah will beat the real thing before those other monsters can arrive!"

"Nevertheless, any help we get will be appreciated," Nassel said thoughtfully. "Order Dorat-Ghidorah to drive the real one towards Rodan and Mothra's position. We'll catch that space monster in an ambush!"

With a nod, Chen went to the communicator that was used to talk with Dorat-Ghidorah. "Drive Ghidorah out to sea!" he commanded.

Dorat-Ghidorah immediately lifted off and fired a triple blast from his gravity beams as he passed by the real thing, striking the real Ghidorah in the back. Ghidorah cried out in anger and fired off a volley of his own, which just grazed the human-made monster as it soared out to sea. King Ghidorah, angry at seeing his enemy escaping, flew after him.

Dorat-Ghidorah didn't get far before King Ghidorah unleashed a powerful blast of his gravity beams. The searing energy ripped apart Dorat-Ghidorah's wings and Chen's creation, unable to support itself, fell into the bay with an enormous splash. King Ghidorah landed on top of the monster with a crushing swoop, pining the kaiju in the relatively shallow water.

Dorat-Ghidorah struggled to rise, crying in pain, but the space monster had his enemy pinned firmly to the ground. With a devastating lunge, Ghidorah's three heads snaked out to latch onto the middle neck of Dorat-Ghidorah. With one foot on the base of the neck, Ghidorah pulled up, bringing all of his monstrous force to bear. There was a bit of resistance at first, but quickly enough Dorat-Ghidorah's middle neck was torn off of his body. Ghidorah flung the extremity away into the depths of the ocean and concentrated on his foe, gauging if his enemy was dead yet.

The waters around Dorat-Ghidorah's body quickly turned red as blood spilled out of the stump in the middle. Ghidorah jumped back and watched for a moment as Dorat-Ghidorah feebly tried to rise. King Ghidorah let loose another gravity beam volley before kicking his enemy in the side and sending him flying.

Dorat-Ghidorah's body hit the water further out and flailed about as he promptly sunk under the waves.

Screeching in triumph, King Ghidorah turned his attention back towards the mainland. Nassel knew it was crazy, but he could've sworn that the beast was staring directly at the bunker he was in. Whatever Ghidorah's plans were, they were interrupted by the far off screech of Mothra which was closely followed by Rodan's distinctive deep-throated howl.

Ghidorah looked behind him at the noise before lifting off, reluctantly it seemed, and headed towards space once more.

Nassel watched him go before he turned to Chen. "Your monster failed, Doctor. King Ghidorah was too much for him and I want to know why. I thought he was a perfect copy."

Chen shut off Dorat-Ghidorah's communicator in disappointment. "I could create a facsimile, but I couldn't duplicate the real thing. King Ghidorah is a destroyer of worlds, he must have lifetimes of experience in combat. And the way Dorat-Ghidorah's gravity beams didn't seem to affect the real thing, while Ghidorah's tore into my creation… I see now that he was made of something much tougher than anything I could create in a lab from scratch."

"Are you saying that the kaiju project will not work?" Nassel asked.

"No, General," Chen corrected with a smile as his brilliant mind suddenly came up with another solution. "It's just going in a different direction. Have your men gather samples of the real Ghidorah's blood and flesh. My creation may not have been strong enough to kill King Ghidorah, but it did manage to injure him. With the real DNA of such a monster, I promise I will create a kaiju that can defeat King Ghidorah and any other monster that threatens the Earth."