Chapter One: The Ties That Bind…
M-Watch Kaiju Defender Lab, Arizona. One Week After Ghidorah's Attack.
"Remarkable," Hikaru Chen breathed as took his eyes off of the monitor and quickly scribbled some notes into his journal. "I was way off with the Dorats," he mumbled. "No wonder my version didn't last against the real thing."
"I told you."
Hikaru looked up from his work and spotted a teenage girl smiling knowingly at him. She shared the same Asiatic features as he did, mostly Japanese but with a few traces of the Chen family's roots in ancient China, however she definitely got her beauty from her late mother's side.
She was still in her late teens, almost an adult really, and it certainly showed. Her face was flawless, with deep brown eyes and black hair that was cut at the shoulder. She was wearing a white ki held together with a black belt, but Hikaru knew that the girl tended to favor loose-fitting clothing anyway.
"Saeko?" he said, surprised. "How did you get past the guards?"
"I'm the daughter of the brilliant Professor Chen," she said with amusement. "With a little cajoling I can pretty much access any part of this facility."
Hikaru frowned as he adjusted his glasses. "You really shouldn't do that."
"Since when has that stopped me?"
"Good point," he sighed. "So why has my little girl decided to violate the rules - again - to see her father?"
"My martial arts class is over and I thought I'd see how you were doing," she said. "I haven't seen you since you left for California and I wanted to make sure you were still alive."
Saeko said that last with an edge of sarcasm and Hikaru knew he really should have chastised her about being disrespectful, but a wave of guilt stopped him. Because of his busy schedule he usually only saw his daughter maybe once or twice in any given week. Saeko was more than capable of taking care of herself, but it still ate at Chen that he couldn't spend more time with her.
Before he could manage to say anything, Saeko gestured to the screen that displayed the unique cell structure he had been taking notes on as she walked up next to him. "So, I assume these cells belong to the real King Ghidorah?"
"Yes," he answered, secretly glad for the change of subject.
Saeko's face lit up as she studied the screen. One thing she had definitely inherited from her father was an intense interest in all things kaiju. "You finally managed to grab some real cells, huh? During the confrontation in California?"
"This is way different than those Dorat-things you designed," she continued before he could answer. "What ever made you think that fusing those creatures into a single monster would be a match for the real Ghidorah?"
After the battle he had witnessed on California's coast, Hikaru found he had been wondering the same thing. "There was a theory going around that King Ghidorah couldn't possibly be a natural creation and that he was, at one time, three different creatures of the same species fused together; possibly by a supernova."
He leaned back in his chair. "It seemed like the most plausible explanation when I first started working on M-Watch's Kaiju Defender project. With that to guide me, I created the Dorats from scratch so that they would mutate and fuse into a Ghidorah when exposed to high levels of radiation. It was hoped they would be a match for the real thing…"
Hikaru trailed off. Saeko surely knew the rest, she had a way of finding out things that were supposed to be classified. The M-Watch recovery teams had only found the Dorat-Ghidorah's head that had been ripped from its body during the battle. The rest of the body had mysteriously disappeared when it sank beneath the waves and nobody could figure out why. A mass of that size wouldn't have been pushed too far from where it sank by the ocean currents, but there was no trace of it.
Saeko nodded, grinning. "I tried to warn you. He is too much of a perfect killer to be an unnatural monster. You notice how he has three heads but they never fight with each other? If King Ghidorah was a fused monster, he wouldn't display that same kind of harmony."
Saeko had always displayed a certain amount of intuitiveness when it came to kaiju, but it wasn't until recently that Hikaru was really starting to appreciate that fact. "Well, you were definitely right, even though I never thought I'd hear harmony and Ghidorah's name in the same sentence… I compared Ghidorah's cell structure to my version and I found his cells were much more complicated than the Dorat-Ghidorah."
"You've got to learn to listen to me more."
Hikaru laughed. "I thought I was the parent here."
Before Saeko could reply, the door opened to admit Professor Sean Varnbel. Hikaru's colleague was Irish by blood and it showed in his shock of thinning red hair. Lately Varnbel had been showing several symptoms of sleep deprivation, as there always seemed to be heavy bags under his eyes, but then again, sleep was a rare commodity at the facility as it was.
"Sean," Hikaru greeted. "How did command take your Gabara proposal this time?"
"Same as always," the other scientist grumbled. For several months now, Varnbel had been trying to convince the leaders of M-Watch's science division that they could summon a monster made entirely of mental thoughts to fight for them. Despite his persistence, his idea was always rejected. "I've finally given up on them. They'd never recognize a good idea if you slapped them over the face with it."
Varnbel's face deepened into a scowl as he appeared to notice Saeko for the first time. "What is your daughter doing here, Chen? You know it's against the rules to allow civilians into the lab."
Saeko glared back, but didn't budge.
"She was just leaving," Hikaru said, more to Saeko than to Varnbel. He really didn't want to get into an argument about the liberties Saeko kept taking, not right now.
"I don't suppose I'll see you at home anytime this week?" she asked rhetorically as she started to leave.
Hikaru regretted his answer, but he couldn't tear himself away from his work at this juncture, not now that he had Ghidorah's actual cells to study. "I'm sorry, probably not. I'll try and make some time, but no promises."
"Right," Sakeo replied, sounding disappointed as she exited the room.
"You really need to discipline that girl more, Chen," Varnbel volunteered. "I'm amazed the base commander lets her get away with the stuff that she does."
"So, given up on Gabara, huh?" Hikaru put forth in an effort to get the subject off of his daughter. "Are you going to help out on my latest project?"
"Creating a new monster from Ghidorah's cells? No thanks. Personally I think your idea is just another waste of resources like the Dorat-Ghidorah was." Varnbel sat down at another terminal and began accessing assorted files. "And I didn't give up on Gabara, just trying to get it approved. Until I can make Gabara a reality, I'm going to concentrate on Adams's little project to find weaknesses in the kaiju we have on file."
Hikaru nodded, but didn't say any more as he turned back towards his work. He didn't feel particularly inclined to press Varnbel for more information, not when he had the cells of Ghidorah just begging to be studied.
Inwardly he laughed at Varnbel's persistence that Gabara could become a reality. A monster powered by thought? Ridiculous! Varnbel was a brilliant man, but he was also stubborn as a rock. Nothing would be able to change his mind when he decided on something and Hikaru certainly didn't feel like striking up an argument with the irritable scientist.
Putting the idea of Gabara out of his mind, he resumed his study of the cells; scribbling down the intriguing data that continued to surface.
M-Watch Machine Lab, Arizona.
General Douglas Nassel watched impassively through an enormous viewport as giant machines tirelessly worked to construct one of M-Watch's top projects. It was a mecha based upon the design of the Moguera robots that had come with the Mysterian invasion force. While the machine being constructed still retained the name, M-Watch had put forth a lot of resources improving upon the design.
The original robots had been weak, barely able to fight kaiju, but their simple design had made reverse-engineering them a far easier prospect than something as complicated as Mechagodzilla. Despite that, Nassel would have preferred to get his hands on the giant Godzilla doppelganger instead of being forced to improve the fragile Moguera robots, but after Godzilla had destroyed it for the second time, the wreckage of Mechagodzilla had simply disappeared before recovery teams could get to it… again.
Nassel was sure that aliens had been behind the disappearance. Just as he was sure that they had also been responsible for somehow spiriting away Chen's Ghidorah after the real King Ghidorah had disposed of it. He had no idea how these aliens managed to continually evade detection while carrying out the large operations they did, but it was really stating to irritate him.
"You wanted to see me, General?"
Nassel turned to find Commander Max Adams with his hand fixed in a firm salute. Adams was the perfect picture of a military recruiting poster. He was lean and muscular, but with a handsome face the demanded to be in the movies, not behind military hardware. Nassel saluted back before smiling.
"Congratulations on the Texas spider hunt, I heard you did well despite unforeseen complications."
Max smiled back, almost viciously. "We also ran into a previously unknown atomic anthill. Fortunately the napalm was just as effective on the ants as it was on that overgrown tarantula."
Nassel gestured to the uncompleted Moguera. "I'm curious as to your thoughts on Chen's work and Moguera. I've heard you don't think too highly of either project."
"No, sir, I don't." Adams paused as he glanced at Nassel. "Permission to speak candidly, sir?"
Nassel gave the okay with a nod.
"Chen is just asking for trouble by bringing another giant monster into this world. The last thing we need is more of those freaks running around. Personally, I think King Ghidorah did us a favor by killing the clone, or whatever it was, before it could cause trouble. The whole idea of creating a kaiju to fight for us is tempting fate." He sighed. "It'll backfire on us eventually. Mark my words."
"I actually happen to agree with you in that respect, Commander, but unfortunately I was outvoted." Nassel took his eyes off of Moguera and looked at Adams. "So why Moguera? Unlike a living being, there is no chance that a robot like Moguera will escape our control."
"It's still a giant freak," the other said simply. "Something that size is bound to cause unnecessary collateral damage no matter where it goes. Personally, I think the Japanese are on the right track with their Super X project. From what I've heard, it's a flying fortress without all of unnecessary trappings of a giant robot. I think it's the perfect anti-kaiju weapon. It's kinda like a K-41 on steroids."
"I can appreciate your viewpoint, Commander," Nassel said with a grunt. "But unfortunately the Japanese branch of M-Watch follows a different design philosophy than ours. They can afford to scale down because they have Godzilla to protect them. The U.S. has no such luxury. While King Kong is generally considered an American monster, he doesn't show up with the same regularity that Godzilla does for Japan."
"Another blessing."
"Regardless of your feelings, he did help us during that rash of kaiju attacks a few days ago. However, I didn't call you here to debate the philosophy of kaiju. I called you here, Commander, because you're going to be the top pilot for the Moguera."
Adams hesitated, knowing that he was addressing a superior officer. "With all due respect, sir… I would prefer not to pilot that thing. You know my reasons."
"I do indeed," Nassel confirmed. "And it is because of those reasons that I've chosen you. Aside from the fact that you're the best giant monster exterminator M-watch has ever seen, you're a damn fine pilot in your own right. You dislike Moguera because it will cause collateral damage which assures me that you'll use it responsibly, unlike a lot of the other hot-shot pilots jockeying to take the spot."
"Again, with all due respect, that is some twisted logic, sir."
Nassel chuckled. Adams could complain all he liked, but the General knew the brash young man was the best choice. Nassel had a feeling that the attacks two days ago were merely the start of something much larger.
The Ruins of Seatopia.
During the prime of their existence, back in the time of the dawn of man, Seatopia had been a great civilization; easily a worthy equal to the mighty nation of Mu. Along with Atlantis, these three powerful oceanic nations had protected the Earth from invasion long before conventional humans had been capable of rational thought.
When Atlantis destroyed itself unexpectedly, it had left a power gap that had seen Seatopia and Mu start a war that eventually reduced both nations to shadows of their former glory. Seatopia's guardian kaiju, Megalon, had frequently clashed with Mu's Manda before both nations grew so tired of their long stalemate that they both went into isolation.
Over the long years since those ancient days, the high-minded ideals of the Seatopians had become steadily more corrupt. Each leader that came to power was only interested in the power and wealth such a position entitled him to. Such worthless decadence did not go unnoticed by Megalon…
After his defeat by Godzilla and the robot Jet Jaguar, Megalon allowed his resentment and growing disgust with the people of Seatopia to fester and develop into something much more dangerous. Being sent to the surface to stop the nuclear tests seemed to be the last gasp of good that the Seatopians were apparently capable of. After that, Megalon had seen no evidence that the people he had guarded for millennia were worthy of his protection.
When Megalon's new Demion allies had ordered the attack, the Seatopians had been completely unprepared for his betrayal and had died in droves as was befitting of pests. They really had nothing now that could withstand the fury of a kaiju. It was a slaughter of epic proportions as he hunted down and exterminated every last life.
Even that was not enough. With frequent blasts of his lightning horn and liberal use of his napalm bombs, he had set about reducing every structure to rubble to make sure that no trace of the Seatopians ever survived into future generations. His days of being a guardian kaiju were gone, perhaps forever. There was no race left on Earth worthy of his services.
Megalon released some more napalm bombs on one of the few parts of Seatopia that wasn't awash with flames before lifting into the air. He flew over the carnage, searching for more victims, eager to make sure that no one survived. He couldn't hear the cries of the dying anymore, and grinned inwardly with satisfaction.
Seatopia had been given the retribution they had so richly deserved, but the Demions still had another objective they wanted him to complete for them.
Megalon landed in the flames with a screech of triumph, barely feeling the heat of the fires. He brought his two drill hands together and burrowed into the earth to set out on his next task…
The Ruins of Mu.
Mu could be considered luckier than Seatopia as their guardian monster, the serpent-dragon Manda, was not swayed by the persuasive words of the Demions. However, in retaliation, the Demions had sent a revived Hedorah to wipe out Mu and Manda.
The people of Mu were already dead from Hedorah's toxic smog, but Manda was showing some resistance to the toxicity of his opponent. Despite having no one left to protect, Manda battled on, searching for some way to bring down his perplexing foe.
Manda was an ancient kaiju and, while not as powerful as his contemporary counterparts, he had literally thousands of years of fighting experience to draw upon. His heart ached at the thought of failing the people of Mu, and he was determined to make sure that this strange monster would not escape alive. Using his greater speed to his advantage, Manda weaved between the burning buildings of Mu, looking to circle around behind Hedorah.
Unable to spot Manda due to the other monster being so low to the ground and hidden behind the crumbling buildings of Mu, Hedorah fired off random shots of his crimson energy beam, hoping to flush his opponent out. The powerful laser-like blasts reduced the fragile Mu buildings to cinders everywhere Hedorah fired. Unbeknownst to him, Manda had successfully managed to creep up behind him in preparation to strike.
With a hiss, Manda struck with the speed of a cobra, snaking his body around a surprised Hedorah. Grunting in victory now that Manda had his opponent at his mercy, the ancient kaiju began to constrict his body into Hedorah's soft body. His victory was short-lived though, as Manda quickly found out that Hedorah's body offered no resistance to his constriction. Manda squealed in dismay as he frantically tried to disengage from his attack, but he soon found out he was stuck within his opponent.
Hedorah burbled in pleasure as he grabbed onto Manda's exposed head with both hands and then collapsed on top of him, smothering the ancient protector in his toxic ooze and body slamming Manda's head into the ground at the same time. Hedorah could feel Manda trying to get out from under him, but the frantic movements of the serpentine creature soon slowed as Hedorah's toxic body did its job. When Manda finally ceased moving, Hedorah got back up, leaving Manda's unmoving body covered in his sludge.
Hedorah would have been content to leave Manda where he was and start consuming the black smoke pouring out of the fires, but at the commands of his Demion masters, Hedorah turned back to face his defeated opponent.
Closing his misshapen eyes, Hedorah concentrated for a bit before spewing forth a concentrated amount of his acidic mud. The deadly substance spilled onto the upper-half of Manda and quickly started dissolving away Manda's thick scales. Surprising Hedorah, Manda reared up with an agonized wail before falling back to the ground and laying still. With no life left in him to even scurry away, Hedorah's acidic mud soon dissolved Manda's body, leaving nothing but the poisoned lower half to symbolize Mu's futile last stand.
The smog monster turned from his defeated enemy and happily sucked down the smoke of fires as a reward, closing his eyes in pleasure…
Monster Island.
Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, waded ashore to his island kingdom, the Ogasawara Islands, but better known to the world at large as the home of Monster Island. After his battle with Gigan, he had decided to rest for a day or two below the water. His injuries had healed almost as soon as the battle had ended, but it had been fierce and it had left him hungry and weary. Now, back to full strength, it was time to relax and perhaps teach Minya some more about fighting…
Once he was back on dry land, Godzilla could immediately sense something wrong. He could smell blood in the air. Something had happened in his absence, a battle had been fought somewhere on the island. That was nothing new, of course, the monsters who resided here fought all the time to test their skills. However, this time there was something that felt sinister about it.
Godzilla followed the scent of the blood, his large nostrils could sense that more than one monster had spilled blood today, but the scents all mixed together so he couldn't identify which monsters had fought.
As he lumbered across the island curiously, Godzilla noticed that the smell of blood grew stronger the closer he got to his lair. Growling worriedly, Godzilla crested the next hill to find a massacre.
Hundreds of Kamacuras littered the ground around Godzilla's lair, their smaller insect bodies crushed, broken, or simply laying limp. In the middle of this battlefield was Anguirus, sporting dozens of cuts on his body, having no doubt fought the swarm of Kamacuras.
Seeing his oldest friend, Anguirus wailed mournfully and stepped aside to show Godzilla something that made the great monster's heart swell with grief. The body of his young son, Minya, was lying prone on the ground. His young, gray, body was half-eaten and great cuts along the skin had spilled Minya's blood everywhere. The ground around his son's corpse was covered with it.
Godzilla knew that there was no way Minya could recover, not from wounds so grievous, his son was dead, but that didn't stop him from trying to breath radioactive life back into him. After a couple of failed tries, Godzilla gave up and moaned in a roar so soft, that only Anguirus could hear it.
He soon learned that while he had been fighting Gigan, a swarm of Kamacuras had attacked Minya out of nowhere. Anguirus, having been nearby, had heard Minya's cries and had rushed to battle the swarm. However, he had arrived too late to save Minya.
Godzilla released a powerful blast of his atomic ray, incinerating Minya's remains in a funeral pyre. He then let loose with a massive roar of pure rage that echoed across the ocean.
