Chapter Eight: Rampage!
The K-41 set down in a smoldering part of Osaka. Saeko had insisted that it would be safer if they left the craft. Safe being a relative term of course, it was still exceedingly dangerous to go on foot, but with Arashi's EMP no mechanical vehicle was safe from him, not even something as advanced as the K-41. It wouldn't do to get close to him only to crash and possibly be killed if Arashi decided to try and short out the K-41's systems.
As soon as they exited the craft, Saeko sprinted towards the sounds of battle with Max and Glenn hot on her heels. She clutched the pendant again, her mind immediately seeing what Arashi saw. The poor soldiers of M-Watch were in full retreat, having no recourse but to abandon their vessels and hoof it. However, Arashi wasn't about to let them get away. They would become examples to the rest of Humanity that he was to be respected and feared! No one attacked him and got away with it! He spied the deactivated from of the Super X, lying sideways in a pile of rubble, and prepared to blow the offending piece of machinery to shrapnel.
Saeko, knowing she would probably only have one shot to do this right, put as much command into her mental voice as she could before shouting with her thoughts, "ARASHI, STOP! DON'T KILL THEM!"
The unexpected intrusion into his mind was enough to startle Arashi out of his killing spree as he stopped and looked around for the source of the intrusion. He even surprised Saeko as he responded with a clear mental voice of his own. "You again!" he challenged. "I thought I got rid of you!"
"You could remember everything you did, even while under the influence of Ghidorah?" she asked, recalling that he had been lost in the madness of Ghidorah's blood the first time she had touched his mind. In any case, as long as she kept him talking to her, hopefully it would give the soldiers time to get away.
Arashi didn't bother to hide his pride. "Of course I could. I'm not some primitive animal. It was like I was stuck in a dream."
"Don't you mean a nightmare?"
"Hardly," Arashi shot back contemptuously. "The only bad part was that I didn't have total control. I learned a lot before Gabara interrupted my learning, including how badly humans have messed up this planet. By all rights they should have been wiped out a long time ago. Killing them to me is like crushing ants to you."
Through Arashi's mind's eye, Saeko could feel the mighty dragon take to the sky. A moment later she saw his huge form for herself over the top of some ruined buildings. She stopped her run but hesitated at the thought of hiding. She needed to gain Arashi's respect and the only thing she could think of was having the guts to face him. However, she motioned for Glenn and Max to take cover, just in case. Both men looked ready to object, but a glare from her sent them sprinting for hiding places.
"Not all of humanity is bad," she argued. "In fact you owe your existence to us."
"So does the atomic bomb," he countered. "You humans seem obsessed with finding ways to destroy yourselves. Attacking me without provocation, as those fools did, is a great way to accomplish that." Saeko could see herself through Arashi's eyes and feel his smile as spotted her. "There you are. I expected more than a little girl."
"Don't underestimate me!" Saeko snapped, feeling her own anger rise, knowing full well that Arashi had little to fear from her.
"Hmph, we'll see just how brave you really are," he told her, sending a roar echoing across the sky before jetting towards her.
Upon seeing the massive form of Arashi coming at her, Saeko's first instinct was to run, she had even taken a few steps back before she caught herself. For better or worse, she wouldn't flee. She had to face Arashi.
Arashi landed a short distance away from her with a quake that nearly knocked Saeko off of her feet. He went down on all fours as he brought his reptilian face down to look at her. Saeko was drenched by Arashi's breath as the hot air from his breathing escaped from his nostrils. She could feel herself trembling as she looked into his red irises, but she resolutely stood her ground. She couldn't let herself be intimidated.
"Impressive," Arashi congratulated her. "If you had moved, I would have killed you for being a hypocrite. Your bravery is foolish, but I can respect it."
"Thank you," she said as she bowed in the traditional Japanese show of respect. "Your power is incredible."
Arashi ignored the flattery as he looked her over. "Who are you?"
Saeko's eyes widened. "You don't know who I am?"
She could feel Arashi's anger start to rise at was, to him, an inane question. "I'm not telepathic and I really don't care enough about you humans to make distinctions."
"You do know who created you, don't you?"
"Hikaru Chen," the kaiju answered swiftly. "That was one of the first things he taught me. What does it have to do with you? Did he send you to bring me back?"
"He's dead," Saeko said flatly, doing her best to hold her emotion in check. Breaking down in front of Arashi was probably not a good way to earn his respect. "He was severely injured during your fight with Gabara and died soon after. I'm his daughter, Saeko Chen."
"What of it?" Even though Arashi feigned disdain, Saeko could catch a hint of something else. Regret? Sorrow, perhaps?
"Please, Arashi, you have to stop attacking the humans," she implored. "The Earth is under attack by aliens who want to wipe out all life. We need your help to drive them off. When my father created you, he intended for you to be a protector, not a destroyer. He loved you as he would a son." Saeko did her best to hide her bitterness. "He sacrificed everything to work on you and even on his death bed he couldn't think ill of you. Please, if for nothing else, help us in his memory."
Arashi stared at her for a long time, before he finally growled deeply. "I'll think about it as I rest up. You'll be coming with me. There is some more I wish to discuss with you."
"What?" Saeko yelped out loud in shock as she saw one of Arashi's massive hands move forward to grab her. Before she could even think of trying to get away, the mighty dragon had gently scoped her up along with some of the surrounding rubble.
Enclosed in his hand, Saeko had to rely on seeing through Arashi's eyes. It was with a mixture of terror and exhilaration when she saw, and felt, Arashi lift into the sky once more and make his way out to sea, leaving Osaka behind…
The instant Max saw Arashi grab Saeko, he had rushed out to try and save her, heedless of the futility of it. But his shouts and his effort went unheeded as Hikaru Chen's creation flew off into the sky. All Max could do was stare helplessly after him, cursing Arashi's name.
"I knew that walking lightning rod was going to be trouble," he swore. "I knew it! He's a monster, you can't trust a monster! I swear to God that if he hurts Saeko in anyway I'll… I'll…" Max trailed off, unable to come up with a threat dire enough.
"You can't help her now," Glenn said as he put a hand on Max's shoulder. "You know Saeko better than I do and you know she can take care of herself. If anyone can get through to that dragon, it'll be her." Despite Glenn's words, he didn't sound very sure of himself.
"C'mon, we have an alien invasion to stop."
Max dropped to his knees, suddenly feeling very weak. "I… I can't leave her, dad. I've got to do something."
Glenn sighed as he saw Arashi disappear on the horizon. "What can you do, Max? You're good, but one K-41 isn't going to stop that thing. For better or worse we've been given two problems to handle. It's tough, and it's not fair, but we have to pick which one we have the better chance of solving. Right now, I pick Fuji and his plans to stop these aliens. Maybe…"
Glenn paused. He didn't want to fill his son with what was likely false hope, but right now Max needed something to cling to. The idea of never seeing the girl he loved again would tear him apart otherwise.
"Maybe Fuji will be able to help after we meet with him."
Max gritted his teeth as he looked once more at the patch of sky where he had last seen Arashi.
Someday…
Someday there would be no need for monsters. He heaved a sigh as he followed his father back to the K-41.
Fuji was waiting.
Washington D.C.
The capital of America was in ruins. The first place to be hit was the White House, then the Capital Building, and so forth in that order as the Demions methodically sought to decapitate the leadership of the most powerful nation in the world with lightning quick strikes.
The kaiju they had chosen for such an action was well suited to do the job. Gigan was a biomechanical nightmare. He was vaguely avian in appearance with a metallic beak framed by two wicked looking side pincers. Gigan's blue flesh was replaced in some areas with golden scales patterned after Ghidorah's formidable armor. He had a mohawk of curved horns jutting from his skull and ending at the base of his neck. Three amphibious looking sails protruded from his back to help him take in energy. As soon as the sails ended, Gigan had a single row of small spikes running the length of his tail.
Gigan's eyes had been replaced by a single red mechanical visor capable of seeing in several spectrums. His hands were metallic sickle shaped hammer claws capable of delivering a powerful blow to anything they touched. A buzzsaw was implanted in his belly for close fighting.
Originally created by the Nebula M Spacehunter aliens, when the Demions had wiped out the galactic cockroaches they had taken possession of Gigan in preparation for their eventual invasion of Earth. They studied Gigan when they sent him in their initial attacks a little more than two months ago. While the hybrid was a formidable fighter, Vulpecula had seen room for improvement.
The Demion scientist had noticed that, after all things considered, Gigan was too much of a coward to be an effective fighter. The Spacehunters had programmed a strong survival mechanism into their creation which meant that as soon as the battle turned against him, Gigan would flee. It was also noted that Gigan always preferred to fight hand-to-hand, seemingly forgetting about the laser beam implanted above his eye.
Vulpecula had revamped Gigan's intelligence to account for these deficiencies, making the cyborg much more intelligent in addition to being sadistic. The new Gigan was a force to be reckoned with as a kaiju who knew all of his abilities and wouldn't run when things went bad.
Plus, there had been one or two surprises added to Gigan's arsenal to make him even more of a menace…
The U.S. military had been quick to respond of course, but even their most modern weapons were no match for Gigan. Tanks, masers, jets; the cyborg kaiju either shrugged off their attacks, or simply dodged the more powerful stuff with astounding agility. He chose a wide variety of methods for wiping out the forces arrayed against him. His laser beam was effective at intercepting most anything, but he also seemed to delight in tearing apart the vehicles physically.
A Demion saucer hovered in the sky above all the carnage, observing it all but not interfering as Gigan dispatched buildings and troops, setting both ablaze. If anything did happen to be foolish enough to attack the saucer, however, it was promptly blown apart by the spaceship's powerful lasers. Once it was done defending itself, the saucer would simply revert back to its observer role, apparently unconcerned about anything the humans would throw at it.
The once proud and noble city of Washington D.C. was soon nothing more than a burning wasteland as Gigan moved towards the next city, eradicating anything that got in his way…
Moscow.
The carnage was no different in Russia's capital and the affects of their military as futile as their American counterparts. As with Washington D.C., the first target to be hit was their major center of government, in this case, the Kremlin, before the monster moved on to hit other targets of importance before he focused on the rest of the city.
This particular kaiju, Orga, was a hulking gray behemoth who had first made an appearance four years ago in the year 2000. He had come in a space crystal similar to the type used by King Ghidorah or Gigan to travel through space. As most kaiju do, Orga had attacked Japan before being driven off by Godzilla. It was during that fight that it was learned that Orga could assimilate the DNA of others into his system.
So, in addition to being a lumbering brute, Orga also possessed Godzilla's healing factor. Hunchbacked, with a small viperish head, and two enormous clawed hands that reached down to the ground, Orga was an odd looking creature. However, his strength and power couldn't be denied, especially the cannon mounted in his right shoulder which hinted at a possible history as a bioweapon like Gigan.
Possessed of a simple mind, Orga, without question, followed the orders sent to him by the Demion saucer observing the carnage.
He was thorough and complete in his destruction, some might even venture that this kaiju was some sort of perfectionist, however the reason for his slow pace was more to the fact that Orga felt no hurry. The attacks of the Russian military were nothing more than a minor annoyance. Anything that was powerful enough to hurt him was healed back without a problem. He saw nothing of interest here, nothing to absorb, so he would continue to destroy until the situation changed…
London.
Unlike Orga and Gigan, King Ghidorah did not take well to the orders being sent to him by the Demion saucer. Before the main invasion, he had been told to wait by the Demions and he had complied because they had promised him that he would be given the chance to raze the planet. They had been confident that their mind control technology would keep him compliant, but they had grossly underestimated the golden demon.
When Ghidorah had arrived in London, he had immediately started destroying everything in sight. However, the Demions had insisted that he attack certain targets first according to their petty plans. He was a destroyer of worlds! The other two inhabited planets in this system, Venus and Mars, had been destroyed by him and him alone. King Ghidorah did not take orders unless it fit his own agenda, and he wouldn't suffer the 'help' thinking they were better than him.
The final straw had been when the Demion saucer had tried to attack him for not following their orders. Their lasers scorched his scales, but did little else. His gravity bolts, on the other hands, played havoc with the saucer's armor and blew it apart almost instantly as it was hit with a triple blast. The burning remains of the alien craft had fallen onto the buildings of London, setting whole neighborhoods ablaze as the debris touched down.
Ghidorah simply cackled as he added to the carnage, indiscriminate in the targets he chose to destroy. All life on the planet would fall before him in time, it mattered not if they ran. There would be nowhere they could hide…
Rome.
Not every attack was futile, or rather, the armies of Italy found help in a very unexpected quarter.
The one constant of life is that it can adapt to even the most hostile conditions and thrive. Without such a constant, Godzilla, or any of the other radioactive monsters that had been spawned by man's atomic tests, would never have existed.
Hedorah, the monster that literally lived on pollution, was another excellent example of the tenacity of life. However, in an ironic twist, he was also the very antithesis of life. His body killing anything it touched.
The Italian military was finding it difficult to deal with Hedorah, his very presence was choking the life out of the city and all who lived in it. Bombs, missiles, shells, none of it even seemed to faze the walking sludge pile. Without access to a huge dehydrator, the only thing that was even remotely effectively against Hedorah was napalm but it did almost as much damage to the city as the kaiju did and the small gains it made was not worth it.
However, with little else at their disposal, it was all they had to go on.
That was until a huge cloud of strange yellow spores entered the battlefield. These spores seemed to affect Hedorah in a way that nothing else could, they seemed to actually be feeding on the pollutants in his body.
The troops would have cheered, but it was quickly discovered that the spores ate through any inorganic material. The Demion saucer overhead was also not immune to the spore cloud's effects as the tiny things carved through its armor with little resistance, sending it crashing into the city in a massive fireball.
Quite unexpectedly, Hedorah was forced to flee back into the ocean rather than try to fight off the strange spores.
Meanwhile, the spores continued to eat away at buildings and anything else they attached to that wasn't a living organism. With this strange new twist, the military was forced to retreat until it could figure out exactly what these spores were and how to deal with them…
Tokyo.
Because it had survived so many kaiju attacks, Tokyo had become a symbol to the Japanese people of their ability to survive and overcome anything. It was the city that wouldn't die.
And it was in flames.
Three mechanical terrors were laying waste to the city with cold-hearted efficiency. Two of the machines were based upon the greatest kaiju the Earth had; Godzilla and King Kong.
Mechagodzilla was not a new sight, as he had terrorized the Earth on two separate occasions in the seventies. However, this was a different Mechagodzilla than what had been seen before. He was sleeker and had a more silvery finish than the last version. Much of his armament had been shifted and upgraded to accompany thicker plates of armor and to make his limbs useful for more than just holding missiles. In addition, his artificial intelligence saw a significant increase since his last activation in the seventies. Mechagodzilla could now think for himself and had little need of guidance aside from being told what targets to destroy. As before he showed an odd pleasure, considering he was supposed to be a soulless machine, in the destruction he caused.
Mecahni-Kong likewise was not a new sight, but his remains had been recovered by Demion agents after Dr. Whu's machine was destroyed. Simeon technicians had then taken the liberty to upgrade him and make him more powerful than ever before. Whereas Mechagodzilla was filled head to toe with weaponry, Mechani-Kong, simply called Mecha-Kong to separate him from Whu's version, was empowered with amazing agility and strength to make him a worthy doppelganger to the real Kong. However, he still possessed the greatest weapon in his arsenal, namely his hypnosis prism.
The last robot was more of a cyborg than a true mechanical, but since most of his body had been replaced by mechanical enhancements, he had been thrown in with the invasion force to level Tokyo. It was Hikaru Chen's earlier creation, the Dorat-Ghidorah, resurrected as Mecha-King Ghidorah. Even though he still had organic components, thanks to the obedience protocols that Chen had programmed into his very DNA, Mecha-King Ghidorah was as unquestioning and soulless as the other two robots.
The three robotic terrors were dropped right into the center of Tokyo before spreading out in three different directions and attacking, destroying everything in their sight. The JSDF was, predictably, near useless as it struggled to fight back against the greatest artificial weapons ever known…
Africa.
With the most powerful militaries in the world concerned with defending their own, the African forces resisting the insect horde were easily overrun. The soldiers that weren't devoured by the Meganura, were trampled underfoot or cut to pieces by the Kamacuras.
The war machines didn't fare much better, aside from Megaguirus's troubling ability to short out electronics, Kumonga and Megalon wracked up their fair share of kills with their respective abilities.
In order for the insect horde to spread and conquer, the forces were divided in three groups. The first, belonging to Megaguirus, pushed towards Egypt and the Middle East. The second, under Kumonga's command, moved towards Western Africa and all of the tiny nations therein. Megalon was tasked with taking control of everything below the established borders of the insect nation of Central Africa.
The soldiers of the remaining African countries fought bravely, but as one after another fell before the seemingly implacable horde the will to fight seemed to leave the men. The sight of an approaching cloud of Meganura or hearing the shrieks of a division of Kamacuras was enough to make some armies flee in terror.
The humans were not without their fair share of kills, but the ranks of the horde seemed to be endless in number and their apparent kaiju leaders seemed invincible. There was little hope left and the precious few victories against the horde always carried a high price of blood.
With her ability to effortlessly short out machines, Megaguirus's division was moving at an astonishing rate as her forces overran whole armies virtually unopposed…
Infant Island.
Battra came ashore on the rocky coast of Infant Island full of rage. His howl of challenge echoed across the island as he made his way towards Mothra. On his way, he decimated everything in his sight with his powerful prism beams. There would be nothing left of this island once he was done!
Battra's journey over the small island was a short one. Surprisingly, he did not run across a single islander on his way to Mothra. No doubt, his sister had ordered the island evacuated in anticipation for his coming. It mattered not, he would track down Mothra's followers in due course. The important thing was that Mothra was still on the island.
Indeed, she was waiting for him to come. As Battra approached the village proper, he saw Mothra's caterpillar form waiting calmly. She chirped to him, pleading for him to forsake the madness he was perpetrating.
In response, Battra ruthlessly fired his prism beams at her. The deadly purple beams impacted all around Mothra, sending her flying backwards with a screech. He kept up the assault, eager to finally destroy the greatest threat to his plans after such a long time of being imprisoned by her.
Mothra scampered to the shelter of a rocky outcropping and retaliated with a steady stream of her super-strong silk. The wispy stands didn't seem that dangerous, but Battra knew from experience that they could hold just about any opponent in a high enough quantity. It was how she had beaten him last time.
Feeling a rush of anger at the memory, Battra hurried forward, lowering his head and charging with his horn.
Mothra chirped in surprise and tried to get away, but her body was too slow and unwieldy. Battra's horn impacted with the rock, shattering it effortlessly as he plowed forward and impaled his sister. Blood seeped from Mothra's wound as Battra lifted his head and threw her to the side.
Mothra, ever the valiant one, refused to lay down and die as she resorted to her most final and desperate tactic. Rearing up on her back legs, Mothra's body glowed for a moment before she shot a blast of green energy from her 'belly' region.
The powerful shot impacted against Battra's armored exoskeleton and actually pushed him back a little, but otherwise did no damage. In anger he retaliated with a virtual storm of prism beams as he advanced once more on the goddess of Infant Island.
He only stopped his attack once he had closed the distance between himself and his sister. She was laying sideways on the ground, her body burned and bleeding as she gave one last pathetic chirp to try and sway Battra to her side.
In response, Battra reared up on his hind legs before sending his full weight to crash down on the head of his most hated enemy…
The people of Infant Island had taken to the water at Mothra's command. Escorting them away from the danger was the Shobijin, riding Fairy Mothra. Mothra could have run as well, but she knew that her brother would have pursued her to the ends of the Earth to get his revenge. It was better, in her opinion, to fight him now; away from a populated area, than to risk having him kill her while she was helpless in her cocoon. At least in her larval form she had a chance of beating him.
It was one of the few decisions that the Shobijin had disagreed with her about; vehemently in fact. However, Mothra had been adamant and in the end her priestesses had had no choice but to follow her mandate.
The sounds of her battle with Battra carried over the water to reach the ears of the islanders, but for the Shobijin the battle was much more personal. Connected as they were with Mothra, they could feel her life energy slowly drain away as Battra ruthlessly attacked her.
When the battle came to a sickening close, the Shobijin screamed as one as Mothra's lifeforce was extinguished before their minds fell into darkness…
