1 and 5! Put them together, what does it make? 15!

As I was writing out this chapter I keep hearing about an anime called Darling in the Franxx. I hadn't heard much about it and only saw short clips of it in passing. It looked Gurren Lagaan-ish to me so I wasn't sure what to think about it. But then I saw that it was made by Studio Trigger and I thought, "Hey! If this was made by the same people behind Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia then it has to be good!"

I searched online for all the episodes, found them, watched the series and….it sucked.

It was clear from the get go what this was: it was Studio Trigger trying to emulate Neon Genesis Evangelion and failing on every conceivable level. None of the characters were interesting and there were way too many parallels with Evangelion to the point where everything felt like it was cut and paste. No, seriously. Name me one thing that didn't completely rip whole hog from Evangelion. And that's not even mentioning the overly complicated plot, unnecessary plot twists, waste of a good villain (the Klaxxowhateverthef*** Princess) rushed final battle and an infuriating, clichéd reincarnation ending. If you loved Darling in the Franxx and thought it was better than Evangelion then that's totally your opinion but for me, this is one robot I don't think I'd ever want to pilot again.

Anyhow, I'm done ranting. Before I go on the review section, I would like to reveal that Ralph and Lizzie from the Rampage movie will be in this story! Previously suggested by MONSTER BATTLE, he brought up a good point that there are hardly any wolf/alligator Kaiju but those two are pretty good representations, even though they come from a videogame movie (a pretty damn good one if I say so myself). Credit goes to MONSTER BATTLE for the idea and sorry if I turned you down the first time!

Review Time!

Harbinger of Kaos: That remains to be seen as we're not at that point in the story yet. Yes, I saw the trailer and I thought it was amazing!

StrongGuy159: Don't worry, you'll be getting more!

Edboy4926: An observant eye!

I don't think I'll add him since I know very little about him and the movie hasn't come out yet.

Honestly, I hate the anime films. They're completely boring, something Godzilla films should never be. The cast are unlikeable and the main protagonist is an Eren Jeager rip-off. Godzilla's design and the setting sounds brilliant but they're not fleshed out enough nor are they further explained upon. So yeah, I dislike them and I'm not looking forward to the third one anytime soon.

G-Matt: Read on and find out!

Kamen Rider Zodiac: Chapters like these are meant to expand upon the world and characters. That being said, glad you like my story and give my other works a look!

Ultron Emperor: She actually is bi-sexual. In this story, she started out as a lesbian but the trauma of losing her mother and Gendo being a manipulative asshole messed with her head so she doesn't know what to do.

Boyzilla: Thanks!

DragonMaster4872: Yeah, their so-called "scenario" is pretty much in shambles.

Captain Titus Invictus: Those are some good ideas but I won't have Ritsuko take the mad scientist route. But yes, Orga is in this story.

Guest #1: You are most definitely right. I will keep your advice in mind and will try not to make the same mistake again.

Hercules 8: It's gonna be the best Godzilla movie ever!

.1: You'll see soon!

ZeedMileniunmon: Great job at pointing out the virus and I'm happy you like my version of Shinji better than the canon one.

SPark681: Thank you!

Nightroad816: Those are some badass deigns all right! Maybe I could use it…

CommanderNova702: Ask and ye shall receive!

Thunder Dragon: Read on and see for yourself! They're from the horror series known as Higurashi but be warned that it can get really, REALLY messed up in some episodes.

ChimaTigon: He could asexually reproduce in the film but he won't have that in this story. Zilla has always been a male.

RaptorRapist: Read on and find out!

DarkGlobeFF: Aw, don't say that! I'm sure you could make a great Eva/Godzilla fic! And yes, Varan will be in this story and he will be based on his Neo counterpart.

Quintain Apprentice of Aldun: There is some art of what you described on the net.

Captiosus: I'm actually using the Godzilla from Rulers of Earth (fantastic series with art by Matt Frank and Jeff Zornow). I did use some elements of the Legendary Godzilla during his first fight.

Evangelion and Godzilla belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.

Chapter 15

Investigation

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS

2 HOURS LATER

Ritsuko stood by Maya, Shigeru, Hyuga and several Section 2 agents alongside black Nerv-issued sedans. They were all standing on a dirt road far away from Tokyo-3, providing a view of the forest and the large police blockade in front of them. The whole area was crawling with officers and emergency crews while police tape and barricades blocked off the road up ahead.

The sound of tires against dirt could be head down the road behind the group and they all turned around to see Misato's Renault careen towards them until it screeched to a halt in back of one of the sedans, kicking up dust.

"Has anyone ever told you drive like a maniac?" Ritsuko rhetorically asked Misato as she waved the dust out of her face.

"Don't keep me in suspense, Rits. Tell me what happened." Misato ordered, stepping out of her car.

"Five UN-issued trucks that were transporting twenty five barrels of the MSC's blood were attacked last night." Ritsuko explained without missing a beat.

"From what we've learned, all of the barrels are missing and we have six confirmed fatalities." Hyuga grimly informed. Misato swallowed. This was not looking well at all.

"Have they let us in yet?" Misato asked as she looked towards the police barricade.

Maya shook her head. "We haven't attempted to go in. We thought that it would be best to have you supervise."

"Good call." Misato nodded. She and the others walked over to the barricade and Misato showed the officer her Nerv ID card and was allowed entry. The group walked past the police vehicles and numerous officers at the scene. Maya paled considerably when she saw several coroners hauling six body bags into the back of the ambulances

They finally came upon the area where the accident happened though they were able to get a good look due to the large congregation of officers, detectives and emergency crews. Several of the servicemen on scene noticed the Nerv officials and soon all eyes were upon them. Misato, Ritsuko and the Bridge Bunnies carried an air of professionalism but the Section 2 agents didn't look all that invested.

Misato sighed in annoyance. "Suck in the guts, boys. We're Nerv." The agents did just that.

"Are you the Nerv official we've told to wait for?" The chief of police asked, walking up to Misato. The chief had a thick mustache and a stocky build.

"Yes we are, sir." Misato confirmed as she showed him her ID Card. "Colonel Misato Katsuragi. We're taking full control of this situation. What can you tell us about what happened here?"

"It was a 911 call. A local was jogging down this road when she saw accident. We closed off the area and we're trying to figure out what went on." The chief explained.

"Not to worry; we'll take care of it from here. Nerv will get to the bottom of this." Misato reassured him.

"Then I wish you the best of luck." The chief said as he went over to the officers to pack everything up.

"I talked to the forensics team before you got here. They should be here soon." Ritsuko told Misato. The colonel nodded in approval and the Nerv team moved towards the sight of the accident. It was like something out of a disaster movie. Three of the trucks were turned over onto their sides while the other two remained unturned. One thing they all immediately took notice of was the trailers were shredded apart. All of them were reduced twisted heaps of warped, sheared metal. The cabins were another chilling sight as they had been ripped open and stained with blood. While the Section 2 agents scoured the surrounding forest for clues, Misato and the others took a closer look at the trucks.

"Good lord…it's like they were peeled open by a giant can opener!" Shigeru gasped.

"What do you guys think? Hydraulic spreader-cutters?" Hyuga guessed.

"Maybe…but the metal looks like they were torn rather than peeled. Another factor is that this looks like it was done violently." Ritsuko observed sending a chill down their spines. As Ritsuko and the Bridge Bunnies continued to discuss their theories, Misato walked amongst the wreckage as she took all of this in.

Once again she had found herself completely out of her element and it was frustrating her to no end. First it was with the MSC, the Angel's forced evolution and now this. Everything was supposed to be simple: join Nerv so she could get revenge on the Angels for ruining her life. That was it. She felt a pang of guilt in her heart when she was once again reminded that her mission to protect the world was really just a mission of vengeance.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed someone kneeling by one of the wrecks, studying a piece of ruined metal in his hand. He wore a tan coat worn over a black t-shirt along with equally tan-colored pants. His hair was a scruffy dark brown and appeared to be two years younger than Misato (she was 29; he looked to be around 27).

Misato was just about to march up and demand who he was and what he was doing here when she noticed the police badge clipped to his pants pocket. Figuring that he was another cop who didn't hear that he and the others were leaving, Misato calmed down and walked over to him.

She cleared her throat, garnering his attention. "Excuse me, sir. I'm with Nerv; this investigation has been transferred over to us. You and the other officers are relieved."

"Oh! My apologies, I must've gotten preoccupied with my findings. I hope I didn't inconvenience you miss…?" The man apologized as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and held out his hand.

Misato shook it while politely smiling. "Misato Katsuragi."

"Detective Hirotaka of Tokyo-1." He introduced.

"Tokyo-1, eh? Sounds like you're quite a ways from home." Misato observed.

"I was in the area visiting some folks of mine when I got the call. I thought it was just a traffic accident but…" He explained as he looked towards the eviscerated remains of the trucks. "I guess I was wrong." The two of them looked at the wrecks as they tried to wrap their heads around as to how and why it happened.

"I've been here for an hour or so and I can't come up with anything. Hopefully your organization can make some headway?" The detective asked.

"We have a team of some of our best forensics coming here soon. We should have some answers in no time." Misato said confidently yet feared that they might not have been able to solve what happened.

"Well, I hope Nerv will be able to crack this case. You guys are professionals after all. Take care!" Hirotaka said as he left.

"You too." Misato replied.

As Hirotaka headed towards his car at the police barricade, he saw two black Nerv trucks with the organizations logo stamped on the side pull up to the crime scene. He picked up the pace as he walked past the officers ready to leave and to his red Toyota. Togusa Yamadera smiled to himself as he climbed inside and started it up. His fake badge and ID worked like a charm and Misato was never the wiser. Now all that was left was to report his findings to Ishikawa.

Misato walked back over to the others who were still looking over the trucks. Maya and Ritsuko were looking at the tires in particular. "Strange…the tires weren't blown out; they were ripped to pieces just like the trucks…" Ritsuko observed.

"I doubt we'll be able to find the samples. By the looks of it, all of it was stolen but we still don't know who did this." Misato commented as she thought of an explanation to this mystery.

"The Commander isn't going to like this." Ritsuko said gravely. "He was looking forward to having those samples analyzed." In truth, Gendo actually wanted that blood studied to find out if the MSC had a weakness Nerv could've exploited.

"I don't suppose the UN could spare us some more MSC blood?" Maya asked somewhat innocently.

"I don't think that'll be feasible." Ritsuko replied. "The UN were already tight-lipped about the samples and they've no doubt heard of this incident by now. They'll probably want to have the samples locked up to prevent any more from being stolen."

Misato rubbed her temples. Studying those blood samples would've been beneficial to Nerv but once again, they got hosed. An all too reoccurring problem their organization was facing. She then saw Hyuga running up towards them. "Colonel? Shigeru and I found something by the side of the road that you all need to see."

Everyone went up the road a little ways to where Shigeru was. He was currently on one knee looking at something on the ground. Upon closer inspection, they could all see numerous small divets dotted all around the dirt road and the trucks. The group looked at them in confusion.

"Are those animal tracks?" Misato asked.

"Can't exactly make heads or tails on what kind of animal leaves tracks like these." Shigeru shrugged. Misato stuck her finger into one of the holes and felt that it was pretty deep. She followed the odd trail to the forest on the other side of the road and so did the others. It was then that they saw numerous claw marks all over the trees in front of them and the branches had the bark torn off in an odd, circular motion that looked like something had swung from them. In fact, something was key word here as this couldn't have been the work of someone. This was unnerving to all of them since they could only imagine what the drivers saw before they were killed.

"Y-you guys don't suppose there another creature like the MSC out there?" Hyuga gulped.

"That would be an impossibility." Ritsuko answered. "The MSC is a one of a kind species, most likely an endling. This…I honestly don't have an answer for."

"What if this was done by an Angel? One that our sensors couldn't detect?" Misato suggested. That was one of her worst fears: an Angel that was 100% undetectable.

"We can't be sure of that and we have the most advanced Angel detection system to date. Again, it would be another impossibility." Ritsuko stated, leaving everyone stumped as to what happened. It was something they weren't prepared for as before the first appearance of the MSC, they thought they had all the answers. But now they had none.

"What are we going to tell the families?" Maya inquired mournfully. Misato hung her head. This was the one part of her job she hated.

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-MISATO'S APARTMENT

8 HOURS LATER

Out on the veranda, Misato slumped into her folding beach chair as she stared off into the night sky while the lights of Tokyo-3 shone in the background. It had been a tiring and dismal day for the Operations Director. After coming up with no explanation for what happened at the accident site, she and the other had let the forensics team take over while she headed back to Nerv to file a report. Gendo was not happy with this situation, just as Ritsuko had predicted.

But the hardest part was her agency notifying the families of the victims. All of them consisted of heartbroken sobs over the phone as she broke the news them. It was so heartbreaking that she herself felt like she was going to break down. To make matters worse, the forensics team couldn't determine what happened to the trucks or what left those tracks and markings on the trees. Section 2 came up with no results too as they had combed the entire surrounding forest in search of the barrels and returned empty-handed. In short, it was a huge embarrassment for Nerv and any credibly they had just taken a sizable hit.

Misato sighed as she slumped further into her chair while continuing to stare into the sky. She heard the sliding door open and looked behind her to see Shinji with a bottle of soda in one hand a can of Yebisu in the other. "Rough day?" He guessed as he handed her the beer.

"You could say that." Misato tiredly replied as she took the can. She decided not to tell Shinji what happened as she felt like it was something he didn't need to know about. She didn't want to worry him too much. Shinji sat down on another beach chair like hers and looked at the city in the distance. The two of them sat in silence, mainly enjoying each other's company, when they suddenly heard a loud voice emanate from the living room.

"KO! PERFECT! YOU WIN!"

They turned around in their seats to see Pen-Pen squawking happily with a PS1 controller in his clawed flippers. On the TV, they saw Cody striking a victory pose over the prone form of Zangief.

"So he can play videogames too…" Shinji mused in a slightly disinterested tone. Nothing about this bird could faze him anymore.

"Yup. Now if only I could get him to pay the bills." Misato smirked.

"You do know that animals aren't supposed to be that intelligent, right?" Shinji pointed out.

"Well, I guess Pen-Pen's just smarter than other animals. Certainly puts apes and dolphins to shame, don't it?" Misato shrugged.

"Ain't that a fact?" Shinji admitted before taking a swig of his soda. "You know, I looked online for anything about Hot Springs Penguins and I got bupkis. So what is Pen-Pen really?"

"Okay, okay, you pretty much deserve the truth." Misato relented. "I found him years ago when I started working at Nerv. I was taking the trash out to the dumpster when I saw this little baby penguin huddled against it. I remembered him looking so frail and scared so I calmed him down and brought him into my apartment. I was thinking about calling an aquarium not far from here and see if they could get him into a habitat but over time he just started to grow on me. So I obviously decided to keep him and he's been a part of my life ever since."

"That's so kind of you, Misato. I never took you for an animal person." Shinji said, touched by Misato's kindness.

"Well I certainly wasn't gonna just leave him there." Misato replied. "Anyway, I had Ritsuko take a look at him and even she couldn't figure out what type of penguin he was or how he was so smart. She wanted to take him over to Nerv and study him more but I had to beg her to keep him a secret. Luckily for me, she agreed and Pen-Pen's been safe with me."

"So only me and Ritsuko know about him?" Shinji asked.

"Yup. I already know you'll keep him a secret!" Misato said with a wink. Shinji smiled back with a nod and the two of them looked at the shining cityscape of Tokyo-3 together.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Hm?"

"Yesterday you wanted to talk to me about something but Touji, his sister and Kensuke came over. So what's up?"

Shinji was hesitant to bring up their discussion in the hospital wing after the battle but it needed to be done or else he would just keep getting stalled. He let out a quiet sigh. "Misato, I know you're still beating yourself up about that battle recently."

Misato's smile vanished and looked down at her drink, ashamed.

"I can't stress this enough: you did nothing wrong. You let me help the MSC defeat the Angel so what could you possibly see anything wrong with your orders?"

"It was an unnecessary risk! What I should've done was order you to retreat and let those two fight it out! Besides, the MSC would've won anyway and retreated would've been a safer option."

"But what would happen if it didn't win? If that Angel killed the MSC then there would be nothing Nerv could've done to stop it. Believe me, if I thought your orders were dangerous, I would've told you by now. And it's like I already said: It was a risk but everybody makes mistakes and we always try our hardest not to repeat them."

"I know that Shinji and you're right. But my problem is that you're still a kid. You have your entire life ahead of you! You shouldn't have to fight for our sake; you should be living your life! Aren't you even the least bit scared that you might die?!"

"Of course I am! Everyone's scared of dying but I know what I'm facing! I understand your feelings towards the subject but there's nobody else who can pilot the Eva! You know that!" Shinji stated, trying get through to her.

"I know…" Misato whimpered pathetically. "I just wish it didn't have to be that way. It should never be that way. You kids were never meant to risk your lives like this. It should be soldiers. Adults. Us! It's not fair that you have to pilot for the entire world."

Shinji gently patted her back. "I feel the same way, Misato. But there's no other option; it has to be kids like us. I know the truth hurts but you're against that. You want us to have normal lives and that shows that you truly care about or safety. So if you think that you're a bad person, believe me when I say that you're not."

Misato looked at Shinji's eyes and could tell that there was no lying in his gaze. He was telling the honest truth about her and it made her feel so relived. No one had ever said something like that to her aside from Ritsuko and Kaji. "You sure know how to butter a woman up, Shinji. You're gonna find yourself a pretty damn good girlfriend one of these days." Misato joked, feeling a lot better than she had previously felt after the 4th Angel.

"Don't ruin this." Shinji warned, albeit with a smile. Misato laughed a little in reply.

"Though if I may ask, has anybody at Nerv given you a concrete reason why only 14-year olds can pilot the Evangelions?" Shinji questioned.

"Nobody'll give me anything. I keep getting stonewalled every time I ask." Misato grumbled.

That sentence alone confirmed Shinji's suspicions. The reason why he asked that is because he kept thinking back to when he first asked Misato about it after his first fight with Angels and she told him it had something to do with brainwaves. He later recalled that it was Ritsuko who told her that and Shinji knew that the doctor's info couldn't exactly be reliable due to certain "inconsistencies."

Nerv was clearly, outright refusing to tell them what they needed to know but why? And if Misato was a part of Nerv, then why was she left out? Something was up and Shinji decided it was best to bide his time and figure out what went on behind the scenes at Nerv.

"I'm sure they have a good reason but maybe they'll tell us someday." Shinji reasoned, though he didn't believe it himself.

"Yeah…maybe." Misato hoped. The two of them once again found themselves looking at the city of Tokyo-3.

"It's just amazing to see that we've protected this city twice now." Shinji mused wistfully.

"Mhmm." Misato nodded in agreement. "But you mostly do all the hard work. We just sit in the command center-"

"C'mon, you know that's not true at all. You guys do your fair share of hard work too and the MSC does his as well." Shinji countered.

"I know but…I'm just concerned that with the Angels transforming your job's only going to get so much harder…" Misato said forlornly.

"It gets easier." Shinji said simply. Misato gave him a curious look with Shinji giving her a comforting gaze. "Every day it gets a little easier. But you've got to do it every day, that's the hard part."

She got up to head back inside, but not before giving Misato a grin brimming with confidence. "But it does get easier."

Shinji went back inside, leaving a stunned Misato on the veranda. She was simply amazed to see him so accepting and positive about his position. Misato noted to herself that she shouldn't be surprised anymore since he made it clear on several occasions that he knew how dangerous this was but was doing it to help people and that was something to be admired. Misato leaned back into her seat as she finally accepted that there was no swaying Shinji away from piloting, he was here to stay and that was that. The matter was closed.

But she kept thinking about Shinji's words of wisdom. Maybe he did have a point. Maybe things could get easier as time went on. Shinji was an outstanding pilot (better than Asuka in some areas), Nerv was developing powerful Anti-Angel weaponry and they had the MSC on their side. Despite the day starting out grim, Misato had a feeling that things could be looking up.

She looked behind to see Shinji playing with Pen-Pen, the former playing as Adon while the latter was E. Honda. She got up and went back inside while thinking about how much Shinji had a positive impact on her life, and try to adopt Shinji's outlook on life.

"When you guys are done, can I get a turn? It's been a while since I last used Cammy."

TOKYO-1

Ishikawa raised an eyebrow as he watched the penguin play Street Fighter with Shinji. Peeling his sight away from the monitors, he began to type in his findings on his laptop. A highly intelligent water fowl would be something Geiszler would gawk over relentlessly. Then again, he had his reservations that this would qualify as important but surveillance was surveillance.

Knock Knock

Ishikawa instantly snapped his head towards the door to his apartment and narrowed his eyes dangerously. Not taking any chances, he pulled out his Seburo M5 handgun, flipped off the safety and cautiously walked towards the door.

He propped himself up next to the door and was ready for anything when he heard a rhythmic series of knocks similar to Morse code. Ishikawa breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his weapon while switching on the safety. Only members of his team knew that secret knock so he was in the clear. But just to be sure…

"What's the password?"

"New England clam chowder."

"Is that the red or the white?"

"Aw, I can never remember that…white?"

Ishikawa unlocked the door and opened it to see an annoyed Togusa tapping his foot. Ishikawa merely gave him a smug grin.

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for being cautious."

Togusa walked into Ishikawa's unkempt apartment and saw that it had very little going for it. A bed on one side, a small kitchenette to the right, a door leading to the bathroom on the left but at the center of the room was a large table with dozens of computer monitors and laptops; most likely Ishikawa's surveillance equipment. It was also rather dark inside; the only source of light was a dimly lit lamp in the corner.

"Making yourself at home, I take it?"

"Pretty much. I was gonna make myself some Tandoori for dinner. You want some?"

"Thanks for the offer but I already had something else on my mind. Did the others check in yet?" Togusa asked.

"Pazu and Mokoto are working undercover and Saito's cloaked drones have the eyes in the sky. Batou and Borma got back to HQ about a week ago. Speaking of which, they've reactivated the Jaeger Program." Ishikawa recapped as he sat down in front of his laptop.

Togusa looked at Ishikawa, his eyes wide and his expression was one of worry. "Really? Christ, it's gotten that bad with the Dark Ones?"

"'Fraid so. Godzilla's the only Kaiju we got and that gateway on Skull Island's still in pieces. He needs our help one way or another." Ishikawa affirmed as he typed away.

"But who knows how Nerv will react when they see the Jaegers!" Togusa warningly pointed out.

"Ah, let em! I'd love to see the look on Gendo's face when he sees that Nerv ain't the only ones makin' robots. I've been waiting to give Romeo Blue a spin for a while now and I know you've also wanted to do the same with Striker Eureka, am I wrong?" Ishikawa teased.

"Heh, yeah." Togusa embarrassingly admitted. "I hope Godzilla doesn't interpret our intervention as stealing his thunder."

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure the big guy knows he's in dire straits and could use the extra hand. By the way, did you find out what happened with those trucks transporting his blood?" Ishikawa asked.

"Not a clue. They all looked like they were ripped apart by some animal and before you ask; I don't think it was caused by the Dark Ones or the Kaiju for that matter." Togusa told him.

"Hmmmm…." Ishikawa rubbed his chin in thought.

"I checked as much as I could but honestly, I think the shipment was made off a long time ago. I wanted to stay there longer and find some clues but Nerv came in and took over."

Ishikawa stopped typing and swiveled his chair around to face Togusa. "Nerv, huh? Did you see Katsuragi?"

"Yeah, I did. Considering the situation, she handled it efficiently and professionally."

Ishikawa looked at the monitors to see camera footage of Misato's apartment. She had gotten a turn on the game they were playing; Shinji and the penguin were cheering her on. "That's good to know…Ryusei would've been proud to see her daughter grow up to be a strong, capable young woman." Ishikawa remarked, sadly.

Togusa felt his friend's pain. He and the others were well aware that Ishikawa had been very close friends with Ryusei Katsuragi and his wife, Haruna. The only time he ever met Misato was when she was still a baby. He was absolutely devastated when the two of them died during The Second Impact with Misato being the only survivor and reduced to a catatonic state for years. It hurt to see that woman work for the wrong people.

Togusa placed and firm hand on Ishikawa's shoulder. "We're going to get her on the right path, I promise." He said determinedly.

Ishikawa sighed and nodded his head. "I know we will. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. If it wasn't the Dark Ones or the Kaiju, then who or what do you think it was?"

Togusa gave it some thought before answering. "It's probably Seele making a move. I mean, they all distrust Gendo so it would make sense for them to nab the samples for themselves and make it look like an accident. But then there's the way those trucks were demolished. Something doesn't add up…"

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS

MIDNIGHT

The silence of the forest was shattered as the robotic octopi skittered through the forest. They bounded from tree to tree, ripping apart the bark while some swung from the branches like chimpanzees. All ten of them had their metallic tentacles wrapped around the barrels they had stolen from the trucks, taking extra care not to spill its valuable contents.

After several minutes of traversing the dense forest, they finally came upon an open field and moved towards the center. Each of their cycloptic red eyes scanned the area for any life in their area for a few seconds until they confirmed that they were alone. They began to revert to their original cylindrical pod forms while some of their tentacles still clutched the barrels.

Nothing happened for a couple of seconds. But then, a blue glow started to form around them as a humming sound began to increase in volume.

BmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMVVVVWWWWWWWWUUUUMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPP

The blue light suddenly shot the robots upward into the sky until they disappeared into the stars. The only thing they left was blackened grass in 10 circular shapes. What the automatons didn't know was that they had actually been watched by beings even their advanced sensors couldn't pick up.

Far away on a tree branch, the Shobijin and Fairy Mothra had watched what just transpired before their eyes. The twin priestesses had very troubled expressions on their faces while Fairy Mothra chirped worriedly.

The twins looked at each other and nodded. They sat down of Fairy Mothra's back and she fluttered up into the air before the moth soared above the forest, heading southeast. The Shobijin grimly ruminated on this startling turn of events; knowing that they had to inform their allies of this as soon as possible.

Looking up at the stars, the Shobijin feared that earth was being preyed upon by a threat that was most likely just as malicious as the Dark Ones.

PLUTO-DARK SIDE OF THE PLANET'S SURFACE

The octopi beamed into a large, circular room with a reflective pad in the middle. The room was a technological marvel; being lightyears ahead of anything Earth could create. The hum of the room died down as the hexagonal focusing panels for the teleporter retracted back up into the ceiling. They skittered through the door as it automatically opened for them and out into the winding metallic corridors of the installation.

The passed by several more of their identical comrades, many of them making the finish touches on the construction of the base while others carried numerous materials to other areas. They passed through a hanger which housed sleek, triangular ships with hook-like wings, a circular teleporter underneath their underbellies and the frontal areas bristling with energy-based weaponry. Each ship hung from the very top of the hanger like bats as hovering versions of the octopi, with small thrusters replacing four of their limbs, toiled away at upgrading the ships hardware.

But the most recognizable feature of the hanger was the two gigantic pods, 100 meters tall each, housed on the left and right while a catwalk was situated between them. They were attached to the will with numerous cables jutting out from the sides and the bottom of the pod that snaked downwards into the sea of cables at the very bottom of the hanger. There was no way to see what was in the pods but there was alien lettering written upon the pods. Translated in English, they said-

MEGALON

GIGAN

The octopi skittered though more corridors and past a massive set of steel doors, where the sounds of roaring, snarling and banging from behind the door. What lurked in that room was anybody's guess.

They finally came upon their destination: another set of doors that were guarded by lager, bulkier versions of the octopi. They moved aside and let the octopi carrying the barrels through. Three went into a large circular room with a huge monitor that showed the flooded, red-stained Earth. The skylight above them showed the infinite starry blackness of space and the sun of its solar system far away in the distance. A row of smaller monitors formed a semicircle formation underneath the largest one with several octopi working busily on them.

But the center of the room housed a single egg-shaped throne that faced the monitor. The octopi carrying the barrels set down their quarry in front of the throne and exited the room. The throne rotated to the barrels, revealing its occupant.

The occupant in question was some kind of humanoid cephalopod. In place of legs were six tentacles and its arms were a pair of tentacles as well with two smaller ones of each side like they were fingers. Its skin was a mix of brown and purple while the chest area had dark-green, ornate frills trailing from its upper body to behind its head. It had a pointed head, no visible nose or ears, a mouth formed into a thin line and a pair of orange/amber eyes with its vertical, slit pupils. A visible scar was located over its right eye.

Standing up from its seat, it slithered over to the barrels using its bottom tentacles as a means of locomotion. With one of its tentacle arms, it pried open the barrel with no trouble at all and gazed at the dark red blood.

Rhizon's lips curled into a hideous smile, revealing three rows of shark-like teeth.

"Excellent…."

To be continued...

And so we have Rhizon from Rulers of Earth and he's bringing in his own Kaiju! I won't show what other creatures he has at his disposal but Megalon and Gigan will be based on their Neo counterparts. I hope the reveal was worth it since he had been teased since chapter 2! Rhizon will have a completely different backstory than his comic version and will be revealed in future chapters.

One thing I want to get off my chest is that this originally wasn't going to be Rhizon. It was actually going to be Krang from TMNT! I thought would be cool to have him lead an army of Kaiju but I knew that I would be pissing off a lot of Godzilla fans so I switched to Rhizon. Overall, it was a much better choice. Say, if Rulers of Earth was animated, who do you think would be a good VA for Rhizon? Keith David or Ron Pearlman?

I loved dropping more hints in this chapter and exploring more of Section 9 and their connection to the cast. And if you're wondering, Section 9 are the pilots for the Jaegers. Also put in more interaction with Shinji and Misato which is always nice for you fans out there. She's feeling better now but Shinji will have the real talk with her about her drinking problems and learn more about her grim past after the Ramiel fight.

To give you guys a road map, yes I will be making more chapters for this before I go on another break to work on more stories. The next chapter will have Rei, the one after that will be Ramiel and then the last one before I go on break will be Operation Yashima.

For those of you who are wondering, the game Shinji, Misato and Pen-Pen were playing was Street Fighter Alpha 3 and bonus points for you all if you can find the Ace Ventura and Ghostbusters 2 reference!

Don't forget to review but please don't flame.