Wow, 6 chapters already? Anyway, for anyone interested, Neos 2 has asked me to take care of Episode 4 of Soul of a Monster, so that's up now. If anyone spots any Godzilla: The Series references, they're probably either intentional or burned into my subconscious from repeated viewing. For that show is the single greatest TV series ever created by anyone anywhere ever.

Godzilla is © Toho

SUMMIT BATTLE

"What I don't get," Kazama pointed out, "Is how these UN word-I-can't-quite-pronounce countermeasure guys have all these choppers and ships and airplanes, but nobody knows they exist."

"They're mainly JSDF troops," Gordon explained, "The UNXCC has international jurisdiction. I wouldn't be surprised if these pilots had no idea who they were working for."

Osaki stepped forward to where Katagiri had just finished speaking into a radio.

"Three F-18s, and they'll be here any second," Katagiri announced smugly, "As I said: Time to let the professionals take over."

"When did he say that?" Kazama whispered.

"General, your weapons aren't going to kill that thing," Osaki insisted, "At most, they'll just provoke it into doing even more damage."

"Action has to be taken, Captain," Katagiri answered, with a strong emphasis on the rank, "And there's still the reptile to deal with."

"His name is Godzilla," Miki interrupted harshly.

Katagiri stepped forward, looking down icily to meet her eye.

"If I were you," He said darkly, "I would mind my manners, and remember who I was talking to, Ms. Saegusa." He stepped forward, and said quietly and venomously, "Or would you like everybody in your home town to know what happened all that time ago."

Miki stepped back, her mind filling with anger and grief and indignation all at once.

"Out of line, buddy!" Kazama snapped.

Ignoring him, Katagiri turned back around.

"Godzilla, Rodan, whatever they're called, these creatures are dangerous," he continued, "Nothing but the results of mistakes. Freaks. Abominations."

Miki didn't even need her powers to know that those last two words were directed at her.

Katagiri simply walked into one of the tents of the base camp.

"I'd shoot him just to wipe the expression of his face," Akane spat.

"I actually agree with the miss secret-agent here," Miyuki nodded.

"Right now, our problem's Rodan," Gordon reminded them. "If this gets spun the wrong way, it's a bad day for the Armed Forces; they're in a siege situation against an overgrown animal… and they're losing."

"And once those F-18s get here," Osaki agreed, "It's going to get a whole lot worse."

"Hey," Kazama tapped Miki on the shoulder, "500 yen says the jackass's plan crashes and burns inside of two minutes!"

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The screaming engines of the three F-18 aircraft flared as they shot over the ashen cloud, descending toward the volcano, two breaking formation to circle round in an attempt to establish visual contact.

Finally, something pushed aside the base of the column of smoke, the huge wings parting as Rodan swooped up, as if leaping onto the rim of the volcano.

The avian monster's wings unfolded, Rodan howling up at the intruders as the wings unfolded to their fullest, most intimidating width.

"Target sighted," One of the pilots reported, "Permission to fire?"

In the base camp below, Katagiri looked up with the smug sense of superiority that came with a certainness of success.

"Fire."

A single missile detached from the wing of the first craft, the end of it flaring to life as the missile shot down on a trail of smoke, straight down towards Rodan.

Rodan folded its wings, wrapping them around its body as the missile collided. It burst into a ball of fire almost as big as Rodan's whole upper body, consuming the middle of the creature in flame as the blast expanded, smoke billowing out to shroud the entire creature.

All eyes below watched in tense silence, as Katagiri gave a cold, victorious smile.

The smoke parted… and there was Rodan, its wings not even scratched from the impact. Unfolding its wings, Rodan pushed them downwards in a massive flap, sending itself shooting up into the air, as the loose rock of the volcano's rim crumbled before the sheer force.

Rodan shot up into the air with incredible force, circling in the air like the most practiced of pilots.

The pterosaur pulled back its head, parted its jaws, and exhaled a stream of fire. The F-18 that had fired at it veered to the side, but the stream of flame caught the back of the craft, even if only for a second. Immediately, however, the sheer temperature caused the fuel tank to explode, the pilot ejecting as the plane exploded, becoming a falling star of flaming wreckage that plummeted down into the forest below.

"Wow," Kazama commented as he stared up, "It literally crashed and burned. So who saw that coming?"

"A mile away," Miki answered from beside him.

Rodan shot forward past the other two craft. Each of the pilots immediately locked on, pressing the switches that send a missile shooting forward from each of them.

The missiles shot forward behind Rodan, closing in on their target. Rodan, however, swung round in the air, heading straight toward the projectiles. Suddenly, the flying monster's wings flapped forward, sending an invisible wave of wind surging forward. The missiles, struck by the sheer force of a split-second hurricane, veered off-course, spiralling out-of-control through the air before detonating, bursting into spheres of flame that hung in the air, smoke pouring in all directions.

Rodan shot forwards as the two F-18s arced around it. The monster turned easily in the air and shot after them, quickly closing in behind one of the craft. As the pilot burst out of the cockpit, parachute expanding, the craft was smashed in Rodan's beak, burst into flames, chunks of burning wreckage falling from Rodan's mouth.

The final craft turned in the air, a pair of missile shooting forth just as Rodan smashed the other one to bits. The missiles collided with the monster's head, bursting into explosions that covered the entire creature.

Rodan shot downwards out of the smoky cloud of fire, before swooping up into the wake of the F-18.

G-Force and Katagiri watched from below as the craft shot round the volcano, Rodan in pursuit, breathing forth another stream of fire and narrowly missing its target.

Finally, Rodan caught up and, lashing out with one foot, caught the craft between its talons, smashing the entire thing in two. The front half of the craft was instantly sent flying out of control as the back half exploded within Rodan's claws.

Rodan gave a victorious howl, turning round in the air and descending towards the volcano while Katagiri watched in quiet shock as his plan literally went up in flames.

I was originally going to a little 'afterwards' scene, but I'll put it in the next chapter, as I think that line was a good closer for this chapter.

Now, I know Rodan's territorial thing is a little similar to Anguirus, but that's just to emphasise the point that they are animals. Once I get to Episode 4, it'll be very different from the previous three, I can promise you that.

All reviews welcome!