I think you've waited long enough for this guy to show up. Thus, I introduce the Gryphon. As a side-note, you can probably expect daily updates to this story until Thursday. Why Thursday? I'm away then, and I plan to leave you with a nice cliff-hanger when I do. Enjoy the chapter.

Godzilla is © Toho. The Gryphon is © Tristar. The Husks are © Tristar but the name is © Me. Yay, something is © Me!

THE NIGHTMARE AWAKENS

Kansas

They all came together as one, each digging away at the Earth to force their way down alongside the meteorite, hurling out chunks of Earth as chunks of its surface liquefied, dissolving into silver ooze and forming tiny gateways into the mass of liquid within.

The Husks grabbed onto the sides of the Unearthed meteor, one perching on the top, as they all applied their fanged mouths to the holes in the surface.

Each of them heaved, their torsos undulating as if they were vomiting, blood pouring from the sacks within their bodies, through their mouths until the contents of blood were emptied into the core of the meteorite.

After less than thirty seconds, their job was done. The Husks fell back and down, collapsing to the floor as each gave a last spasm of life.

Their hides dried out instantly, the ooze inside them pouring out through their mouths, arcing up in the air to flow back into the meteorite. The scaly bodies of the Husks collapsed, now every bit as empty as their name implied.

A few seconds ticked by, the meteorite surrounded by the dried-out corpses of the Husks.

Then, the sides of the meteorite splintered, fracturing as pieces started to fall away. It burst open, a huge mass of the silver ooze spilling out, rolling over itself as it started to converge and bulge, forming into one, solid mass.

It came together as a vast sphere of ooze, columns spreading beneath it to lift it up as they started to solidify. Changing in texture and shape, they started to form four legs, while another shaft of ooze spread out behind and curled downward, a smaller bulge at the front and two others spreading out from the back. The central sphere took shape, forming the clear outlines of a muscular chest and torso. The front bulge took on the shape of a vaguely mammalian head, and the two bulges on its back spread out into spikes, membranes of the ooze filling the gaps to form a pair of demonic wings.

The resulting shape remained still for a moment as its colouring changed, retching in a sudden spasm and snapping its newly-formed jaws at empty air as systems and organs formed inside it.

Its skin was a dull brown, a thick, armoured hide covering a lean, muscular form atop four crouched legs, each with massive, curved talons. Its mammalian head was cropped with a pair of black horns, and two rows of small spikes ran down its back and tail, which ended in a bulging point comprised not of bone, but of muscle.

It raised its head into the air, giving a deep, growling bellow that sounded like a tiger's roar mixed with the shriek of a bat.

The Gryphon was reborn again.

Swooping its wings downward as it leapt up, the Gryphon swept forward, curving its path with a gust of wind, sending the nearby farmhouse splintering in a shower of jagged wood and chunks of Earth. It rose into the air, passing across the moon as it gave another rumbling roar.

With a massive flap of its wings, the Gryphon shot forward across the air, rising into the clouds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outskirts of Kansas City

Godzilla stopped in his tracks, remaining suddenly still amongst buildings that reached only his waist, sniffing at the air.

He swung his head round, turning his body to follow. He could not see his prey, but the scent told him all he needed to know. It was moving.

With a low growl, Godzilla began to move again, this time in a different direction, following the trail of the Gryphon's scent. As he walked forward, he broke into a run, thundering across streets and clear through buildings that thundered before the force of the impact.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USMCF HQ

"What the hell is that thing?" Jill demanded of the room as she watched the blip moved across the digitised map.

"It's moving at Mach 0.7," A technician reported, "Mother of God…"

"I want to know what this thing is ten minutes ago," Jill ordered, "And somebody tell me where Godzilla's going, or I'll fire the first son of…"

Jill's cell phone bleeped again, the Major irritably pulling it out of her pocket and holding it to her ear.

"What?" She demanded.

"Jill?" Jack's voice asked, "Jack. Hey, Jack and Jill. Never noticed that…"

"What is it?"

"Well… did you just pick up something moving away from Kansas really, really fast?"

"…How do you know about that?" Jill asked tentatively.

"I think you, me, Tina, and our new guest need to talk."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northeast of Kansas City

The two F-18 fighters cut through the air, coming up behind the huge mass that moved away beneath the clouds below them, forming a wave that pushed the masses of cloud aside.

"Attention unidentified aircraft," One of them announced over a radio frequency, "You are ordered to identify yourself immediately and slow your airspeed to…"

The mass suddenly jerked to a stop, changing direction to swoop around them.

"Unidentified craft, you have ten seconds to comply or we will open fire!"

A huge, dark shape rose from the sky behind them, swooping over them with a deafening rush of air.

"What th… Fire!"

A missile shot from each craft, shooting forward towards the Gryphon. With a flap of its wings, the Gryphon shot down into the clouds, the missiles colliding and exploding in a ball of fire.

The Gryphon shot upwards, snatching one of the craft in its teeth as it burst into flames, its tail whipping up to smash clean through the other.

Effortlessly, the Gryphon changed direction and shot Westward.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USMCF HQ

"Where's it going?" Plaqueze demanded.

"West," Somebody shouted, "Towards… Sir, it's heading straight for Indianapolis!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You'd better be able to tell me something, Jack," Jill declared harshly.

"Oh, we've got a story for you alright," Tina answered for him, "This guy knows all about this thing, he even knew about the meteorite and the Husks."

"How?" Jill asked, clearly surprised.

"You'd never believe it in a million years," Jack answered, "But in case you or the higher-ups have some daring, last-minute secret weapon tucked away somewhere, now's the time to mention it."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indianapolis, Indiana

The lights of the city skyline were like a sea of lights against the night sky, streets filled with people and their own comings and goings, the noise of traffic and bustling movement.

Someone might as well have sounded a dinner bell.

The Gryphon shot downwards with a murderous growl, barring its teeth and extending its wings.

The street full of people looked up, wide-eyed, and suddenly screamed as one.

The Gryphon's wings cut into the sides of the buildings to either side, cutting through them like knifes through butter, as it swung its head upwards and forwards and took in a mouthful of fleeing civilians and solid ground.

With a sadistic glee, the Gryphon swung its tail round, smashing it into the side of a tower beside it. The force of the impact smashed clear through the side, mortar and glass raining down in a shower of destruction as the side of the upper building fell down with nothing to support it, the entire building keeling over as the Gryphon swooped up, snarling in excitement. Oh, how it loved to bring destruction like this.

Swooping down the street, the Gryphon hung its front legs down, its claws slicing down through ground, vehicles, cables and gas pipes and leaving trails of burning explosions in its wake, the entire street behind it bursting into flames. Shooting forward, it slammed into a building, shooting straight through in a burst of debris as it unfolded its wings, slamming down in the street before leaping up, pouncing onto the side of a building as the structure before it folded like paper.

Turning to the side, it shot its head forward, biting into the side of a building, before giving a disgusting snarl and dropping the chewed, saliva-soaked chunk of building. It growled irritably, infuriated at getting nothing but a mouthful of tasteless metal. It would have to be sure to feed selectively.

But first, it would vent its frustration in the way it loved to: with glorious destruction.

There we have it: The evil, evil Gryphon with a big, big appetite and a short, short temper. Hope he seemed evil enough, as this is the most city-destruction we've seen so far. Next Chapter: What's the USMCF gonna do now that they've got two antisocial beasties on the loose?

All Reviews Welcome!