It's certainly been a while since the last update, so I apologize. In return, there'll be three chapters posted in a matter of two weeks!
-----
Chapter VII: War of the Worlds
G-Force H.Q - September 16, 2002 - Morning
The morning after the battle, the horribly damaged Kiryu was brought back to Mt. Fuji by a team of helicopters and the Super X2. The mech was lucky to survive that battle, if Destoroyah had wanted to, it could've easily torn Kiryu to pieces after he had knocked it out. Either way, the Maintenance Crew would have a lot on their hands for the next few weeks.
"You guys are lucky that Mothra was there." Mack Otco told Lean Blaze at the side of his hospital bed. Because of the crash, Lean had broken his arm.
"Osaka was lucky." Lean moaned.
"At least we only lost one Freezer Tank." Mack smiled.
Lean didn't respond.
"You probably need some rest," Mack shrugged, "I'll bring you some food later." He got up and headed for the doorway
"No it's alright, don't bother!" Lean called after him. Mack Otco just shrugged as he walked out and shut the door behind him to help Lean get some peace and quiet. His footsteps echoed through the empty white hallway as he strolled down to the elevator. He made his way back to the quarters where he then found his room.
"Good to be back." He said to himself as he flipped on the lights of his spacious room. But he wasn't alone.
"Good to see you," A Russian man with a deep croaky voice was sitting on the side of his bed, "Otco."
"Raphael!?" Mack was shocked to see the Mercenary. "How did you get down into the G-Force base?"
"I didn't come here to give answers, I came to take them." Raphael stood up and cracked his knuckles. The man had some extremely large muscles, and Mack Otco was not the fighting type of guy.
"What does the boss want from me?" Mack asked, trying to remain as calm as possible.
"He wants to know why you're wasting your time helping G-Force!" Raphael hissed.
"Because that's what the boss wanted me to do."
"He wanted the blueprints for Kiryu's interior structures; you know that the boss is having trouble with the project because the insides can't hold the armor's weight!"
"I need to gain more respect with Commander Masters," Otco tried to calm down the Mercenary, "I don't want G-Force to discover who I'm working for…which reminds me: you better get out of here!"
Raphael shook his head, "You think that making an artificial brain for Kiryu will get you respect?"
"It already has, but I need more before I can gain access to the blueprints! I've got this all worked out, just tell the crew that they may have to wait until after this whole invasion."
"Fine, but by the time the Vortaak leave, I better be seeing some results!" Raphael hissed. He pushed past Mack and marched out the door. Otco watched the man as he left. He'd been having a good time here at G-Force so far, but now that his boss had actually sent Raphael down to Japan, he knew he'd have to step up his pace with the project.
Lake Ashino - September 16, 2002 - 7:40 AM
Takuya, an old father and a skilled fisherman, sat on a boulder at the lush beach of Lake Ashino. Despite the whole Alien Invasion that was going on, he and his two kids remained happy people, they had grown up that way. Because he lived out in the woods, Takuya didn't even worry about any Vortaak Monster coming to destroy his lone home.
The people in the major cities may have had something to fear, but Takuya didn't. So he continued to enjoy life at its fullest, like going out to fish every morning.
A bucket sat next to him, filled with fish from the lake. As Takuya looked across the sparkling blue water, he noticed something odd. Near the shore about two hundred feet from him, he thought he could see a person, floating in the water. He set his fishing line down and went on over to investigate.
It was definitely a body, and it was a woman. Pretty young by the looks of her…
Kaijuology Institute - September 17, 2002 - Noon
Lee Yamane looked over the many files in his hands while occasionally glancing up at the bored man sitting in front of his desk. He put the files down and slid them over to the man.
"Where did you say you found her?" Yamane asked.
"A fisherman just brought the body to the Missing Persons Unit. She was found on the shores of Lake…Ashino I believe."
"Well, if you could bring her here. She's a friend of ours." Yamane said.
"Areit's a colleague." James corrected. The kaijuologist was standing in the corner chewing on a piece of wheat.
"I'll get someone to bring her here." The man said before bowing. Yamane bowed back before the guy got up and left his office.
"We definitely found Areit though!" Yamane smiled as he turned his chair toward James.
"What was she doing at Lake Ashino? She was captured by the Vortaak last I thought." James came over and examined the pictures that had been given to Lee. It was Areit alright.
"She was captured by the Vortaak." Yamane leaned back in his chair, "Maybe she can still remember a few things about them…considering that she learned anything."
"What if she can't?" James asked.
"If she can't, then maybe we could draw it out…" He thought for a second, "Hypnosis or meditation."
"I'm sure that G-Force would love to have some info on how to defeat the Vortaak." James smiled.
"You, Greg, and I have duties here at the Institute. Let's deal with our research before heading over to G-Force."
"Duties!" James suddenly looked up, "Damn Kimodo Dragon!" He spat his wheat out and ran for the door, remembering that he had forgotten all about his class's experiment.
"Did you leave it in the Microwave Chamber again?!" Yamane called after the scientist.
Unknown - Unknown - Unknown
Darkness…
"Your officers are still a bit worried about your decisions." The assistant told the General in their native tongue.
"I'm in charge of this invasion and it will be going as I say!" The General hissed in his evil cold voice.
"Then why haven't you stuck to the rules of a Class 1 Invasion?" His assistant asked.
"Because Earth is not like any other planet we've invaded. You see this?" An image of Godzilla Millennium appeared in the blackness.
"Earth has a defender; and a very powerful one too!" The General explained, "Godzilla, as the Humans call him, is determined to protect the planet at any cost! I had a bad feeling about the monster as soon as I was told it had avoided the Hypnosis rays somehow."
"You were supposed to send down the Fighters to level the Earth cities weeks ago!" The assistant changed subjects.
"We have to be cautious until Godzilla is destroyed. Trust me; once that kaiju is killed we can continue the set invasion rules. I know that our own ships are supposed to level their cities, but face it: the Earth kaiju do the job much more efficiently."
"I must agree there." The assistant said while the image changed to Anguirus on Monster Island.
"The problem is that the monsters are no use to me injured." The General sneered coldly, "Which is why it's a waste of useful energy to keep the Hypnosis signals running on a kaiju that can't fight!"
"I know you have to leave a monster behind after its defeated sir," The assistant agreed, "But they're all being defeated: Anguirus, Rodan, Megalon, Gigan, and Destoroyah. I mean, Megalon was actually killed! General, you're going to eventually run out of kaiju at your disposal."
"Not if I get rid of Godzilla first." The General hissed.
"What about G-Force? They're trained to fight kaiju!"
"The situation with Kiryu is handled." The General said as the image shifted to the giant mech. "The girl will do her duty."
"And Mechagodzilla?"
"Mechagodzilla is far away from any attack plan we have at this point. Besides, if G-Force tries to interfere as they've attempted to do twice, I have a monster waiting for them…But right now, my top priority is to kill Godzilla, who is currently headed for Europe."
"We only have one kaiju stationed in Europe." The assistant warned.
"And it's exactly the one I need…"
Telepathic link broken…
Kaijuology Institute - September 17, 2002 - 3:02 PM
A man fully dressed in neatly-ironed black marched down the mazes of hallways of the Kaijuology Institute. The huge College was for the study of Kaijuology, a science that had been founded in 1954. The School was later built in 1956 after Rodan's first attacks.
The man was here on important business though. He stepped through a wooden door and into Dr. Yamane's office. He took off his dark sunglasses and his pupils adjusted to the bright light.
"May I help you?" Yamane asked, looking up from his papers.
"I'm from G-Force, you're being relocated." The man stated in a deep gruff voice, immediately getting to the point.
"Relocated?" Yamane was just starting to settle back into the institute.
"You, James, and Gregory have all been requested by Commander David Masters to continue your research at the G-Force Headquarters at Mt. Fuji. We'd ask Areit to come too but she's-"
"She's fine." Yamane interrupted, "She'll be arriving at about six, is it okay if we come with you then?"
"Take your time Dr." The man bowed, "I'll be happy to explore your school."
"Just come back to my office at six o' clock. We'll be here. And may I ask why we're all being relocated?"
"If you didn't hear the news…"
"Ah yes, Kiryu was nearly destroying the other day"
"That's right, and since Kiryu's now partially cyborg, we will be requiring some help from people like you. Also, the corpses of Gigan and Megalon are being shipped as we speak. They'll be requiring some professional kaijuologists to study them." The man bowed again, "Good day."
He left, shutting the door behind him. Yamane brushed his chin. Less then a month ago, he'd been working at the Monster Island facilities as if everything were fine. Now he has back teaching and studying at the Institute in Tokyo after he and the other two scientists were rescued by the JSDF. Now they'd be moving to the G-Force H.Q. Things were all just happening so fast since the invasion had started.
Tokyo Train Station - September 17, 2002 - 5:00 PM
"You'll be seeing your friends soon." Miki told Areit, but no answer came from the girl. "What happened to you to make you this quiet?"
Still, Areit didn't answer. She hadn't said a word to anyone since she was found, not even Miki who was taking care of her for the time being.
"Well, maybe you'll talk to those friends of yours." Miki smiled. She looked down the tracks and saw that their train was finally arriving.
Atlantic Ocean - September 17, 2002
Not even stopping to take a well-deserved break, the leviathan shot through the depths of the ocean at full force. His senses were telling him to head to Europe, just like how they'd guided him to America where he had stopped Rodan, Megalon, and Gigan.
But the King of Monsters' instincts could never tell him that what he was swimming into…was a trap…
Kaijuology Institute - September 17, 2002 - 5:56 PM
Yamane, Greg, and James were all waiting in Lee's office when Areit finally arrived. She was guided through the door by a young girl, and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a white T-Shirt, something rather foreign to Areit.
"Thank god you're alive!" Yamane rushed forward and embraced her.
"I honestly thought we'd never see you again," Greg stated.
They were all glad to see her back. But apparently she wasn't. Upon seeing the three of them she didn't say any form of greeting, or even smile. She just stood there along side the young lady named Miki.
"Is something wrong?" Greg asked the girl.
"She hasn't spoken to anyone since we found her." Miki shrugged.
James walked over in front of Areit, looking strait into here beautiful eyes. Areit stared right back into his.
"I don't think she can even hear us." James said.
"Can you leave us for a moment?" Yamane asked Miki. The young girl nodded and quickly left the room.
"The Vortaak must've done this to her." James hissed to the other men.
"There isn't any other explanation." Yamane stepped forward to get a better look at Areit, "This is definitely her."
"She obviously won't be in the mood to do research at G-Force, should we still take her?" Greg said.
"G-Force has some of the best hospitals in Japan," Yamane replied, "Perhaps they can figure out what's wrong." He checked his wrist watch, "And it's almost time for us to depart."
"Areit," Greg said as if he were talking to a child, "We're going to the G-Force Headquarters……." Areit showed no response.
"Kind of creepy." James stated.
Suddenly the door burst open and the G-Force man stepped inside the room. He quickly got to business, "Good you're all hear, we must leave at once."
"Why the hurry?" Yamane asked him.
"I just got a call from David Masters, he wants you there immediately, he didn't say why." The man motioned for them to go out the door. Greg grabbed Areit's wrist and guided her along as the rest of the group hurried out into the hallway.
G-Force H.Q. - September 17, 2002 - 8:00 PM
Benedict Ciavo dabbed some water on his forehead. The soldier watched himself in the hospital room mirror; the wound above his eye was just starting to heal. Lean Blaze, on his bed, was flipping through television channels with his free hand.
"How's your arm doing?" Benedict asked as he applied some more water to his wound.
"It could be better." Lean replied. "But it's fine."
"Glad to hear it." Ciavo said.
Kane Locke suddenly came through the open doorway, following him was Mack Otco.
"How are you two doing?" Kane asked.
"The usual," Lean answered.
"The Commander's getting pretty angry at us for not healing quickly enough." Kane rolled his eyes as he motioned for Mack to fetch him a bandage. Under Locke's sleeve, there lay a nasty third-degree burn on his bicep.
"The doctors are working as fast as they can." Benedict said.
"That's what I tried to tell him." Kane replied. "The only person who's in any condition to operate Kiryu is Joe."
Mack handed Kane a roll of white bandage before quickly leaving the room. "Destoroyah and Mothra still haven't been found either." Kane said, shifting the subject, "Masters is just assuming that they both died."
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be getting some new scientists tonight?" Lean asked.
"Yeah, those people from the kaijuology institute." Benedict remembered.
Mt. Fuji - September 17, 2002 - 8:04 PM
"I swear man!" The Jamaican Driver said to his passengers, "You're going to love G-Force!" He was steering a red painted jeep through the forests at the base of the mountain, toward the elevator that led down to the vast underground base.
"How did they even build this?" Yamane asked. He was in the back seat with Greg and Areit, who still hadn't said a word.
"Lots of tractors and bull dozers, back in the 80s." The driver answered.
"Must've taken them a while." James, in the front seat, said.
"Oh yeah!" The Jamaican responded, "Three years just to dig the hole!"
"So when will we be arriving?" Gregory asked the driver.
"Just a few minutes man. There'll be a soldier there who will guide you to the briefing room." The man answered.
G-Force H.Q. - September 17, 2002 - 8:10 PM
"Anyone notice that Mack Otco is acting strangely?" Benedict Ciavo asked the other two soldiers. "He hasn't been talking since yesterday."
"He's afraid of something," Kane said as he continued to wrap his arm in bandages, "But I don't know what."
"Maybe being underground for this long as finally gotten to him." Lean suggested.
"I must admit that it would be nice to have a few windows down here." Benedict replied.
"Keep dreaming." Kane said rudely as he finished wrapping the bandage around his wound. "I'm going back to my room for the night."
"See you in the morning then," Benedict waved blindly as he examined his muscles in the mirror. Kane rolled his eyes before turning and marching out the room.
Meanwhile Dr. Yamane, James, Greg, and Areit were taking the elevator down into the depths of the G-Force Base. Areit seemed curious about the walls and structures of the hallways as they walked down to their destination, but she still refused to speak about anything.
The soldier leading them to the Commander also wasn't talking. Even when James gave the man a kind greeting, he just motioned for them to follow. The halls were also eerily empty, a stark difference from the kaijuology institute where the group had been just earlier that day.
When they finally reached the Briefing Room door, the soldier just nodded, signaling that they could go in. The small grey room was fit with a rusty table, six wooden chairs, and a television set, but apart from that it was completely empty. It felt almost foreign next to the incredibly neat and clean hallways.
Yamane turned to the soldier and asked, "When will Commander Masters be here?"
The man just shrugged and shut the door behind them. They each took their seats and waited for the host to appear. Greg kept one eye on Areit as her eyes darted around the room. There was something about her that he didn't trust…something about this whole place he didn't trust.
In his room, Mack Otco picked up his radio, a special communications instrument that was designed to avoid capture by any other machine. Meaning that Mack could talk with his bosses without G-Force knowing about it.
"I heard from Raphael that your brain has improved Kiryu's battle performance." The old man on the other line said.
"I'll have the blueprints as soon as this invasion ends." Mack sighed.
"I know you will. The project also has other needs you know?"
"Sir, I'm busy trying to keep myself under cover. I really don't have time for any more missions." Mack stated weakly.
"You signed the contracts Otco; now listen to what I have to say." The man replied.
Mack sighed, "Fine, what is it you want?"
"The brain you made for Kiryu…"
"Yes?"
"Destroy it."
"What? Why!?" Mack was surprised to hear his boss give him such a command.
"I don't care how you do it, just don't get caught. Call me when you're done." The boss abruptly hung up.
After about ten minutes the door to the briefing room opened and Commander Masters stepped in, combing his hair back with his fingers. All of the kaijuologists turned to finally see the man.
"Sorry, I got caught up in setting up a simulator program." The Commander apologized as he took his seat and the end of the table. "It gets very complex."
"I thought we were supposed to be rushed here." Greg said.
"What?" Masters asked.
"Your G-Force soldier that you sent to the Institute said that we had to get here as quick as possible…why?" Greg replied.
"I never ordered for you to be rushed over here, in fact I never asked for any kaijuologists here in the first place. That was my head scientist; Emi Noati."
"Was that man sent by her then?" Yamane asked.
"I suppose he was…honestly, I'm just here to tell you about G-Force and some things you'll be doing for the next week." Masters stated.
"Go ahead then." James replied, folding his arms.