The Mind-Maze

Manda's eyes flew open and he took in a deep breath. He shook his head, leaning away from the table. A few moments ago, he found himself lying his draconic head on table, blacking out from something his mind picked up earlier. Originally, Manda was concentrating on Alan Tyler. Ever since Alan came to the base, he could sense the human's thoughts, his fears, and his troubles. And now, he saw what Alan saw. He was Godzilla on the island, his mind locked inside the monster's head. And Manda was linked along with it. He shook his head when he awoke from the dream, slightly disoriented. He knew that Alan was feeling something worse. Manda's form shrank down until all that was lift was a blonde-haired man in a T-shirt and some blue jeans. He walked out to the bay area, silently thinking to himself. He saw Kiryuu's hologram leaning against the wall with his claw pressing on a button in the control room.

"I'll be there in a moment," Kiryuu's deep voice rolled. The bio-mecha's head turned to Manda. "What is it?"

"Was that Alan?" Manda asked.

"Yes," Kiryuu replied.

"He... had another spell again," Manda said. "I could see it, through is eyes. I sense something. It happened again. His mind was linked with Godzilla. He can't control it."

"At least I can control my link with Kiryuu," Katsura said. "There has to be something we can do for him. What if it happens when he's driving? He could have a wreck."

"I'm surprised that hasn't happened yet," said Kiryuu, crossing his arms.

"He doesn't like it," Manda said. "He doesn't like it one bit. He loves Godzilla, but he doesn't want to be Godzilla."

"This isn't his fault, Kiryuu," Katsura glancing up at him. She placed a hand on his arm.

"I never said it was," he replied.

"I can help him," Manda began. "I helped you deal with Biollante stuck in your hard drive, Kiryuu. Perhaps I can help him control his spells."

Kiryuu's lips bunched up into snarl: "I don't want him to control his spells, Manda. Then, someone could figure out how to control my son through him."

"Then, perhaps to block it," Manda said. "To stop these spells from happening. And maybe that could help him with coping what he has now."

"I'll see what he wants," Kiryuu rumbled again, a slight growl was hinted in his voice. "Come with me."

They came to door and Kiryuu opened it up. He turned back to Manda.

"Wait here for a moment," he said to the dragon. Kiryuu entered the conference room where he found a distraught Alan running his hands through his brown hair. Kiryuu let loose a deep-throated rumble as he knelt down to the human. Kiryuu craned his head to look up at him. "Do you want to say what's on your mind now? I'm here, Alan, here to let you vent everything upon me. I won't take offense."

"Aren't you a charmer?" Alan snorted back at him.

"I know you've been dying to say something to me the moment you stepped through that door," Kiryuu began. "So, what is it?"

"I didn't want to say anything in front of Io," he began. "I can tell she's worried enough as it is about her father. I don't want her to start worrying about me as well." He paused for a moment, shaking his head, trying to organise his words. Kiryuu only nodded, getting up and sitting down on a chair. He leaned his head on his arm, resting his chin on his metallic claw.

"Somehow," he continued, "whenever I end up diving into his mind... As well as seeing what he sees, I find myself feeling what he feels, both mentally and physically." He shook his head, scarcely believing he was saying this to the one creature who probably really didn't want to hear about it. Kiryuu just continued to stare on, listening intently to the human's words. This was not Alan's fault, Kiryuu had to admit to himself. This was Katagiri's fault. But that foolish man was getting his well enough. A slight sinister smirk curled up softly onto Kiryuu's lips as he thought about what the FBI must be doing to Katagiri right now. He had to chuckle a bit, thinking of what sort of methods they must be using in order to get the head of the CCI to talk. His thought snapped back to Alan and the bio-mecha blinked, clearing his throat.

"It must be hard for you," Kiryuu said. "To live inside a body that isn't yours, even if only for a short while."

"It's completely insane," Alan sighed. "Whenever it happens, I keep turning it over in my mind; I keep thinking about everything Katagiri had done, and what he had planned for me. When I became a G-Chaser, I swore that I wouldn't do anything to hurt Godzilla, but now I feel like I'm just delaying the inevitable. After what Dr. Yugami said, it brought the old fears back...

"What if our very lives are connected?" he continued. "What if one of us can't live without the other? I mean, if anything should happen to me, how am I supposed to explain, in whatever afterlife there is for guys like me, that I was responsible for Godzilla's death, breaking the promise I made?"

He turned away from Kiryuu for a moment, shaking his head, massaging his temples. Now more than ever, he felt like looking at Kiryuu was like looking at his own reflection; a feeling that he did not wish to admit.

"God," he muttered, "This is completely fucked up."

"No more than what I've become," Kiryuu sighed. "All my existence as this mechanical beast, I've wondered constantly if I am Godzilla, or just something that has his bones inside of me. There is no real answer to it, I am and yet I am not. But, there is something even fouler inside of me that for a while, has sought control over me."

Alan glanced up, completely confused about what Kiryuu said.

"I was made to realize everything that day when I fought Biollante," said Kiryuu. "You know her as well as I do."

"Oh, you had to bring her up..." Alan muttered. He had not forgotten his own very unpleasant encounter with Biollante in Nevada.

"You know what she is capable of," Kiryuu continued. "Even after I had killed her, something of her was left behind. Only a few months ago, have I been able to suppress what she has done to me. But I couldn't do it by myself. I had to have help. When I faced Kraken – that's Titanosaurus to you - he awoke something. He awoke the memories of Biollante in both me and my son. Once more, we were tormented by her through the powers of Kraken. So, I looked for help and I found it in a being called Manda."

"Manda?" Alan asked.

"There is a great deal of history that you should know," Kiryuu replied. "Kraken and Manda were once the Guardians of Atlantis. That city was also attacked by King Ghidorah centuries ago. Manda answers to Mothra, though I sense that he is more powerful than she is."

"Woah, slow down a second," Alan cut in. "Who's Mothra?"

"Do you remember the creature that helped to drive King Ghidorah back during his attack on London?" Kiryuu asked.

"Yeah," Alan muttered.

"That was Mothra," Kiryuu nodded. "As I mentioned, Manda answers to her. He was able to fend off King Ghidorah; Kraken on the other hand was the creature that helped Atlantis fall after the attack. Kraken, under the control of King Ghidorah, wiped out the remaining forces as that evil dragon monster left. After that, the two Guardians were at war with each other. Not so long ago Biollante came and was killed by me, but not before she was able to implant a fragment of herself in my body. Kraken awoke her inside me, and tried to use her as to control me. Manda helped me in fending off Kraken's control. No doubt you heard Biollante's voice echo out from me a few times. She's... locked up right now, unable to speak. But she wants to. She wants to dig her talons into your skin so very badly. To hear you scream in pain would be so much pleasure to her."

Alan noticed that Kiryuu began to claw at the table. He could tell that the hologram was not as solid as he thought, for as the claws went through the table, they left no marks on it. But he could tell that Kiryuu was straining to fight back against something. Now that he thought about it, he was sure he could hear a faint whispering sound ever since he had arrived. Kiryuu let loose a sigh, closing his eyes.

"I hate her so much," Kiryuu sighed, his breath becoming a deep growl. "But when I fought Kraken, before I blasted him with that plasma... I let Biollante take control over me. I had no choice in the matter. She refuses to die. It would be hard to say she is 'alive', but she still 'exists'. But I have help in suppressing her, I have Katsura to help me, I have Manda as well. I'm not the pillar of strength you think me as. But right now I can't even purge her from my CPU, because she has a purpose; some sort of purpose in the fight with King Ghidorah.

"I think Manda can help you in these episodes you're having," Kiryuu continued. "He says he wants to help you block these episodes, stop you from having them so you can just get on with your life; so you can focus. I want him to do it, because I need my son's mind to be free from distractions when King Ghidorah comes. I'll be needing his help. He was so young then; I wonder if he even remembers his mother's death like I do. He knows that she is dead; he saw it happen, but he was still so very young."

Alan looked away from Kiryuu again for a moment. Kiryuu's last words had brought a painful memory into his mind.

"At least he still has his father," he said, not really bitterly but still in a heavy tone. Alan still remembered the night King Ghidorah had attacked, and taken so much away from Alan in the space of a day. That night in London in-particular, Alan felt like he had fallen straight into the fires of Hell. That was a story he did not feel like sharing with Kiryuu; not the full extent of it anyway. It didn't seem relevant right now. He turned back to face the mech, looking intently at him.

"Well, for once I hope you're right," Alan said. "I hope this 'Manda' can stop whatever's happening." His head tilted down slightly, his eyes almost closed, but Kiryuu could tell Alan was still looking at him. "I don't want to keep doing this to your son… least of all if King Ghidorah's coming back."

Kiryuu glanced back at the door.

"You can come in, Manda," he announced. "He's ready."

Manda came in, brushing back his blonde hair and straightening out his T-shirt. Alan could not quite understand what he saw. When Kiryuu spoke of Manda, he thought he was speaking of a monster, though the person stood before him appeared to be human. Even so, the man seemed to radiate an air of power about him that Alan could not quite place.

"Alan Tyler," Manda began. "We meet at last. I want you to know that I'm going against what Mothra instructed me to do. I'm not supposed to interfere with your life like this. But time is short and we need Godzilla as well as Kiryuu. I... even told Kiryuu not to interfere with you either."

"What did I tell you?" Kiryuu growled back. "I'm not going to let anyone pull my strings again, Dragon."

"We wouldn't be in this mess right now if you would have just let things be, Kiryuu," Manda sighed. "But now, what's done is done. Alan, this thing that has happened to you shouldn't have happened. I will try my best to help you out."

Manda knelt down to Alan, raising his hands up to the man's head.

"Wait," Alan hesitated, backing away slightly. "What are you, some sort of psychic?"

"Those are my powers," said Manda. "I've seen your visions, when your mind and Godzilla's mind are one with another. I am a dragon, actually. Don't be fooled by my appearance. I can shape-shift. Trust me, this won't hurt."

"What are you, a doctor with a needle?" Alan retorted, shaking his head. He lifted his hand up to the Dragon. "There's gotta be another way, surely?"

"The more you hesitate, the harder it will be," Manda began. "This won't hurt you. Unlike what Kiryuu did, which I know about," he continued, throwing a disapproving look at Kiryuu, "I'm not going to stick you with anything. I'm just going to place my hands on your head."

"No, sorry," Alan forcibly replied, "but I've had enough of people messing with my mind!" He glared at Kiryuu as he spoke.

"You said you don't want my son to be harmed," Kiryuu growled. "You wanted to help me and him in this. This is a safe way of cutting it off. Or, I can do it. And it will be painful."

Alan started to get up, his face twisted in anger, his hand curling into a fist.

"Just try it, Chrome Crotch!" he snarled.

"Oh, for the love of…" Manda growled, his human form shifting again. A lengthy, sinuous, eastern-looking, blue scaled dragon replaced the form that was Officer Marx. Alan barely had time to register that there was now a dragon stood in front of him before Manda backhanded Alan in the head, knocking the human onto the floor, unconscious.

I can't concentrate like this… Manda thought. He glanced over at Kiryuu: You, get the hell out! You're not helping me in this, so get out!

"Very well, call me when you need me," Kiryuu bowed slightly leaving the room. Manda took the human into his claws and placed the palm of his claw onto Alan's forehead.

I'm not going to mess with your mind, kid, Manda began. I'm going to fix it. This will stop.

***

He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He could feel Alan stirring fitfully as he proceeded to dive into the human's mind. After a few moments however, he could no longer feel the physical sensations of the room around him. Whatever this link between Alan and Godzilla was, it was proving highly elusive. At one point, Manda thought he had found it, but instead found himself in another place entirely.

It could only have been a small spare bedroom, complete with a single bed, a small TV in the corner of the room and various boxes filled with piles of old junk, old mementos, toys, books, that sort of thing. Looking bewilderingly around him at these environs, Manda spotted an old yellowing photograph on the top of one of the boxes. The photo showed a normal family; both parents, with a young boy with blue eyes and short brown hair between them, all happy and smiling. The boy could not have been much older than 8 or 9. As he looked up, he saw Alan on the bed, still dressed yet asleep. He tossed and turned, as if he was having trouble drifting off. From elsewhere in the house, sounds could be heard of others sleeping much more peacefully.

Manda looked between Alan and the child in the photo, and soon put two-and-two together. Somehow he was invading Alan's memories, and the photo was almost certain to be Alan as a boy. Looking at the photo Manda found it hard to believe such a happy, innocent boy could become the surly, scarred adult now connected to one of the most dangerous creatures alive. Fate worked in strange, and often unpleasant ways.

Funny how life changes a person's attitude, Manda chuckled as he picked the picture up into his sapphire claws. "I was never this goofy in the head until I started mingling more with humans in this wild modern world. It is not the mind that makes the man; it's the world he lives in."

It was then that a sound like a distant explosion could be heard coming from outside, along with the sounds of several people running about. The sounds of the explosions continued, as well as a sound like sudden blasts of distant thunder; a sound that was coming closer and closer. Alan stirred, his reptilian eyes opening sleepily, clearly confused as to what the noise was. Slowly, he climbed off the bed and walked to the window, drawing back the curtains and looking out onto the street. Manda smoothly moved over to where Alan was standing and looked out too; since this was Alan's memory, the human could neither see nor hear him.

A scene of utter chaos could be seen outside. Armed soldiers were running down the street, hammering on people's doors, ringing doorbells and shouting for people to wake up, telling people to evacuate immediately. Indeed, half of the street had been awakened, and were now stood outside in their nightwear, wondering what all of the fuss was about. One of the soldiers ran up the garden path to the house Alan was staying in, and started pounding on the door, ringing the doorbell and making several panicked shouts. There were sounds of movement coming from elsewhere in the house, as the sounds of panic began to escalate outside.

It was then that a sudden rushing sound could be heard outside, like that of very large wings. Accompanying it was a loud bell-like sound; the sound of King Ghidorah's call. Instantly the soldiers outside raised their assault rifles to the sky. Some of them opened fire, other turned tail and ran, joining the townsfolk who now ran, panic-stricken, away from the horror approaching them.

"Ah, shit!" Manda swore. "Every time I hear that blasted call, I flinch inside."

Next to him, Alan turned turned around to leave, when suddenly the house was suddenly struck with a blast of bright golden lightning, and the building shook on its foundations, instantly bursting into flame. Alan staggered, blinded by the sudden flash and the intense heat. He raised his arms to shield himself from the flames licking all over the walls and floor. Suddenly there was a loud crash, and the entire building collapsed. Alan was sent plummeting down, fire and rubble falling around him. It was immediately apparent that King Ghidorah had struck the house, and no doubt was doing the same to every other building outside. Manda knew only Godzilla's cells could have saved Alan from getting killed in that attack. As the scene began to darken, Manda caught sight of the photo, floating about, even now being consumed in the flames. He shook himself. He knew he could not afford to become distracted by this.

"You're not helping me in fixing your problem, kid," he called out to the air around him. "Come on, Alan, where's that link between you and Godzilla?"

It seemed Alan's own mind was rebelling against Manda's attempts to find the link, however, for another memory faded into view. The scene was now inside a large tent. From the amount of beds, blankets, bandages and other medical equipment that could be seen around the place, the tent had to serve as some kind of makeshift hospital. In the corner a radio system occasionally crackled, with the odd message coming through, the content of which was not very clear. The view outside the tent was very bleak; a town reduced to rubble, the grass scorched and blasted. Heath-fires were burning in the distance, standing out vividly against the grey sky. Manda could only conclude that this was the same town he had seen not a minute before in the previous memory. King Ghidorah had wiped it off the face of the earth, and no doubt was spreading carnage elsewhere.

There were only two people in the tent. One of them was Alan, his faced streaked with blood and dirt, his clothes covered in rips and very dishevelled. With him was a young, black-skinned soldier, in full camouflage, his face equally blood-streaked. The soldier's eyes were fearful, and Alan was clearly hanging on his every word. Manda idly wondered who this soldier was, but this memory was not giving any hints. Instead, all he could do was listen as the soldier recounted his

"This… this thing..." the soldier was saying, with a slight cockney accent, his voice shaking. "This huge lizard came about; a massive, three-headed dragon, the size of a skyscraper. It was making these weird noises, like some kind of animal call. I can't believe something like that is actually able to exist… And those eyes… Oh God…" The soldier's voice went very faint, a voice of utter disbelief.

"It attacked us…" he finished, "Wiped us out."

"Where did this thing come from?" Alan asked, after a moment to take this news in.

"God knows," the soldier replied. "There was a lot of talk about a meteorite crashing in that area a few nights ago. I wouldn't be surprised if the bastard came out of that thing…"

Manda could have told the soldier that he was dead-on with his theory. Arriving on Earth inside a meteorite would be the ideal means of doing so; tracking stations would not be able to register what was inside a meteorite until it was far too late. He wondered if it was an idea that King Ghidorah had acquired from his Liche.

"I still can't get over the tactics it used," the soldier continued. "We had retreated here to warn people to get out. That monster came at us with these lightning bolts shooting out its heads. I can't even begin to know where it got a trick like that. I only survived because I hid in the rubble as it swooped over. Everyone else in my platoon was killed..."

At this, Alan and the soldier stood up, and shakily walked over to the entrance to the tent, gazing outside at the ruined town. This time, Manda did not follow, for he could hear what the two of them were saying with perfect clarity.

"You know where it's headed?" Alan asked, turning back to face the soldier.

"Last I heard," the soldier replied, "It was headed towards the south, but it diverted to the West coast, destroying Manchester and Liverpool. It's destroying everything in this country... Many of our platoons have been wiped out. It's just a massive animal, but it knows exactly what it's doing…."

If only you knew the whole story… Manda thought, as the scene around him faded again. King Ghidorah was the most evil intelligence Manda had ever known; that was something he could have told them both then. Having said that, he thought Kiryuu had an evil streak that could quite possibly rival King Ghidorah's.

He groaned as he felt another memory get in his way. Now the view was from a rooftop, from an apartment block close to the river Thames in London. Manda could see sights such as Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral and the London Eye. The city was mostly deserted, yet as Manda looked over the edge of the roof he saw that the streets were still full of panicked crowds, who for one reason or another had not managed to evacuate the city in time. The crowds pushed each other; some stumbled and were crushed to death by the rampaging crowds. There were already several corpses of those unlucky enough to have been caught in the stampede. On the road, painted-on words were just perceptible;

Repent. The End is Extremely Fucking Nigh.

Manda frowned, shaking his head. These were scenes he had witnessed before, and the reactions of the humans never changed. He knew all too well that more in the crowds would be joining the dead soon, if what he feared was true.

The river itself was full of boats, many of which were crowded with people seeking passage out of the country. Some were even swimming out to the boats, while others were thrown off the boats back into the water. All of the bridges had been destroyed, torn apart like paper. Looking to his side, Manda saw Alan, kneeling slightly, his camera raised as he was taking pictures of the creature that had haunted his nightmares ever since. For the hydra demon, King Ghidorah, was now hovering slightly above the city, using his enormous bat-like wings to keep afloat, illuminated by powerful searchlights. The three-headed, golden dragon recoiled slightly as it was hit by fire from tanks and field guns down below. The monster wasn't even scratched though, and he immediately unleashed his terrible lightning on the defenders, the whole of Kensington bursting into flame and exploding violently. King Ghidorah proceeded to train his lightning over every part of the city those terrible rays could reach. Within seconds, London was bathed in a sea of fire, the city gone in an instant. The scenes brought back many terrible memories in Manda's own mind, of how King Ghidorah had wiped out entire civilisations in a similar way.

Afterwards, King Ghidorah proceeded to attack the escaping boats on the river. The demon wanted to ensure there were no survivors, and as Manda watched he could see tiny golden lights moving upwards from the bodies and into King Ghidorah. He was claiming each victim's soul as his own, further fuelling his own terrible power. In the midst of all this, Alan continued to take his photos, unperturbed, ever the professional. Manda wondered if Alan would really be so foolish as to stay in the area if he had known his photos would be regarded as fakes by most of the world for years after these events.

Suddenly, all three of King Ghidorah's heads turned to face the building Alan was on directly. Manda's heart stopped dead for a second, as he momentarily forgot that King Ghidorah could not see him in this memory. All three pairs of eyes focused intently on Alan, and the great dragon flew over to the building, the lightning charging up within all three of his mouths. Manda watched in horror as Alan, realising what was about to happen, ran across the length of the rooftop. As he jumped from the edge towards another rooftop, King Ghidorah unleashed his lightning, instantly destroying the building before continuing his pursuit of the human. Manda actually yelled as the fire engulfed him. Panicking, he pulled himself out of Alan's mind.

King Ghidorah was hunting this human down! he thought. This was something he had not realised before. It was clear that Kiryuu did not know either, and Alan was obviously reluctant to talk about it. King Ghidorah must have known what was in Alan's body, and had decided to play with him like how a cat plays with its prey. He suspected that was why Alan had objected to his treatment; the human feared that he would be forced to relive those memories.

Manda shook his head as soon as the wave of memories vanished. He stood again letting go of Alan's head. There was no way he could get to where the link between Alan and Godzilla was. Each time he entered, another memory stood in his path. He did not want another attack to come on. He had a job to do. Godzilla could not be hindered right now.

Mothra's gonna kill me…he sighed. Fine.

He placed his claws on Alan's head, the nails actually sinking into Alan's skin, and growled deeply, his teeth bared. He forced his way into the deepest recesses of Alan's mind and began his rerouting. He found himself standing on a beach this time as he dove deeper into Alan's head. He glanced around just as he heard a deep growling noise. Manda turned until his eyes met the ruby-brown eyes of Godzilla.

The great Sea Dragon stood to his full height, towering hundreds of feet over the mutated dinosaur. Animals like this only understood authority and respect by a much larger threat. It either frightened them, or stunned them. It did not matter; he had the power to drive away the creature if he wanted. He just wanted himself to look imposing for now. He slammed one of his feet down, rearing back onto his hind legs and fanning his webbed frills on his face, neck, and tail. He growled and arched his neck down at the dinosaur. He understood that he was not really there with Godzilla; this was some sort of mental image that was locked deep within Alan's mind, a representation of what Alan was becoming.

"Alan?" Manda asked. "Alan?"

The dinosaur bellowed his roar. Manda saw a glow on the monster's back as the spines ignited. He heard their charged hum and saw a glowing nimbus form deep within the creature's throat. The creature blasted his breath forth and the Dragon just allowed it to pass beyond his head, leaning away slightly. Manda's claw came down and it raked across Godzilla's head. The force itself was enough to send the monster spinning to the sand.

"What must I do; beat you senseless until you hear me?!" Manda demanded.

The monster glanced up at Manda and its form changed again. Manda stood back just as Godzilla's body shifted. Green, metallic dreads grew out from the dinosaurs head and its body became metallic, the face grew slightly older.

"Kiryuu?" Manda asked.

Mechagodzilla rose up onto his feet and grabbed the plating on his forearm. Kiryuu grimaced as he ripped the plating off, exposing the biosyntech underneath. Then, he sent a trunk of blades flying towards the Sea Dragon. Manda moved only slightly, allowing the trunk to pass beyond him. But those tentacles were not meant for him at all. Manda glanced behind and saw Godzilla, the trunk of blades forcing their way down his throat. For a moment, Manda thought he was reliving a memory of Kiryuu's instead, but he could tell that this place was not Tokyo. He glanced around and saw something rise up behind Kiryuu. It was a golden ball of glass sitting on a freestanding structure of blue. Behind Kiryuu was a ruined city burned in flames. He noticed one of the buildings behind him; a modern-looking high-rise of glass which came up to Kiryuu's shoulder. There were skyscrapers, but none as grandiose as ones he had seen in New York or Los Angeles. Even the inner city looked minuscule to what he is used to. Something flew up into his eyes, carried by a strange smelling wind. Manda reached up to grab it from his face and glanced down at it.

It was a red flag with a blue and white bar at one of its tip. In the center was a blue circle surrounded by a round boarder of white, and inside this blue circle were three white stars. He was looking at the flag of Tennessee. It was then that Manda realised where he was. The golden ball was the Sun Sphere, the monument that lay in the centre of the World's Fair Site in the city of Knoxville. Manda glanced up and saw two blades slice their way around Godzilla's neck, decapitating his head.

"What the fuck?!" Manda breathed. "Kiryuu!"

The great bio-mecha retracted his blades and glanced back at Manda. The Sea Dragon gasped when he saw Kiryuu's eyes. They were not gold at all; they were red, a demonic fiery colour. The same wind rose up and he smelled something foul in the air. Manda glanced up when he heard the sound of a hideous laughter echoing through that wind. His eyes narrowed when he saw the monster land. A great golden dragon with three heads and broad wings chuckled.

One down and one more to go, he heard the dragon chuckle.

"King Ghidorah…" Manda gasped.

He turned back towards Kiryuu, hearing a click come from him. Then, a bright flash came from the northwest. Manda glanced over, hearing a bellowing rumble as a fiery mushroom cloud rose up to the sky. Another bright flash followed directly north of the first one and another one followed in the east. He turned once more when he heard a hideous chuckle come from Kiryuu. Then, he knew that the bio-mecha was the one who caused this.

"Kiryuu!" cried Manda. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Another flash followed and another mushroom cloud rose up. Mechagodzilla turned around and faced Manda again. A charge built up behind his back and he threw back his head. Kiryuu sucked in the air and charged it all around him. Manda could feel the heat come off and he took a step back. Kiryuu fired; his white-purple plasma spiralled towards the Sea Dragon.

"No!" Manda cried just as the heated jet of air impacted upon his scales, scorching his body. Then, almost as soon as the sensation of his skin being torn away from his body began, everything went black and the sensation died.