Chapter 16
The Great Fall
"This is too dangerous, my Keizer. We shouldn't be putting ourselves in such a vulnerable position!" said the Erzherzog. "I don't see how you can trust these creatures."
The Keizer spoke with the Erzherzog as a servant was fitting an atmosphere device to his neck. The devices fit around the user's necks. It would intake the surrounding air, condense the amount of oxygen, and used a space bending field to direct most of the Xilian suitable air into the wearer's face. With this, an Xilian could breath in Earth's atmosphere until the battery could no longer hold a charge. One battery's life could last a few Earth years if used constantly. The Xilians had very few of these devices and even fewer of the batteries (charged by body heat) that powered them.
"The fate of our people depends on trusting them," said the Keizer. "They're weakened and far too busy recovering to start a war. That was the goal and that goal has been reached."
When the device was fitted onto the Keizer, it began to operate and then it became invisible. It appeared that the Keizer was wearing nothing around his neck.
Another servant approached the Erzherzog with an atmosphere devise.
The Erzherzog held up a hand. "I can put it on myself," he told the servant who sat the device on a table. He turned back the Keizer. "But is being among so many of them necessary? The thought is so revolting!"
"All of their nations take part in these games. We wish to become one of their nations. We must show our support."
The Erzherzog looked irritated. "Very well, my Keizer."
The Keizer threw the Erzherzog a suspicious look.
The Tokyo olympic stadium was filled with spectators. The games went on and people cheered.
Thousands of volunteers made the events possible. Outside and around the stadium were plenty of games and carnival rides. All of it put together by the Japanese government as well as other more fortunate nations. Access to the stadium nor any of the carnival events cost the people anything. This grand event was put on to raise the moral of the people who had been living in hell for the past few weeks. And it was working. People were happy.
What lured so many people the the games was not only the games and festivities. The Xilian Keizer along with his top officials were attending the event in person. They were watching the olympic games from a bullet proof box in the stadium. Oxygen levels were maintained to suit Xilians within the box.
The people below peered up at the Keizer: their savior from the monsters.
The Keizer smiled and waved at the masses as he stood in front of the large window. He then addressed the Erzherzog. "Don't you see? They love us. We are their new friends; their saviors. Not invaders."
The Erzherzog slouched in his chair, leg kicked out and resting his cheek on his fist. He had no reply to the Keizer.
The Keizer turned to the Erzherzog. "Why don't you rejoice with me?!" he asked with a joyful laugh and a smile. "We've done it! Our journey is at an end. Our people have a home!"
The Erzherzog erupted from his seat, shooting down the Keizer's joy. "Home?! You call this toxic planet a home? Our people are still trapped in the mothership! And if you think these animals will be friendly for long, then you are a fool!"
The Keizer smirked and chuckled as the Erzherzog looked puzzled. "I'm not even angered by your stubbornness anymore. You'll see. There may be obstacles, but the Xilian people and these humans will live together and love one another in time."
The Erzherzog dropped back into his chair with no reply, only a grimace.
Outside the stadium, Vincent and Taylor were playing against each other in a carnival game involving milk bottles and tennis balls. Taylor won.
"The games will be starting soon. Want to go get our seats?" Vincent asked.
"Yah, you look pretty tired of losing," Taylor replied jokingly.
On there way into the stadium, Taylor look the time to look around. The sky was bright and blue with only a few clouds. There was still some dust in the air, but overall the air was much clearer than it had been. Birds were flying. One larger bird burst from a tree as it was being chased by two smaller birds defending their nest. Taylor looked down at the flowers by the walkway. They were shades of red and yellow. Bees bustled around them.
After being stuck inside the Gotengo base for weeks, Taylor joyfully bathed in the down pouring sunlight on her bare shoulders and legs.
"You know, I'm starting to like Tokyo," Taylor said.
"Me too," Vincent replied. "Grandpa Steve had said it was beautiful. I couldn't imagine why he wanted to come back after going through the hell he did."
"The Xilians were able to beat Godzilla easy. That pretty much means we don't have to worry about him or any other monster again, right?"
"Yah. I'd imagine, Taylor," Vincent smiled at his sister. "It's all over."
Jason Sterlington was unconscious in a bed in the Gotengo base med bay. He wore a hospital gown. The heart monitor beeped at a regular pace. He had bruises around his neck and a bad bump on his head.
His eyes began to open slowly. As he came to, he took in his surroundings.
Then the heart monitor began beeping faster as Jason's eyes opened widely. He quickly sat up, realizing what had happened to him and realizing what he knew.
Frantically, he jumped out of the bed, tearing the heart monitor sensors off of him, and looked around for his clothes.
The hospital gown did little to cover his backside. Then he found his clothes on a chair nearby.
As he was just finishing getting dressed, nurse Yuki walked in.
"Mister Sterlington. I'm happy to see you up. Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm bloody fine! Now out of my way!" Jason shouted as he barged past Yuki. "You people have no damn idea what's going on!"
Yuki looked shocked to see the GFAAU agent run off. She did not attempt to stop him as he was able to get up and run away. There were people that needed his room that Yuki needed to focus on.
A servant approached the Keizer and the Erzherzog and stated "My Keizer, the Secretary General of Earth's United Nations is here."
A door to the box opened as the Secretary General, Naotaro Daigo, entered.
The Keizer rose. "I, and my cabinet, thank you and the people of Earth for this prestigious invitation!" the Keizer greeted.
"And I on behalf of the United Nations are beyond happy to have you!" The Secretary General bowes. "Come, let us sit! The games are starting!"
The two leaders sat together and smiled as they chatted.
The Erzherzog glared over at them.
Jason had managed to get into the stadium while concealing a pistol. Security was high, but there were so many people, total security was impossible.
Moving through the dense crowd, he wore a cap and a jacket. The sunlight from the center of the stadium shown through the corridor the people were moving through.
Then Jason was out of the corridor and in the sunlight. He looked up at the thousands of people filling the stadium seats.
Then he saw an enormous television screen on the stadium. He looked up and his heart began racing at the sight of the Xilian leaders. He quickly spotted the box they were sitting in.
He made his way through the crowds towards the stadium box.
The Erzherzog looked out at the thousands of people cheering. They were cheering the Xilians. He knew the whole world, at least most of it, was praising their apparent saviors.
But the Erzherzog did not share such warm feelings towards the humans. He despised them. He saw them as primitive animals in comparison to the Xilian race. He knew what they were doing to Earth. They were killing it. And the worst part was that they knew and did not seem to care enough to make necessary changes.
He had seen many pictures of the Earth's surface. It was beautiful. It was a planet he wanted for his people. It was the planet he felt that the Xilians deserved, not the humans. The only problem was the air, but the Xilians had means of terraforming. However, terraforming was out of the question while the humans were living on the planet too.
Along with terraforming, the Xilians had other vast resources at their disposal. They had thousands drone fighters, weapons of cataclysmic destruction, and perhaps most destructive; the army of monsters.
The Erzherzog juggled these thoughts in his head over and over again. He had made up his mind. He had had enough of what he saw as weakness in the Keizer. Under the Keizer's rule, the Xilians would be like slaves contained to their own mothership and whatever land the humans may or may not let them have to build cities. The Erzherzog knew that the love most humans felt towards the Xilians was bound to fade away. He had seen how they fight amongst themselves and how they discriminate based on skin colors even though they're all the same species of worthless animal.
Under the current Keizer's rule, the Xilian people were doomed to live at the whims of the humans. The Erzherzog loved his people, and he was not going to have that.
The Secretary General leaned over to the Keizer. "This game is called football. It's pretty simple. The teams must work together to kick the ball into the opponent's goal. I'll let you know what's happening as it plays. The game is starting now."
"No. No. No," the Erzherzog stood up, still glaring out the window at the animals he despised. Then he reached into his long coat and pulled out an Xilian pistol. He looked at the pistol in his hand.
Both the Keizer and the Secretary General looked confused, then suddenly shocked as the realization sank in their guts.
The Erzherzog looked at his gun and said "The game is over."
He then pointed the gun at the Secretary General and fired. A bright red flash burst from the gun and a short beam of energy struck Naotaro Daigo in the chest.
The Secretary General did not even have time to hold his chest in pain. His death was near instant as the energy bolt obliterated his heart.
And it was all captured on the enormous television screen for everyone to see. The entire stadium fell eerily silent. The action was so sudden and unexpected that few people could actually react.
One of the football players kicked the ball. It traveled freely without any obstacles into the goal. The rest of the players were stunned looking up at the box above.
And then murmurs of concern began all throughout the stadium. People started getting up to make their way out. Fear slowly set in.
Outside the stadium, the people enjoying the festivities turned their heads towards the stadium when the load cheering suddenly ceased. It was as if everyone inside the stadium had all at once vanished.
"Are you getting the same bad feeling I am?" Taylor asked with a chilly fear in her tone.
Vincent nodded.
Jason saw the Secretary General get shot as well. That was when he ditched being subtle and starting running. As the exiting crowds thickened, Jason pushed against them. He eyed his goal, the stadium box.
The Keizer turned away from the dead UN leader and stood up. With a look of sorrow, he turned to the Erzherzog.
"What are you doing?" the Keizer asked.
The Erzherzog could not look at the Keizer. "You told me," he said with a cold emotionless face, "that the Xilian race was once great. We once were the most powerful race in the galaxy."
"Yes. And we'll rise to that status again," the Keizer said as he placed a gentle hand on the Erzherzog's cheek. "That's what you and I are doing."
"No," a tear ran down the Erzherzog's face. "That's what I'm doing." He looked the Keizer in the eyes.
The Erzherzog pulled the trigger. A red beam of energy blasted up. It shot through the Keizer's collarbone and neck.
The Keizer placed his hand on his neck as he looked at the Erzherzog in horror and despair.
The Erzherzog looked back. His own despair had turned into hatred as his frown grew into into a grimace. He pushed the Keizer.
The Keizer fall back into his chair. Blood gushed from his neck uncontrollably. He began to doze off, gurgling and coughing, blanketed in his own blood.
The Erzherzog looked down at his old superior. He was no longer upset. He knew there was much work to do. He held up his communicator and was about to make an order, but was interrupted.
The door to the box was kicked in. Jason entered, gun raised and ready. "Jig's up, you son of a bitch!"
The Erzherzog turned to him in amusement. "Jig?" He cracked a smile and burst out laughing. Then he glared menacingly at Jason. "Your species deserves to be wiped from history. Especially if they can be so stupid that one attempts to subdue me with such a primitive weapon."
"This primitive weapon is all I need to deal with you," Jason retorted, sweat falling from the side of his face.
The Erzherzog then recognized the human he was speaking to. "Ah! I've seen you! You're one of the humans that took on Godzilla, aren't you?!"
"Sorry, I'm not in the mood for a chat! Now put your bloody hands on your head!"
"Bloody? My hands are getting a lot bloodier before I'm through. But tell me something, monster fighter! Do you like a challenge?!"
"Naw. I prefer the quick and easy solution!" Jason looked down his iron sight at the Erzherzog's head. He pulled his trigger.
With three loud bangs, Jason's gun fired three rounds. The bullets exploded from the barrel and headed towards their target.
The Erzherzog, with incredible speed, raised his hand up.
The bullets stopped mid air in front of the Erzherzog's open palm and stayed there.
Jason was in shock.
The Erzherzog laughed again. He placed his gun in his coat. He pulled his free fist back, released the floating bullets from his other hand, then, before the bullets could fall, his fist flew and impacted the bullets with some sort of energy. The bullets went flying right back at Jason.
Jason leapt to the side narrowly dodging the bullets.
"I like your moves!" The Erzherzog laughed again. "Let's see how you do against the Gigan!"
And then, with a flash of light, the Erzherzog had vanished.
Jason got up and looked around. He was alone in the box. Only the dead Secretary General and a very dead looking Xilian Keizer kept him company. Jason noticed that the Keizer was still twitching and lightly gurgling. He almost felt sorry for the alien leader. He walked over to the large window and watched as the now panicking people rushed out of the stadium. People were shoving and fighting as fear took over their minds. For a minute, he thought he saw what the Erzherzog must have seen; a bunch of stupid animals. But Jason understood and did not hate the people. He only wanted to help.
The Erzherzog was teleported back into the mothership which was floating not too far away over Tokyo Bay. In a flash of light, the Erzherzog appeared in the teleportation bay. The several technicians who operated the controls looked at the Erzherzog and looked like they were waiting.
One technician spoke up. "Where is the Keizer?"
The Erzherzog put on a face of anquish. "It was a trap. The humans tricked us… The Keizer has been assassinated."
The room was silent.
The technician asked "What do we do now? Does this mean war?"
"That's exactly what it means." The Erzherzog stepped forward with a serious look in his eyes. "You are speaking to your new Keizer. And your first order is to have the Gigan awakened and teleport it into the city. Drop in right over my last coordinates!"
The Xilian technician looked scared, but quickly pulled himself together. "Yes, my Er… my Keizer! It will be done with great haste."
The Erzherzog, now the new self proclaimed Keizer, turned around and devilishly grinned. "And another small thing..." he ordered.
Jason was standing at the large window. He was trying to call Glenn, but there was no signal. Many cellular towers were still down.
But had no more time to contact anyone.
A blinding flash erupted from the sky. All the fleeing people in the stadium screamed at once. Many thought it was a bomb. But there was no boom. They all looked up, including Jason.
In the sky, falling, was some odd, spiky, black, silver, and red form. It was Gigan.
"Bullocks…" Jason said to himself.
Then there was another flack of light. But to Jason's surprise, it came from behind him. He swung around.
Standing right in front of him, was the new Xilian Keizer with a demented smirk on his face.
"I changed my mind," the new Keizer said as he pulled his arm back. Then, with great speed and force, his fist collided with Jason's chest.
Jason felt his entire rib cage implode. The force had struck his heart. His whole body was thrown through the window behind him.
For Jason, everything seemed to slow down. He saw bits of glass all around him as he flew away from the new Keizer. He flew back and turned up. Above was Gigan, still falling, about to land.
The monster cast a great shadow over the stadium.
Jason wished he could feel the warmth of the sun, but accepted that it was not to be. He was still falling. Then everything faded away for Jason Sterlington, the hardened G-Force agent.
With another flash, the new Keizer teleported away again.
Jason's body hit the bleachers below.
Everybody was screaming in terror at their imminent end.
Gigan landed in the massive stadium in a crouching position with his blades crossed.
The shock wave was so great, everyone fell over. The support columns of the stadium shook and cracked. The monster's landing was felt throughout the city.
Outside, Taylor gripped her brother's hand. She started breathing as the two of them turned towards the stadium.
Vincent started running, pulling Taylor along.
Taylor looked back. She saw Gigan stand up and look around. The monsters shadow stretched for over a mile.
The cyborg screeched and looked down at the fleeing people still in the stadium bleachers.
His forked tail came crashing down on the beachers. Gigan spun himself around, dragging his tail with him. The end of his tail ripped through the inside of the stadium forming a wave of concrete, steel, seats, and people that was inescapable.
The structure could not take anymore. The whole thing began to cave in behind Gigan's tail. People that were still inside were crushed by the falling ceiling.
After turning a full one hundred and eighty degrees, Gigan stopped and looked down at his work. There was no stadium anymore. Only a circular mess of ruble and human bodies.
He saw the people fleeing all around him. His objective was to kill and destroy as much as possible. So he fired his cluster laser. The people in the area of effect were instantly fried into human shaped husks of ash.
Vincent and Taylor were not within the laser's area of effect. Gigan's back was to them at first, but then he turned around.
"Vinnie!" Taylor shouted in horror.
"I saw it! Hurry, get behind that pillar!" Vincent yelled, referring to a pillar holding up an overpass above them.
Gigan fired another cluster laser.
Just as Vincent and Taylor ducked behind the pillar, they felt an incredible burning heat all around the accompanied by blinding flashes of red light and explosions. There were screams all around them too, but they were quickly and suddenly silenced.
Taylor's eyes were clenched shut. When she heard the screaming stop, she was afraid to open them. But the need to escape Gigan made her open them. She was partially blinded by the flash of light, but her vision returned quickly. Around her and her brother were heaps of ash. Taylor screamed out loud in sorrow.
But her mourning was abruptly cut off when a car came crashing down from above just a few yards away. Taylor screamed again in surprise. And then there was another car that crashed down. The two looked up in utter horror. Gigan's blast had partially toppled the overpass. Cars were sliding off and over the edge.
"Run! Run!" Vincent shouted.
The two bolted as the overpass gave way above them.
Another car smashed down. Then another. Then another.
The two dodged the raining automobiles as they kept looking up to see if one was headed their way.
They could see overpass swaying. Then it finally gave way and started to topple over. The rest of the cars came down, missing Vincent and Taylor. The pillars holding the overpass crumbled and the whole thing came down on it's side with an earth shattering crash.
Vincent and Taylor kept running. They were not out of danger. The toppled overpass was falling down on them. A crumbling wall of asphalt and rebar chased them.
Taylor was screaming. They both were sprinting like they had never before. Dust engulfed them. They heard nothing but the sounds of catastrophe just behind them. They saw nothing but the dirt and dust.
Then, some time after the sound of the falling overpass had stopped, the two stopped running. They looked back and still could see nothing.
Then Gigan cried out again.
"We need to get back to base, Tay. It's the safest place right now," Vincent said.
Meanwhile at the Gotengo Base, the Gotengo was preparing for launch. It's powerful engines hummed and revved as they emitted a bright orange glow.
"Engines are go, Captain!" an engineer reported.
Sitting in the Captain's chair was Akira Nakao. He had a serious grimmius on his face due to the circumstances, but a part of him was glad to be back in his chair. A part of him had a bad feeling too. His instincts were telling him to be cautious. If this was a surprise attack, then surly traps are in place. Where and when, he did not know. But at that moment, he had a mission to do.
"Gordon!" Nakao shouted at the communications display before him.
Douglas Gordon was in charge the engine room for this mission. Nakao picked him personally. "Sir!" Gordon replied.
"Is everybody ready for a fight?!"
Gordon along with everyone in the engine room replied at once. "Yes Sir!"
"Good! Them let's take off!"
The Gotengo's engines revved louder. It's drill began to spin as it lifted away from its restraints.
The engineers outside watched the airship lift up in awe. They all hoped that their work was without error. Their city, probably their planet, was on the line.
And then every single person's heart sank deep when there was an explosion. It was by the rear engines. Then another and another explosion running up both sides of the ship.
Gordon and his men were thrown to the floor as the lights inside the ship went dark.
Nakao's heart shattered as the lights on the main deck went out. All control was lost.
Many thought that the ship itself was exploding, but some saw that the explosions were from the surface of the hull. They were planted explosives.
The ship was still hovering, but was not steady. It swayed and bobbed. The engineers outside hurried away in fear of getting crushed by their own ship.
Then the ship bowed forward and drifted that way. It plowed into the thick wall of the hanger. Fortunately the walls of the hanger were very thick and the Gotengo did not crash into a room.
The back end of the ship dropped into the hanger. The front slid out of the hole it had made and fell to the ground as well.
The ship laid silent.
Nakao sat in the chair of his broken vessel, robbed of his rightful glory.
Vincent and Taylor made their way through the streets of Tokyo. They had escaped Gigan for the moment.
Gigan had been hard at work leveling the city; leaving it once again clouded in dust.
His footsteps could be heard and felt in the distance along with the sounds of his destruction.
Up ahead, Vincent saw people come into view through the dust. There were a lot of people. And they were running towards him and Taylor.
Taylor clung close to her brother so as not to be swept away. She had flashbacks of being torn from her parents. She did not want to go through that again and lose her brother too.
Vincent wanted to know why the people were running the opposite way. He grew very concerned and confused.
"Where is everyone going?!" Vincent shouted. "Gigan is that way! You're going the wrong way!"
But no one seemed to pay attention.
Vincent held Taylor and pushed forward. Then he saw a JSDF soldier passing by. Vincent thought that surely he wild know what was going on. He grabbed the soldier.
"Hey! Why is everyone running this way?" Vincent shouted over the crowd.
The soldier looked Vincent straight in the eyes. He looked shaken and scared. Then he said "It's him..."
He pulled away from Vincent and moved along.
Vincent was left more confused. He thought of what the soldier meant. What "him" could put that kind of fear onto a hardened soldier.
Then Vincent came to a horrifying realization. He knew who was here. And he knew his situation had just gotten twice as bad.
Vincent's realization was confirmed. As he was facing the direction the crowd was running, he heard it come from behind.
It was a roar he had come to know too well. And this time, it sounded more rage filled than ever.