Kotoe shifted from side to side, her mind unable to settle into a deep sleep. She watched the hours pass on her clock. Outside her window, the black turned to blue and suddenly her alarm blared. Although she didn't sleep well, she wasn't tired, she was full of adrenaline. It was time for her to perform her part in this show, it was time for her to pilot the Mecha.

After a warm shower, Kotoe dressed in a basic white t-shirt with baggy pants. She had a protein-filled breakfast and made her way to work. She saw in the distance the normal reporter crowd by the main entrance, but today she had strict orders to use the secret entrance.

A discreet cement entrance, resembling a small utility shed, provided access to the underground facility. She turned her key into the door handle and a piece of the door flipped to reveal a pin pad. She typed in her code and the door opened to a downward staircase. After descending the stairwell, she entered into a wide tunnel. It felt like being in a subway tunnel with no subway.

At the end of the tunnel stood two guards, she showed her ID to them and they opened the door. Upon entering the building, it was time for her to prepare.

The first step involved entering the cleansing room, where Kotoe underwent another spray-down and a final check of her vitals to ensure her health. Her heart rate and bodily functions passed, not that she had any worry, she was geared for this. After being analyzed, she proceeded to the dressing room to don her attire—a grey zip-up jacket suit bearing the MechaGodzilla logo on the right side of her chest.

Lastly, Kotoe underwent a final discussion with Hirooki. She waited for his arrival at the elevator bay with some scientists under MechaGodzilla. When Hirooki entered through the doors, Kotoe turned her head in confusion. 'Shouldn't you be somewhere else?' she asked.

"I wanted to see you off," he replied with a bow. "Everything is good from the control room."

"I wouldn't have expected anything different from your team," Kotoe remarked before pressing the elevator button. "Time to see what your code can do."

'It will show the world its power,' Hirooki declared confidently, his voice rising to match Kotoe's ascending elevator. 'We believe in Mecha AI!' With a raised fist, he bid her farewell.

As the elevator ascended, countless steel beams passed by, forming a tower on the side of the Mecha. The elevator doors opened onto a platform on the side MechaGodzilla's head. She ducked into the Control Room. Although Hirooki wanted it to be called the AI room the decision was made to keep it as the Control Room. The pilot seat faced a giant screen displaying the outdoors, while operators engaged in an open discussion with Mecha AI regarding final checks.

An operator bowed to Kotoe and assisted her into the pilot chair, securing the VR headset over her head.

"Can you hear me, Kotoe?" A robotic voice came through Kotoe's headset, seeming to emanate from within her mind.

"Yes, I can Mecha AI," Kotoe said.

Hirooki's voice followed. "Kotoe, we will be ready to commence in ten minutes. I'll display the time. When ready, I'll input the launch command."

In front of Kotoe, a timer appeared. She reached out and pushed it to the corner. "Would you rather I shut that off?" Mecha AI asked.

"No, I just want to see outside." Kotoe activated a view through MechaGodzilla's eyes. At a push of a button, she could toggle between a normal view, a thermal view, and a night vision view, or ask Mecha AI to do so.

"Do you feel secure, Kotoe?" Mecha AI chimed in.

"Yes."

After a few moments, the scientists left the room, bolting the door and locking Kotoe inside the Mecha's control room.

As the timer ticked down, she rehearsed the weapons demonstration. Mecha AI would prompt the lines of code and perform, while Hirooki supervised from the computer. Kotoe would guide MechaGodzilla's movement with final command authority. She was the pilot.

The Mecha's eyes were illuminated in a soft yellowish hue light that bathed Kotoe's face. Her eyes followed Hirooki populate the initial sequence on the screen to her right: "START, INPUT: G-Force_2003, PASSWORD: **********." Only a select few knew the launch command password.

In the bay, the boosters on MechaGodzilla's heels ignited, unleashing flames and white smoke that filled the chamber. The machine vibrated and lifted.

"Flight launch sequence stable," the Mecha AI confirmed.

The grey walls disappeared from Kotoe's view as they ascended from the tunnel into the partly cloudy sky. She monitored the booster meters, which remained neutral while hearing cheers through Hirooki's headset.

MechaGodzilla glided sideways with its arms at its side, cruising at about 10,000 feet. As she flew over the outskirts of the town, Kotoe pondered the rumors that might be circulating below. A press release was scheduled for later today.

Heading towards a mile-wide clearing amidst a deciduous forest, MechaGodzilla lowered towards a dirt pad adorned with tall wooden poles bearing bullseye markers. At the edge of the clearing, nestled within the trees, stood a glass bubble structure where reporters and scientists awaited.

MechaGodzilla descended, touching down in the center of the arena with a ground-shaking rumble. As the boosters powered down, the landscape grew still.

Approximately twenty bullseye markers dotted the perimeter of the pad as Kotoe deftly maneuvered the machine with a wave of her hand.

"I'm curious on your intentions?" The Mecha AI asked.

"Observing the pit." She annoyingly replied.

"May I continue the test?" Mecha AI wondered.

"Go ahead," Kotoe observed through her headset the Mecha's computerized body form in front of her. The image zoomed into its head, and its eyes pulsed with a white glow as a bright light filled the cockpit.

"Eye laser sequence stable." The Mecha AI pronounced.

The beam, resembling a lightning bolt, obliterated a bullseye target into small fluttering pieces, eliciting a smile from Kotoe. The blinking of the Mecha's eyes ceased as its robotic hands enlarged, and the fingertips detached into missiles. Kotoe watched the missiles impact the target, causing a fiery explosion that filled her cockpit viewer.

"Finger missile sequence stable."

On her display, a round door at the Mecha's waist opened to reveal a glass shape resembling the top of a snow globe: the plasma grenade. In earlier stages, the plasma grenade required energy absorption, but with a power reactor now installed in the thighs, it could activate the weapon with sufficient force.

She watched as a multi-colored blast erupted from the Mecha's waist, destroying the bullseye target. Wood and debris scattered through the air before settling miles away from the original target site.

The final weapon to be demonstrated, preceding the defensive capabilities, was the mouth blaster. Kotoe heard the creak of the jaw opening, followed by flashing warnings in her display.

"Critical overload detected. Should I initiate the coolant compression system?" Mecha AI asked.

"No. This could be trouble." Hirooki said.

"Okay? What kind of trouble?" Kotoe inquired, her voice remarkably calm given the circumstances.

"Simultaneous power shifts could lead to an influx, potentially causing the mouth blaster to over-exhilarate," Mecha AI explained.

"And?" Kotoe pressed.

"A potential explosion," Mecha AI responded

Kotoe watched as the warnings on the computer multiplied rapidly. "Then fix it!"

She could hear Hirooki's fingers racing over the keyboard, explaining the situation to their superiors, while Mecha AI provided additional insight. She rolled her eyes.

"Let's just stop the mouth cannon," Kotoe suggested with a hint of concern.

"We can't do that, it's already primed and ready to explode trying to stop it now would be like shutting a door in the middle of an inferno to contain a fire," Hirooki explained.

As panic threatened to overtake her, Kotoe grappled with her sense of powerlessness in the cockpit. If the machine exploded would she feel pain in her death? She had to control her thoughts.

"Your vitals are rising, we are working to diagnose the problem and will correct it soon," Mecha AI reassured in a monotone voice, its presence disconcerting as it conversed with her and the programming room simultaneously.

"I'm checking things out," Kotoe declared, swiping her hands across various monitors.

She watched the temperature gauge reach the dark red level. She opened the core power levels.

"That's not the issue," Mecha AI said.

With the crowd restlessly waiting, MechaGodzilla stood motionless, its mouth agape.

Kotoe waited at the mercy of whatever Hirooki and Mecha AI were doing. She flipped through a couple of meters, she held her finger over the emergency shutdown button.

Suddenly, the temperature gage dropped and an eruption of incredible power shot from the Mecha's mouth, roasting the target and the surrounding land to the cheering audience.

"I'd say that did it," Hirooki said.

"It missed to the right," Kotoe added.

"Even Disney World had issues when they opened." Mecha AI interjected.

Then, a missile pod emerged from the ground, erupting at MechaGodzilla, but the machine's armor absorbed the explosions. Next, a heat ray blasted the chest of MechaGodzilla, yet no structural damage occurred. The diamond plating worked perfectly.

Controlling MechaGodzilla in a hover around the pit, Kotoe manipulated the joystick virtually, while the Mecha AI offered guidance for her movements. She circled the glass-enclosed audience, opening and closing their mouths with anxious anticipation.

Afterward, she ignited the boosters and flew MechaGodzilla back to home base. The display was over. Kotoe allowed her thoughts to wander. How much control did she actually have as the pilot?

-—-—-

DAYS LATER

The Sidewinder stood as one of Japan's oldest oil rigs, a testament to the country's industry.

Jack had dedicated nearly eight months to working on this rig, eagerly anticipating his upcoming rotation home in two weeks. Though the pay was enticing, due to the potential of a monstrous presence, the distance from his wife and kids in Washington weighed heavily on him. He'd promised his wife to seek a local job upon his return, perhaps in the timber industry.

He leaned on the rail looking out to the ocean when a distant whirlpool formed. A giant reptile-looking head rose out from the circling water. Jack had never expected to witness the creature's appearance firsthand, yet here it was.

Paralyzed by shock, Jack's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a blaring siren and a flash of light as the loudspeaker urgently instructed everyone to head to the lifeboats.

The giant creature ambled toward their rig. Jack saw a blue light leave its mouth.

Then —

black.