Dead Worlds
In the heart of Tokyo, there lived the Sakimori siblings, Hikaru, Hotaru, and Akira. What no one knew about them or their family was that they were, in fact, refugee aliens from the planet of Peaceland, which had been obliterated by the forces of the Garoga Empire some time in the distant past. Now, in 1976, the Sakimori family were at war with the Garoga Empire and their Terror Beasts. One such beast was attacking Tokyo at that very moment, a creature with a curving shell, six long, segmented legs, and a beard of tentacles. It was Terror Beast Scylla, who had emerged from the ocean to attack Tokyo's oil reserves and was marching through the city to get there. Suddenly, Scylla was hit by missiles fired from Smokey, a car-like spaceship piloted by Hotaru and Akira in their Zone Angel and Junior forms. "Hikaru, Scylla is making a bee-line towards the oil fields", said Zone Angel, "I don't know if we have enough firepower to take her out before she gets there". "I'm already on it", said Hikaru. He pulled out his capsule and held it into the air, becoming the towering Zone Fighter, a silver giant with a blue and green outfit, yellow eyes, and a crest protruding from his forehead.
Without wasting time, Zone Fighter flew into battle as Scylla let out a loud hiss. Zone Fighter drop-kicked the crustacean, then shoulder-slammed her into a building before grabbing one of her legs and tossing her into another building! Suddenly, Scylla shot out a stream of black ink, blinding Zone Fighter! Then, she used her front legs to stab the giant hero! Zone Fighter brought down his fists, snapping one of her legs before shooting Scylla with a laser from his crest! Then, he used his gauntlets to fire multiple missiles into Scylla, blowing pieces off of her and killing the creature instantly! Zone Fighter then noticed a Garoga ship flying away and fired his missiles, blowing it up! Then, he flew off, flying alongside Smokey back home.
"It's weird", said Hikaru later at dinner, "The Garoga are getting bolder. They've never been so brazen in their attacks before". "Why do you suppose that is?", asked Grandpa Sakimori. "They're probably trying to distract us", said Hotaru. "Yes, but why?", asked Hikaru, "Why do they care about attacking the middle of the city now as opposed to taking the fights to fields or the base of Mt. Fuji? What could they be distracting us from?" "A new Terror Beast?", asked Akira. "Maybe", said Hikaru, "But it makes no sense to send out other Terror Beasts if that's truly the plan". Just then, as Grandpa Sakimori looked over the newspaper, he saw something that made his eyes go wide. "Take a look at this", he said. Everyone gathered around to see the headline: "New Remnant Planet Discovered!"
"What does this mean?", asked Hikaru. "I know those coordinates well", said Grandpa Sakimori, "I was born there". "Wait", said Hotaru, "If that's Peaceland, how can it still be around? I thought it was blown to bits". "Apparently", said Grandpa Sakimori, "The atomic weapons used by the Garoga Empire only burned away the atmosphere. But without industry or war, the atmosphere could repair itself, albeit in a state of flux. Should even one atomic bomb go off on Peaceland, the whole planet could be destroyed." "Is this what the Garoga want?", asked Hikaru, "To break us further with the knowledge that we can save our old home world, only for them to crush that as well?" "Perhaps", said Grandpa Sakimori, "But I fear something more sinister is at play here. For now, we wait. The Garoga will come out soon enough".
Elsewhere, in their underground lair, the Garoga aliens, creatures with skull-like faces, red eyes, long antennae, and skin that ranged from gold to silver, had gathered around to witness the arrival of the Garoga Emperor, a Garoga with bronze skin, blue eyes, and several blades lining his armor on his forearms and shoulders. "My brethren", said the Garoga Emperor, "You have fought to control Earth for years, and yet, you find yourselves in the same place as the Xiliens, the Space Hunter Nebula M, and Black Hole people before us. As such, I will be taking control over our Earth operation against Zone Fighter. It is fortunate, then, that Earth scientists have found the location of Peaceland. It is there that we will finally be rid of Zone Fighter and his family". "What of his other allies?", asked a silver Garoga. "Hmm, yes", said the Garoga Emperor, "Take a look at the screen". The Garoga turned to see the giant screen behind their Emperor illuminate.
On it, images of Titanosaurus, a red dinosaur with a long neck and fins on his back and the top of his head, Megalon, a cockroach with a giant crest on his head and drills for hands, a giant octopus, and Kamacuras, a giant praying mantis. "These beasts of Earth, coupled with the last of our Terror Beasts, will be enough to vanquish the Zone family and Godzilla once and for all", said the Emperor Garoga, "The stage is already set, even if they don't know it. By this time tomorrow, they will die".
However, unknown to the Garoga, something deep in the sea sensed something was amiss. Attacks on nuclear power sites. Disasters becoming more frequent. A new star in the constellations. Something was wrong. It was time to make it right. The presence in the sea began to move, creating a massive wake as it sped through the churning ocean.
The next day, Hikaru and Hotaru walked through a field of lilies, looking up to the sky. "Do you ever dream of it?", asked Hotaru. "Dream of what?", asked Hikaru. "Peaceland", said Hotaru, "I often think of lily fields like this, along with with a sense of natural harmony". "I dream of different things", said Hikaru, "Nature in harmony, yes, but also the loss of it. Earth is, in many ways, like Peaceland, but the balance between life and death is a precarious one. I fear that with the power we wield, along with the power of nuclear weapons, the Garoga will escalate. We both know how that will end". "Yes", said Hotaru, "With a balance broken and all life lost." Just then, the Zone siblings felt something in the wind; a kind of song filled the air. They followed it to the far side of the lily field, where they found a short crystal that glowed blue under the sunlight. "What is it?", asked Hotaru. "I'm not sure", said Hikaru, "Maybe Grandpa would know".
They took the crystal home to show it to Grandpa Sakimori, who turned pale at the sight of it. "By all the Gods", he murmured. "What is it, Grandpa?", asked Hikaru. "It is the salvation of our world", said Grandpa Sakimori, "Legend states that when Peaceland is gone and all hope is lost, its most powerful protectors will return a hidden crystal to the Temple of the Ancients to restore life and vigor and reunite our broken populace". "I assume we're the ones from the prophecy", said Hikaru. "For three years", said Grandpa Sakimori, "Zone Fighter has been the last remaining force fighting against the Garoga Empire. It is logical, then, that the crystal should appear to you". "But I felt its call too", said Hotaru. "Perhaps you too have some role to play in this grand ballad", said Grandpa Sakimori.
Just then, the house began to shake! Hikaru ran over to the window to see the Terror Beasts Spideros, a four-armed monster with black and yellow fur, red eyes, and spikes on its head, Wargilgar, a bug-like creature with two tattered wings and an orange head with blue eyes, and Zandora, a reptile with a giant drill for head! "Hotaru, get the crystal and get the family to safety", said Hikaru, "I'll hold them off". With that, he leaped out of the window and turned into Zone Fighter. He flew through the air and crashed into Spideros, sending them both crashing to the ground! Then, Zone Fighter fired his crest laser, hitting Zandora in the chest! Just then, Kamacuras flew in and sliced at Zone Fighter with his mantis claws! Zone Fighter kicked him away, only for Megalon to burst from the ground and smack him in the face with his drills! Zone Fighter rolled away and kicked Wargilgar in the chest, knocking the insect back as Titanosaurus let out a trumpeting roar! The sea dinosaur then hit Zone Fighter with his tail fin, sending the silver giant flying into a drop-kick from Spideros! Zone Fighter fired his missiles, only for Megalon to stab him with his drills!
Hotaru saw this and leaped into Smokey, becoming Zone Angel. She flew the starship into battle, shooting at Zandora, Kamacuras, and Titanosaurus! Megalon fired his lighting bolts, forcing Zone Angel to dodge! Zone Fighter took this chance to fire at Megalon, knocking him over! He then punched Spideros, sending the creature flying into Kamacuras and Zandora! Just then, Garoga spaceships flew in to attack, hitting Zone Fighter! He tried firing his crest laser, only for Titanosaurus to tackle him! Zone Angel fired upon the Garoga spaceships, but there were too many too engage in a dogfight with while Zone Fighter was getting beaten down! To make matters worse, Zone Fighter's alarm belt went off, signaling that he was losing his energy. As the monsters beat him down, the ground shook. Suddenly, a familiar roar pierced the air.
SKREEONK!
Cue Song: Godzilla Theme I by Naoki Sato and Akira Ifukube
At once, a might shadow fell over the enemy monsters as Godzilla arrived. The radioactive beast lit up his thorn-like dorsal plates as they began to jut out from his back, only to snap back into place as he fired his Atomic Breath! Zandora was hit first, exploding on contact from Godzilla's terrible heat ray! Godzilla roared before charging forward, body-slamming Megalon as he used his bladed tail to slice Kamacuras in half! Zone Angel then used Smokey to shoot down some Garoga spaceships before firing a Zone Marker to replenish Zone Fighter's energy. His warning belt's color changed from flashing red to solid green as he leaped into battle alongside Godzilla, who used his Atomic Breath to shoot down the spaceships chasing Smokey! Zone Fighter fired his missile gauntlets at Spideros and Titanosaurus, driving them back!
Godzilla turned his attention to Megalon as his swinging tail knocked two spaceships from the sky! With a mighty roar, the two beast collided with each other, Godzilla dodging a swing from Megalon's drills! Megalon spat some napalm bombs at Godzilla, the shoulder-slammed him to the ground! But then, Godzilla swung his tail and sliced Megalon across the chest! As the insect shot forward with his drills, Godzilla caught them with his great claws and crushed them! Then, he fired his Atomic Breath point-blank at Megalon's face, killing the monster as his head melted from the heat! Just then, Spideros fired some webs from its four arms, trapping Godzilla! But then, Zone Fighter fired his crest laser, slicing the Terror Beast's arms off! Then, Godzilla fired his Atomic Breath, vaporizing Spideros! Wargilgar and Titanosaurus charged forward, only for Godzilla to grab them both and slam them into the ground as the Garoga mothership arrived! Zone Fighter fired his missiles ass Godzilla shot out another blast of Atomic Breath, blowing a chunk off the mothership!
"We can't hold on for much longer, Emperor", cried a gold Garoga. Just then, the Emperor Garoga noticed Smokey flying through the carnage, shooting down his fighters. "Concentrate all firepower on that starship", he ordered. The mothership fired its cannons upon Smokey, forcing Zone Fighter to make a force-field to protect the starship and its occupants! Godzilla whipped his tail, knocking more spaceships from the sky!
Suddenly, as the mothership fired its cannons upon Zone Fighter, Godzilla, and Smokey, the crystal began to blow a bright blue. Then, an explosion of blue light enveloped the area and Zone Fighter, Smokey, and Godzilla disappeared1 "Where are they!?", demanded the Emperor Garoga. "not sure", said a silver Garoga, "Radar has lost sight of them and life scans are only showing Wargilgar and Titanosaurus". "Summon them back and track the Zone energy", said the Emperor Garoga, "As soon as we seek it out, we'll crush them under our heel".
Elsewhere, Hikaru awoke with a start to find himself and Hotaru in a gray desert beneath a purple sky. "Where are we?", asked Hikaru. "Isn't it obvious?", said Grandpa Sakimori, "We're on the ruins of Peaceland". Hikaru stood up and strode over to a cliff, looking down into a burnt out city, its skyscrapers reduced to half rubble. He looked over to see a mountain, beneath which sat Godzilla, still groggy from his interstellar trip to yet another alien world. He growled as he sniffed the air, feeling a dead planet that was dying some more, its rivers and oceans dried up, its forests decimated, and its skies polluted. The only structures still standing were the factories and power plants, now devoid of any life.
"Unfortunately", said Hotaru, "Smokey is damaged. Akira and Grandpa will stay to repair it, but without our Zone Markers, you'll be powerless." "We won't need them", said Hikaru, "So long as we stay close to the ground, the Garoga will never think to look for us here". "What about Godzilla?", asked Grandpa Sakimori. "He will be our alert system as well as our weapon", said Hikaru, "Should our enemies attack, I have no doubt that Godzilla will prevail". Godzilla snorted, before looking to the purple sky and firing a blast of his Atomic Breath!
To Be Continued...