Shining Stars
Soon enough, Hikaru and Hotaru were trekking their way through a desert of black sand, a soft wind blowing past as they walked past the ruins of old suburban homes and decadent towers. "This was Peaceland?", ask Hotaru, "It doesn't look that different from Earth". "I was younger than Akira when this world was destroyed", said Hikaru, "Father told me how the cities shone with gold light, but it was a dull gold". "Meaning", asked Hotaru. "That much like Earth cities, they spread disease and pollution to the land", said Hikaru, "It was a small mercy that the Garoga Empire got here before monsters like Godzilla could be born". "I thought Godzilla was our greatest ally", said Hotaru. "Yes, but once, before my powers fully developed, I saw him battle King Kong and Mothra in rapid succession, whilst at the same time rampaging through cities much like this one. Grandpa once told me of another Godzilla who, like ours, was born of the fires of atomic bombings in the Bikini Atoll. That Godzilla turned his rage upon Tokyo, wiping out a large swath of the city before succumbing to a deadly weapon beneath the waves of his ocean home. If that Godzilla could do that, imagine how much less peaceful Peaceland would be with monsters of its own". Hotaru thought about it. While on their side for the most part, Godzilla's potential for destruction was not so easily forgotten.
"Do you think we have the same potential to monsters like him?", asked Hotaru. "In my three years of being Zone Fighter, I've had to grapple with that very question", said Hikaru, "I've had to restrain myself more than once in this endless war. I'll be the first to admit that I wanted to visit upon the Garoga home world the same destruction they wrought upon Peaceland, but that would be an admission of their truth; that they were right in their methods of destruction. That is why I must finish this last mission, so that I can show the Garoga and the forces that created Godzilla that their machinations have no effect on the world. At least, that's what I tell myself". "What will you do when this war of yours ends?", asked Hotaru. "That remains to be seen", said Hikaru.
Elsewhere, the Garoga Emperor sat upon his iron throne, deep in contemplation. While conquest was always at the forefront of his mind, in the intervening three years, he was having second thoughts. Zone Fighter had been a formidable and worthy thorn in his side, but as he was getting older, the Garoga Emperor had begun to ask himself if conquest was even worth it anymore. The humans' vices and monsters would destroy them long before the Garoga ever could, and taking yet another dead world yielded no victory. No, victory would only be decided in a contest of strength, like when he stole the Garoga throne away from his father. Just then, a silver Garoga entered the throne room. "What news have you brought to me this time?", asked the Garoga Emperor. "We've found no trace of the Zone energy", said the silver Garoga, "However, we did find signs of G Energy on a nearby planet". "G Energy?", asked the Garoga Emperor. "Godzilla's power has a unique signature to it", explained the silver Garoga, "We had thought he returned to his territorial waters after the battle, but his energy signature was spotted on the remains of Peaceland." "Hmm, interesting", said the Garoga Emperor, "This hasn't been the first time Godzilla has been sighted on another world. Our brothers in arms, the Xiliens, have battled with him before. But if he is on Peaceland, it stands to reason that the Zone family is there as well. Have our ships circle the planet. Look for any signs of Zone Fighter and Godzilla, and when you find them, crush them!" "Yes, sir", said the silver Garoga.
Over on Peaceland, Godzilla wandered around, finding himself on yet another dead world. He thought back to his battle against King Ghidorah on Planet X, where he had been aided by Rodan, the flying monster. Planet X, at the very least, had some form of life and a surface where every crevice was filled with gold. Here, on what used to be a beautiful land, was the remains of war, strife, industry; the very things that brought Godzilla into being. The reptile wondered if it really was the Garoga who wrought destruction upon Peaceland, or if the people of Peaceland themselves plundered their own world just as the people of Earth had a sad tendency to do. Even after humanity gained his trust, Godzilla still wondered if his protection of Earth would only delay its ruin. After all, it wasn't just nuclear proliferation. Environmental pollution brought about not just hostile invaders looking to move in, but Hedorah, his most dangerous opponent.
Godzilla wandered through old buildings and industrial sites, pondering these thoughts of his. It was a city like this that his father had ravaged back in 1954, before he disappeared. After that time, he was on his own, reclaiming territory lost to rival beasts like Anguirus and King Kong. Now, he wished he were among those old rivals at the moment, as anyone would know how much he hated being alone on this desolate planet, where even a single blast of his Atomic Breath could disrupt the volatile air and annihilate the world. Just then, Godzilla felt a shift in the air and aimed a mighty roar towards the sky. Something was coming.
Back on the ground, Grandpa Sakimori and Akira were busy fixing warp engines on Smokey. "You think they're OK, Grandpa?", asked Akira. "Your brother and sister are some of the strongest people I know", said Grandpa Sakimori as he worked a wrench, "They're probably thriving here". "So, this was your old home?", asked Akira. "Once, a long time ago", said Grandpa Sakimori, "Now, it's little less than a wasteland, a shell of its former beauty. If you could have only seen it, Akira. You would've been marveled by its grandeur". Just then, the radar pinged. "Grandpa, look!", cried Akira. Grandpa Sakimori hobbled over to see three large clusters on the radar. "The Garoga have found us", he said solemnly, "If we hurry, we should be able to get the engines running before they can attack!"
Up in space, the Garoga Emperor looked over his available monsters and turned to his henchmen. "We need one more monster", he declared, "Something that can take the fight out of Godzilla like Ghidorah once did." "We have just the thing", said a gold Garoga, "Our old allies of the Black Hole planet left behind a super weapon when they fled Godzilla's wrath. It should pair nicely with Titanosaurus". "Excellent", said the Garoga Emperor, "Send it down immediately!" At once, the warp engines fire up and send down the giant octopus, Wargilgar, and Titanosaurus.
"There it is", cried Hotaru as she pointed to a temple carved into the side of a small mountain, which resembled the rock tombs of Petra. Just then, she felt the ground shake as Wargilgar and the giant octopus arrived, along with a fleet of Garoga motherships! "Hurry", said Hikaru, "If we run, we can just make it". Suddenly, Godzilla arrived with a thunderous roar!
Cue Song: The Sky Falls by XAI
As the octopus lashed its tentacles around Godzilla's body, the beast stomped down on its head before using it as a flail to knock Wargilgar back! The bug beast then spat fire upon Godzilla, who roared before charging and hitting the creature with his claws! "Why isn't he using his Atomic Breath?", asked Hotaru. "His greatest weapon would crack open this planet like a coconut", said Hikaru, "The Garoga know this, so he's handicapped until either he has no choice but to use it, or die". As the two ran into the temple, Smokey flew in and fired some lasers, shooting down some of the Garoga star fighters and hitting Wargilgar in the eye! Godzilla seized his chance and charged, swing his tail like a razor whip and slicing Wargilgar in the chest! He then grabbed the bug and slammed it onto a sharp rock, impaling Wargilgar on impact!
Just then, Godzilla was hit in the back by a rainbow laser! He turned to see his old arch-rival, Mechagodzilla, a metallic beast made to resemble the radioactive monster. Mechagodzilla shrieked as he lifted his arm, firing his finger missiles as Titanosaurus charged, knocking Godzilla as he was being blasted! Godzilla snarled as Smokey flew in and fired upon Titanosaurus! As the giant octopus surged forward, Godzilla used his bladed tail to slice off its tentacles! Then, he grabbed what was left and pulled the octopus apart, spraying black blood everywhere! But even with Smokey shooting down enemy craft, Godzilla was soon overwhelmed by Titanosaurus' melee attacks and Mechagodzilla's cross-attack beam!
Back in the temple, Hikaru and Hotaru climbed down some stairs to find a strange pattern carved onto the floor and a single hole in the center of it. "Guess this goes here", said Hotaru as she took out the crystal. "Careful now", said Hikaru as his sister put the crystal in its slot. Just then, the pattern on the ground began to glow blue.
"Did we do it right?", asked Hotaru. "I don't know", said Hikaru before he noticed something, "Look! Those look like numbers. See how they're getting smaller? We've started a countdown!" "How long do we have?", asked Hotaru. Hikaru looked out the window to see Godzilla taking heavy fire from the Garoga motherships and Mechagodzilla. "Not long enough", said Hikaru as he pulled out his capsule, "Do you know if you have enough energy to transform?" "I've tried everything and still failed on that", said Hotaru. "Then stay here, where it's safe", said Hikaru, "I'm going to help them out". With that, he ran out of the temple and transformed into Zone Fighter, flying through two of the Garoga motherships and watching them explode as he landed a punch onto Mechagodzilla!
Mechagodzilla shrieked before firing his eye lasers, blasting Zone Fighter back! Then, he fired his cross-attack beam, sending the silver giant flying! But then, Zone Fighter used his missile gauntlets to blow up the ground in front of Mechagodzilla, sending lava flying into the air and forcing the robot to retreat! Suddenly, Titanosaurus surged forward, smacking his tail against Zone Fighter and knocking him back! Zone Fighter used his crest laser to shoot down some star fighters as Godzilla charged forward and tackled Titanosaurus! He noticed something metallic on the sea dinosaur's neck as he kicked Godzilla away, but had to evade fire from the last Garoga mothership! He fired his missile gauntlets upon it, blowing up the engines!
"We're going down, your excellence", cried the silver Garoga. "Call in all ships in the area", said the Garoga Emperor, "I want this dump burned to a cinder by the time I'm through with Zone Fighter!" The Garoga Emperor then flew out of the exploding mothership and grew to the size of Godzilla before attacking Zone Fighter! The silver giant fired his crest laser, which was reflected back at him by the Emperor's curved arm-blades! "You've ruined my life for the last time, Zone Fighter, cried the Emperor as he sent Zone Fighter flying back with a kick! Zone Fighter then fired his crest laser, missing the Emperor but hitting the control device on the neck of Titanosaurus! The aquatic dinosaur let out a trumpeting roar before tackling the Garoga Emperor, knocking him back before Zone Fighter punched him in the face! The Emperor then fired bolts of lightning from his eyes, sending lava flying into the air and blasting Zone Fighter into a factory! Smokey flew in to shoot at the Emperor, only to be shot down by Mechagodzilla as the robot fired his missiles, hitting Zone Fighter in the chest! The Emperor smiled as he picked up Smokey and his reinforcements arrived! "When I crush this craft, I will have crushed your world, Zone Fighter", said the Garoga Emperor as he fired his lightning vision, draining Zone Fighter's energy! Godzilla and Titanosaurus were pinned down by blasts from both the army of motherships and Mechagodzilla, who laughed at their plight! Hotaru gasped in horror as she saw it, but then noticed a pink crystal forming from the building energy. When she took it, she felt its power surging within here. "This is it", she realized, "This is my moment". She then powered up, unleashing pink energy that blew off the roof of the temple!
Cue Song: Twilight by Electric Light Orchestra
From the temple ruins stepped Zone Angel, now in her giant form, which resembled Zone Fighter, only with a pink color scheme and no head crest. She flicked her wrist, sending out an energy boomerang that sliced off the Emperor's arm, freeing Smokey! Zone Fighter and Angel then fired their missiles at the motherships, forcing them to stop shooting Godzilla as the radioactive dinosaur charged at Mechagodzilla, sending a flurry of punches at his robot doppelganger! The Garoga Emperor grew back his arm, only to receive a knee to the face from Zone Angel! She then threw the alien into the air, allowing Zone Fighter to shoot him with his crest laser! Mechagodzilla then fired everything he had upon Godzilla and Zone Angel, firing his laser vision, cross-attack beam, finger and toe missiles, and flame breath! Godzilla weathered the attack as Titanosaurus tackled the robot! But then, Mechagodzilla fired both his laser vision and cross-attack beam, knocking Titanosaurus back! Zone Fighter fired his missiles, blowing lava onto the robot!
Zone Angel flipped over the Garoga Emperor and kicked his back, sending him flying into Zone Fighter's punch! Zone Angel then sent forth a wave of pink energy that wiped out a swarm of spaceships as the lava began to glow blue! As Mechagodzilla readied his weapons, Godzilla charged up his Atomic Breath! With a mighty roar, Godzilla fired upon Mechagodzilla, hitting the robot and creating an atomic explosion that not only killed his robot double, but shook the entire planet!
As the shockwave thundered forward, the Garoga warships were shattered as the sky changed colors and the ground began to shift! "No!", cried the Garoga Emperor, who was knocked back by the shockwave! Godzilla looked around to see the old vestiges of war, industry, and famine were wiped away by the explosion, leaving only clean, pristine nature as lilies bloomed. Zone Fighter and Zone Angel saw fallen mountains rise as the oceans began to flow once more. The Garoga warships were wiped out, leaving only the Garoga Emperor standing as Peaceland was restored. The Garoga Emperor looked to see his grand army annihilated and stared down Zone Fighter, Zone Angel, and Godzilla. With a primal scream, the Emperor charged, kicking Zone Fighter away and firing his lightning vision upon Zone Angel, who blocked it with an energy shield! Godzilla charged and fired his Atomic Breath, burning the Emperor! Then, Zone Fighter and Angel fired their missile gauntlets, blowing apart the Emperor! Finally, Zone Angel transferred her energy into Zone Fighter, who then gave the Garoga Emperor an uppercut that sent him flying into Godzilla's Atomic Breath, blowing him up and killing the Garoga Emperor for good! As Zone Fighter and Angel returned to human form, Godzilla let out a thunderous roar!
Hikaru and Hotaru ran over to Akira and Grandpa Sakimori, embracing them. "We did it, we did it", cried Hotaru. As he looked upon the lily fields and towering mountains, Hikaru, for the first time in a long time, let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Magnificent, isn't it?", said Grandpa Sakimori. "It is", said Hikaru as Godzilla knelt down to see Titanosaurus let out one last breath. The radioactive beast looked upon his former enemy with sympathy, realizing that Titanosaurus was suffering from the evils of the Garoga, the Black Hole Planet aliens, and Dr. Mafune. Godzilla looked to the sky, seeing Earth in the endless, blue sky above.
"Well, others will learn of Peaceland's revival", said Grandpa Sakimori, "The question now is if we should stay here". "I could feel it during the battle", said Hikaru, "Hotaru and I were gaining and losing energy". "And Smokey is too damaged to fly us back to Earth", said Akira. "We can't leave Godzilla here, though", said Hotaru, "He is the only thing standing between Earth and another alien invasion." "What do you wish to do, Hikaru?", asked Grandpa Sakimori. Hikaru stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out at Peaceland's beauty, before turning his head toward Earth is it hung in the sky. "Peaceland is the home of my ancestors, and if Hotaru and I use our collected energy to return all of us to Earth, we may never transform again", he said, "However, Earth is my home as much as Peaceland is my ancestors'. Gather around, everyone. We're going back". At once, Hikaru and Hotaru joined hands and unleashed a surge of energy that sent the Sakimori family and Godzilla flying through space!
They all landed on a beach not far from the Sakimori home. As the family took in a breath, they noticed how different it felt from Peaceland; more dense, more foggy. But in spite of its lesser qualities, it was home. Hikaru looked back to see Peaceland drift away into the heavens and smiled. Peaceland would have other people return to it, but he had his family and friends where it mattered. "It's a shame we won't be able to transform again", said Hotaru, "I was just beginning to like being a giant". "Look on the bright side", said Hikaru, "With the Garoga Empire completely destroyed, we are finally free to pursue our own dreams". "Indeed", smiled Grandpa Sakimori, "Now, let's just take in the sunset". Everyone looked out to see that the setting sun had cast a golden glow upon the sea, giving off a calming, beautiful image.
Godzilla waded out to sea, his mighty ears picking up the minute good-byes from the Sakimori family. He bowed his head slightly before feeling something calling out to him from many miles away. A radio signal leading to an island many days away in the South Seas. A call from another of his species, unborn yet seeking a parent. Godzilla dove under the ocean determined to find the source of the radio signal: Minya.
The End.